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Dreamin' of streamin'


I am hoping to tap into your experience and knowledge as veteran streamers. I am currently streaming from a stock Acer laptop through a Schiit Modi 3 DAC, into an Arcam 850 and out through Wharfedale Linton Heritage Anniversary speakers. It seems that the laptop could be replaced with a dedicated streamer, enhancing the listening experience.

I have about 5,000 albums that I access with Itunes on the laptop. I also currently listen to Sirius XM, Amazon Music, some music podcasts, and some small town radio stations that I cannot find on TuneIn Radio. I am planning to subscribe to Qobuz, not initially as a replacement, but as a supplement to these sources.

I tried a Rose 250A, but was unable to access podcasts, Sirius, Amazon,and several radio stations.

Does a box exist that will access all these sources? Dream solution would display album art for song currently playing, at least for albums on hard drive.

If I need to stay with a computer, is there a better computer/soundcard for listening?

As a secondary query, do you have suggestions for a music player (with the ability to create playlists) to replace Itunes?

Thank you again

davedword
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,502 posts
 

Amazon, iTunes and Sirius on one device? They don't play well together. 

None of them sound as good as Qobuz.

Especially on a dedicated device.  Lose the PC for HiFi play.

mapman's avatar
mapman
21,865 posts
 

All you need for low res streaming sources both audio and video is a streamer that handles airplay or Chromecast. Cd res audio is also handled there. A Roku stick will do nicely. You can run hdmi from that to a splitter and out to tv and toslink to dac.

For a/v streaming with audio up to cd resolution Plex is a cost effective application.

Most newer hifi streamers will handle hi res qobuz or tidal streaming. If you have your own music library and want to expand that Roon does it all in conjunction with qobuz or tidal. For a/v you might just stick with Plex.

 

In almost every case, hifi streamers alone  do not provide the complete user experience possible these days.  For that you use apps on your smart phone tablet or computer to control things.   Roon, Plex, Spotify, amazon, qobuz, tidal are just some of the more popular options.  

edcyn
1,876 posts
 

I get absolutely lovely fidelity of timbre...though perhaps not the finest 3D imaging I've had...via a phone company hardwired ethernet connection from my wall to a Cambridge CXN streamer/DAC controlled by my laptop. My internet sources are usually Qobuz for general listening and Idagio for classical. The system provides serious competition for my vinyl (yeah, the vinyl can deliver more 3D), and more often than not gives me better fidelity than I get from my Sony CD/SACD player. In other words, I'm a streamin' fool. Let the world rush in!

jerrybj
849 posts
 

Before moving to a streamer and Qobuz, I was using Tidal and iTunes on a MacBook Pro.

It was suggested I use a Halide Bridge USB SPIDF converter. Second hand, very reasonable. A decent improvement.

mahler123
3,062 posts
 

I streamed for years using a MacBook Air laptop with Audirvana Plus.  . Dedicated streamers work better, but for the sake of argument, a streamer is just a computer that is made to look like an audio component, and has a limited OS.  CD players also fit that description.

  Why are you moving from a PC to a streamer?  Sound?  Ease of convenience?  The answers to that question will help guide recommendations, along with the budget.

  One issue will be the 5K albums you referenced.  Are they stored on a separate HD?  Are they in mp3 or the Apple equivalent?  

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