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There are a lot of smart people out there doing just about anything music related with a RPi. But like @Shakeydeal eluded to they are more work...for sure not plug and play. Just like some people want an active crossover and a measurement mic others want to wire up their speakers and be done. I'm more of a play around with things before the speaker than speaker tweaker, though I do have an active crossover and mic. I don't stream anything, keep everything local to me. So not much help on Anything with Amazon Music. I know lots of RPi people like and use Volumio (no idea if it works with Amazon). Give these links 30 seconds of you time and you should have enough to start searching and figure out if RPi and Amazon are a fit. Though I'm sure you will be delighted with Lumin/iPad. Just throwing out options. https://volumio.org/ https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/what-streamer-for-amazon-music-to-topping-d50s.24309/ https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/d6dtmv/amazon_music_hd_streaming_to_raspberry_pi_streamer/ I gather that Amazon is not letting everyone have access to their API (way to interact with somebody's else's software). But Sonos can do it so it is possible. I doubt Amazon is looking for audio enthusiasts directly. More of a way to keep Prime members hooked and putting trucks on the road for purchases.

But you can hear the difference between $50 and $2100. 😜 I'm not looking for a fight or debate on what people can/can't hear. I get the argument that if my system was more resolving then I could hear a difference, my system must suck. I rode that wave for years and years and probably 10s of thousands of dollars trying to eek that next little bit out of vinyl set ups. AND I totally get wanting to spend money on a hobby. I have absolutely made totally ridiculous A/V purchases in the past for no other reason than I wanted to or thought it would help. Some times you just want to blow some disposable income. Far be it from me to tell you where/how to do that. Heck I have a $300 fozgometer that has been used exactly twice. I doubt that was money well spent....but maybe, just maybe I got that last .0001 percent out of my azimuth. Don't forget the correct test LP for it. Because the 5 you already have aren't good enough😁 Still I think (my opinion) based on my swapping out several up-stream bits from my 4 or 5 DACs that if there is a difference to be heard it is more bias than reality....but sometimes you have to figure that out for yourself. Give this entire thread a read with an open mind. Dig into the links a bit. Note that it is not specific to a streamer and that "bridge" can be swapped with streamer. From a 10,000 foot view it is talking about "things" up stream from your DAC. Specifically power supplies prior to the DAC. But the idea, I think, applies to everything in front of your DAC. As long as it is functioning properly it should give the DAC what is needed. https://community.roonlabs.com/t/linear-power-supply-question-does-it-matter-if-streaming/166388 I could surely buy into convenience, ease of use, build quality (RPis are cheap feeling), plug and play, no DIY, etc. easily justifying a $,1,500+ purchase. How are your room treatments? Just a guess but more bang for your buck with 1K there.

Interesting, about apple ecosystem vs Android. Kind of consistent with what I found on some other "high end" A/V software. I think apple is so ubiquitous with money is no object types given that any phone with a screen is called an iPhone weather it is an apple product or not. That market does not seem concerned in the least about Android market share. In 2019 I decided (I thought) I was done with jerking cables, getting up on ladders, skinning my knuckles and the like. Got a high end audio store (not many of them left) you know, the kind that does not talk to you when you walk in to "redo" my house. The idea was a two-phased approach, due to money on my end. First was to install all the equipment to run a whole house automation system plus an outdoor TV that was controlled by that system. Next round would be connecting it to my HT, Living room, bedroom and adding an 8-speaker outdoor system around my pool and fire pit. They touted how simple it was, and how even though it came with a remote I'd really want to use a tablet and my phone. I was super excited my wife was too. We decided we would not go on any vacations that year or eat out much to offset the cost. The installers showed up and cut/pulled/hammered/snaked....they were here for two days. At the end of day two the 3 guys were like "Oh you don't have an iPhone?" No problem the Android app is due for updates and just slightly behind the iPhone app. It was basically unusable. Just a terrible interface and crashed all the time. I'm not exagerating...it was unusable. To their credit they were very cool about taking all the home automation stuff back and refunding all of my money except the install labor which as it turned out was sub-contracted out from the A/V store. Still have and love the outdoor TV with regular controls. The rest of the house and 8-speakers outside never happened. Had the Android part worked even at a basic level I'm sure I'd have moved forward. Happy that you answered and it makes sense....but my question about U1 vs U1 mini was for the OP @Fido. Rereading I totally missed the mark there. Good to know that the Lumin stuff is more apple-centric. Casually reading I've seen lots of people over at the Roon forums like the Lumin app but did not pick up on the apple v android part of it. Thanks!

