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Server vs streamer; do you need both?

G

geetee1972

pfm Member
Hope you can help with the following question:

What is the (audio) benefit to having both a server and a streamer and why do you build a system with the former if a streamer can still give you complete access to music stored on an external drive or a streaming service like Quobuz ?’

but this is asked in the following context:
  • I can plug an SSD/NAS drive into the back of say a Naim NDX2 or Auralic Vega (or any other streaming device notwithstanding the fact that most of them seem to also be pre-amps that I don’t need)
  • I can plug an ethernet cable into the back of both and access streaming services
As far as I can tell, the main reason you would have a server is so you can add a Roon Core to it rather than using your laptop.

What have I missed? I’m sure there’s lots.
 
I installed a server. Hated it and no longer have a need. It sits there unused now.

USB drive with music is plugged into the back of my Mac Mini running Roon. Roon does the rest including Qobuz. Easy.

if I had a load of movies then a server might be of use. But the server was a hateful thing in the network...all that ruddy logging on and permissions and Windows networking crap to set up bla bla. Then you introduce a Mac mini....omg. And I used to be a competent computer engineer many years ago. Getting old now.
 
JensenHealey said:
But the server was a hateful thing in the network...all that ruddy logging on and permissions and Windows networking crap to set up bla bla. Then you introduce a Mac mini....omg.
Click to expand...
I'd be interested to know what you were using?
I had a Bluesound and now use a Innuos - both were an absolute doddle to set up - stable and great sounding with a decent Dac.
 
JensenHealey said:
I installed a server. Hated it and no longer have a need. It sits there unused now.

USB drive with music is plugged into the back of my Mac Mini running Roon. Roon does the rest including Qobuz. Easy.

if I had a load of movies then a server might be of use. But the server was a hateful thing in the network...all that ruddy logging on and permissions and Windows networking crap to set up bla bla. Then you introduce a Mac mini....omg. And I used to be a competent computer engineer many years ago. Getting old now.
Click to expand...

Interesting thanks for sharing. I guess my question though is why you would even use a PC when you can plug an SSD and ethernet cable into the back of most streamers.
 
geetee1972 said:
As far as I can tell, the main reason you would have a server is so you can add a Roon Core to it rather than using your laptop.
Click to expand...
That may be one reason although I've not yet been tempted to try Roon.
Another reason is that local files sound better than Qobuz or Tidal on my system.
 
I use a server(Synology) because I access movies as well as music. Don't use any fancy software like Roon, and never had a problem setting it all up.

If I just wanted to access music, then an SSD plugged into the back of a streamer route would be my preferred option. I'm a big fan of KISS.
 
For me the simplest solution was a Roon Necleus, with an SSD plugged into one of the USB ports, going to a DAC. Access to all my ripped C.D.'s, Tidal and Internet radio.
 
geetee1972 said:
Hope you can help with the following question:

What is the (audio) benefit to having both a server and a streamer and why do you build a system with the former if a streamer can still give you complete access to music stored on an external drive or a streaming service like Quobuz ?’

but this is asked in the following context:
  • I can plug an SSD/NAS drive into the back of say a Naim NDX2 or Auralic Vega (or any other streaming device notwithstanding the fact that most of them seem to also be pre-amps that I don’t need)
  • I can plug an ethernet cable into the back of both and access streaming services
As far as I can tell, the main reason you would have a server is so you can add a Roon Core to it rather than using your laptop.

What have I missed? I’m sure there’s lots.
Click to expand...
There is an argument, which it is not necessary to agree with, that says it’s best to have a very low-powered dumb streamer like a raspberry Pi or a Squeezebox Touch, or a very low powered pc connected to your hifi, and run the software that does the heavy lifting somewhere else on your network to keep noise and bad karma away from your DAC. This also might make more sense if you use heavy duty DSP, or want to serve several different endpoints in different rooms. But I run Roon and Qobuz on a very low powered fanless laptop with an SSD and connect it straight to my DAC and it works fine and is simple. When I check how much CPU is being used it is negligible, indeed the activity monitor consumes more resources than Roon or JRiver or whatever player I am using. So Roon runs absolutely fine on a laptop. When you first install it, it takes up a fair amount of power analyzing your library, building thumbnails etc. but when that’s over it doesn’t consume much at all, unless you go for fancy DSP. And it’s also easy to edit metadata, try different software players, listen to samples or YouTube.
 
