Easy to operate streamer

[Liya]

Looking for easy to operate (by wife and son) streamer. It must have a remote control and display. Source is Qobuz and own music library.
I'm can either connect it to the coaxial input on my dac or via rca's.

 

[JSmith]

Allo Boss2 Review (Stereo Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Allo Boss2 Ethernet (and wifi) streamer/player. It was sent to me by the company for testing and costs US $149 by itself. My tested configuration included the Nirvana power supply which brings the cost up to US $209. I must say, I am very...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Audiophonics RASPDAC MINI LCD KIT Review (Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Audiophonics RASPDAC MINI LCD KIT Streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and costs 165,83 € or US $193 (excluding Raspberry Pi and power supply). As the name indicates, this is a streamer built on the popular Raspberry Pi small computer...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[Liya]

Thank you. Reading thru Allo review and it looks promising.
How would I access Qobuz? Is it build into the operating system?
Also, I have large (I think) library of around 7500 albums. All the music is on two SSD drives. I guess I could connect both to the Allo? Would I need separate power for the drives?
Do I need to disconnect the drives from the Allo (and connect them to the computer) to add music to it or can it be done over the network while the drives are connected to the Allo?

 

[Liya]

anyone here with the Allo streamer?

 

[amper42]

One easy solution is use the Samsung TV Qobuz app. Connect the TV optical to your DAC/amp/receiver out to your speakers. If you need easy use by the wife this is it.

Allo Boss2 doesn't support Qobuz directly. You can use it as a UPnP/AirPlay/Bluetooth wireless interface for other device applications that do support Qobuz or attach a USB drive full of music to it and select the music via a web interface.

 

[Liya]

Cheers Amper.
Our tv is Panasonic, no Qobuz there.
Music is on all day long. I wouldnt like tv on while listening to music.

I read that when I pay for Volumio premium then Qobuz is supported natively?
Could someone answer the question regarding transfering music to the hard drives attached to Allo?
Do I need to disconnect them from Allo and transfer files from the computer or can I add the files over network while the drives are attached to the Allo?

 

[litemotiv]

I'm not sure if Raspberry streamers like the Allo2 are really suitable for living room setups, where other family members need to operate them as well. They are IMO best suited for personal listening setups where the person using them is somewhat technically knowledgeable. That's a subjective opinion though...

What i would personally do is get a small headless streamer like the Argon SOLO:

Which works as a standalone endpoint, you can just place it next to (or hide it behind) the DAC or Amp you are going to use.

And then use a simple/small tablet that you place on a stand (anywhere) to use as a display and remote:

Some advantages are:

• Easy to use for family members, most/all are already familiar with mobile devices
• Can be placed anywhere
• Tablet is multi-purpose so can also be picked up for a bit of browsing or a game
• Can use any generic tablet, either Apple or Android
• Other devices can also be used to control the streamer (mobile phones etc)
• You can simply install generic Music apps from e.g. Qobuz

Total cost of a headless streamer like the SOLO and a small tablet like the one pictured above would not have to exceed $300-400 in total.

 

[ZolaIII]

Take a look if anything from Yamaha Musiccast lineups fit your needs.
Unfortunately they are tin with streamers (only one being WXC-50 and costing [400 $] almost as some of their deacent complete power amp systems so hard to recommend)
display isn't problem sa you use phone app anyway. At least I see it (MusicCast) as simple as it gets and working satisfactory, best regards.

 

[Liya]

Cheers guys.

It's got to have display and remote handset for simple songs/albums selection, pause/play, as we are trying to reduce phone usage wherever possible. Thinking about it, Allo screen looks rather small and, most probably, barely visible from couple of meters away.
It must have Qobuz and I need to be able to connect two hard drives to it.

After checking Argon and Yamaha websites looks like none of them can do all of that.
Any other suggestions, please?

 

[litemotiv]

Guess it depends on your budget then, something like the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 will do what you want but it'll set you back somewhere around $1100-1200:

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 Network Player

Stunning Sound Quality – hear every detail from your digital files Twin Wolfson DACs – for stunning digital performance Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect & Qobuz built in – for the best possible choiceHigh-quality Internet Radio – thanks to MPEG-DASH support Roon Ready – consolidate browsing your...

www.cambridgeaudio.com

 

[mr.k]

For quite some time, I'm looking for family friendly screen equipped streamer as original poster.
Unfortunately, it seems that nothing cheaper than 1100 euros CXN(v2) exists - looks like it is most "reasonable" option, if you want elaborate screen, remote and plethora of inputs.

There is Audiophonis Rasptouch, but I consider it ugly with that strangely angled screen (and not sure about Qobuz).

