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DTS Play-Fi Streamer

poxymoron

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May 7, 2021
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Hi. There doesn't seem to be much love for or discussion of DTS Play-Fi on ASR. Not a whole lot of Play-Fi compatible gear on the market I suppose, especially audiophile grade gear. Does anybody use it as their main source for music? I'm interested in the forthcoming Philips Fidelio FB1 soundbar with satellite speakers and subwoofer, all of which are Play-Fi compatible. I'm thinking now that if I can find a good DTS Play-Fi streamer to connect to my existing active speakers I could move quite easily to a multi room system. Previously this didn't interest me but if I could find a decent Play-Fi streamer then why not. The only kit I can find is the Arcam rPlay which is from 2017 and no longer available. I'd be looking for something with optical out to bypass the streamer's internal DAC. Any thoughts? Thanks.
 

Chester

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May 22, 2021
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I had the Arcam RPlay. Nice solid unit but Play-fi was awful. Traded it in while it was still worth something.

I personally would stay well clear of Play-Fi.
 
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poxymoron

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Thanks for the replies. I've seen that list and it's very limited and yes, Play-Fi does seem to be a bit sh!t. Just wondering if somebody was going to say otherwise.
 

dlaloum

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All the new range of AVR's from Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer, seem to support it...
 

ThatM1key

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DTS Play Fi, usually gets thrown into cheap smart speakers and stupid products. Like really? DTS Play Fi in a satellite TV receiver? Grouping speakers is a terrible nightmare and a novelty.


Consumers that care about audio quality and stability, there not gonna load up there phone with FLACs and then stream it to there AVR or something like that. Easier and better to load up a flash drive and directly plug into the AVR. Also the fact that AVRs can stream files from a network server.
 

tom_tom

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Oct 16, 2020
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Audiolab 6000A Play seems to be successful unit with Play-Fi from "audio" world, Quad Artera Souls Play is also getting some positive comments. Kanto Audio and SVS products should be available soon according to news so in general I think platform will stay alive but...

Wiim Mini cost 99 USD and have Multiroom capabilities, Spotify and Tidal Connect, Amazon Music from app, after last update it can output 24/192 over optical or 3,5 jack.

 
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poxymoron

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May 7, 2021
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Just to tell you more about my plan.
I'm getting a streamer for my Edifier S3000Pro active speakers (either a network streamer or a decent LDAC bluetooth unit - I'll probably go with the miniDSP Flex). I'm also getting a soundbar system for the TV. Was settled on the Sony HT-A9 but now I'm considering the Philips Fidelio FB1/FS1/FW1 soundbar system to compliment my Philips Ambilight TV. If I go with the Philips system I could also use the two rear FS1 Atmos satelite speakers separately in any room in the house for multi-room using DTS Play-Fi, aswell as the soundbar in the TV room. If I go for a Play-Fi streamer for my active sepakers then I can incorporate my active sepakers into the multi-room system, just because I can. To be fair, I never listen to musc all over the house and have never had any interest in multi-room audio, but others in the house do. When I do listen to music it is when I can sit down in front of my Edifier S3000Pro speakers and just listen to the music. But if I could easily make it a multi-room system then I would. The Philips FB1 system really interests me because the FS1 satelites have ambilight, which I love, and the FW1 subwoofer could also be used with my Edifiers - this is unusual for a proprietary wireless subwoofer, so I get a lot of flexibility. The soundbar is not on sale until mid 2022 so I have time to do some more research.
Thanks for all your input.
 

jocal69

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Nov 28, 2022
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Take a look at the SVS Prime wireless speakers (or the new Pro wireless) I have them and I'm real happy with quality. The Prime Wireless Pro have an HDMI port and more power. I have a lot of Play-fi devices and while not perfect, I'm very happy with the system. Just wish some of the companies would have stayed with it, since you are now really looking at SVS, Audiolab, and Onkyo/Pioneer as the main players and the only ones really coming out with new products (And Philips outside of the US...). Would have loved to buy a new Anthem AVR, but they bailed a couple of cycles ago. I have a couple of different Paradigm speakers and Martin Logan speakers/streamers/amps and they are really great. Love having a football game running on my TV and the sound going throughout the house (have a whole house sound system using the Paradigm play-fi amps) Of the three different straight play-fi streamers I've used, the Martin Logan is the best, if you can find it. Obviously if you have the $$$, the audiolab would be the way to go, but the Martin Logan can be found for much less...
 
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