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SB Touch...buh bye. Hello Android Media Box...

OK folks, here we go:

MINIX NEO X5 RK3066 Dual Core Cortex A9 TV Box

RK3066 Datasheet (PDF download)

Just got one of these $99 Android boxes from a US retailer yesterday. Prior to ordering, I had been researching the device a bit and it turns out it is fairly well supported on
Facebook and its own forum. Over the weekend, I scoured the forum and armed myself with
firmware updates, rooting instructions and a few other specific apps in anticipation of receiving it.

Anyhow, within a few hours of opening the box I had the device rooted, with the latest Jelly Bean firmware installed and my Google Play account details set. Basically at this point, I had just turned my 46" LED TV screen into an Android tablet that I was now controlling with my Android phone via the vendor's free remote client app. I installed a number of well known streaming apps and then plugged the unit into my trusty Sony EP9ES via the available TOSLINK port on the MINIX. To my surprise, it sounded very good! As good as I've heard streamed content to be through my SB Touch anyways.

Now it was time to try some of my lossless flac files. I haven't bought into the high rez game yet, however I do have a substantial collection of redbook audio ripped. I had heard that a beta version of XBMC had recently been released for Android, so I decided to install this app to access the audio files on my network drive as I could see that it (XBMC) supported my preferred format and gapless playback. Prior to proceeding, I wanted to check out one other thing. The MINIX device has (3) USB 2.0 ports, but I could not confirm that the device in fact supported USB Audio. For giggles, I pulled out my Valab DAC and plugged it into the USB port. The USB light lit up on the DAC, so I patched it into my GFP-750 and selected it as the source. I then launched the XBMC app, found my network drive and selected a flac file to play. I almost sh*t myself when I saw the USB light flicker on the Valab and then heard the sound that was coming through my speakers! Plug and play USB audio support - no drivers, no snap crackle pop, no dropouts. Wow. The sound was absolutely fantastic. What a great way to consolidate my favorite streaming apps and have my ripped collection just a click away as well. All controlled remotely from the comfort of my easy chair and viewed on my big screen TV. I AM Slothman!

In summary, this was all an exercise in music listening convenience for me and obviously NOT an audiophile quest. However, I do believe that devices such as these and the applications being developed are on the verge of further revolutionizing this hobby in a big way soon. After my initial experience with this (basic) media box, I can certainly see why Logitech decided to kick the SB Touch to the curb. I hope this thread may spark a little more discussion and interest in these Android media boxes/ mini PC's. I haven't seen much mentioned about them here or on computeraudiophile.
slothman

Showing 7 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
Interesting device. Might have to give it a try. I own two SB Touches running external DACs currently. Used Roku Soundbridges prior with same DACs. Sound quality has never been an issue for me.

Multifunction devices like this would indeed appear to be the wave of the future. Cool stuff!

So Slothman, sounds like you are finding sound quality via USB with this device to be the cats meow, better than prior SB Touch via S/PDIF? I might pick one up today just to hear if that is the case.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
"I am unsure of what negative influences there may be on the digital signal of this device in its current configuration (chipset, firmware, power source, etc.) However, I am certain that one of the best things going for it is the fact that it is essentially a quiet PC."

That's an important thing and could well be it.

Even my old Roku Soundbridge (similar Wifi connection to remote noisycomputer, similar to TOuch) to external DAC sounded very good. I really did not notice a difference switching to Touch and I think my TOuch digital currently is still just about as good as most anything I have heard, at least on my main audio system.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
"If it supports USB audio, there should be no difference between this device and a Mac Mini"

Actually, there would appear to be many technical differences between the two. ALso the price is way different. IS there a sound quality difference or other performance differences in the end? I would not expect much of one there in a normal scenario.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
SLothman/others,

What other similar devices are out there these days? How about the newer Roku boxes? I always figured these would pick up for the old SOundbridges for audio among all the rest but was never quite sure and ended up switching to SB (which soon after also became history).
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
Hmm, I wonder which OS sounds better, Linux or Android? :-)

PErsonally I don't think it matters so much as that the whole concept is implemented well.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
I started dabbling with xbmc media server (on Windows) and using my android tablet to control it. Looks promising early on. Not quite ready to dump my Squeezebox devices yet, though I am interested in forging ahead to perhaps at least try a device like the MINUX. I also created a complete FLAC copy of my music library, which is currently mostly WAV, to dabble with and see how WAV versus FLAC shakes out with XBMC.

Regarding a device like MINIX to run a replacement on, my main concern regarding sound quality using an external DAC would be RFI noise levels associated with any general purpose computing device like this in close proximity to the rest of my audio gear. I have found a little physical and electronic isolation between computers and audio gear goes a long way towards delivering excellent sound quality.
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,842 posts
 
"Mapman, since you already have a Squeezebox Mediaserver setup, you could use the SqueezePlayer app to turn the MINIX into a Squeezebox. Then you should be able to still use any Squeezebox controller like SqueezeCommander or Logitech's app."

That's a really good point!

I use Squeezeplayer already on my Visio Android tablet, essentially turning it into a Squeezebox and/or SB remote controller, so not a stretch to use it on another Android device to make it a Squeezebox. In addition to existing remote controllers I already use (laptops and handheld PC via browser, android tablet via Squeezebox Controller or Squeezeplayer apps) I could then use SB Controller or Squeezeplayer apps on the Android media box using TV as display.

That would be cool....

I had not thought about it but I might buy stock in whoever owns the Squeezeplayer app. That solves the problem of hard SB devices no longer being made, as long as Logitech MEdia server continues to run. It may be able to control other media software servers now or in the future as well, which would be very nice indeed!
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