Streamer with spotify?

[MakkaPakka]

Spotify functionality seems to be included on AV amps, blu ray players, kettles, toasters and anything else requiring electricity but I cannot see a hi-fi separate with it.

The likes of Marantz and Onkyo have spotify in their AV and mini hifi ranges which can also play FLAC and similar but no separate? Is the market for separates that poor? Have I missed some great product? Is there anything on the horizon that fills this gap?

 

[Philim]

Depends what you mean by seperate.

Sonos do a compatible streaming unit and various other streamers support spotify or can be easily connected via apps.

You also have the issue that spotify is still viewed as poor sound quality by parts of the hifi industry.

 

[Leeps]

I know exactly what you mean. Nobody seems that fussed about squeezing the very best out of this 2-channel source. Products like the Pioneer N50 are surely crying out for built-in Spotify (or even Spotify Connect). After all Pioneer's AV receivers have it, as do some fairly dodgy-looking mini systems they make. The N50 already has an ethernet connection and internet radio; what a great product it would be with Spotify included.

The only 2-channel "separate" products I'm aware of are Onkyo's TX8050 and I understand at some point, the Yamaha R-N500 was supposed to have Spotify included in one of the firmware updates, but this may not be rolled out across all territories. Watch this space on that one. But both of these products are at the budget end.

Can you imagine how many more Unitiqutes/lites would be sold with Spotify built-in? Having a high quality "all-in-one" then having to bolt-on extra boxes to bring Spotify to it seems a bit counter-productive.

I don't want to open a 320kbps vs CD/Hi-res debate, but I was listening to "Introducing Christian Scott" (Tracks: Isadora and KKPD) the other day; Spotify from my ipad using Airplay to my AV receiver - a number of factors that to some at least should have made this a recipe for a pig's breakfast, but it honestly sounded absolutely fantastic. Sure, it's possible it could have been bettered with a higher res, but my ear-to-ear grin at the stunning beauty of these tracks told me that Spotify was good enough for me on this occasion. And interestingly, this beautiful album wasn't available on CD anyway.

 

[the record spot]

The hifi industry goes at a snail's pace. Slow to react, slow to adapt. You'll find products like Roku and the Now boxes carry Spotify in addition to the excellent Onkyo services.

 

[MakkaPakka]

But that's the thing, 'hifi companies' like: Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo, Yamaha, Marantz have the ability to do this and make separates so I can't see why they haven't bothered. If one did it I'm sure the rest would soon follow.

 

[Leeps]

The hifi industry goes at a snail's pace. Slow to react, slow to adapt. You'll find products like Roku and the Now boxes carry Spotify in addition to the excellent Onkyo services.

And yet it's the same companies we're talking about that have introduced it to some of their products. Pioneer, Yamaha Marantz et al, have presumably already paid for the Spotify licences to have it included in their mini systems and AV receivers, so in a sense, they've been quick to respond there, but bizarrely leave out their own 2-channel "hifi" products. Full marks to Onkyo for including it in the TX8050.

I think it's more associated with their respective marketing departments' perceived targeted customers for each type of product, rather than any technical aversion to change. Wouldn't it be nice to purchase something like a Pioneer N50 with Spotify Connect included and then have your choice of amp and speakers to compile a nifty modern digital separates system.

You'd think the minimal additional cost of manufacture (considering so much of the necessary hardware is already inside the N50) would be worth the extra boxes they'd sell.

 

[Edmeister]

For exactly this reason I went with a Sonos connect and Sonlink DAC. Tried some of the all in one's as well (like the Marantz and Denon kit) but was not so impressed. Plus they lacked a phono stage which I needed.

It is kind of strange that the micro sets and AV receivers have spotify but the seperates barely have them. IMHO there isn't always a need for it, when you have an amp with bluetooth or airplay (like the Nad D3020) the need for a seperate component seems silly. I however don't like to be constrained to the ipad of iphone playing the song and streaming it to the amp. That's what I love about Sonos, the playlist can come from different sources, spotify, your HD, radio. It just seemed like the most logic choice, plus the option to go multi-room.

 

[MajorFubar]

I think it's more associated with their respective marketing departments' perceived targeted customers for each type of product, rather than any technical aversion to change.

