streaming music from PC to HiFI system

[simonthesaint]

I've posted threads regarding dac previously here at the Whathifi Forum, but recently I've become more and more concerned in how to transport the audio to the amplifier. Even though I have a laptop PC which as a rule is kept in a seperate room next to the living room where I have my stereo equipment. And even though it's not a big deal moving the PC to the living room when listening, it would certainly be more convenient not having to connect/disconnect the equipment, moving the computer back and forth all the time.

I know there are many dedicated media streamers on the market but to decide which one suits my needs makes me feel sick.

The main purpose with a media player would simply be to stream audio wirelessly from PC to amp/speakers with as good audio quality as possible. Any other functionalities are welcome but not necessary.

So, I have a few questions in regards to media streamers, media streamers & Dac's and media streamers vs. dacs:

1. Which media streamer offers the best value in terms of audio quality/bang for the buck?

2. Are there reasonably priced media streamers with built-in, dac's or do I still need to buy an external dac in order to improve audio output?

3. How about audio quality when streaming wirelessly from PC to amp via a media player, any downsides?

4. Are there any other downsides streaming wireless audio from PC to amp via a media player?

Any thoughts on this?

Cheers!

 

[The_Lhc]

simonthesaint:1. Which media streamer offers the best value in terms of audio quality/bang for the buck?

What's your budget?

2. Are there reasonably priced media streamers with built-in, dac's or do I still need to buy an external dac in order to improve audio output?

Any digital device, be it CDP, DVD-P, BDP or streamer that has analogue outputs has a built-in DAC. That's most of them, unless it's a transport. You can almost always improve the audio quality with an external DAC, unless the player is VERY high-end, so again it comes down to budget.

3. How about audio quality when streaming wirelessly from PC to amp via a media player, any downsides?

No, wireless networking either works or it drops out, it doesn't introduce any audio artefacts at all.

4. Are there any other downsides streaming wireless audio from PC to amp via a media player?

You need to make sure you can actually get a wireless signal from the PC to the media player. This shouldn't be a problem with most modern houses and their paper walls but you'll also need to be aware of interference from other wireless devices (yours and other peoples).

Any thoughts on this?

nope...

 

[Anonymous]

Sonos

 

[davejberry]

I use a WDTV live. Accepts almost all file types. It does have the facility for wifi with a selected number of USB dongles. I have mine connected via HDMI through my av amp and I seriously cannot tell the difference between it playing flac and a CD player. You'll need a tv connected to see its GUI. You can also connect it via toslink and analogue. I think it sounds better connected digitally though. I also use mine to stream video_ts files from a networked HDD and so far haven't had a glitch. I do like to watch my catalogue of movies without getting off of the sofa.

Its the best bit of kit i've ever bought. Under 90 squid and completely silent in operation.

 

[simonthesaint]

Many of the players I've seen have price tags which lies around £200-300 and that sounds quite reasonable to me, but then it would also be tempting to buy a dac, which costs - at least - £200. that's £500, quite a lot when you're living on a translators wage :/.

Any ideas on which player(s) that are most suited for HiFi usage (if any)?

I'd hate to end up not being satisfied with the sound though (although it probably can't be worse than it already is).

By the way I own a Advance Accoustic MAP-105 along with a set of Tangent Clarity 8 speakers. It performs rather well when I'm playing music from cd. My PC is only 2 months old, with Win 7 installed.

regarding the wireless signal, I live in a flat in a 1960s building with concrete walls. The signal is quite good.

 

[Anonymous]

You could use an Apple Airport Express (80 pounds) to stream music from PC to where you have the Hi Fi.

Then to improve sound quality you can use the digital out from the AE to a Dacmagic or Beresford Caiman.

In my opinion this results in a very respectable sound.

 

[PJPro]

davejberry:
I use a WDTV live. Accepts almost all file types. It does have the facility for wifi with a selected number of USB dongles. I have mine connected via HDMI through my av amp and I seriously cannot tell the difference between it playing flac and a CD player. You'll need a tv connected to see its GUI. You can also connect it via toslink and analogue. I think it sounds better connected digitally though. I also use mine to stream video_ts files from a networked HDD and so far haven't had a glitch. I do like to watch my catalogue of movies without getting off of the sofa.

Its the best bit of kit i've ever bought. Under 90 squid and completely silent in operation.

Yeah me too. Ace bit of kit. See my thread here. I use mine primarily for music (flac) via optical. It is networked but I don't stream to it, rather I use an attached HDD (which also serves as a backup of the music files on my PC). Also means I don't have to have the PC on to play music.

