AudioWanderer Puts Llamas on Notice with a Raspberry Pi-Powered Physical Winamp-Themed MP3 Player

Pseudonymous YouTuber "AudioWanderer" has brought back a classic of digital audio, in physical form: the Raspberry Pi-powered Winamp-inspired Raspinamp, which would probably do unspeakable things to llamas given half the opportunity.

"I have a nice and dusty vinyl collection," AudioWanderer explains of the project's inspiration, "but sometimes I just want to listen to my good old lo-fi MP3s. And [there's] nothing better to listen to my crispy dithered digital copies than the Winamp [player]!"

First released in 1997 by Nullsoft, Winamp became the go-to Windows software for playing back digital audio — and, fans will well remember, famously opened up with a recording of "DJ Mike Llama" proclaiming how the software "really whips the llama's ass."

Winamp's customizable interface drove major success, though the release of the ill-received Winamp 3 spelled its downfall — thankfully for its original creators a few years after they sold their company, Nullsoft, to AOL for $80 million.

The Raspinamp, as the name implies, is a dedicated Winamp device — or, at least, is designed to look that way. Inside the acrylic housing is a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B single-board computer (SBC) with a touchscreen display mounted on top. The Raspberry Pi automatically boots into Raspberry Pi OS, then loads the open source QMMP audio player — compatible with themes written for Winamp 2, providing that nostalgic look-and-feel.

A full guide to making your own Raspinamp is available in AudioWanderer's video walk-through, embedded above and on their YouTube channel.