The line between server and streamer has become rather indistinct in the last decade or so. There are both servers and streamers which are capable of producing great sound. Some combinations of server and streamer provide more functionality than any server or streamer on its own, so there is a practical case for having both in some cases, but probably not an “audio” one (assuming that “audio” means sound quality here).
 
geetee1972 said:
Interesting thanks for sharing. I guess my question though is why you would even use a PC when you can plug an SSD and ethernet cable into the back of most streamers.
Click to expand...

I have exactly the same hardware and software (MAC Mini + Roon) and use the Apple Music program to organise music into appropriate folders when importing. I can’t see what I would gain if I replaced the Mac with a streamer.
 
The argument for a simple streamer is simply to avoid the need for something complex enough that it might require a cooling fan in your listening room.

Personally, I have a server in a cabinet in the attic, and a simple streamer in the living room (Yes, I did run cable, and I do have a patch-panel in the attic, but in my defence I also have a home office wired up, and I need a lot of network ports for my job, which is developing software for, among other things, network equipment).

I have about 850 albums locally, and a Qobuz subscription. Roon is one of those things that I don't see as being worth half of what my Qobuz subscription costs, so I don't use it.
 
KrisW said:
The argument for a simple streamer is simply to avoid the need for something complex enough that it might require a cooling fan in your listening room.
Click to expand...

Indeed the Mac Mini has a fan, but I’ve never heard it working. That could be down to my cloth ears of course.
 
geetee1972 said:
Hope you can help with the following question:

What is the (audio) benefit to having both a server and a streamer and why do you build a system with the former if a streamer can still give you complete access to music stored on an external drive or a streaming service like Quobuz ?’

but this is asked in the following context:
  • I can plug an SSD/NAS drive into the back of say a Naim NDX2 or Auralic Vega (or any other streaming device notwithstanding the fact that most of them seem to also be pre-amps that I don’t need)
  • I can plug an ethernet cable into the back of both and access streaming services
As far as I can tell, the main reason you would have a server is so you can add a Roon Core to it rather than using your laptop.

What have I missed? I’m sure there’s lots.
Click to expand...

If you are happy with your streaming service and all the music can be found there then I'm not sure why you would need a Server. Just use a Streamer with built in Qobuz or Tidal capabilities and you're done.

Roon is just a capable solution if you have multiple source based solutions where Roon then collates all your music from multiple inputs into a nice graphical user interface (GUI).
 
I have a server in the house, and it does have all my ripped music on it, but it also has 20k of photographs on it, it controls all my lighting, heating and just about everything else about our home.
My 'source' in my digital system is a Raspberry Pi, running PiCorePlayer and 99% of our listening is either Tidal, Radio Paradise or BBC Radio 3/4. Apart from a few 24/96 files on our server, Tidal sounds as good as local, and the artists get a little bit of money every time I listen. When I travel I I dump my ripped collection onto a SSD and connect that to another RPi that connects to our 'travel' speaker. The same SSD serves as my photography backup device. Storage is cheap now.

I tried Roon, and I liked the fact that it integrated all my music 'sources' but it didn't cope well with RP and the various alternative streams, so I've stuck with Logitech Media Server, which at home runs on the 'server' in the loft, but will also run on my 'travel' RPi.
 
No servers for me any more, just attached drives to streamers. Some still percieve a better sound quality with having a high quality server feeding into a streamer, I just think this benefit, if still there, is diminishing and prefer the simplicity. I think it sounds excellent this way too.
 
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