I am all for spending $$$ in anything audio. That said you don't need an iPad. I've been using an old cast off tablet for a controller, but it was not too my liking (size and landscape only) got a tip to look at 2021 version of Kindle fire 10. At 89 bucks refurbished they are basically throw away. I'm done taking my phone anywhere near the pool now. Get a floor stand and put it next to your listening chair and leave it there. Get another for roaming around the house. Great build quality, bright, fast, cheap, tons of screen space. If dropped/cracked/broken by a family member you are only out the cost of a nice LP. Sorry for veering off the Lumin topic. But then again I don't think you'll find many serious digital contributors here beyond the handful of usual suspects that we've seen in similar topics. Lumin T2 was on my short list. If you really believe the streamer makes a difference why wouldn't you go with the U1 over the U1 mini? Curious because at first I was convinced I needed X, then X plus a super duper LPS, then a music specific switch, then at least two of the switches needed to be replaced to insure cleanliness. Don't forget optical Ethernet. I'd try the Lumin and the RPi at an additional $50 you would always have a fallback and be able to answer the data movement question for yourself....your USB cable probably cost more than that. Good luck on the hunt. Sorry I couldn't be more help on the Lumin side. With so much high praise I'm sure you will be happy.

Sorry no Lumin experience. Head over to the Roon forums. It is a Lumin love fest. You have a DAC besides the Node don't you? I'd try a RPi in a fanless Flirc case and appropriate software. Use the saved money to make an extra mortgage payment....or five. You are just moving data around a network prior to the DAC.

That's because I'm only showing the part that has been "cleaned". It was fine when I worked here a day or two a week but now that it is the place I spend most of my waking hours I'm in need of a change.

5 feet would put them in the middle of my room. Keep in mind this a 2nd, 3rd or possibly 4th "best" listening room in my house. My use case is smallish and great sound given the constraints of the room and reasonable budget since not my main listening option. I played around a lot with positioning. The pictures were more to drive home the mess I'm trying to tame and how small the cabinet shipped to me in error was. I went so far as to take them to my main room (easy since they are active wireless). I really wanted to love them, I simply did not. The speakers need to work in their given space, not require a home improvement loan to suit their needs. Correct on the LSX, but I disagree they are "intended" as desktop speakers. Look at the link you posted and the placement on top of cabinet with lots of vinyl...surely that is a main living space not somebody's desk. For us over the top types we might think we need $1,200 desktop speakers that take up 1/3 of our desk but plenty of people are using LSX in loft spaces, main living rooms and as mains for TV/Movies. Yes they make desktop pads for them, but they are not desktop-only speakers. I spent tons of time on non-Klipsch sites and there was a lot love for LSX/LS-50W/LS-50WII. I thought about trying the LS-50WII since Crutchfield has such a liberal return policy...but I knew at the same price I paid for my KHorns, I'd never keep them. Did not seem right to get them knowing I'd return them. Still I'd like to hear a pair. At twice the price of the LSX they would need to be ten times better, if only 2x as good as what I heard form the LSX they would be massively overpriced. It is very subjective. I've always been amazed how much love for the Cornwall I/II there is. I personally have always liked the Chorus I or Forte II better, yet I fully realize I'm in the minority. I note the Primaluna in your signature. I bought a PL preamp and amp without ever hearing them based on similar, almost universal praise online. While I liked the PL preamp just fine I could not get rid of the amp fast enough. Preferring numerous tube amps I've had or already had. Also, I would not say I was disappointed with the sound of the KEF-LSX at these levels nothing truly sounds bad. Just that they sounded more similar than different from the Sonos pair. Sonos, IMO, gets a lot of undeserved bashing. They really fill a sweet spot(again my opinion) for people wanting good sound AND convenience/simplicity - they just work. Given the LSX are almost 4X as expensive as the Sonos and more similar then different it just did not make sense when I already owned the Sonos. Also I see a lot of KEF app/firmware/support hatred on line. I don't get that same vibe from Sonos users. Not that any of that really matter for me as I'm firmly a Roon user. Hopefully I did not come off as KEF bashing. I was more surprised that I didn't find them more appealing. Like I said above I wanted to love them, heck I bought them after thinking about probably 10 or more different options. Different stroke, right?

