Raspberry Pi 5 as network storage, music server, and player

1. OVERALL SYSTEM CHOICE

Music servers and network audio are subjects which appear regularly on hifi forums, often regarding the overall system configuration - whether to host a music server on a personal computer, or a standalone server, or network attached storage device.  Quite a few of us have chosen the latter option; NAS, but this can be difficult for a newcomer - commercial NAS devices often bundle their own branded server software, which then can make it confusing to know which control apps are compatible, and if other devices such as streamers can be integrated.

A good alternative to commercial NAS devices is a suitably configured Raspberry Pi mini-computer, but again, newcomers are often nervous about how complicated this may be to assemble and configure.  And to make the idea even less appealing there are some howto's on the internet which show a messy collection of electronic boards connected by an equally messy series of cables!

With the introduction of the Raspberry Pi 5, however, the hardware situation is now more elegant - there are expansion boards for M.2 NVME drives which mount neatly underneath the Pi, with optimal connection to the Pi's PCIe bus (not the USB bus as with earlier Pi's) and there are equipment cases which neatly enclose all of this hardware without looking bulky and "geeky".

NEXT - 2. CHOICE OF HARDWARE

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