AudioNervosa

Systemic Development => Digital Audio Devices => Streaming Players => Topic started by: rollo on January 22, 2019, 10:39:34 AM

Title: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: rollo on January 22, 2019, 10:39:34 AM
  Tell me why I should be streaming instead of using my library from SS server drive or dedicated transport. I have perfect music management with iPeng. Ripped my CDs into server [ ALL 300]. Server plays DSD. Server has MQA and can use Roon Tidal and that Qboz thingie.
Convince me to stream. Is the sound quality better ?


charles
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: shadowlight on January 22, 2019, 11:40:20 AM
  Tell me why I should be streaming instead of using my library from SS server drive or dedicated transport. I have perfect music management with iPeng. Ripped my CDs into server [ ALL 300]. Server plays DSD. Server has MQA and can use Roon Tidal and that Qboz thingie.
Convince me to stream. Is the sound quality better ?


charles

Only you can answer that question by trying.

For me the biggest advantage with streaming is ability to expand your musical taste with million's of songs to pick from  :thumb:
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: tmazz on January 22, 2019, 04:08:21 PM
Charles, I think you are missing the point with streaming. The advantage is not that the SQ is better than other sources (althought in certain cases it may be). IMO the thing that streaming brings to the table is not better sound on albums that I already own, but rather access to a whole world of stuff that I don't currently have on any sort of physical media.

I think you answered your own question when you said you ripped all 300 of your CDs. With Qobuz I have access to 40 million+ CD quality tracks and over 2 million Hi-Res.

It's great to be talking to somebody about a particular album or read about a review using a specific track and then be able to hear it immediately instead of having to go out an hunt down a copy.

In my house, when it comes down to some serious sit down listening, records still rule the roost, but as I have said before that is very likely to a large degree because of the quality of my vinyl rig as compared to my digital equipment. But the musical versatility that a good streaming service brings to the table makes it a worthy addition to my system that I would no longer want to be without.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: mresseguie on January 22, 2019, 08:10:30 PM
Charles,

I can't decide if you're just playing devil's advocate or if you're serious. [No matter.]

You've got 300 CDs ripped to your HD; I've got approximately 350 CDs ripped to my HD. I really like about half of those CDs, so I really only listen to 150 to 180 CDs in any given year. This greatly limits my musical enjoyment. Tidal has been a musical blessing for me. I've got more albums and/or artists saved to my favorites than I own CDs. I get to sample almost as many artists as I want. There are selection limitations, but I don't often bump against those.

You've got an Innuos MKII or III in your system. It streams. Surely, you've tried streaming with it?

I'm looking forward to trying Qobuz sometime this year. In the meantime, I'll happily stream Tidal. I'm eager to hear how it sounds with my new DAC.

Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Nick B on January 22, 2019, 09:16:40 PM
I use Tidal as I don’t want to own and store many hundreds of CDs. It’s been a freeing experience to get rid of “stuff”. It’s great to constantly discover current music or music from decades ago. It’s a constant “kid in a candy store” experience 😃
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: JBNY on January 23, 2019, 07:51:47 AM
Streamings big sell is you have access to millions of songs. If you have a bunch of music that you own and don't want to find new music to listen to then no streaming is not going to help you. But, if you want to find more music to lsiten to, whether it is old or new Streaming really can be great. Someone mentioned a band, or you hear a song you like, just punch it  in in your streaming app and you can listen to it right away, reading an article about a great release of an album, bring it up in the streaming app and yopu can hear it immediately.

