View Full Version : QED uplay streamer,- under £20
dave2010
02-01-2017, 19:57
Anyone tried these, currently cheap, if available, from Richer - https://www.richersounds.com/product/streaming-hi-fi-and-network-audio-players/qed/uplay-stream/qed-u-play-stream
Looking at the manual (http://ecom.armourhome.co.uk/files/qed/instructions/uPlay_Stream_Manual.pdf), it seems to have audio out only, so the sound quality is going to be limited by the quality of the internal DAC. So I suspect it's not going to be as good a source as a ChromeCast audio (https://www.google.com/chromecast/audio/) which is a similar price, and has an optical digital output. However, interesting device nonetheless - for playing DNLA sources around the house.
Would this work for streaming spotify, Deezer etc from a Ipad?
Sherwood
03-01-2017, 12:29
Would this work for streaming spotify, Deezer etc from a Ipad?
I think this would better meet your needs http://www.belkin.com/th/p/P-G3A2000/
It has optical out as well as RCA phono analogue.
I have one of these and can testify to its high sound quality. Good range too. The only reason I am not using mine anymore is because it has been rendered redundant with my purchase of the Cambridge CXN streamer. Despite it's low price it gives the excellent CXN a run for its money.
Geoff
dave2010
03-01-2017, 12:50
Re the Belkin music receiver - found for about $30 on am US - https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-SongStream-Bluetooth-Music-Receiver/dp/B00KX3DQXM
I haven't been able to track it on am.uk
The Chromecast Audio gadget is pretty good, and has optical out for feeding to a DAC, so if that suits your needs it's a good option for working with an iPad. I have one - it works, and the quality is at the very least acceptable - probably rather better than that. Works with Radio 3 streaming, so should work with Spotify etc. The streams may well be the limiting factors re quality.
The Belkin one would also appear to have an analogue output - the Chromecast gadget has a 3.5mm socket for analogue - this doubles up for optical with the appropriate connectors. They can be bought for as little as £!5 on occasions.
Perhaps no need to rush over to Richer for the QED device then!
Chromecast works with spotify, yes. I use it streamed either from a mobile device or the pc. It does red book downwards and its dac is fairly good.. much better than it should be for money. I used to run headphones directly from it. Or as i do now take an optical from it to another dac
Anyone tried these, currently cheap, if available, from Richer - https://www.richersounds.com/product/streaming-hi-fi-and-network-audio-players/qed/uplay-stream/qed-u-play-stream
Sorcery! :eek:
Sherwood
03-01-2017, 16:06
If anyone is interested I am happy to dig my Belkin HD Streamer out of the cupboard for sale.
On a related note I also have a pristine Logitech Slim Devices Squeezebox that has been gathering dust for some time. Performs much the same function though to a higher standard. Afficionados will know what it does!
Geoff
Actually I purchased a Esinkin Bluetooth Receiver last week for £20.99 from Amazon, works very well with Deezer and Spotify.
Sherwood
03-01-2017, 20:31
Actually I purchased a Esinkin Bluetooth Receiver last week for £20.99 from Amazon, works very well with Deezer and Spotify.
Actually this looks like a knock off copy of the Belkin HD casework. However, it only has analogue out rather than analogue and digital as with the Belkin.
Geoff
If anyone is interested I am happy to dig my Belkin HD Streamer out of the cupboard for sale.
On a related note I also have a pristine Logitech Slim Devices Squeezebox that has been gathering dust for some time. Performs much the same function though to a higher standard. Afficionados will know what it does!
Geoff
oh yes..
dave2010
09-01-2017, 18:28
The one feature of the QED uplay which some might find useful is the multi-room facility. At £20 or thereabouts kitting out several rooms is affordable.
