I want to play my music via plex and feed it to my dac via usb or coax (ideally i2s). Right now I use a pi2aes and roopiee to play music from my roon core. I can play music on my plex server pc fine but my 2 channel system is far away from my pc and so I want to be able to start using plex to play music to it.
Typically streaming devices like lumin, holo red, bryston bdp etc… don’t seem to support plex. What devices support plex so I can stream my audio to my dac ?
Have you considered installing Plexamp headless on your Pi?
I did but someone on our audio discord mentioned that pi kinda sucks for accessing databases because sd cards suck for this purpose (installing an os that accesses databases).
Are there any other devices besides a pc that would work ?
This is about installing the audio player on the Pi that’s connected to your audio equipment. It’ll act as a streaming target for your Plex setup and can be remote controlled from your other Plexamp apps or accessed via web browser.
It’s not about installing/running a Plex Media Server on the Pi.
That being said… you’ll find a number of users who are doing just that and would argue about how much sense of that quote 
What he argued was that even installing a plex player on the pi which must be installed via microsd and has to then access database files on my nas is somehow not good. Ill ask him to take a look at this thread.
Regardless lets say one doesn’t want to use a pi for 1 reason or another. Maybe someone wants a more robust / polished device (like a lumin or bryston bdp). Or a device they think sounds better. Are there any other options besides pi?
Thanks!
If you look at it that way, every of your Plex clients does access database files on your NAS.
Of course it doesn’t do that directly. It uses the Plex API for client access.
Plexamp on the Pi is a real Plex client, not some hacked-together thing.
The SD card is only used for booting and loading the app. Everything else is streamed from the Plex server. No actual “database” is used inside of Plexamp.
As for other devices: theoretically you could use any Android powered device, as long as you have a way to install apps on it. (either from the big app stores Amazon and Google or side-loaded)
Most of the ‘audiophile’ marketed streamers on the market today are not android based. I wonder if plex will start being adopted like roon into these streamers.
I’d say that most are. Simply because it isn’t feasible to develop an own operating system for a device which is sold in rather low volumes.
The manufacturer may just have chosen not to tell their customers…
Huh? So DCS network streamer, bricasti m5, lumin u1/u2, bricasti bdp3 are android based? What audiophile streamers are android based?
Can plex even work with bluesound node?
Plexamp can use Airplay and Chromecast. But you don’t get gapless playback with android chromecast.
A very good little streamer that I use with my plexamp setup is the WiiM Pro. Excellent device. You have to set up the WiiM with a phone app, but you then can see it in plexamp and send plexamp to the WiiM from your cellphone. On a computer you can choose the wiim as your sound output and plexamp will send it there. Its also a good price at $150 US dollars.
How do they work together? I went on the website for WiiM Pro and they don’t mention plex.
I think I understand what you are trying to do. I don’t know your exact setup but, let me offer this.
The way it works is, the WiiM device is a network streaming device with chromecast and airplay. So it works functionally the same as a chromecast. Typical use case. Top level explanation.
Now that the WiiM and your hardware is setup how does it work with Plexamp? Magic. Kidding aside, once the WiiM is setup you simply need to go into the Plexamp on your phone, => select player => tap on the player named WiiM, this will then cast to the WiiM, the WiiM will then send to the DAC etc…
To be clear the WiiM does not download any apps onto it. You don’t need the app store. The WiiM is using chromecast or airplay to send and receive data and play music. This might not be what you had in mind, but that is how this kind of setup works. I personally use both the WiiM for other streaming things, but I have a dedicated Raspberry Pi 3B+ as my go to device for Plexamp. The Raspberry pi is my Plexpoint. (Plexamp Endpoint)
For example, in your case, you can test out the concept using a cellphone/tablet. If you have Plexamp on your computer, and Plexamp on your phone/tablet. You can use Plexamp on your computer to select music, hit play, then select the player you want, your tablet/phone in this case, the music will stop playing on the computer and start playing on the tablet. And you can continue to use the computer to search for songs or playlists to play next.
Once that is established and working, take that one step further if you have a USB Dongle DAC plugged into the tablet/phone, and the dongle DAC is plugged into an amplifier and speakers you will get the music.
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So with this simple case, you could use an old cellphone running Plexamp, and a Dragonfly, or Helm Bolt, or Chord Mojo, and you have a simple setup there that is easy to maintain and use. But a more permanent solution would be something like a WiiM or Raspberry pi, or chromecast, device etc… The Plex server computer where your music is stored, is similar to the roon core you mentioned, and the raspberry pi’s with headless plexamp are the roon ready endpoints, like the bluesound node or as I like to call them Plexpoints!
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