Charles, at the club meeting I regularly find albums, artists, and songs I did not know about and when I get home bring up the stuff we were listening to and can hear what it sounds like on my system. My main setup is in the living room, when we have company over I give them control of the sound system and they can bring up literately any type of music they want to hear, not just what I have purchased. I've tried, Tidal, Napster, MOG, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Wolfgang's, Pandora, and Slacker. I currently pay for Tidal, Napster, Amazon and might do Wolfgang's again.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: rollo on January 23, 2019, 08:39:24 AM
  Yes I guess access to music is a good reason. For me personally WBGO and WQXR allow me to hear new Jazz and Classical. Sound quality over access for me is the key factor.  Yes I stream WBGO sounds good but not as good as the Tuner.
  So for me quality over quantity and no fees.


charles
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: JBNY on January 23, 2019, 08:43:48 AM
The nice thing about the streaming services especially if you like Jazz is, there are lots of lists of the best Jazz albums of the year or great new releases on the forums. You can instantly take a list and hear like 90% of the albums right away. Also the whole EMC catalog is available on Tidal, sounds as good as the CD if you were to buy it.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Nick B on January 23, 2019, 04:58:46 PM
Streamings big sell is you have access to millions of songs. If you have a bunch of music that you own and don't want to find new music to listen to then no streaming is not going to help you. But, if you want to find more music to lsiten to, whether it is old or new Streaming really can be great. Someone mentioned a band, or you hear a song you like, just punch it  in in your streaming app and you can listen to it right away, reading an article about a great release of an album, bring it up in the streaming app and yopu can hear it immediately.

Charles, at the club meeting I regularly find albums, artists, and songs I did not know about and when I get home bring up the stuff we were listening to and can hear what it sounds like on my system. My main setup is in the living room, when we have company over I give them control of the sound system and they can bring up literately any type of music they want to hear, not just what I have purchased. I've tried, Tidal, Napster, MOG, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Wolfgang's, Pandora, and Slacker. I currently pay for Tidal, Napster, Amazon and might do Wolfgang's again.

Had never heard of Wolfgang’s.
https://www.wolfgangs.com/music/

https://www.keyboardmag.com/miscellaneous/wolfgangs-ampd-unlimited-streaming-of-the-worlds-largest-collection-of-live-recordings

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/music-publishers-win-major-copyright-fight-streaming-legendary-rock-concerts-1101359
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: malloy on January 23, 2019, 06:00:45 PM
Nick,

Does Tidal work with a Linux distro without a streamer?

And how do I browse what artists are available?

Paul
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Nick B on January 23, 2019, 08:37:55 PM
Nick,

Does Tidal work with a Linux distro without a streamer?

And how do I browse what artists are available?

Paul

Paul,
I’m a Mac guy nowadays and have never used Linux. But shadowlight probably has....what say ye, Deepak?
As to browsing artists, there is an explore feature which is shown as “Genres + Moods” which shows many of the various categories. Tidal also lists suggested albums and artists based on my compilation of those and also has additional categories like New, Top, Videos, Shows and Pocasts, TIDAL Rising and TIDAL X. Now I really haven’t used those, but I thought you’d be interested.
Nick
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: malloy on January 23, 2019, 08:56:16 PM
Thanks, Nick.

But taking a look at other forums, it looks like there is no easy way. The last thing I want is to fiddle around with Linux commands:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/58i6dc/tidal_on_linux/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/58i6dc/tidal_on_linux/)

Paul
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: JBNY on January 24, 2019, 07:22:12 AM


Had never heard of Wolfgang’s.
https://www.wolfgangs.com/music/

https://www.keyboardmag.com/miscellaneous/wolfgangs-ampd-unlimited-streaming-of-the-worlds-largest-collection-of-live-recordings

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/music-publishers-win-major-copyright-fight-streaming-legendary-rock-concerts-1101359

I have not subscribed in a year or two, they have soundboards of thousands of concerts mostly concerts from the very late 60's and 70's recorded by promoter Billy Graham.Lots of good stuff if you lke live recordings.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: shadowlight on January 24, 2019, 08:10:52 AM
I have not specifically looked at trying to run Tidal app on Linux but I have used PiCorePlayer (Squeezebox on Raspberry Pi) and UPNPMDcli (sp) both under Raspberry Pi and Linux system to stream Qobuz but both have access to Tidal.  If you are not comfortable with Linux command I would recommend using PiCore which will take you 15 minutes tops to get it up and running.  Write the image to the sd card, boot it up and configure LMS setup.

