Network player for music only

French_guy

Hello all,

If I were to rip all my CD collection onto a NAS (lossless format, maybe FLAC or WAV or whatever is best), which network player would you recommend?
I’m not talking about budget for now, just want to see what exists on the market (from cheap to high $$$), and what you recommend.
Whatever the solution is, I want to be able to use an iphone/ipad or android app to select my music from the NAS (easier than a small display on the streaming unit)
Thanks

EndersShadow

Squeezebox Duet, Classic, Touch are all low cost options that will work.

The Classic is limited to 16/44.1 which is FLAC ripped off a CD. The Touch does 22/192 and I think the Duet does.

All of those are in the under 300 category.

Sonos is another nice unit again limited to 16/44.1.

All of those have apps you can control your music playback.

But before you head that route, are you wireless or wired? I'm wireless and at times there are drops in the audio playback and delays in playing music due to signal strength.

Dont know how big a deal that is for you, but I keep hoping to be able to wire my house for ethernet, so I'd think about that too.

There are many other more expensive options, so I will let others make those suggestions. Lots of Blu-Ray Players and even CD players now are network capable.

msg

Ah- Enders beat me to it!
and good points on wired/vs wireless

a few options come to mind, couple of things I've messed with:

• Plex - use the app available through a Roku 3 or other multi-streaming stb
• Plex - build a small media computer w/HDMI to use if you want a separate box with more control of the components
• Squeezebox Touch - this is what I use. it's no longer supported by Logitech, but still fairly popular and capable. there's a nice community of users tweaking and hacking things to make them better. I find it a little clunky to browse music, but it's still my go-to source. does files over your LAN, over USB connected, and also connects to LAN connected iTunes libraries.

Cambridge Audio makes a few that have piqued my curiosity, but I don't know much about them.

others will probably jump in with other recommendations, maybe some higher end stuff.

tonyb

Dan,

Never get any drops with my Sonos. The difference is Sonos sets up it's own wireless network where as the others don't. If your experiencing drops, try a different channel or your signal needs a booster.

Take notice when these drops occur of what else is being used at the same time. Sometimes a microwave can interfere, lights, etc. Usually changing the channel solves those issues.

tonyb

tonyb wrote: »

Dan,

Never get any drops with my Sonos. The difference is Sonos sets up it's own wireless network where as the others don't. If your experiencing drops, try a different channel or your signal needs a booster.

Take notice when these drops occur of what else is being used at the same time. Sometimes a microwave can interfere, lights, etc. Usually changing the channel solves those issues.

French,

It's impossible for us to name every music server out there, low or high end. Budget will determine whats available to you. You can spend a couple hundred, or 10 grand.

French_guy

I already have some good info here...thanks guys
The Squeezebox touch looks nice, too bad it's discontinued....
Looks like the Sonos (is it the Sonos Connect we are talking about?) is a good pick, and maybe a DAC later on if I like the whole concept
My wifi is pretty robust (ac and n) since I changed my router (I have now a Netgear 1750 ac). I don't think i will have network issue

tonyb

Like I said, you won't have network issues with the Sonos. Thing is it's limited to cd quality. Add a good dac though and you'll forget about hi-rez for the near future.

EndersShadow

tonyb wrote: »

Dan,

Never get any drops with my Sonos. The difference is Sonos sets up it's own wireless network where as the others don't. If your experiencing drops, try a different channel or your signal needs a booster.

Take notice when these drops occur of what else is being used at the same time. Sometimes a microwave can interfere, lights, etc. Usually changing the channel solves those issues.

@tonyb‌
Its a signal thing. My PC is wireless, my Squeezebox is wireless so there is lag between selecting the song and it playing, as well as when it switches songs....

I've got a Wireless N desktop card, Wireless N router & wireless N access point (connected to a switch to the squeezebox) so I've done the best I can do w/o hardwiring it.

^Apologize for the side track.

Back to point, even if Sono's makes its own wireless network, if the signal sucks between it and your other device, you may still have lag.

Just something to be aware of.

tonyb

Dan,

The Sonos wireless works, just simply works. I've used it outside my house 200 ft away.

French_guy

tonyb wrote: »

Like I said, you won't have network issues with the Sonos. Thing is it's limited to cd quality. Add a good dac though and you'll forget about hi-rez for the near future.

