Multimedia source for Ifi ZEN DAC

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories Source Gear / Other
1

Hello everyone,

Maybe what i’m looking for exist, but I just don’t know how it’s called. My goal would be to use my Ifi Zen DAC without my computer. So I was thinking of a device with a screen, that I could keep next to my DAC. It would have some sort of multimedia player. All my music is a NAS, so If it could connect to it through wifi that would be great. Playing video would be a plus.

I’m thinking that maybe using an old smartphone might do the trick, but there must be a better way. I checked online and USB 3.0 type B to type C exist, so it must be possible to connect the Zen DAC to something else than a PC.

I guess i could also use a Raspberry, but by the time I had a touch screen and figure it all out (never used a Pi before) that might turn into a big project.

Does a neat solution exist?

2

You can look for a music streamer or transport. I think it will fit your need.

3

Thanks for the keywords, looks like what I was looking for.

Been doing a bit of google search and it seems that most of the products are quite expensive. I did find this, which is exactly what i want:

Anybody has experience with it or has an off-the-shelf product that does not break the bank?

1 Like
4

I think it’s a pretty solid option. John Darko did a video about it if you want to see more.

If you want a hassle free option, I can recommend the Allo USBRIDGE. The only downside about it is that you have to control it from your phone or web interface and AFAIK you don’t have spotify connect or roon in the USBridge

5

I can get all the hardware (PI 4, touch screen, enclosure, power source) for 180$. So I’m probably gonna go for it.

The Allo USBRIDGE looks ok, but has no screen. That’s a feature I don’t want to pass on.