[HN Gopher] Spotify Box ___________________________________________________________________ Spotify Box Author : belter Score : 67 points Date : 2021-09-22 20:39 UTC (2 hours ago) (HTM) web link (evanhailey.com) (TXT) w3m dump (evanhailey.com) | briandoll wrote: | I was wondering what the advantage is to building something like | this, compared to just using a bluetooth adapter that connects | via RCA cables (like this box does). | | I suppose one advantage is that if you walk far away from your | stereo, you can loose bluetooth connection and drop audio, where | this device has it's own WiFi connection and pulls Spotify audio | directly, and is just manually controlled via your phone. | wodenokoto wrote: | Also, music doesn't stop if you visit a webpage with an | autoplaying video or open an app that plays audio. | jareklupinski wrote: | and an Ethernet jack for even more reliability :) | polpo wrote: | It also means your phone's battery is not draining while you're | playing music. I use spotifyd on a Raspberry Pi and it's pretty | wonderful. | hammock wrote: | It's Chromecast Audio, but for Spotify. | extr wrote: | Still can't believe they stopped manufacturing these. Such a | perfect and cheap solution to the same problem as OP: | streaming audio over WiFi to a "dumb" speaker. | apecat wrote: | The tradeoff seems to be that | | * Bluetooth offers limited range and uses more battery, and is | usually interrupted if someone calls, but supports any | application that can play sound. | | * Spotify Connect is its own Spotify client and downloads the | audio stream from Spotify which allows freedom to roam. But the | implementation is indeed limited to Spotify and doesn't support | niceties like volume normalization or nerdy details like | crossfade (and perhaps not gapless playback) | mustacheemperor wrote: | Bluetooth is inherently lossy/compressed, whereas Spotify | Connect directly streams 320kbps to the client device. I'm not | sure how much that advantage is negated on a device with such a | cheap DAC, but cheap DACs can be good. Bluetooth audio is | always going to have some quality compromises, and it looks | like this device is intended for a component stereo setup where | quality matters. | | Worth noting streaming Spotify over Chromecast (like on a | chromecast audio) is oddly enough limited to 256 kbps AAC. The | TV chromecast devices support Spotify Connect, I guess because | they boot the full app GUI. | deeblering4 wrote: | If you are in the apple ecosystem an airport express provides a | similar feature set (airplay to analog stero line out) and can | output to multiple airports (in different rooms) simultaneously. | | Granted its not as headless. a iDevice (or airplay compatible | source) needs to be running. | | I have analog stereos in a few rooms and the airport express | provides a nice way for anyone in the house to cast music from | whatever app they like. and with modern iOS you can even output | to different zones for different apps. | | The airport expresses are roughly $50 a pop, less if you are | patient. | bjelkeman-again wrote: | Shame they don't sell Airport Express anymore. | srgpqt wrote: | They are often sold used for 10$ to 30$ on ebay and other | sites. | DenseComet wrote: | Wow this is a super impressive project. I was originally | expecting a device built around a Raspberry Pi, but this is a | completely custom designed linux board! | NGRhodes wrote: | And a nicely detailed writeup. | yepthatsreality wrote: | I wish Pandora's APIs were more open. There's a library for their | radio feature[0] but no API for their music subscription service. | | [0] https://6xq.net/pianobar/ | mikewave wrote: | For anyone else who wants to do this, just set up the absolutely | amazing Volumio on your RPi or any other computer. | | https://volumio.org/ | | The web app is great for use in your house, the Spotify plugin is | first class - it's supported as a target in your Spotify app, or | you can browse straight from the webapp, which means even a guest | on your wifi can easily pop on and help pick the music. | lostgame wrote: | I was not aware there was an OSS Spotify client before reading | this article. | | That's neat! | celim307 wrote: | Would a chrome cast audio work? Or is it not high fidelity enough | ddrmaxgt37 wrote: | It should work. I have one outputting digital to my hi-fi via | TOSLINK. | bigtones wrote: | A $30 Raspberry Pi with free Volumio serves the same purpose for | me, and I can attach a DAC hat to the top of the Pi for high | fidelity audio - but this looks so much better with it's | beautiful wood finish. | mikewave wrote: | Any recommendations for the DAC? I'm using a USB sound card | right now on my Volumio Pi but haven't been thrilled about it. | What I really want is SPDIF coaxial or optical output, on the | cheap. | feelepxyz wrote: | I've been using a HifiBerry DAC (DAC+ DSP) with a RBP and | their HifiBerry OS which comes with a bunch of streaming | services built in, the DSP DAC also allows you to upload a | profile to adjust for room acoustics. | Klonoar wrote: | Since it uses spotifyd, this only works with Premium accounts | right? | | Very cool project otherwise, love the end result. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2021-09-22 23:00 UTC)