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[Gio300ZX]

I’d appreciate some advice on my set-up from those more experienced. I first bought JRiver MC #19 in 2014 and have continued to upgrade ever since. I have been looking at moving my whole digital audio storage/playback over to JRiver (from WMP). Haven’t got very far due to not being an expert and not having a lot of time.

I think I can now define the practical issue and ask for advice from the forum experts. Here goes.

I have an analogue retro hi-fi (Meridian 500 stack if you’re interested) and want to get my 250GB of ripped flac playing through it.

It is in the main room with the TV and I don’t want to add a PC/NUC with a fan due to noise. My digital audio store is (atm) on a NAS (Seagate) primarily to allow other devices (inc TV and STB) when the PCs are turned off. After some time with this, I noticed that not all devices can use all formats – flac, for example – and, of course, there is a question about quality of the ultimate renderer which could be Humax STB, Sony TV or something plugged into the Meridian stack.

I could get a JRiver IdPi and use the HDMI out to see what it’s doing on the TV but this would still need the NAS as storage (haven’t worked out how to back that up yet) and I don’t know if I could use my Meridian DAC with it.

I have a spare mini PC (Intel Atom) and could bung a 2TB SSD in it as primary store (backup on OneDrive). But it has a fan and I want to avoid that.

I could just use Panel (or another remote?) to play from the NAS via JRiver Library Server to the Humax STB as a renderer. This needs a PC (or tablet) to be on. It also relies on the audio quality of the STB’s DAC which is fine for watching TV but not intended to be audiophile.

After much pondering, I think I’m talking myself into a fanless NUC running Windows and JRiver with 2TB SSD to store my flac files, enable backups to OneDrive and drive the Meridian DAC – all this would be with the main stack, shortest audio path from digital via DAC to RCA inputs. HDMI output to TV and have media keyboard to control (with option of Panel if another PC happens to be on).

The objective is to get something that can be used by both me and my other half without having to turn on other devices, maximises the audio quality and can backup the flac files. Being able to run getiPlayer (to record BBC radio) would be an added bonus.

I am assiduously reading other threads that seem from their title to touch on this but there’s a lot to get through and a bit of focus would help me out.

Any comments? What have I missed? Thanks in advance.

[BryanC]

You wouldn't necessarily need a NAS for storage. It is perfectly acceptable to run an IdPi (probably want to do a DIY RPi 4B with Raspbian/MC at this point) with local storage via microSD or flash drive (if you have suitable backups) or an external USB SSD for more robustness. You can then control the RPi via an MC client or JRemote. Of course you don't want to keep only one copy of your media on EMMC so make sure to have some additional backups on HDDs or SSDs.

[Gio300ZX]

You wouldn't necessarily need a NAS for storage. It is perfectly acceptable to run an IdPi (probably want to do a DIY RPi 4B with Raspbian/MC at this point) with local storage via microSD or flash drive (if you have suitable backups) or an external USB SSD for more robustness. You can then control the RPi via an MC client or JRemote. Of course you don't want to keep only one copy of your media on EMMC so make sure to have some additional backups on HDDs or SSDs.

Thanks for your reply. Currently, my music is stored on laptop HDD (laptop is backed up via File History and weekly full Win7-style backup) with manual local copy to the NAS via FreeFileSync (so music can be accessed directly by STB and, when it's possible, JRiver Android).

Original plan was to backup the Seagate NAS to OneDrive but apparently Microsoft has borked that and Seagate aren't supporting their Personal Cloud anymore.

The benefit of using Windows and OneDrive is a) automatic backup in the cloud and b) access anywhere.

If I move to using idPi + USB SSD, I still have to back up the SSD and can barely spell Linux Plus I haven't managed to find a definitive answer if my Meridian Explorer will work under Linux (can't find any drivers, for a start). What's the quality of the IdPi DAC?

I thought of some other options - I could put JRiver on my spare tablet and use that to stream from the NAS (still have to see how to back that up and if the DAC works with it). Or stick a 2TB SSD in the mini PC which is in my work room as I can back that up and still stream across the network. Hmm.

[JimH]

Try a Google search for Meridian Explorer and Raspbian.  I took a look and it will probably work.

With the IdPi, there's no Linux knowledge needed, but you can't modify the OS.

[Gio300ZX]

Try a Google search for Meridian Explorer and Raspbian.  I took a look and it will probably work.

Thanks for the tip and for looking. I found people have tried with other players on earlier Pis but there used to be a glitch issue. I'll do more digging.

[lanwanman1956]

While not quite the same, my setup is similar with a mix of JRiver and Rpi running Volumio and it works without any issues. I have gone through multiple iterations of DACs on the Rpi end, including a Meridian Explorer2 and have had no issues with any of them. I am currently running an Rpi 3B+ with the latest version of Volumio and a Khadas Tone Board DAC in my living room setup. The Rpi is available as a Zone player in JRiver or I can use the Volumio web interface to play from the JRiver library via DLNA or from the internal storage on the memory card in the Pi. The Rpi player also shows up in Panel in the Zone selection for playback. I have a small arsenal of Rpi boards and I am working, as time permits, on rolling them out as endpoints in the garage and on the back patio.

[Gio300ZX]

@lanwanman1956 thanks for your post. Since I couldn't find a definitive yes/no on the Meridian Director + IdPi, I didn't want to risk it. I Ebayed an Intel NUC and a 1TB SSD and am using that. Because the info isn't clear, I thought it was fanless but it turns out it does have a fan. No more obtrusive than the Humax STB and its internal disc. The Director (DAC) connects the NUC to the Meridian stack. I only managed to put it all back together a couple of weeks ago so have a lot of listening to do to get used to it. So far, it sounds wonderful: LP12, 596, 504, Humax and JRiver/Meridian.