Lms

[zordaz]

piCorePlayer is definitely the easiest by some way these days

Agreed! Although I am running LMS for years now on a customized barebone PC with Linux, the most straightforward way of running it these days is indeed piCorePlayer however.
A self installed, customized system is IMO a poweruser solution and more suited for specific use cases (like mine).

Running it on a RPI also has advantages because of the power consumption compared to running it on a PC or NAS btw.

[bpa]

While the Polyvection players look decent value, I can't see how the price of the CORE32 server can be justified. Setting up piCorePlayer as a LMS server on a RPi really is child's play, and can be done for less than half the cost of a CORE32.

Out of curiousity,I got a CORE32 at launch price which was better value. It sits there working, no maintenance, updates happen by themselves. As a tinkerer, I am little annoyed it doesn;t have the latest updates and worry what happens if Polyvection disappears - that said I have now unused old Odroid and Cubie boards which suffered from similar issues.

It is a conservative solution for user who want absolutely nothing to do. Why do people pay for windowcleaners ?
For someone who wants to set up an LMS system for an elderly parent/relative - it probably provides "peace of mind" at a small once off price. It is probably a "long tail" solution for a small number of users .

Polyvection may have got their business case a bit wrong before launch (and/or chip shortage) which resulted in the now higher price than they first announced. They have included their own RTOS (for their own h/w design) so that means some ongoing extra port/test costs and also may explains few updates.

It is good there is now a selection of very usable solutions available for users - each of which has pros/cons : Polyvection, Max2play, Picoreplayer, Raspbian, Windows etc. The choice is the best for years - especially when I remember the early attempts of a cheap LMS on the NLSU2 (nicknamed Slug for a a good reason)

[Labarum]

I've run LMS and Squeezebox arrays on Windows (currently Win11) with very, very few problems, for many, many years.

Maybe I'm that "lucky customer" but I've had very, very few general Windows hiccups at all, in any regard, over 20+ years.

That is my experience too. Now, though, my PC is 15 years old and has run out of steam, and even with an SSD installed to try to speed it up it is no longer fit for purpose. Windows on an inadequate machine was causing me problems, not LMS on Windows; so last week I jumped ship to a Raspberry Pi 4 to run LMS. It uses a lot less power than a PC and costs a lot less to buy! I will keep the old PC for now and wind it up only when I must use Windows - that will not be often, says he typing on one of the latest Chromebooks.

[agbagb]

That is my experience too. Now, though, my PC is 15 years old and has run out of steam, and even with an SSD installed to try to speed it up it is no longer fit for purpose. Windows on an inadequate machine was causing me problems, not LMS on Windows; so last week I jumped ship to a Raspberry Pi 4 to run LMS. It uses a lot less power than a PC and costs a lot less to buy! I will keep the old PC for now and wind it up only when I must use Windows - that will not be often, says he typing on one of the latest Chromebooks.

For reasons not to do with LMS, I update my assorted Windows machine every, say, 3 years. So I've never really been subject to elderly machines huffing and puffing........ I did fire up a 12 year old (spare) PC desktop a few months ago, just to keep it more-or-less updated - and it was like wading through treacle!

[slartibartfast]

Out of curiousity,I got a CORE32 at launch price which was better value. It sits there working, no maintenance, updates happen by themselves. As a tinkerer, I am little annoyed it doesn;t have the latest updates and worry what happens if Polyvection disappears - that said I have now unused old Odroid and Cubie boards which suffered from similar issues.

It is a conservative solution for user who want absolutely nothing to do. Why do people pay for windowcleaners ?
For someone who wants to set up an LMS system for an elderly parent/relative - it probably provides "peace of mind" at a small once off price. It is probably a "long tail" solution for a small number of users .

Polyvection may have got their business case a bit wrong before launch (and/or chip shortage) which resulted in the now higher price than they first announced. They have included their own RTOS (for their own h/w design) so that means some ongoing extra port/test costs and also may explains few updates.

It is good there is now a selection of very usable solutions available for users - each of which has pros/cons : Polyvection, Max2play, Picoreplayer, Raspbian, Windows etc. The choice is the best for years - especially when I remember the early attempts of a cheap LMS on the NLSU2 (nicknamed Slug for a a good reason)

Low.power options for LMS have come a long way from pogoplugs

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[bpa]

Low.power options for LMS have come a long way from pogoplugs

It used to be "low power" meant "limited functionality". Now with Pi4 and even CORE32 - these units are not only low power but can support sync on many players, do full transcoding and possible DRC and other processing stuff. It is also now simpler to add a Pi based LMS than play around with custom NAS builds. Although for some NAS there is a Docker alternative.

The LMS ecosystem has also been improved by the availability of the low cost, quick to start ESP32 based players as an genuine alternative to bridged BT/UPNP/Airplay speakers.
* PI3/4 based players are now the high end/highly customisable "player" solution.
* Pi Zero cheaper but still with PCP
* ESP32 - Philippe's excellent Squeezeamps, Polyvection DAC32 and now Raspiaudio products such as ready to go ESP Muse Luxe (mine is due on Fri) and the prototype board ESP32 MUSE Proto https://forum.raspiaudio.com/t/multi...muse-proto/291

[slartibartfast]

It used to be "low power" meant "limited functionality". Now with Pi4 and even CORE32 - these units are not only low power but can support sync on many players, do full transcoding and possible DRC and other processing stuff. It is also now simpler to add a Pi based LMS than play around with custom NAS builds. Although for some NAS there is a Docker alternative.

The LMS ecosystem has also been improved by the availability of the low cost, quick to start ESP32 based players as an genuine alternative to bridged BT/UPNP/Airplay speakers.
* PI3/4 based players are now the high end/highly customisable "player" solution.
* Pi Zero cheaper but still with PCP
* ESP32 - Philippe's excellent Squeezeamps, Polyvection DAC32 and now Raspiaudio products such as ready to go ESP Muse Luxe (mine is due on Fri) and the prototype board ESP32 MUSE Proto https://forum.raspiaudio.com/t/multi...muse-proto/291

Where did you order your Raspiaudio player from? I only see it on Amazon.fr and they are sold out.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[bpa]

Where did you order your Raspiaudio player from? I only see it on Amazon.fr and they are sold out.

I ordered from their website on 12th (I think) and I think even then it said "on backorder" - very very shortly afterwards, ordering moved to Amazon.
Delivery is coming from Amazon.fr - so I have a crossover order.

[slartibartfast]

I ordered from their website on 12th (I think) and I think even then it said "on backorder" - very very shortly afterwards, ordering moved to Amazon.
Delivery is coming from Amazon.fr - so I have a crossover order.

I suppose being in the EU Amazon.fr is OK for you

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[bpa]

I suppose being in the EU Amazon.fr is OK for you

Brexit has made life weird. I now use Amazon.de a good deal (because they seem to want the displaced uk users - they have english option), but for some goods (i.e. electrical UK plug, PC keyboards) I'll use amazon.co.uk - Amazon deal with all custom & duty up to €150 - not sure what happens above €150. For other UK onlin e shopping I used a UK based reshipper which deal with required custom declarations etc.
Not used amazon.fr (yet) as no english option and can see little difference between UK and FR. I have also bought from amazon.it as there is some price difference/availability with some products - strange.