Streaming

[Dave2002]

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.

There are various streaming devices which can perhaps do what I think you are asking for. I think generally you might find that they are sold as internet radios.

In the meantime, re your connections. Surely the first thing to do is to check the output of your headphone socket - maybe plug in some headphones and see if anything comes out. If there's nothing there, then there's no way your Yamaha amp will be able to produce any audible sounds. In that case you've maybe muted the sound using the controls in your PC. If that's the situation, then unmute the output, and hope that everything should then work.

If the headphone socket works then you need to turn your attention to the input to the amp. Are you using an integrated amplifier with an in-built pre-amp? It could be that you've fed your headphone output to one of the inputs which requires a relatively high input signal level, in which case the sound level will be low. If your amp is simply a power amp, then the signal level will almost certainly be far too low. However this does seem moderately unlikely, as many of us do use integrated amps, which have the in-built pre-amp stages to switch and boost the inputs. However, just in case you are trying to feed a signal to a power amp, then you most likely do need a pre-amp to get a result. Does that make sense?

I think the most likely thing is that you do have an integrated amp, and that the problem lies on the PC side -with a muting control.

[Anastasius]

Does the PC still have that Master Volume Control panel? Seem to remember there were several volume controls and mute buttons there. Also some browsers have a volume control/mute facility as does the actual website. Certainly Qobuz does and I seem to remember that Spotify did.

[gradus]

Mea culpa - I just checked the leads from pc to amp and found that they had been bitten through by one of the cats, needless to say it worked when re-connected. My sincere apologies for wasting your time and my thanks for your helpful explanations.

[richardfinegold]

Mea culpa - I just checked the leads from pc to amp and found that they had been bitten through by one of the cats, needless to say it worked when re-connected. My sincere apologies for wasting your time and my thanks for your helpful explanations.

No doubt the cat was objecting to an HIPP recording featuring violins made from the intestines of his compatriots.

I see where quobuz intends to Charge $20/month here for "CD Quality" and more for "High Resolution" streaming. I don't think they will have much success at those rates.

[Anastasius]

No doubt the cat was objecting to an HIPP recording featuring violins made from the intestines of his compatriots.

I see where quobuz intends to Charge $20/month here for "CD Quality" and more for "High Resolution" streaming. I don't think they will have much success at those rates.

That's why I am very happy listening at 320kbps for 5 euros !! I can dip in here and there across a huge range of music.

[Dave2002]

Does the PC still have that Master Volume Control panel? Seem to remember there were several volume controls and mute buttons there. Also some browsers have a volume control/mute facility as does the actual website. Certainly Qobuz does and I seem to remember that Spotify did.

Not sure about PCs these days - probably depends on the computer and also the OS version, plus the software. With Macs some software does have volume controls built in, but I think in some cases connecting a cable (maybe optical, maybe electrical) to the hardware overrides any software control and the volume controls on the hardware have to be used. Seems like every possible combination of hardware and software may behave differently, so need to check that software muting isn't turned on, either in a system wide control or in a program level control, and then check at the hardware end too.

Anyway, glad that gradus has found the problem, and sorted it out now.