I think that's very true. Maybe it's to do with local market demands/expectaions as well: the Marantz MCR610 sells very well in Europe where Spotify is very popular, but Japan and the States have bigger markets for separates, and Spotify is less common there.

 

[Leeps]

I know exactly what you mean. Nobody seems that fussed about squeezing the very best out of this 2-channel source. Products like the Pioneer N50 are surely crying out for built-in Spotify (or even Spotify Connect). After all Pioneer's AV receivers have it, as do some fairly dodgy-looking mini systems they make. The N50 already has an ethernet connection and internet radio; what a great product it would be with Spotify included.

The only 2-channel "separate" products I'm aware of are Onkyo's TX8050 and I understand at some point, the Yamaha R-N500 was supposed to have Spotify included in one of the firmware updates, but this may not be rolled out across all territories. Watch this space on that one. But both of these products are at the budget end.

Can you imagine how many more Unitiqutes/lites would be sold with Spotify built-in? Having a high quality "all-in-one" then having to bolt-on extra boxes to bring Spotify to it seems a bit counter-productive.

I don't want to open a 320kbps vs CD/Hi-res debate, but I was listening to "Introducing Christian Scott" (Tracks: Isadora and KKPD) the other day; Spotify from my ipad using Airplay to my AV receiver - a number of factors that to some at least should have made this a recipe for a pig's breakfast, but it honestly sounded absolutely fantastic. Sure, it's possible it could have been bettered with a higher res, but my ear-to-ear grin at the stunning beauty of these tracks told me that Spotify was good enough for me on this occasion. And interestingly, this beautiful album wasn't available on CD anyway.

Just noticed the announcement on What Hifi's "News" for today, "Naim adds Spotify Connect to digital music players"

Considering my post just two days ago, that's a bit spooky!!!!

 

[davedotco]

I know exactly what you mean. Nobody seems that fussed about squeezing the very best out of this 2-channel source. Products like the Pioneer N50 are surely crying out for built-in Spotify (or even Spotify Connect). After all Pioneer's AV receivers have it, as do some fairly dodgy-looking mini systems they make. The N50 already has an ethernet connection and internet radio; what a great product it would be with Spotify included.

The only 2-channel "separate" products I'm aware of are Onkyo's TX8050 and I understand at some point, the Yamaha R-N500 was supposed to have Spotify included in one of the firmware updates, but this may not be rolled out across all territories. Watch this space on that one. But both of these products are at the budget end.

Can you imagine how many more Unitiqutes/lites would be sold with Spotify built-in? Having a high quality "all-in-one" then having to bolt-on extra boxes to bring Spotify to it seems a bit counter-productive.

I don't want to open a 320kbps vs CD/Hi-res debate, but I was listening to "Introducing Christian Scott" (Tracks: Isadora and KKPD) the other day; Spotify from my ipad using Airplay to my AV receiver - a number of factors that to some at least should have made this a recipe for a pig's breakfast, but it honestly sounded absolutely fantastic. Sure, it's possible it could have been bettered with a higher res, but my ear-to-ear grin at the stunning beauty of these tracks told me that Spotify was good enough for me on this occasion. And interestingly, this beautiful album wasn't available on CD anyway.

Just noticed the announcement on What Hifi's "News" for today, "Naim adds Spotify Connect to digital music players"

Considering my post just two days ago, that's a bit spooky!!!!

That is very interesting indeed. Puts a very ferocious cat among the pidgeons.

I use Spotify almost exclusively and have decided that a £2k playback system is about optimal for this source and this opens up some very interesting options.

Unitiqute2 and a pair of AVI DM5s anyone........

 

[MajorFubar]

It's a shrewd move. If I was Spotify I'd be looking to have the app installed as standard on just about any piece of new audio and visual hardware on the planet that can be connected to the internet, so that it appears to be the de-facto standard. One area where there's a huge amount of potential opportunity is in-car audio. Imagine new cars or new car audio systems being routinely sold with 3G and Spotify clents built in, to which all you need to add is a SIM of your choosing. But to support that, both Spotify and the ICE hardware manufacturers ideally need a cellular-network provider who has the balls to launch a range of contract data-only SIMs, instead of three million texts and minutes you'll never use and a ''sort-of-unlimited-providing-you-don't-use-it-very-much'' data allowance. It's a bandwidth thing of course, but it's also 2014 as well, not 1986, and so it's high time we did have the bandwidth.

