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Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra Music Streamer

webster

Listen & enjoy.
Thinking of buying one of these so would welcome advice from any members who either own or have owned one.
Particularly interested in, at least initially, connecting a 1tb external hdd to the unit containing a substantial library of 16 & 24 bit flac files.
The manual makes it sound simple - anyone doing this and if so are there any formatting issues or other complications?
 
Are you intending to also connect it to a network, not just the HDD and a DAC? Without a network that has wifi, it doesn't look like it can be controlled.
 
Are you intending to also connect it to a network, not just the HDD and a DAC? Without a network that has wifi, it doesn't look like it can be controlled.
Yes I would connect it to the wifi network but my primary use for it would be local files from an external hdd.
 
Personally, I'd buy a QNAP or synology NAS. half the price, more flexible and way more powerful.
https://blog.qnap.com/create-the-ultimate-home-audio-system-with-qnap-and-roon/

QNAP TS-251+ with 8GB RAM c£300
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=323797359792
Sandisk Ultra 3D 2TB SSD c£200
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=163651137204
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=392262909175

Totally silent and can also run a film library to a smart TV
 
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Thanks for the suggestions but I'm really looking for a simple plug & play solution with connectivity to my dac and external hdd.I don't particularly want to get involved in networking, hard wiring etc as my router is a distance from my hifi.
 
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I tried plugging a USB stick into mine containing 90GB of music files and it worked fine. These were ALAC files. Found the artwork etc, scanned the files quickly and navigation of the library is very easy via the Project Play app. It wouldn't play ball with my music backup external USB drive but i suspect that's due to the formatting. I seem to recall that being mentioned in the manual. For what i normally use it for, a Roon endpoint for my Sony 1Z Walkman, it works superbly.
 
I tried plugging a USB stick into mine containing 90GB of music files and it worked fine. These were ALAC files. Found the artwork etc, scanned the files quickly and navigation of the library is very easy via the Project Play app. It wouldn't play ball with my music backup external USB drive but i suspect that's due to the formatting. I seem to recall that being mentioned in the manual. For what i normally use it for, a Roon endpoint for my Sony 1Z Walkman, it works superbly.
That's interesting and sounds like it probably confirms what I was fearing - namely that it's quite happy with FAT32 but not NTFS which sadly is the format of my 1tb hdd:(
 
I tried plugging a USB stick into mine containing 90GB of music files and it worked fine. These were ALAC files. Found the artwork etc, scanned the files quickly and navigation of the library is very easy via the Project Play app. It wouldn't play ball with my music backup external USB drive but i suspect that's due to the formatting. I seem to recall that being mentioned in the manual. For what i normally use it for, a Roon endpoint for my Sony 1Z Walkman, it works superbly.

Was it a powered USB NTFS DRIVE, if it was trying to draw current from the S2 ultra then it might not work if it draws more than 1 amp. Manual says 2 x USB with a combined draw of no more than 1a.

I find it unlikely that a powered ntfs USB HDD wouldn't work. I could be wrong of course, but this would be surprising given that I would expect most hdd's formatted to ntfs these days.

I only skim read the manual but didn't see any reference to ntfs or fat 32. I'll have a better read shortly.

Edit: no mention either type of drive format, so if that's the case then both should be fine.
 
Was it a powered USB NTFS DRIVE, if it was trying to draw current from the S2 ultra then it might not work if it draws more than 1 amp. Manual says 2 x USB with a combined draw of no more than 1a.

I find it unlikely that a powered ntfs USB HDD wouldn't work. I could be wrong of course, but this would be surprising given that I would expect most hdd's formatted to ntfs these days.

I only skim read the manual but didn't see any reference to ntfs or fat 32. I'll have a better read shortly.

Edit: no mention either type of drive format, so if that's the case then both should be fine.

No it was a powered drive. Webster's question just intrigued me as i'd not played about with the other options. I'll have a look to see what format the drive is as you've got me wondering now why it doesn't work...
 
I bought one just recently for streaming Tidal. I was initially disappointed as CD, played through the same DAC, was delivering much better SQ than Tidal; and CD was also better than playing a FLAC file ripped from the CD. However, on switching the WiFi option off on the Streambox the SQ improved substantially. It is now comparable to CD. However, if you are not connecting your Streambox to your router with wire then you will not be able to do this.

I am very impressed by the Streambox Ultra S2. It is tiny, the sound is good, the app is usable (though not great and not intuitive) and it is a fifth of the price of comparable network bridges. I’ve now ordered the separate Streambox S2 battery power supply to see if that improves things more, as it comes with a SMPS which can be noisy.
 
Did hifinews measure the SoTM range at all? I found the SoTM 200 ultra neo left the streambox/lakewest streamer for dead, though you could argue at 2x the price difference...hardly fair. It also (SoTM) wasn't stable under DSD 512 modes whatever I did, hence moved mine on.

Don’t know, sorry.

But audiosciencereview did measure an SoTM streamer into an iFIAudio DAC and found it noisier than the output of a laptop, though you could improve the performance using an LPS.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...d-review-of-sotm-sms-200-network-player.1846/
 
How about directly connecting an external HDD to the unit - have you tried this?

I have attached a memory stick to the Ultra and played back with a comparison to CD. So long as WiFi is turned off on the Ultra it sounds as good as CD.
 
I have attached a memory stick to the Ultra and played back with a comparison to CD. So long as WiFi is turned off on the Ultra it sounds as good as CD.
I'm assuming that's in FAT32 format?
As per my original post I'm interested to know if the Pro-Ject will accept an HDD in NTFS format in the same way that a laptop does?
Regarding sound comparison - have you done a blind test?
 


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