Raspberry Pi Music Server, or in short: RPMS is built around a Raspberry Pi and Lyrion Media Server (LMS), also known as Slimserver or Logitech / Squeezebox, and serves as a streaming- and file-platform.

Installation is simply done with 3 scripts, without the need of a screen or keyboard to be attached to the Pi. For this installation, very limited technical knowledge is needed, after installation there is no configuration required, the installation takes only about fifteen minutes. After installation, boot the Pi, connect a (Squeezebox) player which is connected to your audioset and you are good to go!

What do I need for a complete streaming-system?

1. A Pi with RPMS installed, as the streaming-server
2. A separate Player which connects to the RPMS-server and transports the signal to your audioset; the player has an analog or digital output
3. Audioset with an analog or digital input, depending on the output of the player

Players

So, apart from the server, you also need a client or player which is a separate piece of hardware; this player must be connected to your audioset. For a player, you can choose the good old Logitech-hardware (also known as Squeezebox) which you still can buy second hand

You can transform any PC or desktop into a player by loading squeezelite. Or you can build a dedicated player, based on another Pi and install piCorePlayer onto that, a device like that can be called a piPlayer or piDAC, depending on the outputs, digital or analog. Both are drop-in replacements for Logitech-players.

Overview of Logitech Players

Who is RPMS intended for?

The target audience for RPMS is the audiophile enthusiast who would like to stream their local music collection, already in possession of a (good sounding) audioset, but does not have the skill or energy to be able or willing to set up a streaming-server like LMS

Anyone who have tried to install LMS in the past knows how difficult that can be, the goal for RPMS is to simplify this daunting task. And often, that person has a affinity from the past with LMS because of the possession of Squeezebox-equipment from the past: LMS has a long history from the late 90-ties...

For the one with a low audiophile bar or music interest, RPMS is less suitable, b/c of the hassle to acquire and maintain a local collection. That person is better off streaming from a service like Spotify or Tidal to a Bluetooth-speaker.

What's in RPMS?

An overview of what RPMS currently has in it and can do:

• easy to install - executing 3 scripts is all it takes, it is almost zero-conf (for now you'll need a Linux-PC, but we are working on it)
• easy to use - RPMS is designed with the user in mind (technical details are almost all hidden)
• streaming-server - provided by LMS, to stream music to a Squeezebox player
• file-server - like a NAS, it makes disk space accessible in your local network
• web-interface - to view and control all aspects of RPMS
• collection-export to a file - for sharing your collection with others
• integrated backup - with so-called disaster-recovery so that you are up-and-running again in minutes after a disk crash; without data loss and without having to re-configure anything
• integrated sync-server - with Synthing, to sync files, server-to-server or server-to-desktop back and forth, for example for sharing music files, backup your local data or copying transcoded files to your phone
• automatic update of core functionality (LMS and SyncThing)- you always have the latest-and-greatest versions, automatically, brought to you by using docker-technology
• transcoder - to transcode files from flac to ogg or mp3
• integrated update - literally via one push of a button you can bring RPMS to the latest version
• integrated flac-scan - search for errors in your music-files and repair them
• rest-API - so you can let other clients such as an app on your phone, script or desktop talk with RPMS

RPMS is not a player!

For clarity... liked noted above, RPMS only takes care of the de server side of the streaming; you always need a separate player to connect to your audioset!

This is done from the philosophy of strict separation of concerns: you want the client to keep as clean and light as possible to prevent (electrical) pollution or interference. That said, you can always connect your old familiar Squeezebox-hardware. Or build your own player based on Pi (DAC or digital-client), the possibilities are endless...

Why not use piCorePlayer for LMS?

It is noted that piCorePlayer is fantastic software, it indeed forms the basis for players based on a Pi. You can also use piCorePlayer to setup a LMS and Samba server, so why not do that? In my experience, you need far more technical knowledge for installation / configuration than with RPMS; for the target group of RPMS, the interested music lover, that technical approach goes just a little too far. RPMS on the other hand emphasizes simplicity. And as a bonus, RPMS has some functions over piCorePlayer like a transcoder of flac-scan which have much value to an end-user.

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