 

[Jota180]

Intriguingly Naim have removed all mention of Spotify from their website, the forum sticky plus the piece it linked to.

 

[Leeps]

I know exactly what you mean. Nobody seems that fussed about squeezing the very best out of this 2-channel source. Products like the Pioneer N50 are surely crying out for built-in Spotify (or even Spotify Connect). After all Pioneer's AV receivers have it, as do some fairly dodgy-looking mini systems they make. The N50 already has an ethernet connection and internet radio; what a great product it would be with Spotify included.

The only 2-channel "separate" products I'm aware of are Onkyo's TX8050 and I understand at some point, the Yamaha R-N500 was supposed to have Spotify included in one of the firmware updates, but this may not be rolled out across all territories. Watch this space on that one. But both of these products are at the budget end.

Can you imagine how many more Unitiqutes/lites would be sold with Spotify built-in? Having a high quality "all-in-one" then having to bolt-on extra boxes to bring Spotify to it seems a bit counter-productive.

I don't want to open a 320kbps vs CD/Hi-res debate, but I was listening to "Introducing Christian Scott" (Tracks: Isadora and KKPD) the other day; Spotify from my ipad using Airplay to my AV receiver - a number of factors that to some at least should have made this a recipe for a pig's breakfast, but it honestly sounded absolutely fantastic. Sure, it's possible it could have been bettered with a higher res, but my ear-to-ear grin at the stunning beauty of these tracks told me that Spotify was good enough for me on this occasion. And interestingly, this beautiful album wasn't available on CD anyway.

Just noticed the announcement on What Hifi's "News" for today, "Naim adds Spotify Connect to digital music players"

Considering my post just two days ago, that's a bit spooky!!!!

That is very interesting indeed. Puts a very ferocious cat among the pidgeons.

I use Spotify almost exclusively and have decided that a £2k playback system is about optimal for this source and this opens up some very interesting options.

Unitiqute2 and a pair of AVI DM5s anyone........

It's put a cat among the pigeons of my previously intended upgrades, that's for sure! Back to the drawing board again. Full marks to Naim though for being "unstuffy" (may have just invented that word) and providing what I'm sure will be a very popular move. All Naim / Linn and co need to do now is offer a high-res streaming service.

I continued to use CD's as my main source throughout the downloading MP3 era, so don't own any downloads and have never owned an ipod. I've always thought that downloading, having a NAS, labelling correctly, sorting out network conflicts and getting the right type of back-ups was a bit of an off-putting faff compared to simply opening a CD drawer, but I think Spotify is wonderful and has truly opened up so much more music to me, particularly as my tastes aren't mainstream. (I still like collecting CD's of my most loved music though - at least I don't purchase any duffers anymore having listened to them first on Spotify).

Could it be that downloading (even of the hi-res variety) will have quite a short lifespan?

 

[Dommer]

Yes, it appears that Naim have leaked the info before it was suppose to be released to the public.

we'll have to wait for the official announcement again

 

[Leeps]

I don't want to hi-jack this thread, but it may have run its natural course now anyway...

Can't help noticing your signature Dommer. Interested in your Qute/NAP/KEF combo. What made you pick this (over other Naim streamers in particular)? What other speakers did you demo with the Naim? How would you describe the result?

if you had the time, a mini-review would be appreciated.

 

[Philim]

I don't want to hi-jack this thread, but it may have run its natural course now anyway...

Can't help noticing your signature Dommer. Interested in your Qute/NAP/KEF combo. What made you pick this (over other Naim streamers in particular)? What other speakers did you demo with the Naim? How would you describe the result?

if you had the time, a mini-review would be appreciated.

Naim and kef r series go very well together.

