PCOWandre

Actually, these are just what I need for a little project I'm cooking up. I'd be happy to take them.

Aah, yes, running multiple DHCP servers (that aren't clustered) is a recipe for Interesting Times. Honestly, I think the RPi -- which was designed to be a learning tool/toy -- ends up in some places where it really isn't the right tool for the job. They're finicky about power, a little noisy and storage on SD is a bit crap. I use a few RPis for some niche jobs and I've got them network booting to avoid the SD card problems. Using a flashy audiophile linear power supply for an RPi is a bit of a lipstick on a pig case, apart from not being likely to deliver any measurabl

OK, the pictures make it look like an RPi in a nice box with a riser board for the I2S. So there's not a huge amount to go wrong there and not much scope for complex diagnostics. The most common cause of RPi headaches is a power supply that sags under load, so trying a replacement power supply is your first step. If the device isn't shutting down properly -- and most RPi distributions are a full Linux distro that won't be too impressed with unclean shutdowns -- you could be getting some filesystem problems which is why you're reflashing your card. The RPi doesn't fully 'shut off'

I like the Lenovo "Tiny" series for this job. Lots of them on fleabay for not much cash. I can't speak for a solution for Spotify, but mpd does an excellent job of reliably playing music while getting the hell out of the way.

For example -- connect scope to DC power supply. The ideal result is a flat line on the screen. If it isn't dead-flat, you have ripple or noise. Now you can change things and look for a change on the screen; and look at the type of noise and determine an appropriate fix.

Can you make a recording of what it sounds like? Might help work out what it is. Recently, a small town found their town-wide broadband outages were caused by noise emanating from an old fridge. The source could be a long way away.

We're going to agree to disagree on this one, OK? I'm going to say putting a linear power supply on a router/switch is just silly, you're going to tell me you can hear the difference, I'm going to point out the router/switch board has a number of switch mode supplies on it anyway, you're going to tell me that doesn't matter. The conversation is getting pretty circular at this point. There's going to be a bit about removing noise, I'm going to ask where the noise is coming from, and it stops and goes back to something else. Your next equipment investment should be a scope to find n

A beaten up Cisco 2600 from the 90s can keep up with hires audio streaming with 16MB of RAM and a 40Mhz CPU. The only router not able to keep up would be a faulty router. At this point, you can pretty much buy anything with the right connectivity and be happy. I still think you need to focus on finding the source of your noise problem rather than worrying abouts 'speeds & feeds' on the router.

Being a little more serious, you shouldn't see the EdgeRouter burning much RAM or CPU since you're not using a lot of features. Load it up with BGP and policy based routing and complex packet filtering and the load might go up. If you just need more SFP/SFP+ ports, go for a dedicated switch. Dig through fleabay, there's some bargain Procurves with 4 SFP cages.

C'mon, that's only a couple of power cables...

This again? No, that would be an anecdote, not proof.

Sounds is always going to be influenced by room and setup, but I'm extremely happy with mine. They're thin, so they fit nicely on my desk and the tweeters are refined enough not be glaring in near-field. They have a hidden reserve of bass in those little cabinets, too, and don't get stressed out playing loud. I found they improved for soundstage (again, in near field) with TPU wedges to tilt them up very slightly. We're only talking about 15mm of rise at the front.

Not only do they sound great, the jarrah finish looks great.

It's the free heating in summer that bothers me.

I'd be happy to take this off your hands.