My dad finally bought a NAS and I've put all his music on it so he can access on either his laptop or PC. What he'd like to do now is actually get it playing through his stereo which is slightly old so only has phono input. What's his options? Ideally I think he'd like to somehow be able to remote control something off his phone or tablet to select his music to play, or he'd be happy with some device at the stereo he can select the album just like putting in a CD. I did suggest to him to use a tablet plugged in which he wasn't against but we're wondering what options there are. Budget is not great, I doubt he'd want to pay over £50 for anything. I'm not as up to date on audio tech as I just use an iphone and earphones! Thanks
Have a look online (eBay maybe) for something like an old Logitech Squeezebox or something? Or - RPi with Kodi, and an app on phone/tablet to control it. Plan?
I've been pondering along these lines for a while... The solution I came up with was replacing my hi-fi with a (Windows) tablet, docking station and then USB devices, one a USB-Ethernet adapter, the other a USB soundcard to link to the speakers. EDIT: Haven't actually implemented/done this but that is my plan as it stands...
It would be worth suggesting he goes to John Lewis or something like that to have a play with Sonos. Yes, it's way, way out of budget, but it works, it works well and it works all of the time. Keep in mind that you're on the hook for anything you recommend to him, and if it doesn't work, you've already volunteered for tech support. I spent a good few years trying to make various different home-brew music player options - it worked well for a bit, but then wouldn't, or the remote wouldn't connect, or the sound would go wrong, or the streaming would be patchy etc etc. Finally dove in to Sonos and never looked back.
Yes. This is true. Sonos is the best one, but you'll struggle to find one for fifty sheets. It IS awesome though and as with Tad, I've never looked back.
He's seen Sonos, it's were this idea comes from but he won't pay for it, I've said he should as he loves his music but he has this oldschool idea he must have an amp, cd player, radio etc etc
Whichever route you decide to go down, you gotta make sure you use these ethernet cables to get the best sound quality. /s
Have a look at this....... http://www.richersounds.com/product...io-players/qed/uplay-stream/qed-u-play-stream
Assuming the NAS supports DLNA something like this should work I think: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veetop®-HiFi-AirMusic-Box-Streaming/dp/B00JKD09B8 ...Then using a DNLA app like BubbleUPnP (or another DLNA media controller app) to control streaming music from the NAS to the device. Not tested that exact setup myself, but I think that is how it would work.
Call me old-fashioned but I'd rather like to be able to select the music at the Hi-Fi, not from another device.
You mean like on the component itself, as opposed to a remote device? I'll say it - you're old fashioned!
I recently transferred my 600+ CDs to my computer but wanted to listen to my favorite tunes while in my truck and while riding my bicycle. So I transferred about 1600 songs to my cell phone. In my truck, it syncs to the Bluetooth input in the truck's audio system. For my riding, I just plug in my headphones. In my garage (where I have another stereo system) I just plug a stereo cable from the cell phone headphone jack to one of the receiver's line in connections. If your NAS does not have streaming capability, then you will need something similar to Pookie's suggestion, or mine.