@DizRotus this kinda silliness is right up your alley

So I've bee trying to get my home office cleaned up, better looking and more usable. I suffer from being a terrible slob. Stuff piled up everywhere on my desk. 3 days worth of coffee cups...you get the idea. I'm working form home 100% now, so need it to actually be workable. I'm very fortunate to have a dedicated office from when we built the house, not a converted bedroom or repurposed dining room. One slight problem is that our living room shares a wall with my office and long ago I decided to have zero equipment in the living room, just a TV and 5.1 in-wall, in-ceiling Klipsch speakers for a clean look. Cable box, NAD T-758, UPS, Router, Switch, etc. all got moved to my office and cables/wires snaked through the walls. It's always been an ugly mess but with my office door closed at least the living room looked nice. What could be more motivating than shopping for speakers? Of course that needs to be done BEFORE the desk is cleaned off and piles of crap on the floor sorted out. I already have a Sonos One SL pair on my actual desk just a few feet from my ears. My plan was to rearrange the room so my desk faced the front wall. Move the speakers up and away maybe on stands or at least the new AV cabinet I planed to buy. I won't bore you with the details of my on-line purchase of the AV cabinet that was supposed to be 57 inches long and showed up in my house looking like Barbie play house furniture at 39 inches. Hardly enough room to hide any of my junk. Good news, bad news they said keep the 39" version for free (good) and the 57" version will be shipped directly from manufacturer in 3 months (Bad). I had a pair of Klipsch RB-5s (I think) sitting idle and I'd been reading tons of good things about the various KEF bookshelf, active speakers. The KEFs have 4 DACs for the 4 Drivers and an amplifier for each driver all networked wirelessly or with Cat-5. Everything contained inside the speakers. Nothing needed except two power cords and electricity. I though they would be the center of my new system and a clutter free wire free set up to get my messy room in order. I was quite disappointed in the KEFs. I really wanted to like them. Listened to them a ton, played around with placement. After all the great reviews I was sure I had to be wrong. They had some decent midrange, but the highs were a bit harsh and fatiguing. The bass was on the over done side, slow and flabby. They sounded a lot like the Sonos (bass heavy) slightly better detail and four times the cost. No thanks. A bigger surprise was that the Klipsch compared to the Sonos were also losers. On paper the Klipsch should win as they were being fed by a much better DAC and a vintage Carver amp. More equipment to pack into an already tight space but I was willing to put up with speaker wires cluttering my desire for a clean space if the sound was better. The RB-5 came out the bottom of the three lacking bass compared to the two newer speakers that are bass forward. They had good midrange, as would be expected, but all in all were very lifeless in this room. I could not believe I liked the tiny Sonos SL over either KEF or Klipsch...but I heard what I heard. Fast forward a few weeks and there is a new pair that might be here to stay. I've always wanted to hear a speaker with AMTs. So much positive feedback form @Chris A @Rudy81 @Thaddeus Smith and others...but right now no time for DIY. Plus I wanted something that looked nice in my office since it is so much more accessible to visitors than my dedicated room in the basement. The Wharfedale - evo 4.1 are a bit bigger than I was after. After half a day I am digging the detail, separation of instruments and the bass is spot on. Heavy, present, but not overpowering bass. Very well balanced. I'm pretty happy with my first go at the British sound. Well done Wharfedale. When the correct cabinet shows up it will be mounted on the wall like a floating shelf and I'm guessing the speakers will end up on stand either side of the cabinet. For now I'm making due with them too close together on top of my free cabinet Carver amp, DAC and various cables all over the place. So much for decluttering my work space...at least music sounds good. The original look and expecting the KEFs to kill the Sonos. I'm so sick of looking at that rats nest. You can't imaging the top shelf before I cleaned it off for the speaker test. What a mess. The middle shelf has already been purged of DVR, Blu-Ray, dust, crap, etc. Figuring I must be not hearing what I should I decide to throw some trusty Klipsch into the mix. Tried to stick with the plan and the KEF. Looking cleaner but way too small for my purpose. Hopefully when the big one shows up and it is wall mounted everything will be tucked away. In the end, after about a week the KEF had to go back to where they came. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Maybe in a different room, who knows...not my cup of tea there Britannia. Now we are on track...but the squirrels wires are back. Two steps forward one back. Time to tackle that desk. From the cabinet companies web site. Not sure I'll ever get this streamlined. NorStone KHALM-140 from France if anyone is interested. Here you can see that ATM a bit better than my crappy cell phone pic with poor lighting. Interesting that they are bass reflex with the slot port down between where the white ash wood ends and the black base with "Wharfdale" is. Up close you can see daylight between the speaker and base.

New, modest travel rig. 4TB, yes 4 WiFi drive that gets to be a good distance from the phone and headphones (overhead bin on a flight). No SD card limits, no OTG cable hanging out of phone. Took over 12 hours to load ~6,000 albums or about 70,000 songs. Never again to be wanting that one album that is at home but not with me. Liberating to not need any streaming service. All "my" music.

1,500-1,600 easy. If you like the look there aren't many, let alone close to you.

Best up 1-piece $1500. Nice splits with low mileage AL trim 2,200+ Location matters a lot

^^^ pretty sure in your family it was you😉