HiFi LibreELEC/KODI

The most important part of the software is the operating system. What matters to me is simplicity and great possibilities underneath. That's why my choice is LibreELEC – based on Linux kernel. It is fast, efficient and supports many devices. In addition, it is also safe. It operates below as a base.

The KODI (formerly XBMC) software, which is the multimedia center, is responsible for the interface and playback of content. It is this element that decodes video, audio and downloads content from the network. It has the possibility of continuous expansion thanks to plug-ins.

OS configuration output: info, uname, lspci, lsusb, dmesg

In August 2018, due to new problems with plug-ins, I changed my operating system to Windows 10.

The base consists of a minipc computer – Intel NUC DC3217IYE equipped with 4GB RAM, 64GB ADATA SX300 SSD, wireless network card with Bluetooth module – Broadcom BCM943228HMB. Unfortunately, these 3 components are not supplied with the computer and you need to purchase and install them by yourself.

This small box with a size of only 11x11x4 cm has 2 HDMI outputs for video and audio transmission, as well as 3 external USB ports (2 internal) and a LAN port.

It has a powerful Intel Core i3-3217U processor running at 1.8GHz, which is enough to play content even in 4K resolution. It is a 2 core unit, with 4 computational threads (2 threads for each core). The maximum power consumption of this CPU is 17W.

By default, Windows 10 was running on my computer, but I wanted a solution that would boot very quickly and could be operated 100% with remote control like TV or other HiFi kits. Especially with regard to the configuration of the device and its options.

That's why the choice was made on LibreELEC, a Linux system designed to work as a multimedia player, based on KODI (formerly XBMC).

In this way, it starts up in only 14 seconds (from sleep mode in just a half-second). It works very stable and meets all the goals I have set.

Much more has been achieved that i planned:
– playback of music by Bluetooth speakers/headphones
– support for YouTube, Netflix and thousands of radio Internet stations
– TV tuners support
– audio CDs can be ripped (for lossless formats such as WAV, FLAC or MP3/OGG compression).
– automatically downloading texts (lyrics for songs and movies subtitles), and displaying information about videos from the Internet
– playback of a very wide range of file formats ( http://kodi.wiki/view/Features_and_supported_formats#Format_support )
– continuous possibility of expanding the possibilities with ready-made plugins.

E-MU 0404 USB from Creative (which purchased the E-MU) is an audio interface designed for a small recording studio. The biggest advantage of this interface (which in my case is bigger than the computer used) are very low output noise and very high processing quality.

The interface has interesting parameters:
– has two inputs with built-in microphone preamplifiers with 48V phantom power supply
– two analogue outputs 1/4"
– stereo output 1/8"
– work with 24-bit/192kHz parameters (analogue)
– signal-to-noise ratio A/D – 112dB, D/A – 117dB
– optical digital input and output with switching capability to AES/EBU connector (24bit/96kHz)
– digital input and output S/PDIF with switchable AES/EBU connector (24bit/96kHz)
– MIDI input and output
– stereo headphone output
– monitoring without delay
– stand-alone operation (no PC is needed for operation).

When connected to Intel NUC, the audio signal is generated directly in the interface, causing no interferences from the internal components of the computer itself. An additional advantage is the protection against crackling when switching the device on/off in loudspeakers. This set fully meets my expectations both in terms of quality and capability.

With regard to the start-up of the E-MU 0404 USB in LibreELEC/KODI, no operations were required. Once connected to the computer, simply select E-MU as a player in the settings (it is possible to select digital or analogue output). Since then, the sound is already generated by the 0404 USB card.

Elmak Maxter Plus is a Polish product. Remote control made of good materials, with high resistance of the controller (arrows). It has quite interesting possibilities as a remote control:
– an infrared USB reader, wake up function (it is possible to sleep and wake up your computer)
– standard control of the computer with multimedia buttons
– virtual mouse (press the green button with arrows to control the cursor on the computer screen)
– TV control (code selects the TV manufacturer, so you can switch on/off TV and change channels or volume).

The remote control is working properly from the moment of connecting the tip to USB.

I use a rather old LG drive model GH22NP20 to playback CDs and DVDs. It can also record them. It is placed in the original external pocket with its own power supply. It works without any problems with USB connection.