So meaning I won't be able to play SACD or any other sort of Hi resolution audio, right?
Is the difference REALLY noticeable (my speaker are RTi A5, and my AVR might be something like a Marantz soon, don't know which one yet...)
Talking about better external DAC, what would you have in mind (can be used BTW)?

French_guy

EndersShadow wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

Dan,

Never get any drops with my Sonos. The difference is Sonos sets up it's own wireless network where as the others don't. If your experiencing drops, try a different channel or your signal needs a booster.

Take notice when these drops occur of what else is being used at the same time. Sometimes a microwave can interfere, lights, etc. Usually changing the channel solves those issues.

@tonyb‌
Its a signal thing. My PC is wireless, my Squeezebox is wireless so there is lag between selecting the song and it playing, as well as when it switches songs....

I've got a Wireless N desktop card, Wireless N router & wireless N access point (connected to a switch to the squeezebox) so I've done the best I can do w/o hardwiring it.

^Apologize for the side track.

Back to point, even if Sono's makes its own wireless network, if the signal sucks between it and your other device, you may still have lag.

Just something to be aware of.

An AC bridge might be the option if I were to have issue....to be verified if I pull the trigger on the Sonos. I can buy one at Target and make some tests anyway....

French_guy

DSkip wrote: »

The difference won't be as apparent as it would in a dedicated 2 channel system, but you might notice slight differences. I think you'd be content with just a streamer given your current system.

When you say "just a streamer", you mean the Sonos, right?

tonyb

No, you can't play SACD with the Sonos, or SB for that matter. Sonos, and squeezebox classic and duet will do cd quality, the SB Touch takes it to 24/96

To me though, Sonos has the better software and is constantly being updated to make even more improvements where as the SB software is stagnant having been discontinued. The other advantage is like I said, Sonos sets up it's own wireless so as not to interfere with your laptops, Tablets, or other wireless devices.

If you can live with cd quality, either device is fine. If not, other higher rez devices are out there but cost more too. Depends on the files you want to stream.

On the sonos, you buy the bridge along with a zp90, the bridge connects to your router, the zp90 connects to either your receiver or dac.....preferably a dac. You can use your phone or tablet/laptop as the controller as their app is free anyway. You may need a good coax digital cable too to go from the zp90 to your dac or digital input on the receiver.

EndersShadow

French_guy wrote: »

An AC bridge might be the option if I were to have issue....to be verified if I pull the trigger on the Sonos. I can buy one at Target and make some tests anyway....

The device I am using for my HT stuff is a network bridge/switch or access point (depending on how you configure it).

I used the wrong word but its configured as a bridge right now, and connected to a gigabit switch so thats not the issue.

IF I were hardwired it wouldn't be an issue but I'm WAF limited (she doesnt want me tearing up walls to run wires and dedicated outlets........ yet)

French_guy

DSkip wrote: »

Is there a cheaper version of the Sonos out there? Cheapest I've seen is like $500 - maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

Price is $350 at Target or Amazon....

French_guy

tonyb wrote: »

No, you can't play SACD with the Sonos, or SB for that matter. Sonos, and squeezebox classic and duet will do cd quality, the SB Touch takes it to 24/96

To me though, Sonos has the better software and is constantly being updated to make even more improvements where as the SB software is stagnant having been discontinued. The other advantage is like I said, Sonos sets up it's own wireless so as not to interfere with your laptops, Tablets, or other wireless devices.

If you can live with cd quality, either device is fine. If not, other higher rez devices are out there but cost more too. Depends on the files you want to stream.

On the sonos, you buy the bridge along with a zp90, the bridge connects to your router, the zp90 connects to either your receiver or dac.....preferably a dac. You can use your phone or tablet/laptop as the controller as their app is free anyway. You may need a good coax digital cable too to go from the zp90 to your dac or digital input on the receiver.

Sonos by itself is not wifi? Anyway, I do have a bridge/AP already (Dlink DAP 1522) so I'm all good. I was also looking at the quick setup guide, and there are 2 ethernet port. The guide says you can connect a NAS drive onto it?
What would be some other devices worth the extra money if one day I wanted to listen to hi-def audio?

French_guy

EndersShadow wrote: »

French_guy wrote: »

An AC bridge might be the option if I were to have issue....to be verified if I pull the trigger on the Sonos. I can buy one at Target and make some tests anyway....

The device I am using for my HT stuff is a network bridge/switch or access point (depending on how you configure it).

