Best Streaming option for a 2nd system (in Kitchen/Diner)

I have been quite impressed with the new generation of Bluesound - the Bluesound Node 2 which comes with or without an integrated amp.  It's not without its quirks but then in my experience there is no one streaming product that does everything you want, the way that you want.  I include the Naim streamers in this criticism and, by comparison, Bluesound is a serious step-up from Sonos (it does hi def, for example), and not far below Naim in sound quality but at a significantly lower cost.  

I plug my Bluesounds into Naim DACs and amps and it sounds very good indeed.  Unlike Naim streamers, Bluesound plays multi-room without compression, and also has Qobuz integrated. 

Options 1 or 2 will probably best fit your situation. I am pretty sure the 320kbps issue would only effect the 'slave' side (unitiqute).

Me, I would buy 2 sonos connects, plug one into the main system and use the second with your spare components in the kitchen / diner.

I find that when cooking or entertaining music or radio quality is much less critical.

Why a sonos on the main system too? Party Mode!

I would go Mu-So or the new Mu- So Qb - UPnP through NAS and Iradio will give you lots of options

Mu-So certainly delivers a big Sound - Not heard the QB yet

 The Muso has a massive sound capability and should easily fill the space if it's not too massive. You can play different music on the NDX and Muso (or Qute) at full resolution. You can also synchronise music if you want to play the same thing in both rooms, using party mode. This is where the SQ to the Muso may drop, but I'm not sure. If you are playing different music most of the time it's not an issue. 

We have a QB on order, as we have insufficient worktop space in our kitchen, but if you have the 60cm for the Muso that's great. Why not give the Muso and the Qute/Kef a spin at the dealer and see if the Muso is good enough for you. 

I have a Muso as a second system in quite a large kitchen/family/dining room (around 6m x 6m).  The Muso easily fills the room with lovely rich sound.  No hesitation in recommending one for a similar situation.  My experience is that the wifi connectability of the Muso is significantly worse than the SU in the living room (even with the router in the same room as the Muso)  and it definitely needed direct Ethernet connection or Ethernet over mains.

One thing to bear in mind.  To link the Muso to the NDX you'll have to enable the wifi on the NDX. Some on this forum have surmised that this may compromise the sound quality of the NDX.

The sonos uses its own wifi set up, independent of whatever wifi you already have.  Using the sonos will allow you to maintain the integrity of your existing main system.

Just a thought.

No need to enable WiFi on the NDX if it is wired to the network.  The Mu-so will join the network via the router, either wirelessly or by wire.

Nick

Is this true if you use the Multiroom mode? If so why is it limited to 320kbps?

I have my Muso in a pretty big fitness room, and it fills it properly while not physically in the best position. So I would recommend the Muso...

It depends on budget and how many boxes you want. I have a Sonos Play 5 in the kitchen. Like the Muso it's a single box, but cheaper. Works great.

It is possible to play different music on different devices that all use the same UPnP server/music files.

As long as both devices are on the network, multiroom will work. My guess is that the 320kbps limitation is down to bandwidth limitations on the streamer boards, as they are only wireless-g/n or 100mbps on ethernet.

It could also be a syncing issue because of this, perhaps there are lag issues when trying to stream at a higher bit rate. 

This is all speculation of course!

Just to chuck in another view, I use a UnitiQute 2 and a pair of Quad 11L speakers in my kitchen/ dining room. I have the UQ2 on the rack with the sitting room kit and I have fed the speakers cables through a hole drilled through the internal wall.  The UQ2 is controlled by my or my wife's iPhone and the Naim app. I already had the speakers so it wasn't much more to buy the UQ2 than a muso, added to which the muso wasn't announced when I bought the UQ2.

Any way this works really well and I wouldn't change it.

best

David

Soundwise a UnitiQute 2 into your existing speakers will give the best result. Budget wise will be your call but stick with Naim, and as always you will get what you pay for.

No doubt Naim is better if sound quality is the main driver. Sonos (and other similar systems) are better when it comes to multi-room functionality. For me, background listening in a kitchen or when I have friends over doesn't require quality.  

Mattnbarns posted:

Is this true if you use the Multiroom mode? If so why is it limited to 320kbps?

Nick is right. You don't need to enable wifi on the NDX.  The limitation on streaming in multi room mode happens between wired streamers too, eg last weekend I tried to multi room a 192kHZ HD stream playing on my NAC 272 onto my UQ2 and the error message told me to stop HD streaming.  I think it is a limitation of the hardware in the streamers and nothing to do with the network.

best

David

David,

Thanks.  I am not sure why Naim cant stream better than 320kbps on a wired network when Sonos (and others) can stream CD (or better) quality wirelessly but I then Sonos cant make a product that sounds like an NDX so fairs fair I guess.

Just goes to reinforce (to me) my theory that if you want proper multi room use Sonos, if you want better quality reproduction go Naim. Or do what I do and mix them up to get the best of both worlds.

All the Best,

Matt

For multi-room, you can go one better than Sonos by using Bluesound Node 2.  

The Bluesound desktop and app control is not as slick as Sonos but it plays hi-def files (up to 24/192) with no compression between different locations.  To my ears, it also sounds better than Sonos.  

Like Sonos, Bluesound come with and without an integrated amp.  My units are without amp and I plug them into Naim DACs and amps, so Bluesound are only doing the streaming bit and Naim are doing the rest.  In this setup I can't imagine that the significant extra cost of Naim streamers would be worth the money, even if they were capable of doing multi-room without compression. 

Hi Matt

The limit isn't 320 Kbps afaik and you can certainly multi-room stream CD WAV rips - I just now tried it to prove it to myself that it works and it does.  But it wouldn't let me multi-room stream a 24 bit 96 KHz WAV. 

As I said I think it's a hardware limitation.  Presumably it's sufficiently difficult to overcome in their particular implementation of streaming that they haven't yet got round to tackling it.

best

David

Ah, so the 320kbps is wireless only. That's makes more sense to me. Thanks for the info.

RTFM 

"Note: Server streamer broadcasts are limited to the following digital audio formats: ALAC up to 44.1kHz/16 bit AAC up to 48kHz/16 bit MP4 up to 48kHz/16 bit MP3 up to 48kHz/16 bit WMA up to 48kHz/16 bit AIFF up to 48kHz/24 bit FLAC up to 48kHz/24 bit WAV up to 48kHz/24 bit"

Which FM is that? I've never seen it to R!

It's the F Multiroom Supplement, hidden in the downloads section of the streamer web pages. 

Well F me. I shall have to go and R that!

Thanks for all the feedback to my original question. Appreciate everyone taking time out to offer their opinions/suggestions.

I've just setup my old hi-fi components in the kitchen/dinning as the first step. Have to admit I'm a bit disappointed in the sound which sounds boxed in. It probably doesn't help that I have the speakers on the sideboard close to the wall rather than on stands.

I've got a Muso in our kitchen... perfect spot for it.