Quite often when/after playing internet radio, the CDP will lose the WIFI connection. It can identify the WIFI network when scanning but just refuse to connect unless I reboot the router. Have you come across this?
No but under NETWORK SETTINGS there is a setting for NETWORK STANDBY, I have mine set to ‘Active’. Now if I hit the ‘disc’ button while streaming it does go into disc mode, but then it goes back to streaming. Again, the unit itself has a lot of operational quirks that Arcam should refine but probably won’t. Now, when it gets really stupid I just put it in standby then power it back up and go to what I want to do. But whenever I want to stream I HAVE to use my iPad to get it to stream, the unit itself will not go to radio streaming by itself. So, yeah som e real quirks to deal with here, but the only other options other than the Marantz unit, which I don’t care for, are much more expensive and not worth the extra dollars to me. And the main reason I can live with the quirks is that the beautiful sound the cds50 has with this ESS DAC, it just is the best sounding dac unit I’ve ever heard! I couldn’t go back to what the Marantz has or what other units use, like a Burr Brown dac. But again, I’m only using the streaming feature of the cds50 for internet radio, I’m not using any other part of the dac. But it’s new enough that we’re evolving with this. One thing I haven’t done, and I should do is research the previous model, the 2u and see what kind of quirks it had and what people did to get around them. Beave
Beave, Does the Oppo 205 have the same streaming capabilities as the CDS50? I ask as I do not do any internet of music streaming with my 205. If it does and the 205 doesn't have the quirks that the CDS50 has why not use the 205? Or do you feel the CDS50 has better SQ than the 205? Looking at the CDS50 and the 205 they both have the ESS 9038 DAC. But the 205 has the Pro version which on paper looks to be a bit better DAC. That is not the defining factor as implementation and analog stage play a big role as well.
Hello Bill and congrats on your new 105 from Seattle! The 205 does not do streaming by itself, if I fed a streaming network feed to it via the many digital inputs it has then it would be decoding that stream being supplied by some other device. I have used an ‘HD’ radio since the transition of tv and radio from analog to digital for my radio, and my local pbs station, which is where I get my jazz from, also streamed a 24 hour feed on its sub channel. When I got the Arcam, I found that it’s network stream sounded much better then my HD radio stream. In fact I took the sangean hd radio out of my stereo rack. And the Arcam opens up, via our wi if home network, an unlimited amount of worldwide internet radio stations that my HD radio can’t, by its very nature, provide. Now, moving on to the ESS 9038 DAC, it is my understanding that the version in the OPPO 205 is the PRO version, designed for MULTICHANNEL USE, WHICH IS WHAT THE 205 DOES, in addition to w channel. I also believe that the 9038 chip in the Arcam is the 2 channel model, same specs as the 205 IN STEREO MODE, but a different and cheaper chip because it doesn’t do multichannel. Now on top of all this do I like the Arcam, yes! It fits aesthetically nicer that the huge 205. But this streaming thing is all new to me and the Arcam is my first foray into it, but I bought it BECAUSE it has that ESS chip in it and I haven’t been disappointed, Beave
I’m giving up. Internet radio almost always screwed up ending having to reboot the router and reset the WiFi. I tried different stations and not sure what else I can do. Today it's even more bizarre. I played internet radio. It worked. I switched to CD. It worked. I then turned off the CDP and went out. Returning home and the CDP just wouldn't connect to WIFI. I rebooted the router. It still wouldn't connect to my iphone even though the router could see then CDP and when I tested firmware update it said no new firmware meaning it did have the WIFI connection too. And most strange in the SETUP menu, the NETWORK SETUP option is simply gone! I have to reload default setting before I can re-establish the connection.
