Audio streamer/device with nice tactile interface

[Carlton80@0]

I use the discontinued NUIMO as a tactile interface with my streaming setup. Connected to the ARCAM ST60.

Arcam's ST60 puts Roon, Spotify & Chromecast in one streaming box | Darko.Audio

The Holy Trinity makes it into the UK company's first network streamer.

darko.audio

 

[Mkaram]

Thank you. Yes, if the iPad could just have a solution without the bulky charging cable I’d be pretty happy. But as long as there is not a (hidden) magnetic charging solution, you can’t really use an iPad as an always-on display that’s minimalistic/sleek enough for me.
(As you see aesthetics is very essential to me, it needs to fit into a Scandi type living room ).

I use a previous generation ipad air (find them online) and a Logitech "logi" base.

Logitech Support + Download

www.logitech.com

It's a good setup and I was disappointed when apple changed the dock configuration on newer models.

 

[kemmler3D]

Anyone tried the Elgato Stream Deck or similar for playback? As far as physical controls go it looks suitable.

And in the pro/performing space you will find a great number of devices with knobs that are designed for controlling audio - but many of them probably have too many controls.

Or even in the mechanical keyboard arena:

https://drop.com/buy/megalodon-triple-knob-macro-pad

Combine this with a mini PC or Rpi, a cheap touchscreen, and some input mapping software and you've got all the tactility you could want!

 

[MCH]

Anyone tried the Elgato Stream Deck or similar for playback? As far as physical controls go it looks suitable.

And in the pro/performing space you will find a great number of devices with knobs that are designed for controlling audio - but many of them probably have too many controls.

Or even in the mechanical keyboard arena:

https://drop.com/buy/megalodon-triple-knob-macro-pad

Combine this with a mini PC or Rpi, a cheap touchscreen, and some input mapping software and you've got all the tactility you could want!

Yesterday i came across these, aren't they cute?

 

[Marc v E]

Well, to begin with my system is not very far from me in most situations. But more importantly, it just adds to the experience. Seeing the album art or at least album+ track name playing at all times (or a nice VU-meter) is a visual addition (that I don’t get in the phone app). I also like the ”always on/always accessible” part, having the music there on my sideboard available without unlocking a phone, opening the right app. Again, functionally I’m quite content, emotionally I believe a dimension could be added.

Diy based on raspberry pi with a big screen in a case of your choice. No other option available unfortunately. Otherwise I (and many others) would have already bought it.

 

[Bornsceptic]

I use a previous generation ipad air (find them online) and a Logitech "logi" base.

Logitech Support + Download

www.logitech.com

It's a good setup and I was disappointed when apple changed the dock configuration on newer models

Oh, I never knew about that feature or the dock! I actually might have an old Air device lying around, need to check if it’s the right model. Thank you for the tip!

I thought I'd bump this as a new product has arrived which suits the OP's original wishlist! Half the price of the Shanling EM7 too.

All-in-One Desktop HD DTS Decoding and Ear Mafer-FiiO R7

FiiO R7 combines transmitter/decoder/amp/preamp/media playback functions into one unit. It features numerous connections and expansion capabilities and rich operating modes, providing an excellent desktop HiFi experience!

www.fiio.com

Thanks - appreciate the bump; just like Bono I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

I like the functionality, not sold on the 90s CD/radio look though . As a marketing guy, I’m amazed about the (lack of) aesthetics in this and many other engineering heavy industries (hope no one takes offense).

 

[Bornsceptic]

Ok, I took a closer look at the Fiio R7 - it’s actually not that bad, I must admit I’m a bit intrigued .

 

[Leejb1970]

Ok, I took a closer look at the Fiio R7 - it’s actually not that bad, I must admit I’m a bit intrigued .

It draws you in.

Ok, I took a closer look at the Fiio R7 - it’s actually not that bad, I must admit I’m a bit intrigued .

The more I read up on it the closer I get to purchasing. Here’s a link to an in-depth review. No measurements yet!

