Have You Entered Into The World Of Streaming? If so, let's see what ya got!

I just sold some things in order to purchase a Marantz SACD player, but somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked by a Marantz streamer, model #NA-6006. From what I can tell, streaming devices are darn expensive, however the Marantz is cheap, when compared to say an Aurendar, $600 VS $2,700, and it really cuts the mustard. I think the only service that is too new for the marantz streamer is Quboz, but all the rest
are covered, Pandora, Spotify, Tune IN, music, Deezer, napster, iHeartRadio, Sirius XM, SOUNDCLOUD, Tidal and Rhapsody.

So, for those of you, sticking your toes into the new streaming waters, old guys like me, this is fun stuff, really! You don't have to pay a penny and you can stream radio stations all over the world, pretty neat! This is soooo much easier and more convenient than using your computer, wow!

Hopefully some of you experienced people can jump on here and share your knowledge on the great Internet radio stations all over the world that you are connecting to. I was told by my dealer to go ahead and pay the $20 per month for Tidal and I will have everything I will ever need, however since I have been using Pandora with my computer for a few years, I just inputted Pandora into the Marantz/Denon HEOS system and I have all the music I will ever need playing on the streamer and controlled by my IPhone.

Hope you take a moment, share some streaming knowledge, some great Internet Radio stations, and pictures of your streamer!

 

That’s cool. Is there a digital out on that Marantz? Anyone know how it compares to a Blue Sound Node 2?

 

There is a digital out on the Marantz, and I could run that into the SA-10, but it sounds great by itself, so I did not bother, it's just a great less expensive product.

 

I recently picked up streaming as well with a Cambridge CXN. I still spin vinyl regularly, and I keep a CD player in the system, but the ease of streaming really is unmatched.

And although my streamer is still entry level too, don’t assume a higher end streamer isn’t worth it. I’ve heard several systems running high end streaming transports running Tidal to high end DACs to produce truly world class hifi.

Welcome to a wonderful new rabbit hole. Best part about this one is the endless music discovery.

 

Welcome to the Dark Side.

I've been streaming for a good few years, and no longer have a CD player in harness. I ripped my entire CD collection back in 2007 and haven't looked back.
My first Streaming Player was a Squeezebox Classic, and currently have two Squeezebox Touch players and a Chromecast Audio device working hard at home.
The digital library is housed on a NAS, and my LMS server is run on a Raspberry Pi, using piCorePlayer.

I am wary of anything that comes from a box shifter - they won't give support beyond their nominal working life, and when content providers change their delivery method (which does happen, and more often than you might think) you'll find stuff stops working, and at some point you'll just lose the ability to use something that you use often.

Here in Britain we've had the BBC change their delivery methods, instantly creating landfill in large tonnage, and they've not done it once, but twice.
They also sent in Kevin (the new boy in IT) to tidy a bit of code up, which he did to the best of his abilities, and managed to destroy the play again streams for online users.
The Opensource crew who maintain LMS managed to work out where Kevin screwed up, and fixed the problems, and they did it in a couple of days.
The service is still screwed up, but the work around is still doing the job.

More recently Spotify played with things, only they gave notice of what they were doing to the Opensource LMS crew, and when service delivery changed there was already provision made for that change.

Box shifters used to provide woeful interfacing, although I'm sure they're getting better in that respect - they have to, because folk won't buy their boxes if they're not easy to drive.

Anyway, here I am, with nominally obsolete boxes that work fine because, to quote Paul McCartney, "in this ever changing world in which we live in" continual software development and adjustment keeps the whole thing working.

 

Oops wrong thread

 

Using an Aurender n100h with Audioquest Diamond USB to a McIntosh C2600.

Sounds amazing

I still love vinyl, and always will, but having both is truly the best of both worlds

 

Squeezebox Touch and Phone as receiving points.

Streaming obviously supremely convenient but another whole game.

 

Initially I purchased a Esoteric N05 using the Esoteric G1 to steam files from my NAS. However since I acquired subscriptions to both Tidal and Qobuz, I stream 70% of my listening.
Although I have 4200 albums loaded on my NAS most sound the equal to Qobuz plus there are many more high res albums available.
While nothing can compare with great vinyl and tapes, when I just want to sit and relax, Qobuz more than satisfies.
I prefer Qobuz over Tidal, the high res sound spectacular and doesn’t require the processing that MQA requires.

