[joshua]

I'm looking for a high quality music server that can

• play music off my NAS
• stream from Roon/Tidal/Spotify
• support for Primephonic would be nice

What companies/products should I be looking at? I'm completely new to this area so have no clue where to begin.

My current setup: silent PC -> Yulong DA8MkII -> Violectric V281 -> HD600/LCD-2. I'm not looking for something that necessarily has the best synergy with the downstream components, just something that meets my requirements above and will last for a long time.

Thank you very much!

 

[Monsterzero]

I went from an Aurender N100H to a System Optique and couldnt be more pleased. Give them a call and they will tell you what you need. They are very responsive to calls and emails.

My system has a 4TB SSD (optional) for locally stored files and incorporates Roon/Qobuz/Tidal seamlessly.

EDIT: The Aurender wasnt bad but the software wasnt easy to use, creating playlists took forever, it has a 1500 file playlist limit, which is horrid for large collections of music and didnt do Roon. The SQ wasnt nearly as good as the System Optique either.

 

[joshua]

Thank you! Do you mean this product? It looks way more affordable than many of Aurender's products.

IIUC, I control the device (which is a modified PC) via a third-party controller app (as opposed to Aurender's closed proprietary app). What happens if I want to add a streaming service not currently supported, like Primephonic (which I use for high-def classical)?

 

[Monsterzero]

Thank you! Do you mean this product?

Thats the one I have. I added a 4TB SSD to my Sonic Orbiter. You can choose from 1,2,4TB or none.

IIUC, I control the device (which is a modified PC) via a third-party controller app

The Sonic Orbiter acts as your Roon core, so you have to pay the monthly Roon fee and that is the app you use. I have it on 2 phones, an Ipad, 1 desktop and 1 laptop. Each controlled device can play independently of one another at the same time. For example your wife or GF can have the Roon app on her phone and listen to her choice of music, meanwhile you can be listening to something else entirely. Downloading the Roon app is free and you can add multiple accounts on the same core if needed. As long as every device is on the same network as the Roon core you can have as many devices streaming as you want.

The Roon software is great. Easy to use, configure and navigate. You can have infinite amount of files on a single playlist with no lag or decrease in stability.

What happens if I want to add a streaming service not currently supported, like Primephonic (which I use for high-def classical)?

That I have no idea about. Probably something you'd have to take up with Roon. Im not a big classical listener, but Qobuz has quite a few classical albums, and those that it doesnt you can buy on your own and place on your Sonic Orbiter SSD.

When 'shuffle' is selected on the Roon software it will shift from locally stored files to streaming files randomly and seamlessly. Or you can click on a single album and it will play that album, or you can tap play on an artist and it will shuffle around to an artists entire catalog. Its really quite amazing, and this is coming from someone who resisted Roon and streaming in general for many years.

 

[joshua]

Nice! I'll contact SmallGreenComputer for more details. IIRC I did buy a silent PC from them many years ago, still loving it.

 

[joshua]

Do SmallGreenComputer's stuff work if I also want to use streaming services like Spotify and Primephonic in addition to playing my own music collection?

 

[Monsterzero]

I have no idea. Best to give them a call tomorrow or drop an email.

 

[tesarpa]

I believe Bluesound has the best coverage of music services in their software BlueOS, see https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360000199908-What-Music-Services-does-BluOS-Support-. I know Node is not a server, but you can find other products with BluOS support at NAD. I don't see Primephonics there, they have Idagio, which is classic oriented stream provider.

 

[Monsterzero]

I believe Bluesound has the best coverage of music services in their software BlueOS, see https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360000199908-What-Music-Services-does-BluOS-Support-. I know Node is not a server, but you can find other products with BluOS support at NAD. I don't see Primephonics there, they have Idagio, which is classic oriented stream provider.

The original Bluesound Node was my very first attempt at getting all of my music off of a desktop PC.
Im assuming they have come a long ways since 2015 because I had nothing but issues with connectivity between the Node and my network. Several times I had to give up control of my PC desktop for their techs to diagnose the issues. It got so bad that I actually stopped listening to music.

They mustve improved since then otherwise theyd be out of business by now.