I used the wrong word but its configured as a bridge right now, and connected to a gigabit switch so thats not the issue.

IF I were hardwired it wouldn't be an issue but I'm WAF limited (she doesnt want me tearing up walls to run wires and dedicated outlets........ yet)

Have you tried PoE?

EndersShadow

That gets pricey enough I would rather run the lines lol

tonyb

French_guy wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

Is there a cheaper version of the Sonos out there? Cheapest I've seen is like $500 - maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

Price is $350 at Target or Amazon....

and from Sonos themselves, or Best buy. You must be looking at the connect amp, has the amp built in for 5 bones. Had it too and sent it back, sounded like horse poo. The zp90 with your own dac/amps/speakers is the way to go if you go the Sonos route.

Used I've seen the ZP90's for 200 bucks....

French_guy

I think i've seen one used at $150

tonyb

One more caveat when using these small streaming devices. Most of them, Sonos included, are only bit perfect when the volume is set to fixed. That means you'd be using the volume control on your dac or pre or receiver. You can use the volume control as variable and control it from any hand held device, you won't notice much difference until you turn it up. Then the noise becomes audible in the higher frequencies. I always use fixed on the main rig, and variable on the casual listening rig, mainly because the volume never gets that high anyway and I'm outside most the time.

French_guy

Good to know...

AsSiMiLaTeD

For a really cheap option you can use the Apple Airport Express if a) you're in the Apple ecosystem and b) are ok with only rebook CD and don't need high resolution. You can pick up the previous generation 'brick' style models for really cheap.

French_guy

I would prefer to avoid Apple stuff.....
But how the Airport Expess compares with the Sonos connect?

AsSiMiLaTeD

If you don't already have Apple gear at home and would prefer to avoid it then it doesn't really matter. They have similar levels of sound quality, with each having their strengths and weaknesses.

The AE is nice if you're already in their ecosystem because it's inexpensive and offers a lot of flexibility. If you don't already have other Apple gear in place though I wouldn't recommend the Airport Express, and it's certainly not worth going out and buying their other products for.

ZLTFUL

I thought the newest version of the Sonos Connect didn't require the Bridge?

http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/connect#

Thorton

tonyb wrote: »

Like I said, you won't have network issues with the Sonos. Thing is it's limited to cd quality. Add a good dac though and you'll forget about hi-rez for the near future.

I agree with everything Tony has posted. The Sonos is a fantastic piece of equipment. Simple to hook-up. Flawless operation with no dropouts and my system is on a different floor on the other side of the house. Sonos is continually updating for a better and easier interface. I use it about every day or every other day for over a year with no problems. Plug it in and your good to go.

pearsall001

tonyb wrote: »

No, you can't play SACD with the Sonos, or SB for that matter. Sonos, and squeezebox classic and duet will do cd quality, the SB Touch takes it to 24/96

To me though, Sonos has the better software and is constantly being updated to make even more improvements where as the SB software is stagnant having been discontinued. The other advantage is like I said, Sonos sets up it's own wireless so as not to interfere with your laptops, Tablets, or other wireless devices.

If you can live with cd quality, either device is fine. If not, other higher rez devices are out there but cost more too. Depends on the files you want to stream.

On the sonos, you buy the bridge along with a zp90, the bridge connects to your router, the zp90 connects to either your receiver or dac.....preferably a dac. You can use your phone or tablet/laptop as the controller as their app is free anyway. You may need a good coax digital cable too to go from the zp90 to your dac or digital input on the receiver.

Amen brother...there's SONOS & everything else is a SONOS wanna bee, period end of story. It's rock solid design & capabilities leave all others still scratching their heads trying to catch up. It's an amazing system that simply works, never any dropouts, easy as pie to set up & anyone can operate it without any problems. You get what you pay for.

French_guy

Quick question: why the Sonos has analog inputs?

tophatjohnny

You get what ya pay for..pretty simple. The Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 is a great unit, and they have most of the bugs worked out with the Android apps that are available. The reg ap and the newer Lite ap, I prefer the regular ap. I have seen em on ebay sell for as little as 425...so that's my choice. I'm starting to really know the unit and it is pretty amazing. Customer support is starting to improve a great deal too!

BlueFox

Auralic Aries coupled with the Auralic Vega DAC. If I didn't already have the Bryston BDP-1 I would get the Aries to go with my Vega.

http://www.auralic.com/en/

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