One question that I would have for you is do you plan to use USB Dac or is your DAC using spdif?  You can use Pi Hat for a DAC or get spdif setup.

Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: James Edward on April 26, 2019, 02:59:05 PM
Streaming, as Tony The Tiger would say, is “GRRREAT”. I’ve already added a few albums to my collection that I otherwise would not have known about. I only have the 9.99 per month Tidal subscription, use it via a bluetooth connection, and it still sounds very decent. I’m thinking of starting a thread on ‘what you’ve discovered via streaming’; it’s certainly a viable topic.
Thanks to those that guided me on my first baby steps, much appreciated!
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: S Clark on April 26, 2019, 04:41:43 PM
I have not specifically looked at trying to run Tidal app on Linux but I have used PiCorePlayer (Squeezebox on Raspberry Pi) and UPNPMDcli (sp) both under Raspberry Pi and Linux system to stream Qobuz but both have access to Tidal.  If you are not comfortable with Linux command I would recommend using PiCore which will take you 15 minutes tops to get it up and running.  Write the image to the sd card, boot it up and configure LMS setup.

One question that I would have for you is do you plan to use USB Dac or is your DAC using spdif?  You can use Pi Hat for a DAC or get spdif setup.
And this is why I spin vinyl...
"Write the image..."  what does that mean? 
"Boot it up" I assume means to restart.
Configure the LMS setup????  What?????
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: James Edward on April 26, 2019, 04:56:43 PM
I have not specifically looked at trying to run Tidal app on Linux but I have used PiCorePlayer (Squeezebox on Raspberry Pi) and UPNPMDcli (sp) both under Raspberry Pi and Linux system to stream Qobuz but both have access to Tidal.  If you are not comfortable with Linux command I would recommend using PiCore which will take you 15 minutes tops to get it up and running.  Write the image to the sd card, boot it up and configure LMS setup.

One question that I would have for you is do you plan to use USB Dac or is your DAC using spdif?  You can use Pi Hat for a DAC or get spdif setup.
And this is why I spin vinyl...
"Write the image..."  what does that mean? 
"Boot it up" I assume means to restart.
Configure the LMS setup????  What?????
Exactly! I simply use the Tidal app via either Bluetooth or a headphone out jack, and leave all the alphabet soup for the more involved user. It DOES NOT need to be very difficult. Sure, as with anything else, more involvement can yield better sound, but with that comes the possible headaches.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: HAL on April 26, 2019, 05:16:29 PM
You can stream from any of those sites with a PC and the download and install of their software.   The RPi3 is just being used as a Linux computer to access them instead of the PC. 

Streaming gives you access as everyone has said to large libraries of music.  Each site seems to have its forte of genres they have catalogs for to access.  No need to download the files, but they do not all have lossless file replay.  Some will let you purchase and download the files.

There are also a lot of HiRez download websites that you can purchase the files and download them to your library.  Prices vary greatly depending on file resolution.  These are bit perfect replay from your file playing software like Foobar2000, JRiver, etc.

Most systems will let you rip your CD and DVD-A files to your library drive.  Lots of programs out there for use to do that.

It really depends on whether the music you want to hear is available in a format you want to play online or just play from your PC or other computer.  I tend to listen to things online in low resolution first and then purchase the media or files and put them in my library to play. 

 
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: James Edward on April 26, 2019, 05:51:33 PM
You can stream from any of those sites with a PC and the download and install of their software.   The RPi3 is just being used as a Linux computer to access them instead of the PC. 

Streaming gives you access as everyone has said to large libraries of music.  Each site seems to have its forte of genres they have catalogs for to access.  No need to download the files, but they do not all have lossless file replay.  Some will let you purchase and download the files.