I have "raw" raspberries with volumios and moodes, but don't consider them family friendly.

I am convinced if somebody would sell nicely pre-built aluminum box with 4 inch touchscreen and raspberry attached, he would make a fortune

 

[ZolaIII]

I got a R-N402D which is as basic as it can be (only basic tone controls no additional Digital DSP). Remote is ugly and wouldn't suggest use of inbuilt display for anything more than basic info.
It's big and chunky while beauty imitating looks of vintage amplifiers is only looks deap (while in it's hart it really is a vintage AB class design regarding power amplifier stage). USB A port is only good to 1A 5V and it supports only FAT (FAT32). It supports network streaming (including DLNA, Airplay [not sure about 2.0] and WiFi direct) either with WiFi or cable (true rooter or if you must directly).
You won't find better displays anywhere else as in mobile phones (or perhaps a tablet). Anyway it work's for me when I realy don't want to hustle and I find it flexible enough (as for me is important to have a PC and mobile connection along with popular streaming services available). I didn't buy it for the sakes of all that (which in my case whose more of bonus and I am not all that much obsessed with looking into gear) but as a solid power amplifier alone.

 

[Martinvb]

RaspberryPi + (e.g.) Volumio 3.x makes a perfectly capable and stable streamer setup, but still needs a DAC to convert USB-out to analogue. A simple Topping would do, which (like the Pi) should ideally be left powered on. Volume can be set via Volumio software (not idiot-proof ) or by using the DAC as pre-amp (and using a remote). IMO Volumio is extremely reliable and user friendly if it is up all the time, and users connect via Bluetooth (lossy) or Airplay (supports CD quality, not higher). Services like Spotify and Tidal are supported with xx Connect options, so you do not stream data from your device to the Pi, but you control the Pi that draws the data stream directly from internet. Unfortunately, Qobuz does not offer a Connect API (yet?).

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

I am convinced if somebody would sell nicely pre-built aluminum box with 4 inch touchscreen and raspberry attached, he would make a fortune

 

[amper42]

Simply hooking up a family computer to the DAC/Amp and running the Qobuz app would easily meet the streaming requirement with a nice size screen. You could also use an audio player application to play music from both your hard disks. This is the least expensive option for many as it's not unusual to have an older computer laying around.

If you want to increase ease of use you could use Audirvana or Roon as a way to incorporate Qobuz streaming and local CD ripped music within a single application. Audirvana even includes a phone/tablet app that lets you control the computer audio playback remotely. Having a computer wired directly via USB to the DAC will support the highest audio resolutions and offers a solid connection with no need to worry about intermittent wifi issues.

 

[Shorty]

Sonos Port. No hassles, no DIY, no PC. Proven technology and software. Lifelong updates. Expendable. Does all streaming services plus TuneIn radio and has line-in.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Sonos Port. No hassles, no DIY, no PC.

…and no display, which is a requirement of the OP.

 

[Shorty]

…and no display, which is a requirement of the OP.

Any smartphone or tablet will do.

 

[Liya]

Simply hooking up a family computer to the DAC/Amp and running the Qobuz app would easily meet the streaming requirement with a nice size screen. You could also use an audio player application to play music from both your hard disks. This is the least expensive option for many as it's not unusual to have an older computer laying around.

If you want to increase ease of use you could use Audirvana or Roon as a way to incorporate Qobuz streaming and local CD ripped music within a single application. Audirvana even includes a phone/tablet app that lets you control the computer audio playback remotely. Having a computer wired directly via USB to the DAC will support the highest audio resolutions and offers a solid connection with no need to worry about intermittent wifi issues.

This how we have it now (laptop with Audirvana and hards drives attached), but because we both work in front of a screen quite a lot we don't want to have computer for music.

 

[Liya]

Guess it depends on your budget then, something like the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 will do what you want but it'll set you back somewhere around $1100-1200:

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 Network Player

Stunning Sound Quality – hear every detail from your digital files Twin Wolfson DACs – for stunning digital performance Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect & Qobuz built in – for the best possible choiceHigh-quality Internet Radio – thanks to MPEG-DASH support Roon Ready – consolidate browsing your...

www.cambridgeaudio.com

This is so far the best recommendation for our needs. I have checked the manual of this streamers and it looks like playing music from hard drives isn't its main focus (maybe for occasional use). I should say that playing my own music is priority and Qobuz an addition.
One other option could be Auralic Altair G1 - server, preamp, dac, streamer, headphone amp.
What servers (remote controlled, screen, Qobuz) to look at, if I want to go that route?

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