Imagine you're living in the mid-2000s and you've built up a huge digital music collection. You want to be able to listen to that music in every room of your house. How would you do that? At the time, a popular solution was the Logitech Media Server (LMS), which allowed you to stream music over your local network to a receiving device. Reddit user Smashtheplant still uses LMS, and they wanted a new player that wasn't as expensive as consumer devices. So they used a Raspberry Pi to Build your own LMS audio streamer.
LMS (now “Lyrion Media Server”) is not as attractive as it was 20 years ago, because Internet music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music are very practical. But there are still many people with large digital music libraries, especially audiophiles who care very much about sound quality. Storage is now cheap, and while it is possible to copy libraries to individual devices, doing so makes managing the library a pain. For these reasons, LMS can still provide value to the right user; however, Logitech discontinued its Squeezebox streamer line a few years ago, making DIY devices like this an attractive option.
It looks great and utilizes relatively inexpensive hardware. The three most important components are a Raspberry Pi, a HiFiBerry Digi+ and a 5″ touchscreen from BIGTREETECH. The Raspberry Pi runs the LMS client software (piCorePlayer) and allows the user to interact with it via the touchscreen. It also has two buttons on top for haptic control and a rotary encoder. The Pi connects to the network via its built-in ethernet port or a USB WiFi dongle. All of these components fit into a beautiful 3D printed enclosure.
You may have noticed that the list of components above does not include an amplifier or speakers. This is because the HiFiBerry Digi+ provides an S/PDIF digital audio output via an RCA-style coaxial connection on the back of the device. Smashtheplant uses its own amplifier and connects it to an external DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). This ensures the best audio quality as the Digi+ supports up to 192kHz/24-bit. Using lossless files gives you a flawless experience.
If you want to make this yourself, Smashtheplant has kindly provided Upload your STL file to Printables.