Help? Streaming Lossless Audio

[incaviking]

Hey guys, I'm new here and to the audiophile scene so I have some questions. There's just so much information out there and I'm just having a hard time navigating it all to find the answer I'm looking for.

 

I recently purchased some M-Audio BX8 Studio Monitors and along with it a Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface, which hooks up to the monitors and converts my digital music to analog (right?) I play all of my music from my laptop but that requires a usb connection from my audio interface to my computer.

 

My question is: is it possible to buy some sort of wireless device to plug into my audio interface so that I can stream lossless music wirelessly from my computer to the device through my audio interface to my speakers?

 

For example, I've been Googling and stumbled onto these: Aperion Audio's Wireless, Lossless Music System - "HAL"

 

One, for these I would need a female usb connector to connect it to my audio interface, which it apparently doesn't have and two, it seems excessive to have something plugged into your computer AND audio interface to stream lossless music.

 

Any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it!

 

Andres

[bikemig]

There are lots of ways to do this. If you like iTunes, an apple express will do the trick. You can connect it via analog or digital cables but digital gives you a better SQ. You can also check out audio engine W-3, the nuforce air dac, and the NAD dac1. The apple express is the cheapest and works very well but you are stuck with iTunes as your front end. I happen to like iTunes a lot and the AE express but YMMV. I also use the audio engine device and it works pretty well also. I'd rate the SQ higher into the AE express though using a digital out and a good quality dac. The non-Apple devices allow you to stream anything you play on your computer (not just iTunes) which is a plus since this gives you access to pandora, amazon music, google music, MOG, etc. Either of the three devices mentioned (audio engine, nuforce, or the NAD) will do the job competently but the NAD is the only one of the 3 to have digital and analog outputs.

[WINDIANRECORDS]

Not with that setup; the Scarlett needs to be connected to a computer to function correctly. Wireless USB devices would not work in this case; they are awful in the first place, and function mostly for simple devices like printers - I tried (and returned) three different Wireless USB setups and had no luck with them. There is a newer Wireless USB protocol in the works, but we won't see it in consumer devices until 2015 (USB-IF Working on New Wireless USB Spec).

 

If you put another computer into the mix, there are a few options, but it seems like you want your laptop to be somewhere else while your Scarlett is connected to your speakers...

[WINDIANRECORDS]

Bikemig, the Scarlett is a recording device; while you could plug the airport express into its analog inputs (or even its optical, I have the Saffire but I believe the Scarlett has optical as well), the Scarlett would still need to be plugged into his computer, which I believe is the cord he is trying to cut...

 

With the Saffire, there are occasions that I can get the unit to boot connected to the computer, then disconnect it from the computer and it continues to play - you obviously cannot change anything like routing inputs and outputs from the software while it is unplugged, but you can control the monitor volume if you had it set up correctly before-hand. Ever since a recent firmware update, I have not been able to have it do this again.

 

If you want to try that with your Scarlett, make sure it is running on its wall-wart power cord, as if you disconnect the USB cable and that is where it is receiving power, it will obviously die.

[bikemig]

Not with that setup; the Scarlett needs to be connected to a computer to function correctly. Wireless USB devices would not work in this case; they are awful in the first place, and function mostly for simple devices like printers - I tried (and returned) three different Wireless USB setups and had no luck with them. There is a newer Wireless USB protocol in the works, but we won't see it in consumer devices until 2015 (USB-IF Working on New Wireless USB Spec).

 

If you put another computer into the mix, there are a few options, but it seems like you want your laptop to be somewhere else while your Scarlett is connected to your speakers...

 

 

I disagree about wireless usb devices; they have worked very well for me as well as for others. The SQ can be improved on but that costs a lot of money. In any case it's nonsense to pan an entire range of products in this fashion. There is a lot to be said for streaming music wirelessly. We are talking about a pair of active monitors right, the M-Audio BX8 monitors? There is no reason to push the OP into something uber expensive for those monitors. Also the audio engine has a 30 day trial period if you buy it direct (and that's true of the other devices as well depending on the vendor). You can google around on the wireless devices and get some idea of what people think. Drop outs can be an issue. The four devices I mentioned range from $100 to $200 and they all work reasonably well.

[WINDIANRECORDS]

A wireless USB device will not send the data from the Scarlett to the computer and back; I tried this before with my friend's home studio. If you got that to work, I'd like to know what USB device you used, as I will let him know and he will be happy.