I don't know much about multi-room operation, and/or whether it is useful or a PITA. Does anyone - with these or other (probably more expensive) kit?
dave2010
14-01-2017, 12:26
One problem I'm noticing with Chromecast devices is dropouts, but presumably the QED uplay would also be prone to these. In the worst and most annoying cases the dropouts are permanent, and lose the connection. This can be a severe problem.
Years ago when WiFi was really only just taking off I was tinkering (experimenting) and I discovered a few things which may not be generally known.
1. Some WiFi kit is very directional. This doesn't apply to everything, but some kit does exhibit rather strong directionality. I measured this by setting continous transfers to devices, and monitoring the data rates. For some devices the data rate dropped to a very low value when they were rotated by 90 degrees, and the rate went back up when rotated back. This test was repeatable, so not really in doubt.
2. I also discovered that siting some WiFi kit on top of metal biscuit tins severely limited the possible data rates! This was an accidental discovery - checked as in 1 by measuring data transfer rates. It was accidental, as we had been eating biscuits, and on reflection was the reason for my doing the experimentation/measuring in the first place.
3. If there is more than one device in a room then depending on the geometry (and perhaps other factors) there can be interference and interruptions in communications. In particular, if there are several devices on the same geometric "line" to the router, then there can be quite significant interference. This is more speculative, but seems to be the case. It is possible to have several WiFi devices in a room, but if they all line up then some may drop out. If they are spread out in different directions then drop outs seem less likely.
Recently I noted dropouts in wireless links to Chromecast devices - both a regular TV one, and an audio model, which I assumed were due to using a battery rather than a PSU. The dropouts kicked in quickly, and there wasn't any recovery.
I looked up the symptoms for "advice" on these, and there was the suggestion to use the supplied PSU. I tried that, but it still didn't solve the issue. This morning I had yet more dropouts - this time on the TV model which was working fine last night. I noticed that this seemed to correlate with my picking up my laptop and typing. I was sitting on a sofa close to the iPad which was casting the programme, and not far from the Chromecast receiver. Drop outs would occur within a minute or so of using the laptop.
I have now moved to the other end of the room with the laptop, and the music has been playing continuously ever since - actually one very short dropout - but it did recover. This is slightly speculative, but I do have a strong hunch that this is correct. I was wondering if the QED devices would be better in this regard than the Chromecasts - it's possible - but if they also rely on WiFi for convenient use (i.e. from a phone, iPad or wireless laptop) then they'd also be subject to the same WiFI dropout problems.
However the QED devices also have allow an ethernet wired connection. This might reduce problems slightly, as at least one link might then be via a wired connection even if WiFi is used to set up and/or distribute the programme content. However my experience with Apple TVs is not comforting in that regard, and some devices do not work well with such wireless links at all.
Interesting that. Maybe you,ll solve it eventually. Ive 2 audio chromecasts and not suffered dropouts so far.
jollyfix
14-01-2017, 12:47
Can Chromecast can used with a Mac??? Does it have an inbuilt dac, like the QED in this thread?
Sherwood
14-01-2017, 12:47
I think that my Belkin HD Bluetooth Streamer beats the QED and Chromecast hands down. It has analague and digital out and will play anything from an Android device. For example, you do not need to subscribe to Spotify Premium since the Belkin will transmit anything your phone can play as a bluetooth device. Since purchasing my Cambridge CXN streamer my Belkin has been in a cupboard so as soon as I get a moment I will take some photos and post in on AoS. Although, the Cambridge has the edge in sound quality the Belkin is more flexible since the Cambridge requires Spotify Premium to work.
For those interested, here is a link to a Youtube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKvOtMr0cw0
Geoff
dave2010
14-01-2017, 13:00
Interesting that. Maybe you,ll solve it eventually. Ive 2 audio chromecasts and not suffered dropouts so far.I was about to write that I'd "solved" the problem, and just picking up the laptop and typing a few words seems to have knocked out the audio Chromecast, even though it's at the other end of the room. However, I was able to listen to radio 3 for around 30 minutes on a regular TV style Chromecast (connected to the TV) without dropouts from the same location. I was able to cause dropouts on that too when I sat at the other end of the room. Perhaps my Chromecast audio is just not reliable enough - but I did get it cheaply - though I don't think that's the reason why I'm getting these problems.