FiiO R7 Desktop Network Streamer/DAC/Headphone Amplifier Review

FiiO re-invents the DAC/amp wheel with the new R7 desktop network streamer all-in-one unit. It uses a novel portrait form factor with an integrated touch screen display and Android OS paired with extensive I/O and support for both headphones and speakers to be the most versatile audio source I...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[kemmler3D]

As a marketing guy, I’m amazed about the (lack of) aesthetics in this and many other engineering heavy industries (hope no one takes offense).

Yo, are you me? I feel like the entire hifi industry is leaving money on the table by ignoring aesthetics. Your choices in audio are: Generic cloth blob produced by big tech, or pseudo-minimalistic black or silver boxes with industrial design carefully preserved from the 1970-1995 era. For speakers it's black, cheap veneer, or expensive, polished wood veneer, for the most part. Or maybe white or black composites.

If your decor or WAF doesn't work with any of the above, then it's Sonos for you.

The lack of variety until you get to either the sub-$100 range (novelty garbage) or over-$100K (expensive novelty garbage) range is stunning.

 

[Marc v E]

Yo, are you me? I feel like the entire hifi industry is leaving money on the table by ignoring aesthetics. Your choices in audio are: Generic cloth blob produced by big tech, or pseudo-minimalistic black or silver boxes with industrial design carefully preserved from the 1970-1995 era. For speakers it's black, cheap veneer, or expensive, polished wood veneer, for the most part. Or maybe white or black composites.

If your decor or WAF doesn't work with any of the above, then it's Sonos for you.

The lack of variety until you get to either the sub-$100 range (novelty garbage) or over-$100K (expensive novelty garbage) range is stunning.

I agree. Imo though, Bang & Olufsen offer great sound and looks. The beolab 5 or 9 for instance. Or one of the slimmer aluminium speakers with oak fronts.

Beolab 20:

Beolab 18:

When I saw the Genelec 8351 in black I really liked the looks too. (I could have been influenced by how the sound; truly magical.)

Other brand's speakers I find a mixed bag.

Personally, I like the styling and functionality of the minidsp flex too. Not too hard to feed it with a streamer and an ipad as remote. Add some active speakers and you're done.

 

[kemmler3D]

I agree. Imo though, Bang & Olufsen offer great sound and looks. The beolab 5 or 9 for instance. Or one of the slimmer aluminium speakers with oak fronts.
View attachment 260446

Beolab 20:
View attachment 260447

Beolab 18:
View attachment 260450
When I saw the Genelec 8351 in black I really liked the looks too. (I could have been influenced by how the sound; truly magical.)
View attachment 260453
Other brand's speakers I find a mixed bag.

Personally, I like the styling and functionality of the minidsp flex too. Not too hard to feed it with a streamer and an ipad as remote. Add some active speakers and you're done.
View attachment 260454

I would argue B&O has had the best industrial design in audio for at least 30 years. The problem is almost nobody is trying to compete with them!

 

[Bornsceptic]

Yo, are you me? I feel like the entire hifi industry is leaving money on the table by ignoring aesthetics. Your choices in audio are: Generic cloth blob produced by big tech, or pseudo-minimalistic black or silver boxes with industrial design carefully preserved from the 1970-1995 era. For speakers it's black, cheap veneer, or expensive, polished wood veneer, for the most part. Or maybe white or black composites.

If your decor or WAF doesn't work with any of the above, then it's Sonos for you.

The lack of variety until you get to either the sub-$100 range (novelty garbage) or over-$100K (expensive novelty garbage) range is stunning.

Exactly this!

 

[Bornsceptic]

I would argue B&O has had the best industrial design in audio for at least 30 years. The problem is almost nobody is trying to compete with them!

