Surprised at streaming

[The Black Adder]

Hi all.

Just recently I've been experimenting with my Sony DVD player. It has USB support and I've been streaming movies with it for quite a while now.

The other day I moved it over towards the hifi and tried with my external DAC. I have to say, I really can't find much wrong with the sound at all... In fact it's bloody good. I have to agree that transports do make a difference but I feel that streaming is pretty much in the mid-band of quality so far which isn't bad. :eek:

So, is the Sony DVD/Blueray player the best device for this?... It is very handy as it's good to select from the TV screen. I'm a newbie to streaming music so any advice would be appreciated.

[Tim]

Careful Joe, don't get too close to the darkside!

Don't have any experience of this myself as I have a custom built server, but I know Gazjam rates the OPPO for streaming music and others have mentioned how surprised they were by the quality of Sony players, when used with an external DAC and files from a USB device. It's not sexy, but gets the job done rather well.

[The Black Adder]

lol... the dark side.

Well... the thing that got me thinking was the future of CD more than anything and the thread about Accudazed Accuphase cd player not being able to be fixed... (to which I hope he has) - Some cdp's like Accuphase cost thousands but if it fails outside the warranty a lot of people 'could' be fooked. Those kind of high end cdp's should not be considered as throw away items by the manufacturer in my book.

So is streaming a future for me at the moment? - I'm tempted I must admit and spend the money on a decent DAC instead.

The only thing that holds me back is the fact that I love well engineered kit.... this will be my downfall. lol

[Ali Tait]

If nothing else it extends your music choice, lots of stuff not available on vinyl, and vice versa.

[MikeMusic]

Whatever we want or think streaming will get better and better and take over (I think !)

[The Black Adder]

It does make you think though, Mike about manufactures such as Esoteric who make the VRDS stuff. That kit is super high precision engineering so what will happen to those units in 10 years time when streaming becomes the norm? - I'm sure the units will still work (and for 10+ years after) but will they be supported if they fail? Personally I'd want it to be supported if for only the lasers sake if anything. I really hope they will for the owners sake.

[struth]

I certainly would not spend a lot on high end spinners. I can stream from a PC every bit as well as a cd.
You don't have to spend that much either. The future is going to be wireless, as that's what most young people expect . they don't have any wish for all the gear lying around and don't really appreciate the sonic improvement. Personally I love it:lol:

[roob]

A Bluesound Node is what you want c£399

[Accudazed]

It does make you think though, Mike about manufactures such as Esoteric who make the VRDS stuff... so what will happen to those units in 10 years time when streaming becomes the norm...will they be supported if they fail?

In a word, NO. I am convinced that CD is now on death row as far as the music industry is concerned. It's probably been planned that way from the start. Who could ask for more eh? The manufacturers can force us all to get rid of our CDs and re-buy our music and hifi gear all over again. Kerching!

I'm sure someone will make CD players in the future, but they will either be cheap and not very cheerful Aldi 'specials' or hugely expensive 5-10 year life machines that will be scrapped by inexpensive part failures and pathetic (lack of) spares 'backup'.

Perhaps it was inevitable and we should have seen it coming from the start but who would have thought it would come to this with CDs after such a short period of time? How ironic eh, a 'premium product' sold on the basis that it would last a lifetime wont even last as long as the medium it was supposed to replace.

I'm interested in streaming BUT WTF am I going to do with all my CDs and how will I feel when streaming is dumped by the industry in the next 5, 10, 15, ?, years and I have to start all over again with something else?

Don't know about you, but it doesn't feel like progress to me. :(:(:(:(:(:(

There must be a way to make money from this. You know, feel like you have a least a bit of control and some stake in where this is all going. Any one got any ideas on what CDs can be reused for? Trendy beer mats? Carpet protectors? Frisbees? Something to sit a record cleaning brush on? Errrr...

[struth]

You can do what I am currently doing and playing them through the pc on an external CDROM with external psu through an async system. It sounds might fine to me.

[Markiii]

Dbpoweramp

Rip all your CDs, no need to buy them again unless you want the high def remastered that will likely eventually appear, I'm certainly not buying my entire collection again

Ripping and streaming via my squeezebox is the equal of my cdp when using the same Dac

[RichB]

Absolutely, rip the CDs and find ways to store them....

Ironically as its a dying format I now find CDs cheaper to buy than downloads, esp if buying second hand from that auction site. Plenty of used spinners out there and people dumping their collections to keep us in music and toys for a long while to come.

[Andrei]

Hi all.

Just recently I've been experimenting with my Sony DVD player. It has USB support and I've been streaming movies with it for quite a while now.

The other day I moved it over towards the hifi and tried with my external DAC. I have to say, I really can't find much wrong with the sound at all... In fact it's bloody good. I have to agree that transports do make a difference but I feel that streaming is pretty much in the mid-band of quality so far which isn't bad. :eek:

So, is the Sony DVD/Blueray player the best device for this?... It is very handy as it's good to select from the TV screen. I'm a newbie to streaming music so any advice would be appreciated.

Bit of the blind leading the blind, but here goes: I went for an Oppo 105 because I noted that a lot of demonstrations of amps and speakers were using the Oppo 95. To me that is a recommendation in actions rather than words. The current versions are the 105 and the 103 (which is cheaper, but does not have the top shelf DAC of the 105). If you have a very good DAC you could use the 103, or just stick to the Sony. I have tried all these permutations:

1. File (in PC) → DAC → Amp
2. USB (in Oppo) → DAC → Amp
3. USB (in Oppo) → Amp
4. DVD (in Oppo) → DAC → Amp
5. DVD (in Oppo) → Amp
6. DVD (in PC) → DAC → Amp

These are in roughly order of merit. I cant be sure though as I don't concentrate on the sound when watching movies but the last is the only poor option. I have not tried USB (in PC) → DAC → Amp.
So I think the PC route via a good DAC as mentioned by Struth is a good option.

[The Black Adder]

Thanks guys... great info.

I'm looking at maybe a SB for the interface I think now... its compact and doesn't need the telly being on.

I've just been doing some ripping with EAC today, great program... and it's ripped a really bad damaged cd really well. When before it skipped and got stuck on one track, the ripped version only skips once... it's a badly damaged disc so it was a great test.

So, interface wise the SB is the next thing to look in to. Do I simply plug the HDD and the Dac in to one of these? Any info would be superb!

Andrei, yes the Oppo is a worthy bit of kit but it would be nice to slim down my system somewhat. Unfortunately having a laptop or PC is out of the question really.

[Markiii]

Technically you can plug a USB disc directly into the touch, however depending on the size of the collection it may struggle

I run squeezebox server on a nas which houses the music collection and it runs fine

[The Black Adder]

Cool, thanks Mark.

It's too pricey for me anyway so I'll stick with the sony bdp me thinks.

[John]

Use the Sony USB input with a USB stick with a few files you might be surprised with the results. Serious performance for very little money

[The Black Adder]

Use the Sony USB input with a USB stick with a few files you might be surprised with the results. Serious performance for very little money

Oh I am... I'm actually using had drive with the Sony and I'm shocked at the quality to be honest. The BDP cost me £50 (SONY BDP S4100) and it's superb.

[icehockeyboy]

Joe, not sure I agree with you over the longevity of the VRDS things.

Ive tried to buy two, and once I got them home found that neither worked, two occasions by the way, not two at once.