Newbie to Music Streaming

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Craig.......... will the OPPO 103 do things that my OPPO 203 won't do?

Yes. Rip SACDs.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Craig.......... will the OPPO 103 do things that my OPPO 203 won't do?

Only the OPPO 103 or the 105 will rip SACDs. The Darbee versions of both work as well.

There are a handful of Pioneer and I think Sony bluRays that will do this also but it seems the OPPOs are easiest.

[doggiehowser]

Here’s what I use Roon for

It is a great music library management system that is really smart.

Most of the old CDs I ripped found metadata online and it is a crapshoot as far as accuracy is concerned.

I have 3 artists called
Eagles
The Eagles
Eagles, The

And 3 of the following
Michael Buble with no accent
Buble with the right accent
Buble with the wrong accent

And many more.

Roon knows that those 3 artists are the one and the same. It also groups the albums so I can find duplicates or different versions so I can find the DSD, RBCD, 24/96 etc

Each album and artist is fleshed our with performing and production credits. And it’s akin to reading my old liner notes.

A while back I was listening to Howard Jones No One is the Blame and I remember Phil Collins played the drums on them. But I swear I heard him on the background vocals.

I checked the Credits and there he was: Background Vocals - Phil Collins.

Most of the artists that are referenced in the liner notes are hyperlinked. So it’s easy to listen to Genesis and see that it is formed by Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Peter Gabriel and then click to their pages and find their music (either in my library or on TIDAL). I know Roon know supports Qobuz but I would need a hack to get it in Australia.

Not everyone will appreciate or want this I imagine. But I reckon it’s a great experience. I feel Roon is like a musical encyclopedia that I can listen to.

[eziggy]

Another really awesome and very undermarketed Roon endpoint is the Meridian streaming series. Their Zone Controllers are understated and essential high end DACs with streaming capability. Even the entry level 218 has a similar DAC as their high end DAC components, though of course single DAC with a lot less features. Also has full MQA support. I recently ordered one should be getting it setup week. I heard the 251 (with amp) at a dealer connected to Vandersteen bookshelf speakers and was floored at the clarity, detail, and smoothness.

[Clark2]

Update for This Thread: I'm very happy with this setup, but I have several questions regarding streaming from the Internet of "stations" not readily available to the BluOS app and Node 2:

I have a new Windows 10 Pro PC with USB 3.1, "ThunderBolt 3," and HDMI connectors, as well as Bluetooth 5.0. I'm hoping to find a way of connecting it to the Node 2 (which has Tos-Link optical as well as Bluetooth aptX, but not aptX-HD, inputs) in a way that minimizes unnecessary D/A-A/D iterations. (There are relatively inexpensive aptX-HD receivers that can output Tos-Link, and there are aptX-HD dongles available for USB ports on PCs, though I'm not sure of the true sound quality of this lossy Codec. Anyone A/B compared it with, say, a real CD?)

Are there any Windows 10 users here who can advise me on the following points where I'm stuck?

1) I don't know how to get Windows to use aptX-HD for audio output. There doesn't seem to be a driver available, or if there is one, nobody's telling how to install/use it.

2) I haven't found a way so far to output streamed music in digital form over any of the wired links available on my machine. (Obviously the best choice, given the Node 2's capabilities, would be Tos-Link, assuming existence of a USB- or ThunderBolt-to-Tos-Link adapter.)

3) Finally, I understand that TuneIn (free through BluOS and the Node 2) offers the capability of setting up "custom stations" using the URLs of Internet streams, some of which are supposed to be of excellent quality. (This option has the benefit of eliminating my computer and streaming directly from the Internet to the Node 2.) My problem here so far is that most of the URLs I've tried to plug into it are rejected with "Unsupported content type; text/html" errors. I don't know how to find the "real" URLs for such streams.

Any experience or suggestions from you folks would be most appreciated! -- Clark2

[doggiehowser]

Don’t use Bluetooth. Even Sony’s claimed lossless Bluetooth is just marketing speak. Neither is AptX HD

Some computers have an optical out. You should be able to run that through the optical input on the Node 2i.

That’s your best bet.

Another alternative for streaming classical music is iDagio which I recall is supported by BlueSound app.

[DaveM]

For streaming content using the computer and not the BluOS application, I would connect the computer’s optical out to the Yamaha integrated amp. This assumes that all speakers are being driven by the Yamaha. If the Yamaha and Node 2i have similar quality DAC’s, this configuration should sound better as the stream eliminates the connection between the Node 2i and Yamaha. According to Audio Science Review, the Node 2i does not have a good DAC. It may be worth bypassing its DAC by connecting either its optical or digital output to the Yamaha’s input and seeing how the Yamaha’s DAC sounds. If the sound quality isn’t good enough, you might want to consider the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus in series between the Node 2i and Yamaha. It has a USB Type B input for a computer. If you plan to set up a multi room BluOS speaker ecosystem and/or need to do network streaming, you would still want to have the Node 2i.

[Clark2]

Originally Posted by doggiehowser

Don’t use Bluetooth. Even Sony’s claimed lossless Bluetooth is just marketing speak. Neither is AptX HD
...
Another alternative for streaming classical music is iDagio which I recall is supported by BlueSound app.

Thanks, doggiehowser, for your helpful reply. I will give up on Bluetooth. iDagio does sound very interesting, and I'm exploring it now. -- Clark2

[Clark2]

Originally Posted by DaveM

...you might want to consider the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus in series between the Node 2i and Yamaha. It has a USB Type B input for a computer...

Dave -- Thanks for your comments on the Node 2i. (I don't have the "i" upgrade.) I take it you're not a Windows 10 guy. I still haven't found any way to get music output from the computer over USB (not to mention Tos-Link). I guess I'll have to call Lenovo tech support... -- Clark2

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by Clark2

Dave -- Thanks for your comments on the Node 2i. (I don't have the "i" upgrade.) I take it you're not a Windows 10 guy. I still haven't found any way to get music output from the computer over USB (not to mention Tos-Link). I guess I'll have to call Lenovo tech support... -- Clark2

I know Windows 10 but since I retired in September I don’t have a PC. I stream using my MacBook Pro via USB type C to B cable to my DAC. Let me see if I can take a look at my wife’s work PC laptop. The control panel should indicate whether digital optical output is supported by the Lenovo hardware. I checked my MacBook Pro and it doesn’t. Apple may have dropped it when they moved to USB C connections. There may be a dongle that could allow it but it isn’t priority for my situation. Whenever I play music through the browser (Safari), I stream via Bluetooth aptX but it’s lossy and not the greatest sound quality. I would think Bluesound technical support might be able to help you better than Lenovo as they probably have had this question many times before. It’s a little specialized for Lenovo. Good luck!