Before I deep dive into Volumio, is this realistic?
I have an older console (AM/FM/SW + Record Player), this thing is from the 60’s. Beautiful but the radio Tuner and amp are shot. I want to replace the radio tuner assembly with a wide but short touch screen with Volumio + PI possibly. I don’t see a need for Radio as I have poor reception where I’m located anyway. So OK to lose (aerial radio)
So can I:
a) Add a tactile knob/encoder for volume control. Maybe another for track selection / play/pause.
b) typical Audio inputs (RCA / 3.5mm) for Phono and maybe 1 extra for ???
c) Pipe this out to a simple amplifier I have already. (prefer wired but my AMP is BT enabled)
d) bonus if I can bring in some internet radio.
I primarily just want to use spotify and play records.
yes you can.
a) Add a rotary encoder
b) You can add one input with for example the Hifiberry DAC+ ADC Audio Board. (never tested as phone pre-amp though)
c) You can use the RCA out of the same board as input for the Amplifier
d) Internet radio is part of Volumio.
While it requires the premium Volumio product I can confirm that using an analog to S/PDIF audio converter feeding a USB input results in excellent sound quality. Volumio will recognize the converter and automatically shows it as an input choice in the home page of the main “Music” menu. This makes it very easy to switch sources.
A physical volume control and automatic amplifier shutdown are relatively easy to add using plugins and limited additional hardware.
I haven’t seen any way to add a physical switch for sources.
Those higher end console stereos from the 60s and 70s, particularly the Magnavox “Micro-Matic” had some very good quality record changers. Some were indeed excellent pieces of furniture with the majority of the cost of the highest-end models contained in the console/cabinet itself. If you want to try to imitate the signature “warm, rich” sound then find a good quality, low power amp using germanium transistors. Presuming you’re still using high-sensitivity loudspeakers like the originals (surely the originals have been re-coned or replaced), the large cabinet volume means you don’t need a great deal of amplifier power.