To jollyfix who asked whether Chromecasts (either TV or audio) can be used with Macs the answer is "yes", though might require the use of an updated Chrome browser. This may turn out to a be a pain, depending on which version of Mac OS X you're using, and perhaps "force" you to upgrade the OS - which you may not wish to do.
All the Chromecast models have inbuilt DACs. The audio model has an optical output which can be fed to an external DAC, but also has its own internal DAC and analogue output for driving a pre-amp or portable speakers.
Or headphones... it works on ios ipad etc too. You need the google app to set it up.
It might be your router causing the dropouts. Its maybe defaulting to the other unit when its being used. Coulld be a local ip issue
dave2010
14-01-2017, 13:13
I think that my Belkin HD Bluetooth Streamer beats the QED and Chromecast hands down. It has analague and digital out and will play anything from an Android device. For example, you do not need to subscribe to Spotify Premium since the Belkin will transmit anything your phone can play as a bluetooth device. Since purchasing my Cambridge CXN streamer my Belkin has been in a cupboard so as soon as I get a moment I will take some photos and post in on AoS. Although, the Cambridge has the edge in sound quality the Belkin is more flexible since the Cambridge requires Spotify Premium to work.
For those interested, here is a link to a Youtube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKvOtMr0cw0
GeoffYou may well be right that this is a more convenient gadget. However, Bluetooth is fundamentally limited compared with WiFi. It may be good enough for modest quality systems, but won't work for really high quality audio. There is just not the bandwidth available, and slightly better Bluetooth links use apt-X digital compression.
https://www.aptx.com/
https://www.aptx.com/how-it-works
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AptX
There are higher Bluetooth standards, but these rely on other LAN standards to extend the bandwidth.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
Look at Bluetooth 3, 4 and 5.
Also, the video you pointed at simply shows how to take it out of the box - hardly a serious review of the Belkin gadget.
dave2010
14-01-2017, 13:20
Or headphones... it works on ios ipad etc too. You need the google app to set it up.
It might be your router causing the dropouts. Its maybe defaulting to the other unit when its being used. Coulld be a local ip issue
Indeed you may be right. It's just a pain though, as I can plug the optical cable into my MBP and run direct to my DAC without bothering with Chromecast or Apple TV - but it'd be good to sit at the other end of the room, rather than tethered close to the speakers. Life seems at times too short to have to deal with all of this stuff.
Also, though I've just responded slightly negatively to Sherwood's post re a Belkin device, sometimes having something which actually works is much preferable to having a really much higher quality device which actually doesn't!
Though the reason that the Chromecast (TV version) kicked in today was that we "had" to use it last night as for some reason iPlayer on our BT Youview PVR wouldn't work, and it just started up and turned the TV on when I tried to cast from iPlayer on an iOS device.
Maybe I should reboot (i.e power off then on) our BT router.
jollyfix
14-01-2017, 13:27
To jollyfix who asked whether Chromecasts (either TV or audio) can be used with Macs the answer is "yes", though might require the use of an updated Chrome browser. This may turn out to a be a pain, depending on which version of Mac OS X you're using, and perhaps "force" you to upgrade the OS - which you may not wish to do.
All the Chromecast models have inbuilt DACs. The audio model has an optical output which can be fed to an external DAC, but also has its own internal DAC and analogue output for driving a pre-amp or portable speakers.
Thanks Dave.
You could get your system to forget it, then reinstall it. After restarting router. Try having everything on you usually have on before you do. It should then give it a local ip that is not potentially gonna cause probs. Downloading the fing app on a mobile device is handy to tell you what is going on with ips. A quick reload after you switch things on(give it 10 secs) and you will see if any issues with double ips are happening as well.