There are also a lot of HiRez download websites that you can purchase the files and download them to your library.  Prices vary greatly depending on file resolution.  These are bit perfect replay from your file playing software like Foobar2000, JRiver, etc.

Most systems will let you rip your CD and DVD-A files to your library drive.  Lots of programs out there for use to do that.

It really depends on whether the music you want to hear is available in a format you want to play online or just play from your PC or other computer.  I tend to listen to things online in low resolution first and then purchase the media or files and put them in my library to play.
Again, EXACTLY! I’m only two weeks into streaming via Tidal, and I already have music I’ll be purchasing that otherwise I never would have known.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: mfsoa on April 27, 2019, 06:42:37 AM
SQ not improved although I haven't tried Qobuz' hi-rez. (Lousy DSL, I can barely do Tidal).

Access to new and wonderful and amazing and life-changing music goes through the roof!!

Do both - keep the he-man top of the line source but also stream. It's so cheap and easy (and fun!) to get internet access for your system.





 
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: mdconnelly on April 27, 2019, 08:51:03 AM
As others have stated, streaming services is a great way to expose music you might not otherwise ever hear.   I've used several over the last few years but ultimately let my subscriptions lapse.   The hi-res services like Qobuz sound pretty damn good.   I recently heard that even Amazon may be breaking into that.   But, the dinosaur in me is simply not ready to give up building my own collection, so using a streaming service has been primarily for exposure to new music that I would then go buy if I really like it.   Since a streaming service has a price tag equivalent of one or two albums per month (or a good single malt per quarter ;-), there are real tradeoffs.   

My sweet wife reminded me recently that back when my favorite music store was within walking distance, I was easily buying new albums every week that I often never listened to again.  (remember when buying a new album was a crapshoot because there was no way to hear it first?)    That store, like most, has long since closed, so perhaps I should use what I was spending there to justify the cost of a streaming service.  Rationalization is good ;-).  And yeah, I'm still buying a good bit of music, now online and I do get to hear it first.

But there are many who are replacing the concept of collecting music with just using a streaming service.   Given how much I've spent over the years on buying music (often multiple times via vinyl, cassette, cd and download), streaming services probably makes a lot of sense.  The gut check problem I have with that is that there are albums that may simply not be available via your service of choice at some point.   And giving up an extremely enjoyable lifetime of collecting music ain't no easy thing - see dinosaur reference above.

Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: tmazz on April 27, 2019, 08:09:49 PM
Streamings big sell is you have access to millions of songs. If you have a bunch of music that you own and don't want to find new music to listen to then no streaming is not going to help you. But, if you want to find more music to lsiten to, whether it is old or new Streaming really can be great. Someone mentioned a band, or you hear a song you like, just punch it  in in your streaming app and you can listen to it right away, reading an article about a great release of an album, bring it up in the streaming app and yopu can hear it immediately.

Charles, at the club meeting I regularly find albums, artists, and songs I did not know about and when I get home bring up the stuff we were listening to and can hear what it sounds like on my system. My main setup is in the living room, when we have company over I give them control of the sound system and they can bring up literately any type of music they want to hear, not just what I have purchased. I've tried, Tidal, Napster, MOG, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Wolfgang's, Pandora, and Slacker. I currently pay for Tidal, Napster, Amazon and might do Wolfgang's again.

Had never heard of Wolfgang’s.
https://www.wolfgangs.com/music/

https://www.keyboardmag.com/miscellaneous/wolfgangs-ampd-unlimited-streaming-of-the-worlds-largest-collection-of-live-recordings

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/music-publishers-win-major-copyright-fight-streaming-legendary-rock-concerts-1101359

I used to listen to Wolfgang's at work when it first started in the late 90s. Back then of course "streaming" wasn't really a thing, it was just a web site that I listened to music at using headphones plugged into my PC.

Back then it was called Wolfgang's Vault and he posted up a handful of concerts each week that you could listen too for free as a way to get you to browse hos site and buy some of the concert memorabilia that he was selling. Of course as the concept of streaming as a service in and of itself evolved the site eventually went subscription based.