 

I bought a little Tibo Bond Mini streaming box for £26 from a eBay seller a few weeks ago. The phone app that goes with it doesn't work for me as I have a 256GB micro SD in my phone, and I don't have all day to hang around while the app reads my library.

I found another app called Hifi Cast that seems similar to Foobar2000, and it works, albeit with some limitations.

Anyway, the SQ of streaming over WiFi is vastly better than Bluetooth, and I'm quite happy.

I'm not sure what benefit I'd get from spending a lot on a hi-end streaming component, so I'm not looking to change anything in the near future.

 

I just use my iPad as a streaming source. It’s connected to a chromecast and Bluetooth receiver plugged into my amp. Works well. What’s the advantage of a dedicated streamer over this type of setup?

 

If it does what you want there is no advantage.

I have a large FLAC library.
It's easier to have a server & client setup.

 

MacBook Pro running Tidal MQA via Audirvana + via AudioQuest Coffee USB (with Jitterbug) to Mytek Liberty DAC to my Jef Rowland Design Group Continuum S2 integrated amp.

 

Hi, @SeeDeeFirth -- Sorry to ask, but what is a "box shifter"? Thanks!

 

MacBook Pro --> Roon--> Oppo 205--> Leben amp

 

An audio manufacturer that depends on moving boxes full of product on a regular basis.
Buy the MkII version of whatever it is they want you to buy, and get better sound.
You could apply the term to most makers of things.

With streaming it's the software, and not the client that's important.
Box shifters don't want, the responsibility of supporting software, coz there's no money in it for them.
They'll happily sell you a box, and some poor guy buys it second hand off the original owner after the manufacturer put the device on the obsolete pile.
When something changes, such as a content provider changing their delivery method, the guy at the end has a doorstop on his hands, coz that's the connectivity that was required.

 

For just about a year now I've been using this Auralic Vega G1 to stream both Tidal and Qobuz. Really excellent DAC with decent streaming capabilities. I listen to 60% streaming, often to check out music I may want on vinyl for the rest of my 40% listening. This streamer/DAC sounded better than vinyl until I cobbled together my Kuzma and Herron phono stage combo. Now vinyl blows away digital to my ears. As I've posted before, in the world of analog I find that you need to go big or go home because lower budget digital will always sound much better than lower budget analog.

 

NAS (w/Asset UPnP) -> Sonore microRendu -> DAC or
Chromecast Audio -> DAC

In addition to my library of WAV files I use Spotify, Pandora, Radio Paradise, and TuneIn Radio streams.

 

Wondering if you can stream Qobuz via the Marantz using AirPlay or Bluetooth...wouldn’t be highest res, but might still sound good.

 

Tidal desktop, SPDIF to my preamp; MQA 24/96. Works & sounds great.

 

Music-dedicated iPhone 6 (wi-fi reception only) streaming Pandora, Spotify and Amazon to a Marantz HD-DAC1, which has a dedicated usb slot for Apple devices, connected with a 10 foot Lightning to usb cable so I can control and stream from my chair. From the Marantz I can listen via headphones or RCA out to my Yamaha amp for speaker listening.

 

I run a NUC based Roon ROCK (with fanless case) directly feeding a Schiit Gungnir Multibit via USB. I also got a LPS for the NUC because some say it helps with SQ - it doesn't hurt anyway. I have a library of lossless and hi res files on an internal SSD. I have recently been using Qobuz which is a nice add. Schitt hasn't gotten on the MQA train so Qobuz makes more sense for me than Tidal.

Putting the ROCK together is neither difficult nor expensive. The Roon license is pricey.

 

OK, thanks! First time I've come upon the term.

 

Wow, you jumped in with both feet with your Esoteric No5 and G1, and subscriptions to Qobuz, it does not get any better than that, MASTER!

 

Being a neophyte myself, I'm not sure what advantages any given delivery system has over another, however I found what little streaming I was doing with my computer and Pandora, everything is so much easier and quicker with a one box solution.