I have a Raspberry Pi with a HiFiBerry Digi 2+ connected to a Schiit Multibit DAC for my critical listening but I’m looking for a low cost alternative for my rig upstairs where quality isn’t as important. I bought a Wiim Mini and a Xiaomi Mi Box S as I heard they worked with Roon but it’s my understanding they don’t have full resolution. Which one would be better, or is there a better low cost option?
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Get a cheap or refurb mini pc on amazon and a Topping d10s dac. Install roon or roon bridge on the cheap pc, hook up the d10s to usb.
I think the WiiM connects to Roon via Airplay?
So not hi res.
Another Pi with one of HiFiBerry’s DAC hats would work nicely with Roon for a reasonable cost.
Raspberry Pi. Will work fine into (almost) any DAC with a USB input.
You didn’t specify what your “rig upstairs” was though.
Chromecast Audio on the used market. Has optical out. You said quality isn’t that important, so why care about full resolution?
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Why look beyond the RPi/RoPiee ,if its currently working just duplicate if (IF you cab get a Pi)
I have a cheapy MyGica video streamer that Roon sees as Airplay but thats still much the same price
The other obvious suggestion is an Old Phone , I have old Samsungs doing nothing around the house
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for a simple one zone I found some really cheap (FOC) but they are not so expensive online - Sonos Play:3 and works great, even can be seen by Tidal and Spotify clients
can add another and create a stereo pair too if the room is bigger
Pis are not easy to come by so a different solution is likely preferable. You could try any of the other sbc out there instead of a pi. If they run dietpi then you can install Roon bridge on them and connect to any usb DAC.
I guess the RPi is probably the best option. I actually found one available on Amazon. Is the 2 gb model sufficient?
Raspberry SC15184 Pi 4 Model B 2019 Quad Core 64 Bit WiFi Bluetooth (2GB)
What other ones are available and would they be comparable to the Pi? It seems like the RPi is the standard.
Odroid is popular or beaglebone. If you can pick up a pi with 2gb go with that don’t need much for an endpoint and you get advantage of being able to run Ropieee
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Looks like Pi 4 is $140. I could have sworn my 3B+ was around $80 a year or two ago. That much of a jump in price? Seems like getting a used NUC would be the same price for alot more power.
Yeah in 2021 I bought a couple of Pi4’s 4GB models and they were $62 each. Now they are $160 on Amazon. Something like this looks like a more powerful option for not much more. https://www.amazon.com/MeLE-Fanless-Computer-Ethernet-Business/dp/B099WNJBYR/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?
I ordered a NUC and a HiFi Berry Digi2+ for the same cost as a Pi 4. Untill I get it assembled how do I enable Airplay from a Android Tablet? Thanks.
You can’t put a raspberry pi hat on a NUC or anything other than a raspberry pi or a clone perhaps.
Does it have the issue of a noisy USB? Or couldnt a digital out be added?
Just add a DAC via USB… Topping and SMSL have some good models. You could try a LMPS with the NUC/PC if you are really worried about USB noise but personally I’ve NOT really noticed any huge issues - that said I do like LMPS as reduces the build up of leakage current in my home - at least that’s my theory.
I have the Topping 10DS. So would connect the Topping DAC via USB to the NUC. Wouldnt that be a good option?
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you could also maybe try a USB isolation or jitter bug type device if you can find with the option of returning if you think its no benefit 
https://www.google.com/search?q=audiophile+usb+isolator
its a touchy subject and a rabbit hole of opinions…good luck.