network streamers?

I admit to being a fan of the old school analogue - yes I have a turntable, an old one at that! I also have had CD players, but have recently had my head turned by network streamers. A mate suggested just using an airport express - indeed he has just lent me one, installed in a moment and now I am accessing my itunes library through it and my iphone - fabulous! So what could a network streamer such as pioneers N-30/50 offer that could be worth shelling out the additional £150 - £200? Am i missing something?

Hi Nick, before thinking about the hardware I'd suggest thinking about the software, as in music files...

Once you've ripped your CDs to a lossless file format the hard work is done, how you then play them back is another can of worms.

I suppose it all depends on where you want to go, I started out simply using an HD with my FLAC files (2.5k cds) and a laptop, just to see if it was the way I wanted to go.

Now I have a QNAP server/NAS running LMS with 4 SB clients around the house (in systems of varying quality), and 2 PCs, all using the same FLAC library.

The key is can you be bothered with the rigour of ripping everything accurately (dBpoweramp is your friend here), and maintaining backups of the data.

P.S. Where in Cumbria are you from? I'm originally from Longtown...

Nick

I hear that there are some good streamers. Not sure if I should mention What Hi-Fi round here (hides behind a bush or large tree), but recently they have had some articles about streamers.

A lot will depend on how fanatical you are and what level of quality you hope for and expect. If you are already using a separate DAC and perhaps finding it better than your DVD or CD player, then you'd need a really high quality streamer to do as well or better.

I have tried to go with LAN streaming, and have a few devices - Squeezebox, Squeezebox Touch and a Beresford Caiman DAC to make this possible. I found the effort of ripping the CDs rather tedious - though eventually I found ways of speeding that up. I always rip to a lossless format - in my case ALAC, though since it's lossless it should be possible to convert to other formats - FLAC and, if I really want to, to burn a CD or convert to MP3 or other. I used to do ripping while working at my computer, as it was able to do both at the same time, apparently without problems - on the whole - and didn't interfere with work too much. If you have to dedicate time to ripping I think it would get very boring.

Until recently many downloads were MP3 or AAC - and although some may find them acceptable, they can be very variable, and CDs, SACDS, DVDs and Blu-Rays, to name just a few disc based formats are often preferable - and you have the hard copy as backup. OTOH there are now some companies supplying high quality downloads which may beat CDs - and would generally be similar audio wise to SACD or Blu Ray. Even then though, some companies have actually managed to produce so called HD downloads, yet what they've actually sold turns out to be an HD copy of a much lower quality "original" - rather like trying to remaster a CD from tapes which have deteriorated. Once the degradation has taken place it can't be reversed - certainly not totally.

Downloads are getting easier to handle now, with the possibility of much quicker downloads via fibre networks, though there are still issues. Also, I noted recently with a "CD" I wanted to give as a present for Christmas - it was only available as a download - that burning the downloaded tracks to a cheapo CD-ROM doesn't have the same gift feel as a physical object properly packaged.

If you can tolerate the sound from streaming sites such as Spotify, Napster or even Sony Unlimited or Deezer, there are good things to be accessed from those sites, but it's a trade off between quick access and being able to hear new music on demand, and listening in really good quality. I've also heard that a French site Qobuz is good.

You may have already discovered that some devices, such as smartphones, tablets make good controllers for some streamers - and this does make playing music back easier - with almost instant access both to your ripped collection and to online sites.

Having written all this, though, I still use my CD player, and indeed I'm starting to use it more - though now I feed the output through my DAC. Even then, though - the in-built DAC on my CD player is pretty good - though this won't be the case for all CD players, and an external DAC can make a substantial difference.

Although I have found WiFi to be useful, I have reverted back to wired networking for this kind of application. Lastly, listening to Internet sources (radio, streaming sites) can still be spoilt by network problems - dropouts etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Hi Nick I have been using a Xtreamer Sidewinder 3 SE through a Beresford Bushmaster MK2 the sound from Internet radio is simply amazing. I bought the Xtreamer second hand for £80 on Gumtree. The Xtreamer plays just about any audio file you can throw at it and also Blueray 3D .iso files via Hdmi and Component. It has 1 Usb3, 2Usb2, 1 SD card Slot,Gigabit network and Wifi, Coaxial and digital output. I have a installed 500GB laptop drive internally. The Xtreamer is a bit of a learning curve and also uses Android which can be turned off if preferred. google to check the specs. meekee

Reading the above, never ceases to amaze me how some people are so knowledgeable on the streamer thingies,
having just moved on my 02 Joggler this week (answered a WTD ad in PFM)
and despite a kind member here PM'ing me with options and intructions when i last seeked help, :rolleyes:
it's just not for me so probably look to getting a Linn streamer of sorts soon and be done with.

Hi Will,

Thanks for your thoughts. I guess one of the real advantages I see is in de-cluttering - Cd's can go into storage/ be used and stored elsewhere -many seem to end up in my wife's car anyway. Also I like the de-cluttered look of my kit now just turntable, amp and speaker and a very discrete airport express. As I work on my PC it does not seem too much of a chore to rip whilst I work.


PS In Kendal - other end of Cumbria.

Hi Nick, indeed once you've got your collection into a lossless file format (I use FLAC) there's a wealth of options for playback...but they'll all need that music catalogue!

As I said earlier dBpoweramp is a good choice for ripping, excellent tag info, and the added advantage of matching most tracks to check sum digits of other people's rips, a feature called accurate rip, EAC is probably the best free alternative.

My other tip would be to either use a PC CD/DVD ROM or a good quality external laptop drive for ripping, for both speed and accuracy...as I keep saying ripping an entire collection is only something you only want to do once...and well ;)

Once you get into the habit of only ever ripping new CDs and filing them away immediately, things become very simple...:)

...always good to meet a 'Southerner' ;)