http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/838 ... eaming-box is probably the quickest and easiest way to build a streaming Raspberry Pi Music Box. You don't need to understand Linux (though it always helps, and is a good skill to have).
As well as the R Pi itself, you're going to need a micro SD card. These are incredibly cheap these days, but make sure you get a
"Class 10" one, so it's fast enough. You're going to need a
5V 1A power supply with a micro USB plug on the end of it. You can get away with using (for example) a Samsung mobile phone charger, but a nice linear, regulated supply is better since you won't get the "live" leakage to the R Pi that you do with SMPSUs and it'll be electrically quieter. You'll need an audio output lead - 3.5mm stereo for the computer end to whatever will plug into your hi-fi.
The audio output from the socket on the R Pi is much better quality than it used to be, but it really is worth investing in a cheap DAC board: Ebay item number
331561418698 is the easiest to connect, and Ebay
331552761400 is the cheapest, but requires a bit of soldering.
You'll also want a box to house it all in - shop around on Ebay for a "hi-fi preamp" case. Remember that you can't completely enclose the R Pi 3 in metal, or the on-board wi-fi won't work!
My streaming receivers (I have three of them around the house) are in aluminium cases, using R Pi 2 boards and the Audiophonics Sabre DAC. I used a wi-fi dongle that fits into a USB port and has an external aerial (through an SMA connector): Ebay number
162017016499 works really well for the purpose.
The software that I suggested (above) gives the R Pi a web page output to your home network. This is accessible using anything that can run a web-browser - your computer, laptop, phone, or tablet! One (very minor) downside is that on Android you'll have to enter the numerical IP address of the streamer, but once you're there, you can bookmark it for future access.
I've built loads of these over the last few years, and given them away as presents to friends and family, and even as competition prizes on my radio programme! They're cheap enough to build, and the results are truly amazing!