Sounds like it got zapped with some static electricity! My rack is prone to that, in fact it happened yesterday. I have to try and remember to touch the racks pillars before I touch the equipment. Are you still in the return window with the vendor you bought it from? I would go that route or if that’s not viable, send it into Arcam’s service center and make them fix it. Very frustrating seeing you go through this frustration. As you know I did reach out to Arcam to join this thread and got blown off, which speaks volumes to their corporate philosophy. But I guess that’s what happens when you sell your company to a big company like Samsung, Pity actually. Good luck and try one more thing for me, if you have a upc, battery backup, plug the Arcam into that and see if it’s performance improves. Beave
Not sure if there is anything to fix. Anyway it’s an online purchase from another country so warranty is not available. When it works it’s pretty nice and I had hours of smooth radio streaming last night. Sorry I don’t have the other hardware u mentioned
Here try this, just get the one with the right voltage for your country, what is your voltage there in Fiji? Here; https://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasi...55685942&s=gateway&sprefix=Ups,aps,270&sr=8-5 It’s only $39 in the USA so you should be able to find your model for cheap. I’d honestly give this a try, also I cannot stress popping the cover and tightening all the circuit board mounting screws, all of mine were not properly tightened from the factory. Beave
Thanks Beave for your suggestions. I unplugged the PC and went through a number of resets with the CDP and router and strange things happened again. If I set network standby as standby the cdp cannot detect the network and the network setup option is gone. I tried a few times switching on and off the cdp but issue persisted. These are new strange behaviours. Mind you the CDP streamed ok in the last month from PC and these hiccups only started after I stepped into internet radio. However if I change network standby to active like you do the network setup option is back and so is the network connection. I just tried streaming from computer and internet radio, turning on/off the cdp and performance is stable. I’ll leave it as is for now.
Very good! Again, whomever designed the options in this kit must have been smoking dope or something. Very quirky to say the least. Even that one network setting, if I set it to standby my thought was that if you went from a network stream to play a cd it would keep that network active while your playing the disc, but no, your right, it turns off the network altogether, which makes no sense, so I put it back to active. But again, this thing IS quirky, so we’ll just have to keep futzing with it because reading some of the reviews on the previous model, the 27, it had the same quirks! And Arcam did nothing to address them, so again we have apathy on the part of the manufacture, we’ll just have to live with it. Beave
Hi Beave, can you try selecting Network Standby - Standby instead of active and see if the network setup option is there? I think Network Standby means whether the user wants the network to remain when the CDP is put to standby. Active means you can wake it up from the iphone/ipad and standby means you couldn't to save energy. But one CDS27 user said the CDP will ultimately go into deep sleep no matter what. I am still experiementing P.S. I used to select Network Standby - Standby and operation was mostly fine. Until I played Internet Radio. Now connection may be lost even if I stream from PC but not internet radio in a session.
One other thing, even with active set I cannot power on the unit from my iPad, I have to do it from the remote or it stays in standby power mode. Beave
Thanks for trying. I could do so for a short while but the cdp eventually goes into deep sleep like someone said. I wonder if need to turn off “auto standby” and power off using iPad if want to wake up the cdp from iPad. No stable connection for me yet. I don’t know how many times I rebooted everything!
Well what I’m thinking about now is selling the Arcam, I got it cheap enough that I should be able to get my money back on it, Put the OPPO back into the stereo and just get a dedicated streamer like this Denon; DENON DNP-800NE Network Audio Player with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth NEW It looks like a nice unit and I can digital out of it into the OPPO. At $599 it’s not a bad price at all. After Easter services I’ll start looking for reviews and check back. Beave
For a change, today I get stable connection, (hope it lasts!) with network standby set to active, and bypass standby. If I power off with iPhone then I can wake it up with iPhone. There are so many great internet radio stations. I wouldn’t easily sell mine as I need a disc player. Which oppo do you have? Have you compared the sound with cds50?
Beave, This seems like a good choice. If you're going doing a lot of streaming a dedicated device such as the Denon is best IMO. A lot of people were upset with the Oppo 103 and 105 in that there were issues with it's streaming capabilities. My thoughts were that the 103 and 105 were primarily universal players with streaming capability but not as good as a dedicated streaming device. Some were expecting the 103 and 105 to have all the streaming capabilities of a dedicated device but that wasn't the case. The better question would be which Oppo player doesn't The Beave own .
