Wav/Flac audio player w/bluetooth, remote and display - on a tight budget

99.99 Oxygen Free Copper Audiophile Grade Speaker Cable
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VRavichandar

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Background: I have a decent stereo amp - 30 year old Sony LBT905 (made in Japan) and the speakers that came with it. The amp is very dear to me as the sound quality still amazes me after 3 decades of (ab)use!
The amp's input selector switch is faulty - have got it hardwired for one pair of RCAinput only. Volume control is manual now - the original remote control was routed through other components that are long gone.
sony lbt 905.jpg
The amp is currently connected to my dedicated 'media player' laptop. Selecting songs, inc/decreasing volumes etc is a pain as it is located far from my work desk. Can't see the laptop display from my desk and can't keep my TV on for this purpose.

So I'm checking with you all here to see if there is an audio player that will
1.Play wav,flac files off a USB drive - with decent audio quality and a small display that can be viewed from say 10ft
2. Have a remote that can play/pause, prev/next and volume control
3. Bluetooth receiver (5.0) for music streaming
4. Have an aux OR L/R inputs for connecting a laptop sound
& all of the above in a tight budget - <10k.
I have searched over flipkart and amazon - only car stereos seem to have all of the above!
I hope experts here can give me better options and help me enjoy the music!
Thanks in advance
 
Explore products from Allo
Boss DAC player, for example
May not have BT though.

Or a Chromecast Audio if you can find one.

Both are headless and can be controlled via a smartphone or laptop.

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Last edited:
VRavichandar said:
Thanks for the input. Will check it out.
Click to expand...
For Indian/local pricing, checkout a local reseller in your city. It will be cheaper.
In Bangalore there's fabtolab.com and waretohouse.com
They deliver all over the country/world, but you may have a local reseller too.

Cheers,
Raghu
 
raghupb said:
Explore products from Allo
Boss DAC player, for example
May not have BT though.

Or a Chromecast Audio if you can find one.

Both are headless and can be controlled via a smartphone or laptop.

Cheers,
Raghu
Click to expand...
Checked out Boss 1.2 and 2.0 versions. 2.0 comes with a OLED display and remote as well. But the number of moving parts / pieces seems very complex to me. My experience with "cast to device" / media server/streaming on windows had always been problematic with my AVR. I do not want a repetition. I feel bluetooth streaming would be easier. Request simpler solutions - if they exist!
 
Found a working, simple and zero cost solution for one part of the problem! :) :)
Installed Chrome remote desktop on my media laptop. Signed into my google account and set it up.
Accessed this from my work laptop thro just a browser tab - no plugin/extension installation required.
Installed the chrome remote desktop app on my android. Can control the laptop from there also!
As easy as 1-2-3.

Don't know how I missed this simple solution! I have been aware of this for quite a few years! Probably my loyalty and liking for firefox prevented me from going for chrome browser on which this extension works. Edge is now chrome based and accepts this chrome browser extension.

Chrome remote desktop app is also installed on my android phone - additional source to control! So simple!

Two pending things to do:
Find a good USB DAC to interface between my laptop and sony amp
Determine if I really need bluetooth!
 
VRavichandar said:
Found a working, simple and zero cost solution for one part of the problem! :) :)
Installed Chrome remote desktop on my media laptop. Signed into my google account and set it up.
Accessed this from my work laptop thro just a browser tab - no plugin/extension installation required.
Installed the chrome remote desktop app on my android. Can control the laptop from there also!
As easy as 1-2-3.

Don't know how I missed this simple solution! I have been aware of this for quite a few years! Probably my loyalty and liking for firefox prevented me from going for chrome browser on which this extension works. Edge is now chrome based and accepts this chrome browser extension.

Chrome remote desktop app is also installed on my android phone - additional source to control! So simple!

Two pending things to do:
Find a good USB DAC to interface between my laptop and sony amp
Determine if I really need bluetooth!
Click to expand...
Update: This remote desktop extension works well with firefox as well - identified this a few months back, but forgot to update here. Only issue is the sound is played thro the controlling device as well!
 
Sony amp failed! Took it to Power electronics - service centre of Torvin. Mr Muthukumar did a great job of reviving it - replacing output stage components failed due to corrosion (high in my area) - replaced them, cleaned the insides and the circuit boards. Service charges Rs1000 + cost of repair components about Rs.1250. Unit sounds very good. Much better now as per my wife who has a significantly sharper ear!

Reading threads here and elsewhere about better sound output thro a USB DAC plus the need for a BT receiver caused me to buy a Fiio BTR-3K after going through some very positive reviews. Thanks to the thread started by @venkatcr & replies by @Kannan

Current config: Media Laptop USB ->Fiio BTR3k 3.5mm Headphone out ->RCA in Sony amp
Alternately work laptop - >via BT to Fiio BTR3k - Sony amp

First impression: -
Connected it to a Usb port with Fiio provided very short USB A -> USB C cable. Device is instantly recognised by windows 11 and works without having to install a driver. Volume output of this device is puny as mentioned in many review sites - not a problem as my amp is capable.
Dialogues are clearer when watching English TV serials and the need to check out subs reduced!
When listening to music, 1kHz+ range sounds clearer, musical instruments are distinct and do not overlap.
Wife's view: Channel / stereo separation is not as good as playing directly and overall SQ is not any better than before.

Disappointed that this much touted device is only capable of DVD quality sound ie. 16 bit 48Khz for both BT streaming and playback - if someone can confirm this, it is much appreciated. Laptop's Realtek sound card is rated for studio quality sound @ 24bit
I'm not sure my ears with moderate hearing loss can distinguish between 16bit and 24 bit encoded files! Will test this out in the coming days
The single colour changing indicator is bit confusion as it is used for both charging and connection state.
 
VRavichandar said:
But is the 16 bit 48khz limitation of BTR3K for real? Hope I'm not missing some setting.
Click to expand...
Yes thats what the specs say on the Fiio website. BTR5 on the other hand can even do DSD.

However, if you find the sound quality good, then maybe you can tweak further and then upgrade the DAC or even go for a higher end DAC cum streamer.

MaSh
 
MaSh said:
Yes thats what the specs say on the Fiio website. BTR5 on the other hand can even do DSD.

However, if you find the sound quality good, then maybe you can tweak further and then upgrade the DAC or even go for a higher end DAC cum streamer.

MaSh
Click to expand...
Sound quality is pretty good as I use it more and more. Thanks for the help.
 
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