[cyberridz]

I am new to streaming and wondering if I should take the plunge into getting a network streaming player, as cds are getting rarer by the day. Has anyone had any experience with streaming media players? The only problem I have with them is that they are expensive. Can anyone recommend me what streaming services online are the best and what streaming player I should get? Are there any good ones that are affordable?
 
Thanks.

 

[wolfjeanne]

Depending on how good your ears and gear are, tidal premium might be worth it. Spotify and google play music both can stream at 320 Kb/s. Personally I can't tell the difference. If you want to know more, check out the sound science sub-section of this forum.

 

[obobskivich]

I would probably say "pass" for one of three reasons:

1) You can very likely do whatever streaming you like from your computer, and it will almost certainly have a more friendly UI (e.g. you have a real keyboard) than whatever "hi-fi component" sticks you with. Additionally, said "hi-fi component" may be relatively locked-in to certain providers, whereas a computer can largely go anywhere on the Internet. So if you're going to get into streaming, I would go with a computer-based approach since it'll be more flexible and modular. Of course you can add higher quality output hardware here if you so desire.

2) Most streaming services prioritize bandwidth savings and performance over absolute quality, primarily catering to mobile users on constrained bandwidth or other "I need background noise" scenarios (and honestly for that usage scenario, I'd suggest FM radio) - there are services that offer higher quality streaming, but their interpretation of "high quality" is usually 256-320k lossy. Now, I don't want to get into the argument about "can you hear this apart from CD" - my point is that you aren't REQUIRED to live with that, when you could just buy the CD and have lossless and be done with it (and storage is so cheap these days there really should be no more argument beyond that).

3) Streaming can eat up a lot of data (especially if you're going after a higher quality service), and unless you have a truly unlimited bandwidth ISP package and relatively high continuous throughput, you will likely run into data caps and/or inconvenience other users of your available bandwidth (and your other web-based needs could be in this "other users" category). Local playback won't have these problems.

So basically what I'd suggest is sticking with a computer (streaming or not), and either ripping CDs or going for digital downloads when available.

 

[Barlow762]

Hi, I haven't had a lot of experience with streaming other than Spotify. I found it to be OK if you are entertaining via a stereo, but for me personally I'd rather have the CD. I'm a sentimentalist who enjoys the album artwork and to have a hard copy of my songs. This way you also get to choose MP3/flac etc

 

[Music Alchemist]

Take it from someone (yours truly) who spent five figures on CDs: a streaming membership is an infinitely better value.
 
Instead of paying ten or fifteen bucks for each CD (yeah, I know you can get 'em used on Amazon for pennies plus shipping), you can have access to countless thousands of albums for a monthly fee only as high as the cost of a CD or two.
 
I don't personally use music streaming services since I have my own collection to occupy me, but if you're just starting out and don't want to spend a whole lot, go for streaming all the way.
 
TIDAL is one of the best and most popular ones among audiophiles.
 
And yeah, just use a PC. I wouldn't worry about fancy equipment until you already have headphones that cost thousands.
 
As a bonus, here are some free (and perfectly legal) music downloads.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/644595/official-free-flac-file-music-sharing-thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/731523/the-free-music-thread-100-legal-downloads-of-all-formats

 

[cyberridz]

The reason why I started this thread was because my iMac died on me a few months ago, and seeing it was already really old, I couldn't be bothered replacing it or getting a new one. I finally decided that I would like to try a "compter-less" head-fi setup.
 
My options are as follows:
 
1. Getting an "audiophile" audio CD player.
2. Getting a wireless "streaming" network player or a "wireless" DAC (Arcam irDAC).
3. A disk or SD card based "audiophile" music player (Aune X5s).
 
Which would be the best option?

 

[HipHopScribe]

Do you have a reason you want to go computer-less? The simplest solution is a cheap Windows-tablet (less than $200) and a Tidal subscription, fed to a USB DAC

 

[cyberridz]

A tablet would be another option, hence why I was interested about online audio streaming services.

