Qobuz to DAC with remote control via iPhone: How??

[simonpj]

The range of potential options for streaming has defeated me. Here's what I want to do.

I've been using Qobuz via from my iMac via a USB to SPDIF convertor into my DAC. But the iMac is no longer sitting near the hifi, so I need a streamer that will:

- Connect to the router via cable
- Feed SPDIF to my DAC at user definable resolution (my DAC only goes to 24/96)
- Be controlled remotely via iPhone / iPad / iMac for selection and playing of music from Qobuz with a good interface

Is this what all streamers do?

How does Qobuz support vary between different streamers? Is there a best option?

Is there a sweetspot for price / performance? Streamers you would recommend?

Many thanks,

Simon

[Tim]

In essence you are correct in that in the hi-fi world, many people will use a streamer connected direct to a DAC or amplifier and control it remotely from a phone, tablet or PC. Ideally it will be hard wired to your router or wireless can work well too. A lot just connect a laptop to a DAC, connect it to the internet, stick it in/on a Hi-fi rack, forget it and control it remotely.

As to what to use, well that's the 64 million dollar question, a Raspberry Pi with a digital output, good power supply and connected to a DAC is arguably going to produce the best result for minimal cost, but as it's headless (again normally best practice) it does need a controller as outlined above. There's lots of info here about the Pi being used as both a server or streamer.

My only advice is to do some research, ask questions and hopefully those here that have off the shelf solutions will make suggestions. I can't really recommend anything you can buy as I built my own server and have no experience of Quboz. I use Spotify or play my own CD rips or downloads.

Good luck though and it's the best thing I ever did, especially as I have quite a lot of CDs, which were becoming unmanageable. I enjoy my music so much more and play so much more

What's your budget is always a good place to start, as streamers can be anything from a few pounds to thousands. Also, does it have to be a bought ready to go streamer?

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[disarmamant]

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/aur...eaming-bridge/

[Stratmangler]

As Tim has already said, a Raspberry Pi, fitted with something like the HiFiBerry Digi+ board would be a good place to start.
Load the RasPi with piCorePlayer, and you have a device running LMS, and Squeezelite, and as such acts as server and player.
LMS has a Qobuz app.

Stick a decent linear PSU into the equation, and the job's a goodun.

It will take you a little bit of time to get to grips with running things headlessly, but there are plenty of folk here can give you advice when you need it.

[Stratmangler]

I forgot to add - there's an app called iPeng that can control the Squeezelite player.
It works quite well, by all accounts. I have no personal experience of using it, but I do know it works on iPads too.

[simonpj]

Thanks. Plenty to be getting on with. Setting up a turnable still seems a doddle by comparison!

[Tim]

Thanks. Plenty to be getting on with. Setting up a turnable still seems a doddle by comparison!

Depends on your skill set, I would find it harder setting up a turntable. However, once you set up your streamer (and there is a knowledge curve if it's all new to you) then it's plain sailing. No cleaning, cartridge/stylus expense etc and simplicity to operate.

BUT and this is a biggy, which some either don't do, forget to do or just put off for a rainy day and then pay the price of either losing data or having to re-rip large collections, which is very time consuming. You must build a backup routine into your system, be that a NAS (which isn't necessarily a backup persay, unless you ensure you have something else), USB drives, cloud storage or whatever - lots of options here too.

Hard drives are cheap these days, so don't forget it's an essential part of the setup, unless all you do is stream from a streaming service, then it's a breeze as you don't need much at all.

Trust me, don't neglect this part of the equation, you can never have too many backups

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[SLS]

If Stratmangler's posts set your head spinning, and to me it could be written in Chinese, I would suggest either the Auralic Aries (already recommended), which is a streamer only.

The Aries Mini also has an internal DAC that may be perfectly up to your standards and you can sell your existing DAC. I believe the Auralic external PSU (cost £230) also fits the Aries Mini, so the whole thing would cost £680 with a good PSU. For £40 a hard drive will make it a network server as well. (The drive slots in under the baseplate.)

I have both units and they are both superb.

Best thing is you will be listening to music within 3 minutes of opening the box.

The Auralic Lightning App is absolutely brilliant. There is no knowledge curve at all with Auralic software, they have completely nailed setup and control. A 3-year-old could do it. The hardest thing is likely remembering your Qobuz password. It only works on iOS.

If Stratmangler's posts do make sense, then you are far more techy than me. I don't even know what 'headless' means, but it sounds edible.

[disarmamant]

I don't even know what 'headless' means, but it sounds edible.

It’s not edible, and doesn’t refer to how Ann Boleyn finished her days. In computing terms it refers to a networked PC, usually a server, running remotely without a keyboard, mouse or monitor.

I use a headless server running Vortexbox, Logitech Media Server (LMS) and Roon.

I use ipeng on my iPad to control LMS to stream Qobuz to a Logitech Transporter, and Roon to stream from my music collection on the Vortexbox via Ethernet to a Devialet 220 using the Devialet Air protocol.


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[SLS]

It’s not edible, and doesn’t refer to how Ann Boleyn finished her days. In computing terms it refers to a networked PC, usually a server, running remotely without a keyboard, mouse or monitor.

I use a headless server running Vortexbox, Logitech Media Server (LMS) and Roon.

I use ipeng on my iPad to control LMS to stream Qobuz to a Logitech Transporter, and Roon to stream from my music collection on the Vortexbox via Ethernet to a Devialet 220 using the Devialet Air protocol.


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I have two systems, den and office. I just open the Lightning app on my phone, select from a dropdown list which system I want to listen to, choose some music and press play. Simple. Works every time.
If I search for music, it will find it whether on my QNAP server or online, because Lightning will index networked or attached/installed drives. No thinking involved. One app, finds and does everything. Even my wife can work it out, and she’s clueless with stuff like this.



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