Streaming music help and setup

[admin_exported]

Hi,

Im looking to upgrade my current Hi Fi setup and would like to be able to stream music however am a bit confused about how to do it.

I will be looking to get a new amp and cd player (im interested in the Marantz pm6004 and matching cd player) and would like to be able to stream music from a NAS drive connected to my home network. Is this possible to do wirelessly or would the amp have to be directly connected to the network?

I have also looked at the network music players such as the Cambridge Audio NP30 and wondered how that would connect up to a Hi Fi system / home network? Does it simply connect into an amp and wirelessly stream music from the NAS drive?

I will be purchasing a NAS drive pretty shortly as I would like to store other media and information on it to share via the home network, however I would like to know if there is another way of streaming music to an amp without a NAS drive?

Thanks

 

[HDNumpty]

The Marantz NA7004 network music player would be of better use with the Marantz amp - it will stream from a NAS (when connected to a router) or your PC. The NA7004 also comes with Apple Airplay so if you have iDevices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) you can stream music directly from them. The only problem with the Airplay solution is the memory on these devices isn't quite large enough to accomodate most people's collections (e.g. I would have to compress @ 320kbps to fit my 4,000+ tracks on a 64GB iPad/iPod).

This might give a better solution than the CD6004 which has a USB input but little else, you could always use another device (e.g. bluray player) as a CD transport to play CDs

Personally I'm waiting for a 120GB+ iPad launch, then I'll be happy

 

[Andrew Everard]

I will be looking to get a new amp and cd player (im interested in the Marantz pm6004 and matching cd player) and would like to be able to stream music from a NAS drive connected to my home network. Is this possible to do wirelessly or would the amp have to be directly connected to the network?

Whether you do so wirelessly or using a wired connection, you'll need something between the network and the amp to access and play the music. This could be a player such as the Cambridge Audio you mention below, something like one of the Squeezebox products, or even a netbook connected to the amp via its headphone socket or through a USB DAC.

I have also looked at the network music players such as the Cambridge Audio NP30 and wondered how that would connect up to a Hi Fi system / home network? Does it simply connect into an amp and wirelessly stream music from the NAS drive?

Yes – the NAS connects to your home router, and the Cambridge then connects to the network wirelessly and provides an interface for accessing and playing the music. It connects to the amp using line-out analogue cables, just like a CD player.

I will be purchasing a NAS drive pretty shortly as I would like to store other media and information on it to share via the home network, however I would like to know if there is another way of streaming music to an amp without a NAS drive?

Yes, you can stream from a computer, with the addition of UPnP/DLNA server software installed on it, making the music 'visble' to a player such as the Cambridge. The downside of this approach – compared to using a NAS – is that the computer will always have to be on in order for you to access the music. With a NAS, only it stays on all the time.

 

[John Duncan]

Kerching

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/anyone-want-a-cheap-ish-logitech-squeezebox-touch

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the information and replies,

In respect to the NAS drive should I be looking for a more media orientated unit and is there anything specific I should look for performance wise or for ease of use?

When music is being streamed to a unit like the cambridge audio NP30 or through a laptop as suggested, can the music lag at all or is the signal pretty stable? Would it be worth upgrading the wireless router at all to improve stability of the wireless signal?

I have had a look at the sonos units and they seem to be well recommended. From what I have read it seems you could use a ZP90 to connect to an amp, but would a music streamer like the Cambridge Audio NP30 be a better option in comparision?

Thanks again for your help

 

[skippy]

Rob

I'm at the same stage as you. I've ripped all of my CD's in FLAC. I recently purchased a Qnap TS-219P II NAS to store the music. I'd like to think I have a little computer knowledge, this was severely tested with the Qnap. After 12 hours and 3 'read the manual' from customer service I had to return it. The Qnap would no doubt be perfect for someone who wants all the options, but I need a simple drag and drop solution, I'm probably going to go for a D-link NAS now, I've heard they're a bit simpler (and half the price).

Regarding the media player, I'm in a similar frame of mind, I have a Yamaha A-s500 and I'm tempted by the Sonos for ease of use, the upcoming stream magic from Cambridge audio sounds perfect.

If you're looking for a combined amp and player these may be up your street from Pioneer http://canadahifi.com/index.php/pioneer-av-receivers-vsx-522-822-1022-1122/ . I'll be getting the D-link in a week or so, I'll let you know if it works for me

 

[amcluesent]

>I will be looking to get a new amp and cd player (im interested in the Marantz pm6004 and matching cd player) and would like to be able to stream music from a NAS drive <

I'd just get a NaimUniti, everything in one box!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have just been through this process myself,ended up with Marantz SR5006 reciever It does the job extremely well.It has its own built in media player including internet radio last fm flickr napster,handles all the files you will need including Wav Flac wma etc,and most importantly it plays them to a high standard. I have ripped all my CDs to Wav files and put them on a Western Digital Mybook Nas drive plugged them both into my router and hey presto.The files include Album art but if you want to rip your music with complete tagging I recomend Flac.Hope this is of help.