Does anyone stream music wirelessly?

stretchl

I do, but I'm upgrading my system (see below), and I wonder if I'm going to have to get out of that habit to get the most from my new gear.

Thanks.

newrival

Streaming can be done at a bit perfect level depending on your equipment, if that is what you are asking.

By the way i spent about 45 minutes on your site. Excellent work. Kudos

stretchl

Thanks for your kind words!

Regarding streaming, I guess the first variable to address is the source. Are mp3's pretty much out? My guess is that I should move away from them and toward WAV files, yes?

mantis

I stream VIA Apple TV 3rd gen. My first gen has a 160g built in hard drive which I think is the best. I plan on maybe getting into Sonos as I really love that system not to mention I have 9 other Audio zones around the house.

stretchl

I also use the apple tv...

tonyb

Sonos here too, and yes, get away from mp3's and into a lossless format such as Flac, Wav, or even Apple lossless. How you play it and distribute it has many options but a good dac is practically a must have in this .

AsSiMiLaTeD

I just created a quick post on this topic, partially because I saw this thread. It can be found below:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?134589-Digital-Computer-Audio-Starter-Guide&p=1796280#post1796280

For the best playback I personally do not recommend the Apple TV as I find the sound quality a bit lacking. I'm surprised Dan actually finds it adequate for music playback given his exposure to various audio gear. Maybe my setup is amiss somewhere, but I find it pretty obviously lacking in sound. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Apple TV for some other features, but music playback has been less than stellar for me.

nspindel

Squeezebox into a dac. Then get the iPhone app that lets you use the phone as a player. If you open a port on your router you can stream your whole library to the phone. I use it in the car all the time. I barely keep any music on the phone any more.

falconcry72

stretchl wrote: »

...Are mp3's pretty much out?

MP3's out. Lossy = bad; lossless = good. FLAC, WAV, Apple Lossless, APE, SHN, etc. = all good.

I choose FLAC because it's versatile and small.

Playback method is another story. As tonyb says, as good DAC is key, like, super key.



Some people will wince at this next statement, because it will lead you into bad source material, but it is the TRUTH (to my ears):

- A high quality MP3 played back on an excellent DAC will sound better than a lossless file played back on a mediocre DAC. Period. Disagree? Come on over; we'll have ourselves a listen!

seriously though, ditch all lossy formats, including mp3. A lossless file played back on an excellent DAC is the obvious winner.

tonyb

falconcry72 wrote: »

seriously though, ditch all lossy formats, including mp3. A lossless file played back on an excellent DAC is the obvious winner.

True....if sound quality is your priority. Unfortunately for some it is not. Then post threads about not liking their sound and blame it on the gear rather than the source. It all begins at the source gents.

uberchurl

nspindel wrote: »

Squeezebox into a dac. Then get the iPhone app that lets you use the phone as a player. If you open a port on your router you can stream your whole library to the phone. I use it in the car all the time. I barely keep any music on the phone any more.

nspindel, you have got it exactly right. I just experienced a friend's Squeezebox Touch in a nice system with pristine SDA SRS 2.3TL's and I was blown away. The streaming was FLAC lossless and at less than $300 ($237 on Amazon), it's by far the best value in a full featured streaming device. The app basically turns your phone into another remote for the unit. Opening a port on your router is brilliant for this device. Great post, nspindel!

newrival

ok, so to focus this a bit, stretch:

-moving forward it is recommended that you get your music in a lossless state whenever possible.
-it is recommended that you get the best external DAC that you can in your budget that will meet your needs/wants.
-It is important to consider the interface by which the music will arrive to your DAC, and how that will communicate with you storage device

I and a couple others use HTPCs and/or MacMinis for this purpose, and find it ideal as asynchronous USB or firewire are superior methods of data transfer to contemporary DACs. They also are endlessly useful for other uses, as you might imagine.

Others have found it convenient to keep their music on their existing computers and incorporate a sqeezebox device. For the money, they perform fairly well, and are heavily modifiable.

My primary source is digital, and likewise for many others here. There are many ways to make it sound great, and there is no reason that you will have to give up that convenience when you upgrade.

nspindel

uberchurl wrote: »

nspindel, you have got it exactly right. I just experienced a friend's Squeezebox Touch in a nice system with pristine SDA SRS 2.3TL's and I was blown away. The streaming was FLAC lossless and at less than $300 ($237 on Amazon), it's by far the best value in a full featured streaming device. The app basically turns your phone into another remote for the unit. Opening a port on your router is brilliant for this device. Great post, nspindel!

The app does more than just turn your phone into a remote, it can turn the phone into a squeezebox player, outside of your home if you open a port. Incredibly useful in the car.

nspindel

newrival wrote: »

ok, so to focus this a bit, stretch:

-moving forward it is recommended that you get your music in a lossless state whenever possible.
-it is recommended that you get the best external DAC that you can in your budget that will meet your needs/wants.
-It is important to consider the interface by which the music will arrive to your DAC, and how that will communicate with you storage device

I and a couple others use HTPCs and/or MacMinis for this purpose, and find it ideal as asynchronous USB or firewire are superior methods of data transfer to contemporary DACs. They also are endlessly useful for other uses, as you might imagine.

Others have found it convenient to keep their music on their existing computers and incorporate a sqeezebox device. For the money, they perform fairly well, and are heavily modifiable.

My primary source is digital, and likewise for many others here. There are many ways to make it sound great, and there is no reason that you will have to give up that convenience when you upgrade.

I'd say that's just about correct. I used to be the htpc type, but I prefer dedicated appliances to a computer that needs far more configuration. I use the Squeezebox for music, Sagetv extenders for tv/dvr/video, and I also play with an Apple TV for AirPlay mirroring.

doctorcilantro

Now J. River can "see" Squeezeboxes as zones. Give the JRemote app a whirl too (3rd party), it's killer and you can control any zone including playback to current device.

stretchl

Thanks everyone. I'm still on the road and will have to address this in detail once I get back home and have the various components in front of me and the new speakers and amp hooked up. Too many "moving parts" to figure it all out now...

steveinaz

USB HDD -->Laptop hardwired -->Wireless Modem -->Squeezebox Touch -->Benchmark DAC/PRE. Using Flac. I can discern no difference between this setup and my CEC transport playing CD's. If anything, the HDD music might sound ever so slightly smoother.

Lost240

I stream to 4 different airport express's around the entire house