Inexpensive UPNP streamer

Posted by: DQ on 18 July 2011

Hello all,

Any ideas for a simple low cost streamer that can deal with a UPNP server. Thinking in the 100s of dollars, so the discontinued Roku Soundbridge, Netgear MP101, Play station etc. Needs to have a dig out, pref sp/dif.

This will likely be working with a Asset server.

Any ideas would be much appreciated,

David

Posted on: 03 August 2011 by DQ

I tried elyric vs plugplayer as software to enable iPod to stream from asset. Elyric is fast and flawless but plugplayer is like walking through an Irish bog. When it finally works it stutters and clicks. Must be a setting somewhere? Any advice?

Posted on: 03 August 2011 by garyi

I had an ATV 1 back in the day and used it for music and it sounded superb.

I cannot imagine why a hifi dealer would say otherwise.

um.

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk

As I have tried to say before ' bit perfect audio' is really a Marketing term.
There are is far more to SQ than just the digital encoding of an audio signal.
I really don't understand why people think if it's digital it's better than analogue, technically it's the opposite way around. The only advantage digital gives you is that it allows an easier method of maintaining data integrity through transmission, and nothing to do with SQ when one wishes to convert ithe data to create the audio signal.
Perhaps it's harkIng back to the marketing spin around the launch of CD.
Today the designs and engineering required to reform the quality analogue signal are even more important than before because of the prevalence of digital encoded audio. There are commodity design patterns around from chip manufacturers that will do a respectable minimum, and require little if any engineering development time ie typical consumer product, and then quality manufacturers such as Naim that invest in engineering time to extend the pattern from the mediocre. Certainly commodity and high quality in consumer product/engineering terms are very rarely in the same quadrants.
Simon

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by likesmusic

might be worth waiting for the new simpleaudio hd streamers.

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by DavidDever

Originally Posted by likesmusic:

might be worth waiting for the new simpleaudio hd streamers.

likesmusic, you are quite the Linn fanboy,aren't you?

Not providing support for WMA is a bit of a gamble, given the number of Internet Radio stations that utilize this format.

Also–I'd have my doubts as regards performance due to Powerline AC mains networking (don't know if this can be disabled at all)....

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by Hook

Originally Posted by garyi:

I had an ATV 1 back in the day and used it for music and it sounded superb.

I cannot imagine why a hifi dealer would say otherwise.

um.

Hi Gary -

My understanding is that the new ATV upsamples everything to 16/48, whereas the old model passed music streams unchanged, so maybe this a contributor.

I bought one of the new ATV's to be able to surf for new music. My setup is:

Spotify/Airplay -> 320kpbs MP3 -> New ATV -> 5m OptiChord -> DAC

Because the Tolink cable is long, I was able to place the ATV well away from my DAC, and on a different electrical circuit.

For my limited purposes, this works just fine...for now. The difference in sound quality is quite obvious (compared to 320kbps MP3 streamed via UPnP to the NDX). Hopefully a future NDX or DAC firmware upgrade will support Airplay, at which time I will move the ATV to my home theater setup (where it really belongs IMO).

In any event, complaining about a $99 purchase in this context just doesn't seem right...

Hook

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by Tog

Inexpensive streamer - got to be Squeezebox Classic or a Touch - surely???

Tog

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by realhifi

Originally Posted by Tog:

Inexpensive streamer - got to be Squeezebox Classic or a Touch - surely???

Tog

Got to be. The Touch is a ridiculously good piece of hardware and software at a bargain price.

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by Simon-in-Suffolk

From what I hear the Touch is good, especially if you change the SMPS. The classic is unfortunately poor as I discovered at my cost.
Simon

Posted on: 04 August 2011 by ferenc

iXtreamer.

Sounds very good through the Naim DAC and its SPDIF coax output. Can play from local storage, USB stick, internal eSATA drive (if you install one), has built-in iPod/iPad dock. Can be configured as an ftp, web, UPnP server, can read NFS share. Has internet radio, youtube playing capability. Plays up to 192kHz/24 bit through the analog, HDMI and SPDIF output from any local storage, but only up to 96kHz/24 bit form a UPnP server, but a firmware upgrade can change it. Plays FLAC, WAV, does not play AIFF and ALE. Can read NTFS and Fat 32, can not read HFS+. Plays all sorts of video formats, including Blu-ray ISO. Very stable, and with the passive cooling option perfectly quiet.

I have two in my home and like it a lot.

Posted on: 05 August 2011 by likesmusic

another, quite possibly silly, way of connecting a UPnP server to an apple tv or airport express is to use plugplayer to stream to your iPhone, then click on the 'Airplay' logo next to the volume bar and select your appletv or airport express .. and, as if by magic, the iPhone will go quiet and music will come from whatever your apple tv/airport express is connected to. No hacking required, all legit.