FLAC playing

[jakesaunders27]

Hi,

Hope this is the best place to post this but I currently have a Rotel RA-02 with a Rotel RCD-02 and Quad 77-11L Speakers, I love this setup and I think it sounds great however that is when I'm listening to CDs... I would like to stream FLAC audio files to this system what equipment do I need, I have an Apple TV3 which is great for films however for music I want something higher quality and secondly it can't play FLACs either right? What is a 500 pound max streamer that can do this and would match my system well? Also what software would I need as I currently use iTunes for streaming but obviously this is no good for FLAC etc.

Thank You

Jake

 

[The_Lhc]

Well I'll suggest a Sonos Connect and then wait for some snob to come along and suggest it isn't good enough for your system, which is nonsense.

 

[daveh75]

As you're an Apple/iTunes user, use ALAC instead of FLAC.

 

[The_Lhc]

Oh yeah, good point.

 

[jacking]

As you're using iTunes you could add the Audirvana plug in music player which will integrate with iTunes and improve the sound quality (including FLAC, ALAC and even mp3) of all music. I think I paid around £50 for mine. Also you could then add a DAC like the Meridian Explorer for £250 which will connect to your amp. Sounds great on my system which has a MacMini as front end. Not sure how things work with AppleTV though.

 

[glawrie]

Recoding your files to Apple Lossless format makes sense if you plan to continue to use the Apple TV - it is an arrangement that I have found is easy to set up, and works very well.

The challenge will be if you want to use the Meridian DAC as jacking suggests. Recent Apple TVs (i.e. versions 2 and 3) only have HDMI and Optical outputs, and the Meridian Explorer only has USB input. I'm not sure putting an extra Optical to USB converter would be helpful, so if this is what you want to do you'll need to either:

* replace the Apple TV with something that can output a USB stream: any intel spec mac mini with a Core2Duo chip should do and not cost very much (second hand)

* use a different DAC that accepts optical input, such as the FiiO D03K.

 

[amcluesent]

Apple TV resamples everything to 48Khz and you really want to keep bit perfect.

>I would like to stream FLAC audio files to this system what equipment do I need<

The new QED uPlay Stream at £150 is well priced for a 24/96 capable wi-fi streamer, just connect to a line-in on the amp. You'll need a UPnP server, minimserver is good for music and is free to use.

 

[jakesaunders27]

sorry for the late reply but thanks guys few options for me to look at there