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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 12:52:18 GMT
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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 13:00:37 GMT
n50`s got a better dac also better bits and bob`s
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Post by Stratmangler on Mar 14, 2018 13:11:23 GMT
The one thing I would say about buying streaming products from mainstream makers is DON'T DO IT!. Network streaming is not exactly new, and they (the makers) still don't quite get it. Interfaces are often clunky, sometimes limited to specific devices, or a brand of devices, and they cling to that DLNA standard as though it's the be all and end all. The N-50 is compatible with products from the fruit based computing company's lines, but there's a proviso on that - you need to be working at a certain level of OS before it will play at all.
Then there's the content providers and their methods of delivery - sometimes they change things, and a whole raft of product becomes obsolete landfill in a keystroke.
If we're prepared to learn a bit we (as in us, end users) can build something that can keep up with the changes, and also kicks the big boys efforts into the long grass.
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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 13:16:31 GMT
quite true,but in certain rooms in the house it has to look tidy,my wife would say
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 14, 2018 13:20:38 GMT
Something like a Pi is so small that it doesn't need to be seen at all though.
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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 13:26:46 GMT
Something like a Pi is so small that it doesn't need to be seen at all though. has it got a viewing screen.internet radio,spidif/coax dac imput,a remote control tho
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 14, 2018 13:28:56 GMT
It can sit behind an amp or dac. Totally controlled by the phone from your pocket. Stealth hifi!
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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 13:36:49 GMT
It can sit behind an amp or dac. Totally controlled by the phone from your pocket. Stealth hifi! is it big enough to stand a plant or a vase of flower on lol, www.nvidia.co.uk/shield/shield-tv/ plays all the hi-res 4k stuff as well
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Post by Stratmangler on Mar 14, 2018 13:54:56 GMT
Believe it or not, this is a RasPi build
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Post by Stratmangler on Mar 14, 2018 13:56:41 GMT
It can sit behind an amp or dac. Totally controlled by the phone from your pocket. Stealth hifi! is it big enough to stand a plant or a vase of flower on lol, www.nvidia.co.uk/shield/shield-tv/ plays all the hi-res 4k stuff as well Ironically enough it's the computer and gaming guys that think far enough outside of the box to get things right.
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tonedeaf
Rank: Trio
Oldies are Goldies
Posts: 168
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Post by tonedeaf on Mar 14, 2018 16:14:05 GMT
pioneer n50this would do the things you want also you could use the dac inside to connect things to,there is a newer model out also a cheaper one aswell This looks like the sort of thing i want. can it be streamed across a home network?
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Post by Tim on Mar 14, 2018 16:16:25 GMT
The one thing I would say about buying streaming products from mainstream makers is DON'T DO IT! Agreed - crazy expensive and if they break you need a new one. If mine breaks, I can fix it. The clunky interfaces though are horrible, yet to see a good one and most of the time they have been demoed in showrooms, they don't even work.
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Post by Stratmangler on Mar 14, 2018 17:26:11 GMT
This looks like the sort of thing i want. can it be streamed across a home network? Please take note of the post above. It looks the part, therefore it is the part does not equate when it comes to streaming products.
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Post by naim1425 on Mar 14, 2018 18:44:07 GMT
pioneer n50this would do the things you want also you could use the dac inside to connect things to,there is a newer model out also a cheaper one aswell This looks like the sort of thing i want. can it be streamed across a home network? Yes you can and also plug a pc into the usb also a CD player or anything that needs a external dac ,you can use it as an external dac if you need coax or toslink dac it also outputs through coax/ toslink,it's got AirPlay ,normal to 32 bit settings Bluetooth plus with the app you can control everything with an iPad ect fm radio ,inter net radio
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Post by Tim on Mar 15, 2018 1:30:04 GMT
I'm going to have a final go in trying to steer you away from an N50, which to me is no better than SONOS in a fancy box, an expensive fancy box at that. It really isn't IMO best value for money or going to sound as good as the alternatives I'll suggest below, if you want something 'fancy' yet simple. 1). Get a Mac Mini, install Roon on it with TIDAL, very simple, cheaper than an N50 and infinitely better. 2). Buy a NUC small form factor PC, install Roon ROCK on it and again TIDAL - I've not done a back to back comparison with a Mac Mini personally, but it should sound better, as the lightweight Linux based O/S is bespoke for the NUC and Roon and it does nothing else, except serve files. You have upgrade paths for this option too, power supplies and SOtM end points, or other brand end points like SONORE. If you don't know what a Roon end point is, then Google is your friend. Roon ROCK = Roon Optimized Core Kit3). Auralic Aries Mini - the only downside to this player is you need an Apple device to control it, but the controller app is very good indeed and super easy to use. They also sound superb for not much money or head scratching - possibly the easiest to use, with arguably the best controller app 4). Bluesound Node 2 - again very simple and can be used as a Roon end point if desired. App not as slick as Roon or the Auralic. All will play files stored either connected directly to the player, or from a network share - in fact you can have HDDs inside most of them with music files if you want. They all better an N50 for sound quality IMO. Here's a thought, I went to the Bristol Hi-Fi show recently (and a high-end Bowers & Wilkins/CHORD one tonight). Not one demonstration was using a SONOS, Pioneer N50 or similar to play files and show off their kit. Countless however were using Apple laptops or Mac Minis, Roon based systems or Auralic file servers/streamers. Roon/TIDAL was the software of choice for pretty much all, if they weren't using something bespoke to the player. I saw many systems costing upwards of £50K running from a Macbook and DAC. Tonight's demo had a £60K B&W/CHORD system fed from a £2,000 Innous music server. That to me speaks volumes about how highly regarded file based audio is now, but from good players, not off the shelf mass market named brands like Pioneer. Don't get me wrong though, an N50 will play files and do it very easily. But you can get so much more for your money, in both value and sound quality. If I was unsure about the whole file based audio thing and didn't want to spend too much to start off with, I'd get a Pi with Volumio and follow the threads on here - but I wouldn't buy a fancy expensive box for a Pi type music player, which is what a Pioneer N50 is, a small computer in a fancy box. The controller software is not good compared to the above options either. You do have a multitude of options unfortunately, especially if you can build your own, but the above are relatively simple to implement, can look nice if that's important (you can buy slicker cases for the NUC) and most importantly they sound very good and have great controller software, either an app or computer based. Do some reading up, there's a mass of information online, especially on YouTube. Well, you did ask . . .
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Post by John on Mar 15, 2018 5:30:56 GMT
Some good advice from Tim about different options There be a few servers at our meet in April I know its quite far but no hard sell and plenty of us have gone down a file based path to some degree
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Post by Stratmangler on Mar 15, 2018 8:16:32 GMT
I'm going to have a final go in trying to steer you away from an N50 I think our efforts are done. You can lead a horse to water .....
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Post by John on Mar 15, 2018 8:32:23 GMT
This might be of help It is a basic introduction
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Post by steveeb on Mar 15, 2018 9:15:33 GMT
Depending what you have at your disposal . I have an OPPO universal player for all my digital playback , all my files (FLAC) are on an external hard drive connected to the OPPO via USB , this involves TV for file selection. +1 from me. Not the cheapest option but very comprehensive and faff-free. I probably wouldn't have gone file based without it, getting equivalent sound quality from a computer/ laptop appeared to be a hobby in itself. Been very impressed with the Pi results though.
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Post by John on Mar 15, 2018 9:40:27 GMT
The Oppo is a really good way into this
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