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Looking at HDD/SSD Streamers

I use Amazon Prime for shopping and whatever it brings. I will continue to subscribe to Tidal and Qobuz and really hope they both survive. Having ‘liked’ the Spotify hi-res idea I’m kinda glad they don’t since they’d kill Tidal and Qobuz within weeks, regardless of Amazon.
 
I use Amazon Prime for shopping and whatever it brings. I will continue to subscribe to Tidal and Qobuz and really hope they both survive. Having ‘liked’ the Spotify hi-res idea I’m kinda glad they don’t since they’d kill Tidal and Qobuz within weeks, regardless of Amazon.

I certainly see Spotify as a more serious threat to TIDAL and Qobuz. Spotify is already supported by lots of third party hardware and software, making it much easier for consumers to switch.
 
HEOS and Playfi devices support Amazon HD. I'm using the now discontinued Arcam Rplay. Picked up one of the last ones for £300.
 
The price for entry to Amazon's music streaming service is Alexa integration. I cannot comment on JRiver, but Roon, Linn, Naim and Innuos could all do this, if they wanted. Auralic is already working on it. Amazon does indeed have huge resources. Anyone who is at all concerned about this should shop elsewhere or subscribe to a different music streaming service. It's entirely your choice.
Roon would like to integrate with Amazon but say they have received absolutely no cooperation. Same with J River. I think Linn have had the same experience too. Check out the relevant forums. It’s not that these companies can’t integrate - they probably know more about streaming than Amazon - it’s that Amazon won’t collaborate. So all I’m saying is be aware that the market is changing and don’t spend a lot of money on an inflexible streaming solution that might not be around long term. I wouldn’t be too sure about Tidals profit given that they have been under investigation for fraud. Of course it may well be that Amazon HD will fail - it’s a waste of time for Echo type devices, the app is dreadful on PCs as it offers no way of organising your favourites, and can’t pass audio through the windows mixer unmolested. But they’ve 55 million subscribers to their free service, so what do I know.
 
I'm using a 2014 mac mini headless with audirvana - usb out to a khadas DAC. Mac was from eBay . All up around £400. Had the opportunity last week to try the latest Bluesound streamer. Really liked the convenience and connectivity. Could not live with the sound . Huge quality drop. Dynamics, image, details- you name it. Really surprised as i wanted to move the mac on and just have a box.

For now i will stick with the mac for flexibility and see how streaming pans out . For now Qobuz is my preference as a service , but would switch to Amazon if i could run it via Audirvana/ Roon .
 
Wouldn't expect a huge difference here. Make me wonder why, the Blusound is a much simpler path and Audirvana does appear to do some digital processing prior to sending the signal out to the DAC. Did you compare it to CD?
 
I'm using a 2014 mac mini headless with audirvana - usb out to a khadas DAC. Mac was from eBay . All up around £400. Had the opportunity last week to try the latest Bluesound streamer. Really liked the convenience and connectivity. Could not live with the sound . Huge quality drop. Dynamics, image, details- you name it. Really surprised as i wanted to move the mac on and just have a box.

For now i will stick with the mac for flexibility and see how streaming pans out . For now Qobuz is my preference as a service , but would switch to Amazon if i could run it via Audirvana/ Roon .
Were you using the internal DAC of the Bluesound?
 
Were you using the internal DAC of the Bluesound?
Yes . Bluesound direct to pre amp. Did not compare to CD as i hardly play CDs at the mo.

My aim was to compare a simpler Bluesound box to my current mac/khadas DAC. Mainly due to the positive posts and reviews on line.

Quite shocked as to the difference.

I will instead look to try better USB DAC options instead. Would appreciate suggestions from others with a similar set up.

Cheers
 
Very happy with Mini/Audirvana but I’m recently having annoying duplicate, even triplicate, albums in the library despite only having one on file. Have any other users had this problem?

Hove, better USB Dacs are plentiful at various price points.
 
Roon would like to integrate with Amazon but say they have received absolutely no cooperation. Same with J River. I think Linn have had the same experience too. Check out the relevant forums. It’s not that these companies can’t integrate - they probably know more about streaming than Amazon - it’s that Amazon won’t collaborate. So all I’m saying is be aware that the market is changing and don’t spend a lot of money on an inflexible streaming solution that might not be around long term. I wouldn’t be too sure about Tidals profit given that they have been under investigation for fraud. Of course it may well be that Amazon HD will fail - it’s a waste of time for Echo type devices, the app is dreadful on PCs as it offers no way of organising your favourites, and can’t pass audio through the windows mixer unmolested. But they’ve 55 million subscribers to their free service, so what do I know.

I think that you are focusing on the wrong thing. While we still have a choice of providers there is no danger that any of the streaming platforms you mention will be rendered unusable or obsolete in the manner you describe. The best way to ensure that we continue to have a choice of streaming services is to subscribe to and support the smaller services, in particular those which are pushing the boundaries in terms of sound quality, content organisation and ease of use.

In the long term we will all be dust. In the meantime, I am going to listen to as much music as I can.
 
If you are concerned just use your laptop.
Keith
That’s what I do, and would suggest people consider. Doesn’t need to be a laptop, could be a NUC, a fanless thing, a Mac, anything general purpose. I use a little dedicated laptop, and I’ve been able to keep up with whatever the industry came up with immediately. For example when Qobuz came out I was into it the next day. Same with Tidal. It took years for streamer manufacturers like Linn and Naim to catch up. When Amazon HD came out, I tried it the same day. Most streamer manufacturers show no signs of adopting it. Same with iTunes. I can use things like Dirac, or HQPlayer. It may well be that with voice activated services like Spotify and Amazon we will be stuck with their proprietary endpoints like the Echo because of the need for a microphone. So, keep it flexible is my advice. There is every danger that Qobuz and Tidal will vanish. They’ve had to reduce their prices to cope with Amazon, they’ve done nothing significant to improve the quality of their app for years, and they are at the mercy of the suits at Sony and Warner over licensing agreements. Enjoy them while they last!
 
I popped down to my local dealer today and picked up the Bluesound Vault as a demo unit. This whole streaming thing is fairly new to me, having come from a CD transport, but I must say I do like it feeding my system. The android control app also seems very easy to use. My Main aim at the moment is to have a device that can store my CD collection, but also stream from online services further down the line and the Vault seems to tick those boxes.

The sound is slightly different to my CD transport though. I have engaged all the setting to disable any onboard processing, so I'm sending a pure signal to my Ndac. The presentation is a little more forward and louder with the volume dial in the same position, but it still retains the sweetness and control that I was previously enjoying from the Orton. These are just initial thoughts and there will be further critique over the next few days.
 


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