[dazKewl]

Quote:

I'm curious about adroid players with streaming audio, specially samsung, phone or not. Can you use that apps that seems to sound good like power amp or voodoo with streaming flac files? What about battery life with wifi on? I know that they have removable battery and you can use high capacity ones, which is an advantage compare to apple products. On the other hand, I read that android requires more power than iOS.

 
The short answer is no. PowerAmp does not support streaming. I have most of my music in a 64GB MicroSD card with me at all times. But I stream my music when needed through BubbleUPnP and Twonky. Admittedly, BubbleUPnP does not have EQ like PowerAmp, but if you have a good headphone amp and a pair of fantastic cans, then you don't really need EQ to get the best SQ out of your Samsung Galaxy S III. When you are inside the house and on LAN, you CAN listen to your music through PowerAmp. Here's how: Share the music folder to your other computers on the network, then use a program like ES Explorer in Android. Navigate to that collection, then when it wants to open the music, open it using PowerAmp or any other music player you may have installed... Then enjoy!
 
Battery life is great. I have no complaints. But I am almost always near a power source which allows me to keep my phone charged up at all times...

 

[zzffnn]

^ Even on iDevices, I am not sure if EQ apps work with streaming flac files. It would also depend on the model of your NAS, operating system and firmware/software. For example, HP has an app or two for streaming to iDevices, but it only works on certain models of their media servers.
 
If you do not mind extra bulk, the Fiio E17 amp/dac offers some decent EQ; many portable amps offer bass boost or crossfeed as well.

 

[zzffnn]

Tyll mentioned that he is using a VortexBox. It is a NAS that can automatically rip CDs and serve music. $429 for 1TB and $499 for 2TB. I don't really need its CD ripping function (already have 2TB flac on hdd's) so I will past, otherwise it seems to be a good device.

 

[seeteeyou]

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[zzffnn]

I have not purchased the the Synology DS212j NAS, as I have a few concerns on the sound quality during streaming.
 
Based on my research, I am under the impression that Synology can read flac music from a SATA hdd, but it software (DS Audio) converts flac on-the-go to mp3, and stream said mp3 to iPhone ? The question is then what is the kbps rates of the converted mp3's (when played from iPhone streaming)? I would like to have at least 320 kbps.
 
I also wonder if the PlugPlayer app (or any other app) can stream flac from NAS and play flac on iPhone 3GS?
 
I understand that streaming lossless music may cause delays or cut-outs. I have a Netgear wirelss-N router, if that matters.

 

[johnnyjazz]

I don't know about the transcoding system of a Nas drive but I can stream from a pc flac files without transcoding with foobar without delays or cuts. Of course, you need to have a good wifi signal level. And i have a G wireless router, with your N one you shouldn't worry about anything!

 

[johnnyjazz]

The short answer is no. PowerAmp does not support streaming. I have most of my music in a 64GB MicroSD card with me at all times. But I stream my music when needed through BubbleUPnP and Twonky. Admittedly, BubbleUPnP does not have EQ like PowerAmp, but if you have a good headphone amp and a pair of fantastic cans, then you don't really need EQ to get the best SQ out of your Samsung Galaxy S III. When you are inside the house and on LAN, you CAN listen to your music through PowerAmp. Here's how: Share the music folder to your other computers on the network, then use a program like ES Explorer in Android. Navigate to that collection, then when it wants to open the music, open it using PowerAmp or any other music player you may have installed... Then enjoy!

Battery life is great. I have no complaints. But I am almost always near a power source which allows me to keep my phone charged up at all times...

Thanks for the reply. So, if I don't understand wrong, if you are connected to your local network you can use power amp to reproduce streaming audio? Have you tried the PlugPlayer version for Android?
Samsung seems like a good alternative, but I'm not ready to replace the iTouch yet. Maybe in the future. About the battery life, maybe a stationary solution can be a dock to charge the device standing in a strategic place, like the living room

 

[johnnyjazz]

This routher has 2 USB port and in the web it says that supports external hdd. It can be a solution:
 
http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?model=TL-WDR4300
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QSucHqgjJpQ

 

[NZtechfreak]

When I had a 4S recently I was using 8-Player to stream FLAC from my SeaGate Goflex Satellite on the go. 

 

[zzffnn]

^ I heard that the Seagate GoFlex Satellite has firmware/software issues, such that on-the-go operation is not quite smooth (an Amazon review details cons in portable use; he tested it in the subway). Does the 8player app solve all the issues? I can link to that review later if anyone is interested; I like to hear if there is a solution to overcome those cons.