So, WDTV Live (£90) + 1TB Samsung Story HDD (£79) + 2nd hand Beresford 7510 (<£100) looks a pretty sweet deal to me. The cost can be further reduced by using the non-live version of the WDTV (£75) and/or a smaller HDD.

 

[Anonymous]

Great thread, I was also looking for solution like this one!

At least you just put your flacs to hdd and play them, and stop having nightmares about kernal mixer, asio or soundcards messing up with the sound. Phew!

 

[simonthesaint]

Hi!

Very interesting! Is there anything I should think of when buying a HDD in general? Features, possible delay when playing music from a HDD or when streaming music through several devices (HDD/PC - Media player - dac - amp...)

I own a 120 GB WD passport but use it as a backup disk for general data and a Transcend 250 GB where my music is stored. What I don't like about this solution is that it can be somewhat slow when browsing the folders.

I see there are several versions of the Samsung Story HDD, some of which have eSATA and which have not. I know that eSATA allows for higher speeds. Are there any differences between them apart from the eSATA feature and disk size? Which one do you own, btw?

 

[The_Lhc]

simonthesaint:Very interesting! Is there anything I should think of when buying a HDD in general? Features, possible delay when playing music from a HDD or when streaming music through several devices (HDD/PC - Media player - dac - amp...)

No there isn't. Any delay when playing music will not be due to the HDD, or the DAC or the amp, I can't comment on the media player because I don't know which one you'll be using but if there is a delay it'll be no more than a second or so after you press play, so I really don't think there's anything to worry about.

I use Sonos playing from a Netgear Stora NAS, playback is instant.

 

[Anonymous]

I like Squeezebox. Fantastic and inexpensive. Built-in DAC sounds very good, external is an option if you want. I especially like its multi-room capability (beats Apple) plus Internet radio is very handy. Only slight disadvantage is that it is a little fiddly to set up, or can be.

The "classic" SB3 is fine, no need for the later ones with smart remotes.

Tim

 

[PJPro]

the_lhc:
simonthesaint:Very interesting! Is there anything I should think of when buying a HDD in general? Features, possible delay when playing music from a HDD or when streaming music through several devices (HDD/PC - Media player - dac - amp...)

No there isn't. Any delay when playing music will not be due to the HDD, or the DAC or the amp, I can't comment on the media player because I don't know which one you'll be using but if there is a delay it'll be no more than a second or so after you press play, so I really don't think there's anything to worry about.

I use Sonos playing from a Netgear Stora NAS, playback is instant.

I bought the Samsung Story because it has an on/off switch/knob on the front. My Seagate external HDD (name escapes me) turns itself on and off as the device it is connected to is turned on and off. These are cool features and not provided by every external HDD.

But, I do experience a little delay when I first turn on my Story while the HDD spins up.

 

[Binman]

Second vote for a Squeezebox. If its just music you want to stream, and not other media, then I would say the squeezebox is the way to go for sound quality. I have the squeezebox classic. As said above, it can be a bit of a pain to set up, but thats if you want to mess about with all the various settings.

However, I would say that the Apple airport express is a good cheaper alternate way to do it, but, you would need to be in front of a PC to control the music, unless you have a IPhone or Ipod Touch with the free Apple Itunes remote control software on it. It also has the advantage of being easier to use if you are used to Itunes.

 

[simonthesaint]

At least the Samsung Story HDD is certainly a feast for the eye

 

[The_Lhc]

PJPro: But, I do experience a little delay when I first turn on my Story while the HDD spins up.

Well yes, obviously there's always going to be a waiting period if you have to actually switch the thing on, I was talking about general usage (because I never switch my NAS off, it draws less than 11W).

 

[Anonymous]

What do you think of LG BD390, I think it can be a viable alternative to WDTV Live?

It is a five-star product, it sells as a Blu-Ray player, but it is also a media streamer as far as I understand - it has built-in wi-fi, 1GB built-in memory and it is DLNA certified.

And regarding connections, it has it all: ethernet port; USB; digital coax. and optical and 7.1ch analog out for audio; and HDMI, component and composite out for video.

 

[simonthesaint]

According to reviews the LG BD390 seem to be a capable device, I'm still a bit concerned in terms of sonical (is this even an accepted term) performance though.

 

[simonthesaint]

I've received warm suggestions on the WDtv, airport express and Sonos. The latter one is really above my budget. On the other hand I might as well end up buying both a media extender and a DAC and this would probably cost me around £500.

I like the idea of a player-HDD solution which would allow me to play music through my amp without having to turn on the computer, but I'm still not completely sure which player gives me most performance (sonically as well as "conveniently" speaking) for the money.

If then i was to buy a Sonos Zone player, would I even need an external DAC?