Desktop digital audio player for listening to WAV / FLAC format ?

Ebenezer

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Hello everyone,

All the while i was listening to music through PC (with DAC + Yamaha AS500 amp + Wharfedale 10.2 speakers). I bought a different active speakers for PC (I use it for home studio recordings) and moved this speakers and AS500 amp to Hall. I don't have a CD player. I connected my iPod to AS500 through Stereo -> RCA cable and found that the audio quality is not that good.

Since all the music i listen to are in digital format (WAV / FLAC / MP3 (320 kbps)), i want to know if there is any player with USB port (Pen drive) or SD card that support lossless audio formats like WAV? I found something in Aliexpress (Breeze Audio C20 Desktop music player Bluetooth 4.2 USB dac ES9018K2M /ES9028Q2M support sd card \ usb bluetooth) which is a lossless audio player with USB / SD card option. It seems to have a DAC, however not sure how it would sound. Your thoughts would be highly appreciated.
 
Better go with separates. We wont be sure about how good is the internal dac of the player you mentioned. If I were you i would buy a basic bluray player with wide range of format support and will spend the rest of the amount for a decent dac. Its just my suggestion. Lets wait for the rest of people to comment.
 
Thank you Naturelover for your suggestion. I dont have a DAC for this setup. Yes i did consider DAP like FiiO X3. I want to know how it would sound when connected to amplifier (AS500). Does it have a good DAC in it?
 
Since all the music i listen to are in digital format (WAV / FLAC / MP3 (320 kbps)), i want to know if there is any player with USB port (Pen drive) or SD card that support lossless audio formats like WAV? I found something in Aliexpress (Breeze Audio C20 Desktop music player Bluetooth 4.2 USB dac ES9018K2M /ES9028Q2M support sd card \ usb bluetooth) which is a lossless audio player with USB / SD card option. It seems to have a DAC, however not sure how it would sound. Your thoughts would be highly appreciated.

You shall try RPI/Sparky based player. Goes very well for digital formats. A true Value-For-Money IMO.
Below are Plug&Play players based on Sparky.

https://www.allo.com/sparky/boss-player.html
https://www.allo.com/sparky/piano-2-1-player.html

Both Boss & Piano2.1 are great DACs. If you don't want Sparky, try Raspberry PI or Asus Tinker Board.
 
You can also consider Swara DAC based on RPI. It has in built Roon player. Check it's review in the forum.
 
You shall try RPI/Sparky based player. Goes very well for digital formats. A true Value-For-Money IMO.
Below are Plug&Play players based on Sparky.

https://www.allo.com/sparky/boss-player.html
https://www.allo.com/sparky/piano-2-1-player.html

Both Boss & Piano2.1 are great DACs. If you don't want Sparky, try Raspberry PI or Asus Tinker Board.

Thank you for your suggestion. I went through the reviews and Boss 1.2 player seems like a good option. I have few question, would appreciate if you can help

1. Can i purchase this directly from www.allo.com? Do they ship to India?
2. I see three OS options for Boss 1.2 player. 1. DietPi + AllO GUI, 2. Volumio, 3.Max2Play. Which one would you recommend?
3. I dont see any display on this player? If i connect an USB pendrive with WAV files would i be able to change songs, adjust volume through Android mobile? If so what is the app that i need to install.

Your help is much appreciated !
 
Thank you for your suggestion. I went through the reviews and Boss 1.2 player seems like a good option. I have few question, would appreciate if you can help

1. Can i purchase this directly from www.allo.com? Do they ship to India?
2. I see three OS options for Boss 1.2 player. 1. DietPi + AllO GUI, 2. Volumio, 3.Max2Play. Which one would you recommend?
3. I dont see any display on this player? If i connect an USB pendrive with WAV files would i be able to change songs, adjust volume through Android mobile? If so what is the app that i need to install.

Your help is much appreciated !
Answers,
1. You can buy from Diyaudiocart.com. When I contacted Allo , they linked Diyaudiocart. Diyaudiocart has got all the products from Allo.
2. I personally like Volumino.
3. It’s a headless player. Volumino app or you can access content via url Volumino.local for playback.

Cost factor is what I like in this setup. For 7 to 8k, you will have an excellent player. After some period, you can improvise DAC by going with Kali+Piano 2.1 combo.
 
Answers,
1. You can buy from Diyaudiocart.com. When I contacted Allo , they linked Diyaudiocart. Diyaudiocart has got all the products from Allo.
2. I personally like Volumino.
3. It’s a headless player. Volumino app or you can access content via url Volumino.local for playback.

Cost factor is what I like in this setup. For 7 to 8k, you will have an excellent player. After some period, you can improvise DAC by going with Kali+Piano 2.1 combo.

Thanks for your response & suggestions to my questions. I will check with Diyaudiocart.com. Is there a player available with Kali + Piano 2.10 combo? I can increase the budget if the quality is good for Kali + Piano DAC.
 
Since all the music i listen to are in digital format (WAV / FLAC / MP3 (320 kbps)), i want to know if there is any player with USB port (Pen drive) or SD card that support lossless audio formats like WAV? I found something in Aliexpress (Breeze Audio C20 Desktop music player Bluetooth 4.2 USB dac ES9018K2M /ES9028Q2M support sd card \ usb bluetooth) which is a lossless audio player with USB / SD card option. It seems to have a DAC, however not sure how it would sound. Your thoughts would be highly appreciated.

For some more money than you would spend on Breeze audio C20, there are some digital amplifiers from aliexpress that have USB functionality built in which supports playback of digital files including FLAC/WAV and a handy remote too..

FX Audio D200 E - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FX-...6253-4ed3-bc7d-383622799463&priceBeautifyAB=0

It can potentially replace your Yamaha AS500 as one single device to playback digital audio files if you wish to..

However Breeze audio C20 would also fit your needs..But think it doesn't come with a remote.. Given tat it is a standalone DAC, it should perform on similar lines to other DAC..
 
Finally i have bought Allo Boss 1.2 player (Allo Boss 1.2 DAC + RPi B+ Aluminium case) a month back. Since it is a headless unit, i use it with Volumio android app. It supports lossless formats like FLAC / WAV.

Initially i didn't like the sound as there was too much bass and less clarity (mid). Our forum member VSTERO said it will improve after a considerable burn in time. Now i have played it for more than 50 hours & i see a tremendous improvement in mid & low frequency. It has very good clarity and a deep bass (not boomy) surprisingly this deep bass does not damage the mid frequencies. Though i wouldn't call it transparent sound, it is very musical and pleasant to ears. Very much suitable for long listening session without ear fatigue.

For 7.5K it is really a 'value for money' DAC player ! Thank you VSTEREO for suggesting Allo :)
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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