I have a QED Uplay, haven't used it in ages. I seem to recall that it wasn't that straightforward to set up in that I found I had to be next to the router to set up and I found the settings a bit fiddly but once set up it was good and the sound, to me, good in a small bedroom system. I used it with homeplugs and ethernet and streamed music from a NAS. I stopped using it because I couldn't get it to do gapless which I found frustrating. I now use a pi and Volumio which I find pretty good.
dave2010
14-01-2017, 14:16
Grant
Thanks for IP suggestion. It seems odd that the TV version does seem to work OK - with occasional glitches, yet the audio model seems more fragile. Elsewhere I recommended Chromecast (TV) for another family member, who uses it with her TV, but also tried it in a bedroom where it didn't work too well, perhaps because of distance from the incoming router. However, also on my suggestion, she tried a Now TV, which works fine, to the extent that I bought a couple of those (one regular, and one with the Freeview tuners built in - bought when they were cheap) and they do seem good for TV - and they do solve the problem which was thrust upon us last September with the failure of some devices to keep up with BBC iPlayer due to system changes.
Re the uses of the audio devices - I was critical of using Bluetooth because of possible audio quality issues, yet if the sources are Spotify and other streaming sites that's probably not a big deal, as though SQ might be pretty low anyway. For some people convenience trumps quality.
I was looking for audio focused devices which will stream at least sources up to 20 bits/96 kHz to a DAC, and some claim to go up to 24/192 - and probably do.
dave2010
15-01-2017, 13:25
The Chromecast Audio drop out issue is not the same as the issue discussed in the following thread - https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chromecast/3PiH_40qLBw but it may be related. It does seem that there have been problems with Chromecast Audio and BT routers. I'm not sure if these have actually been resolved yet - it looks as though it's taken a while over an extended period.
We have a BT router, and it could be that the CC Audio problems are related to that. I'll investigate further.
Ive a plusnet router but not had any trouble. Might have latest software on. They both updated as soon as i installed them. Been fine since.
dave2010
26-01-2017, 16:16
Chromecast Audio worked fine recently, so could be an intermittent problem with the BT router.
Re the Belkin and other streamers, they have a big advantage in some situations, as they don't need the existence of any form of infrastructure LAN in order to work - no need for a router. This could be enormously useful for mobile situations. Better to have some thing that works "well enough" rather than a really high quality system which doesn't work at all for some scenarios.
Sherwood
26-01-2017, 16:22
Chromecast Audio worked fine recently, so could be an intermittent problem with the BT router.
Re the Belkin and other streamers, they have a big advantage in some situations, as they don't need the existence of any form of infrastructure LAN in order to work - no need for a router. This could be enormously useful for mobile situations. Better to have some thing that works "well enough" rather than a really high quality system which doesn't work at all for some scenarios.
The Belkin is ridiculously easy to use. Plug it into mains, connect optical cable and then touch phone or tablet against device. NFC connects everything up using Belkin app. Anything that will play on phone or tablet then plays directly through streamer. Even though it is bluetooth I found the quality to be very good with services such as Spotify.
Geoff
The Belkin is ridiculously easy to use. Plug it into mains, connect optical cable and then touch phone or tablet against device. NFC connects everything up using Belkin app. Anything that will play on phone or tablet then plays directly through streamer. Even though it is bluetooth I found the quality to be very good with services such as Spotify.
Geoff
I got one of these last year for £30...
http://www.qed.co.uk/wireless_bluetooth/qed_uplay/qed_uplay_plus_wireless_bluetooth_receiver.html
...I have it connected via optical to my MDAC.
Normally I listen to my LMS/SBTouch via the MDAC, but when my friends want to play me something from their phones this comes in really handy...and with an aptx compatible device it's not at all bad...but looses badly when compared to full fat wired (or wifi) SBtouch, unsurprisingly ;)
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.