Or your so funny Bill..... Let’s see, BDP 83 BDP 93 BDP 95 BDP 103 X 2 BDP 105 UDP 205 YEP, THAT MAKES 7. Damn, I must be sick... And Bill I think your right, but I was under the impression that the Streaming in the OPPO’S We’re for television, netflix, etc, NOT for internet radio, but I could be wrong. In any case I just put the Arcam up for sale so if I turn that over, then I’ll try the Denon, their only $449 for a refurb when they’re available so that’s $150 off of list, which is a good deal. But then after packing up the Arcam I hooked my Sangean HD Radio back up and now I’m wondering why I need a Network player at all!?? Because I’m a bored old fart and I like to try out gear......... Happy Easter and Prayers to all who were lost and their families in that terrorist attack this morning. Damn crazy world! Beave
Ok, so you all can call me a dork, while re setting up my OPPO 105 I have hooked to the tv, so I decided to go to the main menu and for Heavens sake it does stream internet radio!! So I’m streaming a Beatles station right now on Pandora. But I can’t use it when I pop the OPPO back into the stereo rack because it won’t be connected to a tv!!! I just can’t win can I? Or, Bill, is there an OPPO app I can use on my iPad..? Beave
Ok, in reverse order, HA, I’m using an OPPO 105 currently and I just discovered that it streams internet radio, it also plays every conceivable disc format audio wise so this might be a viable alternative for you AND me, that is, if there’s an app for it. You could pick up one for about $750 USD on the used market. And it has the ESS SABRE 9018 DAC chip in it, which is VERY CLOSE sound wise to the 9038, very close...... Beave
The CDP is streaming well now so WiFi problem is solved at least for time being. For what it costs and as a one box solution compared to a dedicated streamer, it’s a good deal. I have an oppo 103 for BR duties and indeed that never has a single issue. Though Pandora service is not available here. Keep us updated with what you settle with!
I will. Now....Caimbridge Audio CXN V2. Has a full color display, don’t need a tv!!! Lists for $899. So I have a lot of choices here, if I’m going to dip into a dedicated unit, the CA with the display appeals to me BECAUSE it has a display like that, I’m not reliant on my iPad to use it. On the other hand the Denon is half that price, so this will be interesting to say the least. But it depends on if the Arcam sells.
Just popped in for a little update on the player with a few impressions... Playing CD's is this players highlight, revisiting some of my fave CD's has been a treat to listen how good this player makes them sound. I cannot stress how good this reproduces the sound from a regular CD. Of course crap in gives crap out (brick walled/bad mastering), so if the CD sounds crappy to start ain't much this player can do about it! If the source CD is good to great this player will elevate the sound and make most CD's sound like a SACD does. USB input although situated on the back, does a fantastic job with hi-res files and I like that all music and bit rate and album info is displayed. I also like that I can use the remote functions for USB play and they are intuitive. I am thinking of buying a large size USB device to store my hi-res flac files on as to me this is the best way to use the player for HD files. SACD playback is good but I detest that I can not select the CD layer on a hybrid SACD. I am sure that the CD layer would sound amazing on these SACD's if it was possible to play as I mentioned that most regular CD's sound fantastic. As mentioned before the SACD play does not show any info about the song other than duration and time left. Streaming WITH OUT using the Music App is a pain just for the menus and scrolling to find music. The display does not refresh when using the remote so it shows the first song you played even though you are one song 5 or a completely different folder and file. The only way to show the new song info is to pres info 4 times and that only updates the song title and leaves the bitrate and album info and time left showing from the first song that you played. So in short lol it does not update the current song info. Using the Music Life app (as others have stated if it connects) is the best way to play your mp3's/HD files ect... on this player. Once connected it does a fantastic job of sorting, searching, displaying all current up to date music. I have not had an issue with the HD radio stations but have only used that function twice. I still have not signed up to the streaming services included so I cannot comment. In the future I may sign up for a free trial and if do i will update how they work. As I was an early adopter to this player if I would have known about these issues I would have never purchased this player. In saying that it is not about the reproduction quality of music or how the player looks, it is ALL about the functionality and lack of it that would caution a no buy. Sad really that in this day in age that a company can not get the technical information side of this player or the software correct as it shows on both the SACD side and the streamer side that they cut corners to accommodate or fit it into the $1200.00 USD market! For that cash I think they should not have cut corners. Maybe they should not have combined a streamer with a SACD player... maybe I should have not gone with a combo unit!
Thanks for sharing your experience. My WiFi has been behaving rather well last few days after changing the setup options I found the CDP sound better streaming files from my pc than through usb. But I couldn’t stream dsd, only through usb. Have you found a way to stream dsd?