Also, they are playing in a very niche price segment, so instead of competing with them I’d wish for someone to take the industrial design thinking and good engineering and provide it to the masses. “Masstige” as we would say in marketing bullshit talk .
(Sorry for straying off-topic)

 

[kemmler3D]

Also, they are playing in a very niche price segment, so instead of competing with them I’d wish for someone to take the industrial design thinking and good engineering and provide it to the masses. “Masstige” as we would say in marketing bullshit talk .
(Sorry for straying off-topic)

Speaking from experience, there's a very good reason "we can't have nice things", and it's because of how factories work. You cannot produce affordable audio gear in quantities less than about 5000, and that's already desperately straining the lower limits for most shops. They don't want to set up a production line for your stuff and tear it down again 3 days later. They want to crank out a lot of units per run to minimize overhead.

The more interesting the aesthetic, the more you divide the market. A smaller number of people will be very interested, rather than large numbers of people being indifferent and buying anyway.

The smart move is to make a large number of things that won't divide the market too much.

Without the ability to test the aesthetics in the market before spending cash on 5000+ units, every manufacturer will go for the low-risk colorway (Black first, white or silver second, red or blue if you really have a hit on your hands...) and low-risk, uncontroversial design. At my last job, I did this myself in every case, and was not punished by the market or my bosses for doing so.

Crowfunding along the lines of Drop or various mechanical keyboard "group buys" offers a way out of this pickle. If someone comes up with a design, and kicks off production only when the requisite number of pre-orders is reached, we avoid the "risky design" problem by getting the money up front. Design failures don't get built and everyone wins.

I don't see a lot of this happening, but I have a hunch it could pull a lot more people into the hobby via sheer aesthetics. Mechanical keyboards wouldn't be a big market if the keyboards all looked like the IBM Model M.

 

[mr.k]

Few months ago I bought this device:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B08SFG4W6W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

It has screen, it has buttons, it has knobs, it has streaming, it has optical out, it has (cheap) remote, it has app

Found it strange nobody mentioned it here before, since a lot of budget concious people here.

There are a lot of similar devices from different "noname" manufacturers on amazon, it's probably some generic board being used...saw it somewhere, whole this box, and inside is something smaller than PI

Is it any good? Well, apart from very unusual choices for knob functions, it serves the purpose...
Sound quality? Wouldn't know nothing about that..using it with antic pioneer receiver in the kitchen

 

[Bornsceptic]

Speaking from experience, there's a very good reason "we can't have nice things", and it's because of how factories work. You cannot produce affordable audio gear in quantities less than about 5000, and that's already desperately straining the lower limits for most shops. They don't want to set up a production line for your stuff and tear it down again 3 days later. They want to crank out a lot of units per run to minimize overhead.

The more interesting the aesthetic, the more you divide the market. A smaller number of people will be very interested, rather than large numbers of people being indifferent and buying anyway.

The smart move is to make a large number of things that won't divide the market too much.

Well, I agree a lot with what you are saying. However, I also believe that each industry has its own inertia and myopic view of what is “the safe choice”. The car industry for example kept on reproducing ugly interior, ugly door handles, ugly smart screens etc because that was the way it had always looked and the perception that it was the safe choice that most people wanted. Until Tesla one day just decided “what if we made these things NOT ugly”.

I would argue a big black veneer box doesn’t look good in any interior, the only reason they are sold is because there just aren’t anyone making good reasonably affordable alternatives. That’s why Sonos (together with convenience) is so successful. IMHO

 

[kemmler3D]

each industry has its own inertia and myopic view of what is “the safe choice”.

Agreed, the safe choice is simply something similar to a known-successful product. This leads to very slow evolution or stagnation if nobody is willing to take a risk or invest in consumer testing.

That’s why Sonos (together with convenience) is so successful. IMHO

Sonos has a lot of convenience because they were the first to integrate with various streaming services. Other than that I'd say their industrial design is as safe and boring as it gets, it's just dated to the 2005-2010 era instead of 1995.

I would really like to see a crowdfunding model for nice looking mid-to-upper-mid-tier gear (think Buckeye amps with cool exteriors) but my day job eats up all of my time and then some.