Recommend me a small "all in one" unit with USB ?

shiwarrior

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Hi all

apologies if this is in the wrong place, I'm not sure where this goes..

i did a google search but I'm not coming up with much, but i am looking for an all in one unit that is stereo, and can play music from a USB stick
also with a CD player but not mandatory, but as long as i can attach one to it, as i have a CD player here that i like which has 2 x phono's output

I seem to be coming up with Rhark ?

so i checked ebay, and i looked an a R4 i think it was, which could fit my requirements and cheap to buy 2nd hand

I am not clued out on this sort of thing and i could use your advice

cheers
 
How much is cheap? I think you may get good value with a set of powered speakers with inputs
 
i already have powered studio speakers (for me PC) and i don't want to use this (switch at the back and only a 3.5mm aux port)
 
Ah ok, and would you be happy to use a streamer plugged into your existing speakers as that might open up some options
 
I use a unit called a teufal connector, there is a newer more expensive one now but I believe they can be bought for about 80 euro secondhand, they have a USB in at the back that you can play off an app on your phone, it works very well, volume control and all that, the CD player can plug into that also. It does Spotify/tidal and all the usual stuff too.

There are many things similar to this on the market, the one I use isn't necessarily the best, just I'm familiar with it and it works well. I used it connected rona set of JBL lsr 305 studio monitors for about a year and it was a great set up
 
I see !

Thanks

to be honest, thinking further ahead (a few years)
ill be hoping to get my own place, so the music system probably be in the living room and the PC in a separate room altogether

I just want something i can come home from work, switch the power on and off it goes and play from thousands of songs i have USB (copied from my original CDs)
I don't do music streaming like Sportify
I buy my CDs and put them on usb for the home and my car
 
If that's the case a lot of the newer CD players have USB inputs (marantz CD 6006) and similar.

If it needs to be all in one I think the you'll find loads but I recommend you research the USB function, some of the software is rubbish and you get songs playing in alphabetical order etc, you want something that recognizes the usb albums as albums
 
Just one more left field suggestion. A pair of hifi powered speakers of choice. A secondhand cheap Android tablet that has OTG (most do now) and can take a micro SD card. Buy an app called usb audio player pro. This software is approx 5 pound/euro/dollars. It sorts your albums with a nice interface and you can plug your tablet into a digital port or dac for very high quality sounds

Good luck whatever way you go
 
Thanks for your help and suggestions

thinking about what you said, and me going forward a few years


currently I'm in a bedsit so to speak

i have a TV with a great sound bar
a PC with powered speakers (but I'm not using the speakers , i use my headphones)

a CD player (currently plugged into the sound bars AUX port)


When I move, the plan is to keep the TV and sound bar for cinema only in the living room
PC for games/Work (using speakers, so I might upgrade to surround sound eventually) in its own room

Music in the living room

so I could use the speakers I currently use and get a streamer thing you suggested and connect my USB stick and CD player to it or get an all in one solution
 
It would help if you had an idea of how much you are looking to spend.

When you say all in one unit, do you mean to use with your existing speakers or instead of? Are you saying all in one as you would like something small/compact or is space not so much an issue?
 
Yes I believe you could. On the interim you'd get a cheap tablet as I said for very small money, it would do the same thing. Even as a full stereo main setup you can plug a CD player to powerered speakers or indeed a dac,then speakers, the options are loads, the sound quality possible with not massive money is there with the right options
 
It would help if you had an idea of how much you are looking to spend.

When you say all in one unit, do you mean to use with your existing speakers or instead of? Are you saying all in one as you would like something small/compact or is space not so much an issue?

hi

I'm saying like all in one,. speakers, radio, usb port, and poss a CD player, I'm sure there will be such a thing these days, rather than an amp, Speakers etc all separate
 
Yes I believe you could. On the interim you'd get a cheap tablet as I said for very small money, it would do the same thing. Even as a full stereo main setup you can plug a CD player to powerered speakers or indeed a dac,then speakers, the options are loads, the sound quality possible with not massive money is there with the right options

could you use the tablet with a USB stick directly to my powered speakers?
 
I'd say you could plug a lead from headphones socket to your speakers (what speakers do you have). I'm sure you could plug a USB via an OTG cable but a separate SD card would be easier and tidier
 
Do your speakers have a digital input? Are you happy to use a phone/tablet/pc for selecting what you are listening to? Although this wouldn't give you CD or on air radio, you may want to consider a Raspberry Pi running picoreplayer and LMS. You can plug a USB stick or even a big USB drive into the Pi. I have a 4TB drive running off mine with no issues.

You would be looking at around £100 at a guess for a Pi, Case, power supply and digital out board. It's as simple as putting lego together.

I control mine via a browser on windows as shown in pic attached.
 

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My speakers are M-Audio AV-42






as I said, i just want to switch on and go
I don't want to faff about with menus, pc etc
 
You can plug a tablet straight into them via the aux connection on the front
 
Or…you could go for something like this if budget allows?
 
i suppose, if i think of the size of an all in one unit like the "Ruark R3"

couldn't i get something like a little tiny amplifier with has usb input and some small speakers ?

not sure on the prices that would be though ?
is it possible ?
 
It sounds like what you would like is an all in one amp/dac/streamer with a display so no need for third party controller and ideally some built in, half decent speakers. That is unlkely to come cheap, or at least not as cheap as something like this...

Not sure what formats are supported other than those mentioned in the description though but it does appear to playback from USB. I dare say there are more expensive/better models available but I have no idea of your budget.

Could be used in conjunction with your powered speakers or buy a separate small amp and passive speakers.

EDIT: Manual mentions FLAC playback too.

 
I did look at that Tibo (actually i think it was a streamer without a CD player), but i didn't really read up on it

so could i use my speakers on that in stereo ? if so , it looks like it could fit the bill !
 

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