 

[seeteeyou]

.

 

[zzffnn]

Quote:

When I had a 4S recently I was using 8-Player to stream FLAC from my SeaGate Goflex Satellite on the go. 

 
[size=11.0pt]Regarding that Seagate Goflex Satellite, I would really like it to work. [/size]
[size=11.0pt]However, it is probably not a good music server unless you are very tech savy (or you music library is very small). Its overall rating is 3.3 out of 5 from 195 reviews (64X 5 stars and 45X 1 star).[/size]
 
Please see reviews here:
[size=11.0pt]http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Satellite-Wireless-External-STBF500101/dp/B004Z0S7K6[/size]
 
[size=11.0pt]The most helpful Amazon review was written by a tech savy audiophile with 300GB of flac music and IOS portables (he tested it in a subway). He noted the following problems (I read the review carefully alone with the followed up comments):[/size]
 
1) Very slow syncing and problem connecting/loading.
[size=11.0pt]2) In a 20-min trial he lost wireless connection for a few times (with the Seagate in his pocket and iPhone in his hand). The it would not turn off.[/size]
[size=11.0pt]3) The app (he probably meant Seagate’s app) would not play the next song automatically. Screen cannot be turned off and app can not be run [/size]in the background.
4) “Folder view” shows only 20 artists at one time and you have to prompt to show more. What if you have 500 artists?
5) You cannot format this drive as it will kill the wireless function. It is factory formatted in NTFS.
 
I also read other reviews for this same product, most people are not happy with its music serving/playing function (this still holds true after upgrading firmware). Can 8player solve all those problems? 

 

[NZtechfreak]

Most of the reviews of the Satellite are done on early firmware versions, there have been some major revisions since then so things aren't nearly as bad as what you see in most reviews. The Seagate software even after the updates still has a number of limitations, but 8-Player was just fine for me and gets round the software problems you mention. I had no issues at all with disconnections/problems connecting or loading, perhaps the unit referred to was faulty.
 
(FWIW don't ever put any stock in Amazon reviews for tech stuff, most of the criticisms come from numpties who can't work anything techie out)
 
(unless you are also a numpty, in which case I guess it gives you a window onto whether the product is simple enough for you)
 
(I doubt many here are numpties)
 
I don't think much of the reviewer you point out by the way, he clearly isn't tech savvy at all, for example his suggestion that a file maybe wouldn't sync because of NTFS is utter bunkum and any half clued-up techie wouldn't have said that.

 

[zzffnn]

So there have been several firmware updates since Oct 2011 from Seagate?
In your experience, would 8player w/ Seagate display all artists and album names, even when you have 400GB of flac?
Are you able to use 8player in the background and songs will play one after another automatically?

IMHO, technology of a commercial product should be transparent enough for tech dummies. Seagate should have done that before rushing out the product. I may not be computer savvy, however I have a PhD in science and can get most answers if I invest enough time. The question is whether it is worth the time. Some Amazon reviewers seemed to think that it is not worth their time and they probably have good reasons. I would not call them, or anyone, "numpties".

 

[NZtechfreak]

I'm just calling a spade a spade, technologically you're a numpty if you're going around saying FLAC doesn't work with NTFS (the truth only hurts if it ought to). You can't trust anything that guy says because not only did he say that, you know that he didn't even spend two seconds on Google to check. Now I'm all for stuff "just working" out of the box, but if people won't even attempt to find something out even briefly on Google to troubleshoot then I have no respect for them or anything they have to say about a product. Naturally people in the same boat as those reviewers should pay attention to what they say, because that's a signal to them that there are problems they are unlikely to have the capability or inclination to solve.
 
Anyways, 8-Player is not limited by any of the limitations inherent in the Seagate software since it is acting as a UPnP player. Of course songs will play one after another/display album and artist names (providing your tracks are properly tagged of course). It doesn't matter the size of the collection, although it will take longer to build the library up on startup (I tend to flick mine on a couple of minutes before I wanted to use it). It has background playback in iOS. For me solving the usability issues of the GoFlex were as simple as copying files with drag n drop rather than syncing, and using UPnP apps (for Android I use Bubble PNP).
 
I see in the reviews for 8-Player that the latest update appears to have introduced some instabilities, however I don't have any iOS devices at present to check on that. Next one I will have will be the iPhone 5 in a month or something, will report back about how the GoFlex is with that when I have it.