Streaming

[gradus]

I'm getting fed up with the periodic problems of listening to Spotify through my pc - I find Realtek HD sound isn't easy to manage and my PC sometimes refuses to send any signal to my Yamaha amp and B and W speakers. I like the speakers but want a simple to use high quality device to listen through, presumably one doesn't necessarily need a PC? Suggestions gratefully received.

[Stunsworth]

If you have an iPhone or an iPad in the house you can use Airplay to stream to an Airport Express, and from that to your amp. Look for 'Airplay' on this link for details...

https://www.apple.com/airport-express/

[ChrisBennell]

I recently bought a Sound Blaster Omni 5.1 External Sound card for my (desktop) PC. This connects to the PC through a USB port, and the speakers simply connect straight to the Sound Card Phono Jacks, instead of to the on-board sound-card. Overall performance is very good, with a distinct improvement in clarity listening via my PC. The Sound settings in Control Panel (Win 7) took a bit of trial and error to get right. (Cost was £55 from Amazon - reduced from £69)
I didn't previously have any problems with the PC on-board sound, though and I should say I don't use Spotify - I use mainly BBC iplayer.

In your situation, you may want to eliminate other possible causes before spending money. Does your set-up work OK through other sites: try BBC iplayer, or Allofbach.com for example, or is it just Spotify? Is your Internet connection solid? (I use a "high speed" BT Infinity connection over fibre to the cabinet) Are you able to send sound from the PC straight to speakers without problems (bypassing the Yamaha amp)? I can't suggest alternatives to the PC, although others will be able to, I'm sure! It should be possible to home in on which component is causing your issues. (PC, Sound Card, Software, Hi Fi, Cables, Internet connection)

[Dave2002]

I'm getting fed up with the periodic problems of listening to Spotify through my pc - I find Realtek HD sound isn't easy to manage and my PC sometimes refuses to send any signal to my Yamaha amp and B and W speakers. I like the speakers but want a simple to use high quality device to listen through, presumably one doesn't necessarily need a PC? Suggestions gratefully received.

What problems do you actually experience? Are you "simply" taking an audio feed to your amp and thence to the speakers via the headphone socket? Not really recommended, due to quality concerns, but shouldn't really present too many problems.

If you can afford a DAC and an optical output from your PC, that might just solve a few problems. The FiiO D3 is a cheap DAC - http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-192KHz-...&keywords=fiio

Getting an optical output might be harder.

There are some DACs which work with USB - but perhaps not such cheap ones.

I quite often use an optical output from a Macbook Pro through to a Beresford Caiman DAC - and that DAC also has a USB input, though it's "only" low (i.e CD quality) resolution on the USB input There are newer versions which probably do better, though they might cost more.

For the conversion to TOSLINK/SPDIF - something like this is very cheap - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delock-USB-S...sxp_grid_i_1_0 though may not be very good quality. Something like this might (but I can't say for sure ...) be better - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teralink-Nat...xp_grid_pt_0_1

I've heard that the Dragonfly DACs - which plug into a USB socket, are very good - and you wouldn't need the Toslink cable - http://www.amazon.co.uk/AudioQuest-1...gonfly+usb+dac though the output is via one of those miniature sockets I think.

It is also possible that your Soundblaster "card" has an optical output already, in which case much of this is unnecessary. However, some of that Soundblaster kit really is OK - I have what is probably a much earlier model, and I wouldn't expect too many problems from that. Which model is yours?

[Dave2002]

A quick afterthought re msg 1. Some (most?) versions of Spotify have a cache setting available in Preferences. If you are having problems with gaps in the music, try setting the cache buffer to the largest value which your system will accept. I can't test this immediately, as I've uninstalled Spotify on this machine, but when I looked a few days ago I noticed that setting. If you do that you might get a longer start up time, but much less stuttering - though a lot would depend on how fast your internet link is. No amount of buffering (will solve problems if the internet link itself is either low data rate, or intermittently unreliable.

[teamsaint]

Gradus, if you want a bit of reassurance ,rather than actual advice,I tend to find that much streaming falls into the " Life's too short " category.

I use a newish ipad and a year old Marantz Streamer., using Airplay.The airplay flicks on and off,internet signal drops out, generally rather trying.

In the end I try to just use it for things that I really can't hear elsewhere easily,and as a last resort.

[Dave2002]

ts

I think it depends .... on so many things. The quality via streaming is possibly not as good as most downloads, and also not as good as CD or better.

Tools such as Spotify and Napster are good for instant gratification though, and for checking out odd tracks - such as http://app.napster.com/artist/variou...dalize-my-name which someone has just pointed out to me.

I actually preferred this, though - http://app.napster.com/artist/variou...ld-ladys-tango

What I think you are saying is that if our OP finds that streaming doesn't work for him, he's not alone, and shouldn't beat his head against this one. Here we have (now) acceptable broadband, and reasonable wi-fi coverage in the house - but it's taken years to get to this stage, and quite a lot of effort.

Note though, that the R3 HD streams usually work quite well (though with a glitch recently which has affected some users) - so streaming can work.

[Anastasius]

ts

I think it depends .... on so many things. The quality via streaming is possibly not as good as most downloads, and also not as good as CD or better. .......

That's not the case with Qobuz. I am quite happy streaming at 320kbps.

[Dave2002]

That's not the case with Qobuz. I am quite happy streaming at 320kbps.

I've not tried Qobuz. Many people will be happy with a decent 320kbps feed, but it's still not up to CD, SACD or other hi-res formats.

[Anastasius]

You can stream CD quality from Qobuz if you so wish. True CD quality (FLAC 16-Bit/44.1kHz)

[Dave2002]

You can stream CD quality from Qobuz if you so wish. True CD quality (FLAC 16-Bit/44.1kHz)

Possibly, but that'd be at more than 320kbps, and might only work well over fibre networks, and could cost a lot - depending on the broadband package. Maybe it will become "normal" eventually.

[Stunsworth]

Possibly, but that'd be at more than 320kbps, and might only work well over fibre networks, and could cost a lot - depending on the broadband package. Maybe it will become "normal" eventually.

You need around 5 Mb to stream Qobuz FLAC - I'm with Virgin and have a 100 Mb link, so it isn't a problem.

[gradus]

Many thanks for the advice and comments in response to my original posting. At present I connect the Yamaha amp CD input to the headphone output of the pc and the B and W speakers to the Yamaha but the pc now refuses to send any audible signal to the Yamaha. I was hoping that I could buy a device/gadget that takes the original digital stream direct to the speakers but I'm unclear as to what that piece of equipment - if it exists - is called and how it connects to the internet. Grateful for further elucidation.

[Anastasius]

Possibly, but that'd be at more than 320kbps, and might only work well over fibre networks, and could cost a lot - depending on the broadband package. Maybe it will become "normal" eventually.

I'm on the end of a very long piece of copperwire but get 7Mbs so not a problem. But 320k works well enough for me and my hearing.

[Anastasius]

Many thanks for the advice and comments in response to my original posting. At present I connect the Yamaha amp CD input to the headphone output of the pc and the B and W speakers to the Yamaha but the pc now refuses to send any audible signal to the Yamaha. I was hoping that I could buy a device/gadget that takes the original digital stream direct to the speakers but I'm unclear as to what that piece of equipment - if it exists - is called and how it connects to the internet. Grateful for further elucidation.

I have a £35 secondhand iPod Touch that streams to my hifi system via wifi. It happily connects to Qobuz or Spotify. You just plug a 3.5mm stereo jack into the headphone socket on the iPod.