Equipment help to stream into Linn Numerik DAC

[Pistom]

I'm wanting to add a streaming service such as Spotify into my system and I see there is a spare BNC connector on my Linn Numerik.

It would also be good to use the same equipment for archived material too in various formats from HDD.

Can anyone suggest what equipment I need/can use.

I'm quite happy playing about with DIY options such as Raspberry Pi if that offers benefits but really not sure where to start looking however considering the Numerik is already in my system, I thought I may as well make use of it.

[OutInTheShed]

Is this BNC connector a coaxial digital input?
Does it accept the standard PCM input for stereo DACs?


If so, you just need a digital audio output 'hat' for the ras pi, and a phono/BNC adaptor/cable.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173241154303

Then 'all' you need is to sort the software on the Pi.

[Pistom]

OutInTheShed said:

Is this BNC connector a coaxial digital input?
Does it accept the standard PCM input for stereo DACs?


If so, you just need a digital audio output 'hat' for the ras pi, and a phono/BNC adaptor/cable.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173241154303

Then 'all' you need is to sort the software on the Pi.

Yes, it is a coaxial digital input but not sure if it is standard PCM

Here is the spec

Connectors: 2 x BNC; Format: S/P-DIF; Sampling Rates:
44.1 & 48kHz; Lock Range: +/- 150 ppm

[OutInTheShed]

Pistom said:

Yes, it is a coaxial digital input but not sure if it is standard PCM

Here is the spec

Connectors: 2 x BNC; Format: S/P-DIF; Sampling Rates:
44.1 & 48kHz; Lock Range: +/- 150 ppm

S/P DIF is the standard Sony/Philips format.
If that's two BNC's you can switch between, that sounds standard. I.e. select BNC A or BNC B as source.
If it's one BNC for left and one for right, that would be 'weird'.

[Pistom]

OutInTheShed said:

S/P DIF is the standard Sony/Philips format.
If that's two BNC's you can switch between, that sounds standard. I.e. select BNC A or BNC B as source.
If it's one BNC for left and one for right, that would be 'weird'.

Thanks - it's Linn so weird is their norm but in this case it is A and B, not left and right.

Giving further thought to this and reading one of the posts above, I'm now thinking whether I should bother using the Numerik to stream through or just build/buy a standalone device.

I like the idea of using something like a Pi with HAT but not sure if a cost effective solution can be built for less than a unit can be bought for which will probably be more user friendly.

[OutInTheShed]

I have an old PC with an Intel Motherboard, it has an optical audio output.
I use that for streaming and stored music with an external DAC.
I also use a Pi with a breadboard DAC.

It's not really 'audiophile', I'm seeking new music to listen to and wanting some tolerable sound in the office and workshop.

My Pi-based distributed music jukebox efforts are on hold until Winter, too much else to do.

[Pistom]

What I'm really hoping for is someone who has trod the "I'm going to build a Pi-Fi " path, sees this and can save me the learning curve they've already traversed.

I'm hoping to play digital audio which gives similar or better performance to my Linn Karik/Numerik CD transport and DAC which was pretty impressive 25 years ago and is still good to my ears now.

At the same time, I want to convenience of being able to control all of this from my phone to play back archived music as well as streamed music from say Spotify.

All without having to pay much.

Not sure if that's too much to expect.

[OutInTheShed]

There were a few threads on here a few months ago, I started one of them, about Pi-based jukebox streaming set ups, multi-room and all sorts.

The trouble is, everyone recommends a different thing. I got MoOde working on one pi, then got too busy with other things, faffing with audio is more of a winter game for me.
I also had a play with a PiMoroni Pirate audio 'hat', that was quite nice, you can drive it via a phone or tablet. I got the hat used for under £20 on ebay.
The same software ought to run an external DAC.
One thing which ruined it for me was not being able to buy a new Pi easily.

Very often, I'm totally happy bluetoothing from my phone to an old amp, or listening from a PC or even playing MP3s in my car or boat.

[TonyRPH]

Pistom said:

What I'm really hoping for is someone who has trod the "I'm going to build a Pi-Fi " path, sees this and can save me the learning curve they've already traversed.

I'm hoping to play digital audio which gives similar or better performance to my Linn Karik/Numerik CD transport and DAC which was pretty impressive 25 years ago and is still good to my ears now.

At the same time, I want to convenience of being able to control all of this from my phone to play back archived music as well as streamed music from say Spotify.

All without having to pay much.

Not sure if that's too much to expect.

A decent CD player into a DAC will yield the same performance as almost any streamer (I've built many different streamers over the years, and I've yet to be able to say that any of them sound better than the CD, or vice versa). If the digital signal is good in the first place (and most decent CD players have managed this for years) then they will sound identical.

I have built multiple systems over the years, some Pi based, some Intel PC hardware based - the have all used Linux.

The Pi with the DAC 'hat' doesn't quite achieve the same performance levels as a decent HiFi DAC but can still sound surprisingly good.

You can also get hats that just output SPDIF which you would then plug into your DAC.

For Raspberry Pi players, there is Volumio, Daphile, Moode, Diet Pi +others. There is also the behemoth known as Roon (not free - the others are).

Volumio has a particularly nice interface.

Most of these can be controlled from a PC / Laptop and phone / tablet.

Some of them use MPD (Music Player Deamon), some (Daphile) use the Logitech squeezebox server software.

They are all usually bit perfect (I've yet to encounter one that isn't).

I prefer more control over my systems, so I build mine using Linux (the above are all Linux based) and I'm currently using an Intel NUC for one system and a Gigabyte 'Bric' for the other.

In summary: If you want ease of build and convenience, then a Raspberry Pi is the way to go. None of these systems (with the exception of Roon) need vast amounts of RAM, CPU or disk space.

The BNC sockets on your DAC will be for two different inputs. You will need an RCA to BNC adaptor to connect a Pi hat to the DAC.

I just noticed your requirement for Spotify - I'm not sure which of the abovementioned software supports Spotify, as Spotify have made it ridiculously difficult to access their API, and the few Spotify add ons I have seen require a Spotify subscription - they won't work with the free version.

There are Windows players, however most of them require a full blown PC or decent laptop due to the hardware requirements of Windows.

Despite what you may read in the internet, Windows can also output a bit perfect signal.

Edited to add: Your DAC will only sample 44.1 and 48k - you will likely have to limit the output of any streamer to these sample rates, as if it streams a higher sample rate to your DAC, you are likely to end up with some nasty noises (or possibly the DAC may just mute - but not all do).

Edited by TonyRPH on Monday 12th June 18:25

[Pistom]

Thank you for the replies so far. It's a huge help when someone who has done all this before takes you on a whistle stop tour of their knowledge and experience.