 

[HipHopScribe]

Tidal Hifi is lossless, so while I know some still prefer a physical product and there's a nostalgia factor, in terms of sound reproduction you're not losing anything vs CD, and an equivalent library would take years and thousands of dollars to build with CDs. At only $20 a month it's a great deal. So when it comes to CD vs streaming, unless you have a very spotty internet connection at home, I think streaming is the answer

 

[cyberridz]

I think I will just get an iPad and get one of these:
 
https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/hirise-iphone
 
This would look nice on a hi-fi or head-fi rack!
 
Plus, iTunes isn't too bad either, I could just buy albums on iTunes Store and later on switch to any streaming service like Tidal if I get bored. Either way, I'm sure iTunes would be fine for normal, day-to-day listening.

 

[buke9]

I really enjoy Tidal HiFi. The quality is very good.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I am new to streaming and wondering if I should take the plunge into getting a network streaming player, as cds are getting rarer by the day. Has anyone had any experience with streaming media players? The only problem I have with them is that they are expensive. Can anyone recommend me what streaming services online are the best and what streaming player I should get? Are there any good ones that are affordable?

 

Why not look into setting up a headless Android miniPC server, assuming you have a smartphone or tablet that runs Android? It'll be a MacMini/AppleTV sized computer near your other equipment and you can hook up a USB HDD for local storage (instead of setting up a network HDD), you can easily switch to streaming services like Spotify for less critical listening (which is still cheaper than Tidal), some have optical SPDIF output so you don't need to worry about USB DAC drivers and such, and you don't need to set it up with a monitor apart from initial set-up. You run it the first time and, if done correctly, after that your interface for it will be an Android tablet or smartphone.

 

[Deftone]

if you dont have any CDs or not bothered about collecting, tidal is better value.
 
only 1 problem, you cant choose your masters.

 

[kh6idf]

I use a Deon HEOS Link($350) for streaming.  It has a built-in DAC that is pretty good, but one deficiency is no headphone jack.  You would need a headphone amp (maybe you already have one).  I connect it via RCA cables to a Stax energizer.
 
This uses a tablet or phone as the control and display, and connects wired or wirelessly to your router.  It supports a number of streaming services like TIDAL, Spotify, Napster (was Rhapsody), Pandora, Tunein radio, etc.
 
It is very flexible with many inputs and outputs so you can route it through a standalone DAC using digital output, or connect it to a USB hard drive or thumb drive to play music stored there.
 
I don't use the multi-room capabilities, I just use it strictly as a streamer to feed my (analog) stereo system or headphones.
 
https://usa.denon.com/us/heos-link

 

[fumblingforward]

If you all don't mind my two cents, I stream audio in the kitchen, I stream it in the living room, stream to
my mobile (sometimes) walking to work. When I get to just sit and listen, it's a record player or more often my CD player to my headphone amp. It's not an audiophile deck by any stretch but it sounds great. It ran me I think $60 or 65 used and arrived to me in near mint condition. My Asgard 2 also used and also near mint in concert with the cd deck and whichever cans I decide on runs circles around what comes out my laptop headphone jack. I buy a few compact discs locally but mostly on Amazon and ebay. Excluding the processing inside my probably 25 year old player there's not a computer involved. If you're like me and many people in this era you're interfaced to a computer regularly if not continually throughout your day. Shaking that off for me is nice. It's a break. It's not being connected to the web. Not emails, not texts, not work. Kicked back in my recliner, headphones on, eyes closed for the entire length of an album. It's soothing. The most involved activity is selection of the disc. I explore new music by taking a gamble on a disc, and I've never gotten one I couldn't enjoy. Ive discovered an entirely different genre I'd never have considered and loved it and I've re-discovered music I heard over fm radio a billion years ago through a cheap boom box and hated but adore that work now. I've spent as much as $15 on a dee but for the most part I get them under 7 bucks each and they are mine with no EULA or buffering. And through the Asgard and something like my he-400i's (used demo unit, mint) the sound surprises me; regularly. One mans humble opinion.