 

[Dommer]

Hi Leeps,

My choice to go with the unitiQute, Nap 100 and the KEF R100 had to do with being on a budget as well as liking the KEF sound and trying to get away from large mismatched looking separates.My system use to be a Logitech Transporter (for streaming from a NAS) Audiolab CD8200 (for CD playback) and the Marantz PM6002 integrated amp with a pair of Kef iQ10. It was an okay sounding system but I kept getting the upgrade bug and when we finally bought a flat 3 years ago I decided it was a good chance to upgrade to a new system. I sold my Marantz amp and borrowed my friends Linn power amp, musical Fidelity mono-blocks and Music First pre for the time being. This only spoiled me and showed me what a decent setup could sound like. So I started my search for a new system. But I wanted to get away from the bulky separates and all the cables. I don't have the space for a big system and so I started considering an all-in-one system, as I read some good reviews.I considered All-in-one systems from Arcam, Marantz and Cyrus but didn't particularly like the look or specs. Linn’s All-in-ones were out of my price range. I walked into a hi-fi shop one day where they had the Qute on display and I instantly fell in love with it. Also reading a lot of HiFi mags I noticed that Naim was mentioned, and recommended quite a lot.I knew I couldn't upgrade everything at once as I had just purchased a flat in London, money was very tight.I managed to sell the Transporter and find a open-box Naim UnitiQute for a good price. I was very happy with the functionality of the Qute and the n-stream remote app. But the sound on its own was not what I had gotten use to. Trying both the Linn and MF power amps with the Qute made a big improvement and I knew I would need to eventually get a power amp. Luckily, that is also when Naim announced the NAP100, the perfect partner to the Qute I also started to look around for an upgrade to my old KEFs. I auditioned a pair of Rega RS1s, Neat Iotas, B&W CM1s, MA GX50s, with a Naim UnitiLite. Non of these sounded that much better from my old iQ10s. I also Auditioned a pair of Spendor SA1s, KEF LS50s and the R100s, All sounded very good. But the Spendors were out of my budget and the LS50s don’t have speaker grills. I was worried that my kids would poke their fingers into the beautiful orange drivers. The R100s also had a deeper bass then the LS50s, and were open-box, so I got quite a discount on them as well.Finally, I picked up the NAP100 this Christmas to complete my system. I’m very happy with the way it sounds. The KEFs really bring out the best from the system. I love the wide soundstage and detail. The NAP100 added to the Qute. Especially in the low end. The bass is stronger and more defined. Sound stage has also opened up a little more and the sound is just more fuller now.The Audiolab CD8200 now sits in the bedroom with a ProJect headphone amp. For listening to my Grado SR250 headphones. But it hardly gets used, so I’m thinking of selling it to someone that wants a great CD/DAC combo.Hope this post wasn’t too long.regards.

 

[lpv]

Spotify functionality seems to be included on AV amps, blu ray players, kettles, toasters and anything else requiring electricity but I cannot see a hi-fi separate with it.

The likes of Marantz and Onkyo have spotify in their AV and mini hifi ranges which can also play FLAC and similar but no separate? Is the market for separates that poor? Have I missed some great product? Is there anything on the horizon that fills this gap?

why simply not use mac mini as a streamer? small, easy to hide and all possible options of music services, hi fi players are there as well as future proof for any new services.. and much more.

at the end of the day any streamer is simply computer with simple task to do. surely, optimized for one task only but you can optimise computer yourself for music streaming too.. just add dececent DAC and you've got perfect streamer for years to come under £1000

 

[Leeps]

