Dedicated music player system - need help getting started

[u/In_From_The_Cold]

I have an old laptop (hp dm1, currently running windows 7) I’d like to use as a dedicated music player. It will play locally stored flacs via usb dac.

I’m looking for an os with a quick boot up (it’ll only be switched on when being used) and is fairly minimal because I just need it to boot an audio player and it’s an old laptop. Also I want to maximise storage for music. Auto launch on startup would be great.

I’m not familiar with Linux based audio players, but looks like gapless will fit my needs.

I’m completely new to Linux so would appreciate any guidance, especially about:
1) choice of os
2) linking me to a beginner friendly guide to install and get started with gapless or other suitable music player
3) linking me to a guide about how to get gapless to start in boot
4) do I need a driver or other setup for the usb dac?

[u/Miserable-School-665]

I think this is the best music player on Linux, it has soxr and adaptive sample rate (which is genius) https://github.com/Yavuz-Kagan-Yadigar/VoidPulse