I always enjoyed what he had to offer, but cannot really render an opinion on the SQ since I was listening through some rather lame hardware from an audiophile perspective.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: JBNY on May 03, 2019, 09:11:30 AM

I used to listen to Wolfgang's at work when it first started in the late 90s. Back then of course "streaming" wasn't really a thing, it was just a web site that I listened to music at using headphones plugged into my PC.

Back then it was called Wolfgang's Vault and he posted up a handful of concerts each week that you could listen too for free as a way to get you to browse hos site and buy some of the concert memorabilia that he was selling. Of course as the concept of streaming as a service in and of itself evolved the site eventually went subscription based.

I always enjoyed what he had to offer, but cannot really render an opinion on the SQ since I was listening through some rather lame hardware from an audiophile perspective.

They only dropped the Vault part recently. I had subscribed a few years ago and it was still called wolfgang's vault. As for sound quality almost all of the concerts are off of the sound board, so they sound great.
Title: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Guy 13 on September 02, 2019, 06:08:28 AM
Hi all.
I was just curious to see-listen to Tidal with their Free Trial suscription,
so I fill in the form and got a message saying :
Not available yet in your country! (Planet Vietnam that is)
Soooo I will wait until next year when I am in Canada.
Like I said, just curious, because for now I am very happy
with Art Radio at 4 USD a month.

Guy 13

I forgot to mentionne that I don't like to listen to music via my laptop.
For Art Radio I use my Grande Digital Mondo to my modest Cambridge - Sony combo.
Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: rollo on December 31, 2019, 08:47:34 AM
  OK I admit I WAS WRONG about streaming. Still not equal to my transport/DAC but very close. Using the Innuos Zenith mk3 server is a big plus.


charles
Title: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Guy 13 on December 31, 2019, 06:36:08 PM
Hi all.
Happy New Year and the very best for 2020.
My question is :
Streaming vs streaming ?
Right now I have two way to stream music :
A) Via my Grace Digital Mondo Internet radio.
B) Via my ASUS laptop.
Now, with my Radio Internet I got an analog (RCA) output
directly to my Cambridge amplifier.
Sounds good to me, maybe not for others...
I also have my ASUS laptop usb output to Schiit Fulla 2
then directly to my Cambridge amplifier.
I did a A to B comparaison and my soon to be 72 years old ears
could not distinguish any differences in sound quality.
If I go with a Pecan Pi (? ? ?) or equivalent streamer,
what would be the advantage(s) ? ? ?
I would still need my laptop or a monitor screen ? ? ?
Later when back in Canada I will-might upgrade my laptop to a tower computer
and the Fulla 2 to a Asgard 3.
(Asgard offer two different DAC might go with the better more expensive one.)
For the amplifier and speakers, I am still shopping.
Any advice(s) if my old ears would benefit from an upgrade ? ? ?

Guy 13

Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: tmazz on January 01, 2020, 10:18:14 AM
If you cannot hear a difference between the internet radio unit and the laptop then for you there is no difference. There is no right or wrong here.  This is in a way a very selfish hobby. I build my system for me and nobody else. Well, except maybe my wife, but for the most part her input relates not so much about how it sounds, but the visual impact it will have on the living room. Since I am now working with a shared space in the house I have to play nice in the sandbox to keep peace. But outside of that I choose equipment to please nobody but myself. Ans everybody else should do the same. That's why we all end up with different systems. If there was one "right" way, we would all own the same gear. So if there is no real difference between the two units how do you choose. I would move onto logistical issues, such as which is which is easier to use in terms of operation, does one take up less space and things of that nature. The internet radio unit may be somewhat easier to use in that you can just drop it in one place and leave it there, but the laptop I would think could get you access to a wider variety of sources. For example can you get to YouTube Videos via the Internet Radio and if so how easy is it to navigate then vs using the laptop. On the other hand in my house the laptop is in and out of the house on a regular basis, so using it with the stereo would involve constant hooking and unhooking of cables, a definite headache. Everything has its own set of pluses and minuse and you just have to pick the unit gives you the best combination of them for your situation.

