Easy to operate streamer

[ahofer]

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 the main focus (maybe for occasional use).
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?

​

Any NAS will do. If you are going to invest in any audiophile server product, I’d suggest setting up a Roon on an old computer or a dedicated Intel NUC.

btw, I have two Cambridge streamers, and their streaming software is by far the best. It works as a Roon, Chromecast, Airplay, DLNA, and blutooth endpoint. Anybody with a smartphone and on your wifi can easily play whatever they like from any streaming service.

I used to use a NAS and Minimserver, which is terrific, once installed. Now my collection is still on the NAS but the Roon server catalogues it, integrates it with my Tidal and Qobuz subscriptions, and plays it to multiple endpoints - Roon ready and Chromecast (including a Cambridge streamer). Controlled from any smartphone, computer, or tablet in the house. Roon controls the volume on the Cambridge Audio (and a pair of KEF LS50s).

 

[litemotiv]

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?

Once you get to the price range of the Altair (~$3000) then there are a number of other alternatives as well, like the Naim Atom HE, the Hifi Rose RS250 etc.

Slightly more affordable options might be the NuPrime Omnia WR-1 ($400) or Stream-9 ($1200):

Home Page - Vendor - NuPrime Audio

Historically, skilled audio professionals have created high-end audio components by carefully crafting circuits and taking great care in parts selection,

nuprimeaudio.com

Both NuPrime models have a screen, remote control, Qobuz.

For all scenarios it would generally be advisable to use a separate NAS for music storage and stream from there, rather than use a local (hard)drive.

Also be advised that on all streamers the screen is mostly convenient for playback information, but not really for music selection, search etc. The screens are generally on the small side for that and remote controls are not really convenient to browse and search through large collections. So for that you would mostly want to use a companion app on a tablet or smartphone.

 

[mr.k]

I saw your setup in other thread, and actually liked it more than most of similar solutions!

Now put the screen it in the box of the same shape and similar proportions as RME ADI below, with on/off switch on the front fascia, and feel free to send me (reasonable) bill... something like this:

DIY streamer with volumio in standard 43cm box

Hi, I would like to share with you my latest streamer project with volumio and some UI customization based on 2aCD project : Case: chasis from old deck with a little adaptation; Front panel: this is tailor made glass (cheap one simple glass) - then car wrap 100% black on the back of...

community.volumio.org

I'm not asking for too much, am I?

View attachment 178480View attachment 178481View attachment 178482

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

I saw your setup in other thread, and actually liked it more than most of similar solutions!

Now put the screen it in the box of the same shape and similar proportions as RME ADI below, with on/off switch on the front fascia, and feel free to send me (reasonable) bill... something like this:

DIY streamer with volumio in standard 43cm box

Hi, I would like to share with you my latest streamer project with volumio and some UI customization based on 2aCD project : Case: chasis from old deck with a little adaptation; Front panel: this is tailor made glass (cheap one simple glass) - then car wrap 100% black on the back of...

community.volumio.org

I'm not asking for too much, am I?

Naw, metal box would interfere with WiFi, and screens need to tilt back for better visibility and touchability on the desktop. 3D-printed cases are the way to go. Powerful magnets in the bottom keep them firmly clamped to the RME.

 

[thegeton]

View attachment 178480View attachment 178481View attachment 178482

Where do I order one?

 

[aandres_gm]

I've posted my solution to a good looking Pi-based streamer before. Depending on the OS you install, you may also get native Qobuz support.

A Raspberry Pi as a music server

Some feedback. I managed to deploy the Logitech Media Server on my existing Raspberry Pi 4, in a Docker container. It sees my music collection on the NAS via a mounted share, and I have the LMS config and playlist folders located outside the container so I can back them up, and won't lose them...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[xaviescacs]

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.

This is my living room setup, with Plex reading from a NAS.

 

[Timcognito]

This one looks interesting and inexpensive. Not sure about NAS connectability.

Songbird Music Streamer

The Songbird HiFi Streamer delivers internet streaming audio to any system, new or old, in plug-and-play box. Access and stream your favorite services including Spotify, Qobuz, TIDAL, and iHeartRadio over your WiFi network. Free app to control. DLNA and Airplay compatible.

www.andoveraudio.com

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

This one looks interesting and inexpensive. Not sure about NAS connectability.

