Imac to hifi

[Drummerdave]

Can someone please advise on the best way to stream itunes from my imac to my hifi? I also have an ipad which I would like to use as a remote, and I believe there is a free app that can do this. Do I simply need to buy an airport express and plug it into my amp? Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

I am using an airport express it seems to be the ideal solution when a TV is not involved. If you want the option of audio and visual streaming you should check out the Apple TV.

One day I will get either an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone for the remote applications.

 

[John Duncan]

Yes, unless the iMac is close enough to do so.

It'll only stream iTunes content though, unless you get Airfoil (which I use for Spotify).

 

[John Duncan]

Veri:If you want the option of audio and visual streaming you should check out the Apple TV.

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:Yes, unless the iMac is close enough to do so.It'll only stream iTunes content though, unless you get Airfoil (which I use for Spotify).

I also use Airfoil with Spotify and now I tend to only use Spotify because it has imported all my iTunes playlists.

When Spotify plays a locally stored track from iTunes it has a 2 second gap 15 seconds into each track, any clues JD?

BTW doesn't happen when Airfoil is set to play 'System Audio'.

 

[Drummerdave]

Thanks, it'll only be for itunes audio streaming so the airport express should do the trick then.

 

[John Duncan]

Not a clue - I will find a locally stored track later and try it.

 

[Sorreltiger]

Am I correct in thinking that your AVI amp doesn't have an optical input? If that's so, you would do well to get a DAC to handle the optical signal from the Airport Express. The results are so much better than making do with phono.

My V-Dac may not be the last word, but it has made a huge difference and Spotify Premium is much closer to my CD player's sound quality.

 

[Drummerdave]

Sorreltiger:
Am I correct in thinking that your AVI amp doesn't have an optical input? If that's so, you would do well to get a DAC to handle the optical signal from the Airport Express. The results are so much better than making do with phono.

My V-Dac may not be the last word, but it has made a huge difference and Spotify Premium is much closer to my CD player's sound quality.

I don't believe it does have an optical input. Would a Cambridge Audio Dacmagic be the one to get, or are there better options. Wasn't planning to spend huge amounts.

 

[Craig M.]

the dacmagic is great for the money, if i was buying again at around that price though, i would definitely demo the arcam dac. in absolute terms, i found (min filter setting) the treble to have a slight bright edge to it, and the bass to be a little bloated. i thought it was better suited to rock music then, say, conveying the emotion in a delicate vocal.

or you could try something like a beresford, and gain the functionality of a half decent headphone amp.

 

[John Duncan]

Or the Fubar IV, though you lose input flexibility, or the MF V-DAC, though you gain several branches of the ugly tree on the way down.

 

[Sorreltiger]

My V-DAC does sound very nice indeed, with excellent imaging - that was probably the biggest improvement of all. I reasoned that a modest purchase was OK for Spotify listening! Although the V-DAC is a functional little black box, it can be hidden away!

 

[axman]

Sorreltiger:My V-DAC does sound very nice indeed, with excellent imaging - that was probably the biggest improvement of all. I reasoned that a modest purchase was OK for Spotify listening! Although the V-DAC is a functional little black box, it can be hidden away!

Thanks for that info - I was wondering if a V-DAC would make a difference to a rather top of the range Yamaha Receiver, given that it already has decent on-board decoding.

Anyway, I have just swapped my airport express for the apple TV. I can't be sure, but I detect a slight deterioration in the audio quality. (nothng else changed, i.e., same optical cable, same input on my receiver). Maybe I need to give it a bit more time.

 

[John Duncan]

New apple TV or old Apple TV?

 

[axman]

New Apple TV.

Also another thing- it doesn't extend your network. Example, I could connect my receiver via ethernet to the apple express to listen to net radio, but this does not work with apple TV2. But I could get internet radio via Apple TV2 itself, although this means having to navigate through its menus and I must therefore have my TV on (or I can do it via my ipod touch).

 

[Drummerdave]

JohnDuncan:Or the Fubar IV, though you lose input flexibility, or the MF V-DAC, though you gain several branches of the ugly tree on the way down.

The Fubar looks like it could be very useful as I don't have a headphone amp. Could my cd player be connected to it as well or do I need something like the Dacmagic or Rdac for extra inputs?

 

[professorhat]

Drummerdave:JohnDuncan:Or the Fubar IV, though you lose input flexibility, or the MF V-DAC, though you gain several branches of the ugly tree on the way down. The Fubar looks like it could be very useful as I don't have a headphone amp. Could my cd player be connected to it as well or do I need something like the Dacmagic or Rdac for extra inputs?

Something like the Beresford Caiman could be an option in that case.

 

[Craig M.]

axman:
New Apple TV.

Also another thing- it doesn't extend your network. Example, I could connect my receiver via ethernet to the apple express to listen to net radio, but this does not work with apple TV2. But I could get internet radio via Apple TV2 itself, although this means having to navigate through its menus and I must therefore have my TV on (or I can do it via my ipod touch).

the new apple tv resamples audio to 48khz, apparently.

 

[SteveR750]

JohnDuncan:Yes, unless the iMac is close enough to do so.It'll only stream iTunes content though, unless you get Airfoil (which I use for Spotify).

Are there any other options?

How does it work , i.e. bluetooth, wi fi..??

I am having no luck with a cable connection and want to go wireless anyway, but I don't want to use itunes, neither do I want to have to buy 2 pieces of kit to overcome Its Not Apple soft/hardware.....