As for the Pecan Pi streamer, It is a great little unit for the price. When Leo was first getting Orchid Audio off the ground he brought some of his gear oer to my house and did a presentation to our local audiophile club. HE did not have a streamer product at the time but mated one of his Apple Pi DAC boards to a Raspberry Pi computers forming a unit which is similar to the Pecan Pi streamer he is now selling That combination was very nice sounding indeed. And from all the reviews I have read, his pecan series is better sounding than the original Apple series, to I am sure the Pecan Pi streamer is a great performer.

The advantage of the Pecan Pi type streamer is that it is a fully functioning stand alone unit.You operate it via a tablet or a smartphone and it will function on its own without the need for an external computer. If you have music files stored on your computer it can read them, but it doesn't need the computer to operate other than that. And if you want you can connect storage devices directly to the Pecan Pi via its USB ports.

Title: Re: STREAMING and WHY ??
Post by: Guy 13 on January 01, 2020, 06:10:00 PM
If you cannot hear a difference between the internet radio unit and the laptop then for you there is no difference. There is no right or wrong here.  This is in a way a very selfish hobby. I build my system for me and nobody else. Well, except maybe my wife, but for the most part her input relates not so much about how it sounds, but the visual impact it will have on the living room. Since I am now working with a shared space in the house I have to play nice in the sandbox to keep peace. But outside of that I choose equipment to please nobody but myself. Ans everybody else should do the same. That's why we all end up with different systems. If there was one "right" way, we would all own the same gear. So if there is no real difference between the two units how do you choose. I would move onto logistical issues, such as which is which is easier to use in terms of operation, does one take up less space and things of that nature. The internet radio unit may be somewhat easier to use in that you can just drop it in one place and leave it there, but the laptop I would think could get you access to a wider variety of sources. For example can you get to YouTube Videos via the Internet Radio and if so how easy is it to navigate then vs using the laptop. On the other hand in my house the laptop is in and out of the house on a regular basis, so using it with the stereo would involve constant hooking and unhooking of cables, a definite headache. Everything has its own set of pluses and minuse and you just have to pick the unit gives you the best combination of them for your situation.

As for the Pecan Pi streamer, It is a great little unit for the price. When Leo was first getting Orchid Audio off the ground he brought some of his gear oer to my house and did a presentation to our local audiophile club. HE did not have a streamer product at the time but mated one of his Apple Pi DAC boards to a Raspberry Pi computers forming a unit which is similar to the Pecan Pi streamer he is now selling That combination was very nice sounding indeed. And from all the reviews I have read, his pecan series is better sounding than the original Apple series, to I am sure the Pecan Pi streamer is a great performer.

The advantage of the Pecan Pi type streamer is that it is a fully functioning stand alone unit.You operate it via a tablet or a smartphone and it will function on its own without the need for an external computer. If you have music files stored on your computer it can read them, but it doesn't need the computer to operate other than that. And if you want you can connect storage devices directly to the Pecan Pi via its USB ports.

Thanks tmazz fot your long, complete, detailled write-up.
I love my Grace Mondo Internet radio, the same for the Cambridge sub 2.1 amplifier
with my little Sony 2 way bookself speaker.
What I like less is my ASUS laptop, he's getting old and slow, like me...  :lol:
In addition the Schiit Asgard that I want and will buy, will illiminate two units :
Fulla 2 and SYS and some interconnect.
Because I am not getting younger and so is my eyesight,
I want to buy a 21 or 24'' monitor and a more up to date tower computer.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your opinion and experience.
The very best for 2020 and of course, all the following years, wishing that there will be
a minimum of 50+  :thumb:

Guy 13