Songbird Music Streamer

The Songbird HiFi Streamer delivers internet streaming audio to any system, new or old, in plug-and-play box. Access and stream your favorite services including Spotify, Qobuz, TIDAL, and iHeartRadio over your WiFi network. Free app to control. DLNA and Airplay compatible.

www.andoveraudio.com

Unfortunately, like all the LinkPlay-based devices measured thus far, it measures very poorly.

Andover Audio Songbird Review (Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Andover Audio Songbird hifi streamer and switcher. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $149. The Songbird is quite small and is powered by micro-USB jack which strangely is in front, not the back: The one button in the front...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Timcognito]

Unfortunately, like all the LinkPlay-based devices measured thus far, it measures very poorly.

Thanks RC. I should have looked to see if it was on ASR review list.

 

[ahofer]

Naw, metal box would interfere with WiFi, and screens need to tilt back for better visibility and touchability on the desktop. 3D-printed cases are the way to go. Powerful magnets in the bottom keep them firmly clamped to the RME.

View attachment 178778

NICE!!

 

[Liya]

CD player days were a little easier.
From all the suggestions and rafter giving it a good thought I think my options now are:

1) Auralic Aries G1
2) fan-less computer with Audirvana or Roon and phone as a remote

My question now is: which of the two systems would be more stable? I've read too many times about Auralic Lightning app not responding, not recognising the streamer etc, etc. Tbf, Audirvana is bulletproof, never had any problems with it past 5 years or so.
How about Roon? Large part of my collection (about 40%) is classical. How Roon would work with it?
For classical, I manually edit metadata in Audirvana. I make sure composers, orchestras, soloists, labels etc are all included. Once this is done, the search is a breeze.

Hifi Rose RS250? Looking good (better than Auralic) - nice screen, remote, Qobuz, good connectivity.

 

[ahofer]

CD player days were a little easier.
From all the suggestions and rafter giving it a good thought I think my options now are:

1) Auralic Aries G1
2) fan-less computer with Audirvana or Roon and phone as a remote

My question now is: which of the two systems would be more stable? I've read too many times about Auralic Lightning app not responding, not recognising the streamer etc, etc. Tbf, Audirvana is bulletproof, never had any problems with it past 5 years or so.
How about Roon? Large part of my collection (about 40%) is classical. How Roon would work with it?
For classical, I manually edit metadata in Audirvana. I make sure composers, orchestras, soloists, labels etc are all included. Once this is done, the search is a breeze.

Hifi Rose RS250? Looking good (better than Auralic) - nice screen, remote, Qobuz, good connectivity.

Now you are speaking my language. I used to do all that in Audirvana-for Minimserver (which has great tagging features). Roon made it unnecessary for me (and the days of unifying spellings of,say, Dvorak’s Re over!). And having federated search with streaming services was a plus.

Others have complained about Roon’s search, but I haven’t had issues with it for my own collection-just a bit with the streaming services.

And for recognizing and controlling endpoints, Roon is waaay better than any other control point I’ve used. Plus endpoint-specific EQ, plus more album and artist metadata. I bought a lifetime subscription.

 

[Liya]

Now you are speaking my language. I used to do all that in Audirvana-for Minimserver (which has great tagging features). Roon made it unnecessary for me (and the days of unifying spellings of,say, Dvorak’s Re over!). And having federated search with streaming services was a plus.

Others have complained about Roon’s search, but I haven’t had issues with it for my own collection-just a bit with the streaming services.

And for recognizing and controlling endpoints, Roon is waaay better than any other control point I’ve used. Plus endpoint-specific EQ, plus more album and artist metadata. I bought a lifetime subscription.

I have Roon trial and I am not sure I like it. Here are my observations:
1) For me, Roon search function leaves much to be desired compared to properly tagged classical albums on Audirvana (this is searching my own library). Say, I search for Krystian Zimerman, two of the albums from my collection on which he appears are missing from the search.
When I type 'Weinberg' I won't get all Weinbergs albums. Same is when looking for specific movements etc.
2) The artist info is of no use for me. I subscribe to BBC Music Magazine as well as Gramophone Magazine, both are full of reviews and classical music content.
3) Booklets are open externally (not in the app like in Audirvana).
4) I tend to listen full albums so 'Radio' option not needed.
5) also, DSP wouldn't be used.

As for the solution for all the family members I think I'll go for Mac Mini with Audirvana playing my collection + Qobuz controlled from a tablet.
Qobuz/Audirvana integration is faultless. Audirvana app is stable, no issues.
I'll probably connect Mac to the tv for occasional internet browsing.