Hi Leeps,

My choice to go with the unitiQute, Nap 100 and the KEF R100 had to do with being on a budget as well as liking the KEF sound and trying to get away from large mismatched looking separates.My system use to be a Logitech Transporter (for streaming from a NAS) Audiolab CD8200 (for CD playback) and the Marantz PM6002 integrated amp with a pair of Kef iQ10. It was an okay sounding system but I kept getting the upgrade bug and when we finally bought a flat 3 years ago I decided it was a good chance to upgrade to a new system. I sold my Marantz amp and borrowed my friends Linn power amp, musical Fidelity mono-blocks and Music First pre for the time being. This only spoiled me and showed me what a decent setup could sound like. So I started my search for a new system. But I wanted to get away from the bulky separates and all the cables. I don't have the space for a big system and so I started considering an all-in-one system, as I read some good reviews.I considered All-in-one systems from Arcam, Marantz and Cyrus but didn't particularly like the look or specs. Linn’s All-in-ones were out of my price range. I walked into a hi-fi shop one day where they had the Qute on display and I instantly fell in love with it. Also reading a lot of HiFi mags I noticed that Naim was mentioned, and recommended quite a lot.I knew I couldn't upgrade everything at once as I had just purchased a flat in London, money was very tight.I managed to sell the Transporter and find a open-box Naim UnitiQute for a good price. I was very happy with the functionality of the Qute and the n-stream remote app. But the sound on its own was not what I had gotten use to. Trying both the Linn and MF power amps with the Qute made a big improvement and I knew I would need to eventually get a power amp. Luckily, that is also when Naim announced the NAP100, the perfect partner to the Qute I also started to look around for an upgrade to my old KEFs. I auditioned a pair of Rega RS1s, Neat Iotas, B&W CM1s, MA GX50s, with a Naim UnitiLite. Non of these sounded that much better from my old iQ10s. I also Auditioned a pair of Spendor SA1s, KEF LS50s and the R100s, All sounded very good. But the Spendors were out of my budget and the LS50s don’t have speaker grills. I was worried that my kids would poke their fingers into the beautiful orange drivers. The R100s also had a deeper bass then the LS50s, and were open-box, so I got quite a discount on them as well.Finally, I picked up the NAP100 this Christmas to complete my system. I’m very happy with the way it sounds. The KEFs really bring out the best from the system. I love the wide soundstage and detail. The NAP100 added to the Qute. Especially in the low end. The bass is stronger and more defined. Sound stage has also opened up a little more and the sound is just more fuller now.The Audiolab CD8200 now sits in the bedroom with a ProJect headphone amp. For listening to my Grado SR250 headphones. But it hardly gets used, so I’m thinking of selling it to someone that wants a great CD/DAC combo.Hope this post wasn’t too long.regards.

Many thanks Dommer. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences. Looks like you've put together a system that ticks all your sonic boxes and a nice space-saving package to boot.

 

[Leeps]

Spotify functionality seems to be included on AV amps, blu ray players, kettles, toasters and anything else requiring electricity but I cannot see a hi-fi separate with it.

The likes of Marantz and Onkyo have spotify in their AV and mini hifi ranges which can also play FLAC and similar but no separate? Is the market for separates that poor? Have I missed some great product? Is there anything on the horizon that fills this gap?

why simply not use mac mini as a streamer? small, easy to hide and all possible options of music services, hi fi players are there as well as future proof for any new services.. and much more.

at the end of the day any streamer is simply computer with simple task to do. surely, optimized for one task only but you can optimise computer yourself for music streaming too.. just add dececent DAC and you've got perfect streamer for years to come under £1000

I don't want to switch a display on every time I listen to music, particularly as it's a plasma!

 

[lpv]

Spotify functionality seems to be included on AV amps, blu ray players, kettles, toasters and anything else requiring electricity but I cannot see a hi-fi separate with it.

The likes of Marantz and Onkyo have spotify in their AV and mini hifi ranges which can also play FLAC and similar but no separate? Is the market for separates that poor? Have I missed some great product? Is there anything on the horizon that fills this gap?

why simply not use mac mini as a streamer? small, easy to hide and all possible options of music services, hi fi players are there as well as future proof for any new services.. and much more.

at the end of the day any streamer is simply computer with simple task to do. surely, optimized for one task only but you can optimise computer yourself for music streaming too.. just add dececent DAC and you've got perfect streamer for years to come under £1000

I don't want to switch a display on every time I listen to music, particularly as it's a plasma!

You don't have too. There's an 'Remoteless' app to control your mac mini Spotify from your mobile, you would use streamer remote control anyway; remoteless it's just soo much more than any streamer handset.

I also use Fidelia flac/ alac/ wav player on my mac and have Fidelia control app on my iphone..

there is itunes remote too

qobuz don't have a control app yet, but they are slow with everything... especially with upgrading library

worth to check as I think there are many control apps and much more to come.