Here is an old Akai M8 reel to reel from 1963 which has been fitted with a Raspberry Pi, touchscreen and Just boom DAC running Volumio. Everything that was not needed has been stripped out and a new front panel manufactured. The EL84 mono block amplifiers running class A are very good and have been rebuilt and modified to suit. I must add that rebuilding valve amps is not for the beginner as the voltages present are lethal. I have also rewired all electricals to current modern standard and yes I am a qualified electronics technician. PLEASE don’t attempt this if you do not know what you are doing.
These units can be purchased very cheaply and I found this one broken at a garage sale with a burnt capstan motor and worn heads making the deck unsalvageable. The amps however are fantastic and getting expensive on Ebay where they are sought after for guitar and microphone amps.
Unfortunately most people throw away the original case.
My project has attempted to preserve some of the soul of this unit and fuse together old and new technologies. The sound of the single ended Class A El84 amps is simply superb and to be honest a real surprise. Volumio is a fantastic and mature product which works great and is now even better with Tidal HIFI support. I am sitting here listening to some jazz on this unit and am very impressed from my up cycling efforts.
WAUW!! Fantastic!