 

[goat76]

The most user friendly streamers I have ever used are the Linn DS or DSM. They just work, never any connection problems and they support Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, local files and internet radio like TuneIn. They also sounds fantastic with the built-in DAC and if you go with the DSM you also get a really good pre-amp.

The Linn stuff is somewhat expansive, but the stability, updates and support is top notch. High value.

 

[london_r]

In case it helps, you might want to consider the following:

Using an iPad in single-app mode (aka Kiosk mode).... this effectively locks the iPad to become a single purpose device.

This would provide a persistent display - hence meeting this part of your requirements and allow you to effectively use a whole host of streamer apps. You would also be able to place the display anywhere, rather than having to have it in a cabinet / stand where it might not actually be as useful. This would hopefully avoid having to go the DIY route (unless you are into that), yet have the best of both worlds in terms of flexibility/choice whilst meeting your requirements for ease-of-use.

Admittedly, whilst a premium / expensive option, you could go down the line of a refurb/used iPad + Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 or BlueSound Node 2i (again you can pick these up used at a reasonable cost compared with dedicated streaming products with a display). In terms of user experience, both have great apps and this would be as good as it gets in my opinion.

 

[Liya]

In case it helps, you might want to consider the following:

Using an iPad in single-app mode (aka Kiosk mode).... this effectively locks the iPad to become a single purpose device.

This would provide a persistent display - hence meeting this part of your requirements and allow you to effectively use a whole host of streamer apps. You would also be able to place the display anywhere, rather than having to have it in a cabinet / stand where it might not actually be as useful. This would hopefully avoid having to go the DIY route (unless you are into that), yet have the best of both worlds in terms of flexibility/choice whilst meeting your requirements for ease-of-use.

Admittedly, whilst a premium / expensive option, you could go down the line of a refurb/used iPad + Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 or BlueSound Node 2i (again you can pick these up used at a reasonable cost compared with dedicated streaming products with a display). In terms of user experience, both have great apps and this would be as good as it gets in my opinion.

I think I need a server ( I have around 7000 albums and the library is growing) and Qobuz so probably Node 2 isn't good option. However, Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 looks like an option. I've looked at the Innuos website but couldn't find an answer what the 4 USB A inputs on the back of the device are for?
Could I connect 2 x SSD's to in and have my library there? Would the Zen Mini recognise them and play the music from it? or do I have to import everything to the internal storage and play from there?

 

[Liya]

The most user friendly streamers I have ever used are the Linn DS or DSM. They just work, never any connection problems and they support Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, local files and internet radio like TuneIn. They also sounds fantastic with the built-in DAC and if you go with the DSM you also get a really good pre-amp.

The Linn stuff is somewhat expansive, but the stability, updates and support is top notch. High value.

Can I connect 2 x SSD's to any of the Linn's streamers? Are these servers?

 

[london_r]

I think I need a server ( I have around 7000 albums and the library is growing) and Qobuz so probably Node 2 isn't good option. However, Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 looks like an option. I've looked at the Innuos website but couldn't find an answer what the 4 USB A inputs on the back of the device are for?
Could I connect 2 x SSD's to in and have my library there? Would the Zen Mini recognise them and play the music from it? or do I have to import everything to the internal storage and play from there?

The USB A ports can be used to connect to an external DAC (eg. if you don't want to use the internal DAC, but would rather use something else instead). They can also be used to backup the internal drive (as can an external NAS file share) or for import from USB attached storage.

In terms of external storage, they advertise playback from a NAS (therefore overcoming the limits of the internal storage that you refer to), however they don't seem to mention anything about playback from externally attached USB storage. Their support team are pretty responsive however, therefore they should be able to advise if it is something they will support.

Nb. Not sure how you manage it today, however if you have 7000 albums on individual SSD etc, you might want to put that content into a NAS and to have proper backups (ideally to offsite storage) etc. You can pick up NAS for fairly low cost these days and will give you an expandable data store.

 

[goat76]

Can I connect 2 x SSD's to any of the Linn's streamers? Are these servers?

The Linn DS and DSM are network players without the possibility to attach a hard drive directly to them, you can stream to them from your home network or most of the streaming services like Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, and more. You get access to everything with the same interface which makes it user-friendly for your family, just download the Linn Kazoo controller app for all your devices like phones, iPads, and computers. There is also full support for ROON if you like to use that instead.

I think you should consider getting a NAS as a server for all your content, that's what I have used for the last 10 years or more for both my music and movie library. The good thing about having a NAS is that it gives you access to everything from any device in your home (and even outside your home), and if it got space for two or more hard drives you can set one of them up just to mirror the other one for backup.