HP Stream 7 Tablet running Foobar2000 and connected to external powered USB hub
Small Tablet Benefits
As I mentioned in Hybrid System Architecture, there are a number of low cost (under $200) Windows tablets currently being introduced into the market.
As an experiment, I decided to try one of these tablets as a dedicated Foobar2000 audio server to see how well it would perform.
If the sound quality isn't compromised, there are many advantages to this sort of setup.
For one, the PC component, being radically reduced in size and not requiring an external monitor or keyboard, would make it very portable and would allow you to fit it almost anywhere.
In the photo above, I have a 7" tablet sitting on top of a bedroom dresser.
Using the tablet as a Foobar2000 audio server, I then Wi-Fi remote control that server using my Foobar2000 Copilot phone app.
Any other minimal direct interaction with the tablet, you could do via the touch screen and onscreen keyboard.
Using a minimal system like this could thus keep your total system costs down.
The critical parts of this setup would be the quality of the external DAC, but also how cleanly it interfaces and is driven by the small tablet -- the USB connection and cabling could end up the 'weak links'.
Tablet Setup
I purchased an HP Stream 7 tablet from the Microsoft Store. It was on sale and with additional Microsoft discounts I had, I bought it for $64. It's original list price is $99.
It's a full Windows 8.1 tablet with a 7"" touch screen, 32GB of SSD space and 1GB of RAM. It runs the 32 bit vs 64 bit version of Windows. It also has onboard Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi.
That's an exceptional value, also considering it came with a 1 year free subscription to Office 365.
I do also have a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet, which is similar to the HP Stream 7, but has a little larger 8" screen. That tablet originally retailed for around $200. Currently a good value is the NuVision 8" Windows tablets for about $80.
But for this experiment, I decided to use the smaller HP Stream 7, since it is one of the smallest and least expensive Windows tablets available.
One concern I had was the tablet only comes with one micro USB port. That port is also used to charge it.
The issue is you cannot charge the tablet and use that port to connect to other USB devices at the same time. So while you have it connected to external USB devices it has to run off of battery power.
But the HP Stream's battery can last for several hours of use.
The Dell Venue Pro 8 has the same issue, also having a single micro USB port.
Another low cost tablet one might look at is the Winbook Tw801. It comes with a built in HDMI port and 2 USB ports, one full sized.
So to use the HP Stream 7 as a Foobar2000 audio server, you will need to use an external powered hub.
I used a Plugable USB 2.0 4-Port High Speed Hub from Amazon for about $16.
There is another external powered hub from Plugable that will charge tablets like the HP Stream 7 or Dell Venue 8 Pro at the same time you are using that port. In addition to 4 external USB ports, that Plugable external hub also includes an HDMI port and wired Ethernet port. But that hub costs about $79 on Amazon. That's more than what I paid for the HP Stream 7 itself.
Also in some ways, running the HP stream off its battery may actually be electronically quieter than running if off your home power mains.
To the 4 port external hub, I attached one of my external USB drives, storing thousands of uncompressed WAV music files. Also to that hub, I attached the external audio DAC. Both the audio DAC and USB hard drive draw power from the powered hub.
I use a StarTech OTG Host Adapter micro USB cable plugged directly into the HP Stream 7's micro USB port.
I tried a couple of smaller, inexpensive USB DACs I had -- the FiiO E17 (that I can also use as a headphone amp as well) and the HIFiMan HM-101 DAC. The FiiO E17 is about $100 on Amazon, while the HiFiMan HM-101 is about $35.
I typically hook up external USB DACs directly to a PC USB port, so I had concerns about using the external hub.
Also with a direct USB connection, I also typically use a high quality shielded USB cable. Some I can recommend are the Kimber USB cables.
With the external hub, I was also concerned about all the additional connectors needed and what 'electrical noise' they might introduce and how it would affect the sound. For this initial experiment, I didn't use any 'special' shielded USB cables, just regular cables.
Plugging in either the FiiO E17 or the HiFiMan did not require any special software setup. Windows found and automatically installed the proper audio drivers.
From the Foobar2000 'File>Preferences>Playback>Output' option, I then selected the proper audio device -- so Foobar2000 would send all audio to it.
I connected the external DAC to my MiniWatt small tube amp via a stereo 3.5mm to RCA cable.
Audio Results
For this initial attempt, with no cable optimizations, etc it actually sounded pretty good. I preferred the FiiO E17 DAC sound to that of the HIFiMan DAC, but the HiFiMan at $35 did not sound bad at all. I will have to try this setup with some of my other higher quality DACs.
Running off batteries, I did have to set the power options on the HP Stream 7 not to timeout and power off the tablet, otherwise that would terminate Foobar2000 playback.