 

I'll wait for the original poster to comment, as your suggestions are good, but they do not correctly incorporate the Scarlett device. Of course he could use other things like an airport express, but I am under the impression the device was part of the equation.

 

EDIT - When I say wireless USB, I am referencing Wireless USB Hubs such as the following, that (if they worked correctly) would power his Scarlett and also send data back and forth from his laptop remotely:

http://www.iogear.com/product/GUWH104KIT/

 

I am not referencing USB DACs or the like that do wireless. There may be some confusion there.

[incaviking]

Hey, first of all, thanks for responding so quickly. You guys are awesome.

 

SO... It sounds like I'm SOL for streaming wirelessly through my Scarlett 2i2. Any other suggestions?

 

I do like the idea of the Airport Express as most of my music is in Apple Lossless Format. What would I need to plug my monitors into to do that?

 

Ideally, it would be awesome if I had some sort of external hard drive with wireless capabilities that I could access through iTunes... Is that a thing? Could that be an alternative to putting another computer into the mix? I'm not sure how I would go about that though.

 

I'm really just looking for any suggestions on how to play music wirelessly to my studio monitors with as little sound degradation as possible.

[incaviking]

oh and the only inputs into my studio monitors are XLR and TRS if that helps you understand at all...

[WINDIANRECORDS]

Both of the DACs bikemig recommend would do the job of streaming audio from your laptop to your monitors, but those examples have RCA out, so they won't go directly into your monitors. You could use a couple different cheap devices to go from RCA unbalanced to TRS (1/4" or XLR) balanced, and one example I know of even offers a volume control:

 

SM PRO AUDIO NANO PATCH

Amazon.com: SM Pro Audio Nano Patch + Passive Volume Attenuator: Musical Instruments

I use this to control the volume from my Saffire to my monitors in my studio, and can confirm that the 1/8" headphone jack in DOES output from the 1/4" balanced outs - you could easily get a RCA->1/8" cable to run from a wireless DAC to this little knobby. I use the 1/8" occasionally while I have my Saffire and CPU down for rerouting patch cables, and the audio from my iPhone to the monitors through the SM PRO Audio sounds fine; no degradation.

 

ART DTI

Amazon.com: ART DTI Hum Eliminator - (New): Musical Instruments

I got this to remove some hum from some synths I have, but now I just tend to use it as a line-level converter; there is no audible sound degredation through this unit in my setup, I believe Hugh Robjohns measured some here (ART DTI), but again said it was not audible. There is no volume control on this, so you would have to control the volume either in your playback software or on the back of the monitors (which I always find tedious).

 

ART CLEANBox Pro

ART CLEANBoxPro Stereo Balanced/Unbalanced Converter 245-868 - This one needs a power adapter, I have not used it, but it has volume per both channels, and is just another option.

 

And yes, slow day at work, so quick responses are keeping me up...

 

I know that there are some wireless Kingston drives that are out there, but I have no idea how well they work.

[incaviking]

@WINDIANRECORDS Thanks for the suggestions. So I've been looking into using the Airport Express to stream music but I'd want to connect it to a DAC first and then to my monitors. Makes sense, right?

 

If I were to use an Airport Express, then I wouldn't need a wireless DAC. Then could I skip the SM Pro Audio Nano Patch and use the Airport express optical audio out with a mini Toslink cable that plugs into a DAC?

 

Any suggestions on a DAC with a Toslink input and line-level TRS outputs (like the ones I have on my Scarlett 2i2)? I cannot find any online... Why is this so hard for me...

[bikemig]

Windianrecords is right; I was cutting the Scarlett audio interface out of the picture and just giving advice on how to stream wirelessly from your computer to your active monitors. I can recommend the audio engine W-3; I've used its predecessor for some time and it works very well with few if any drop outs. A cable like this should do the trick to connect the W-3 to your monitors, no? Amazon.com: Hosa Cable CPR202 Dual 1/4 Inch To RCA Cable - 6.5 Foot: Musical Instruments. The AE express works best if you connect it to a dac (the dac in the AE express is not very good). There are lots of dacs out there but the audio engine D1 dac isn't bad if you are looking for something inexpensive that is reasonably quality. It takes either a usb input (for direct playback from a computer) or a Optical (SPDIF) input that you can use for the AE express (or an Apple TV if you prefer and also a computer if it has a digital out); plus it has a volume pot and a serviceable headphone amp. I'm using an audioengine d1 dac to connect my computer to a pair of airmotiv 4 monitors (active monitors) and the combo sounds good and works well. Plus you'll need a mini-toslink to toslink cable to connect the AE express to the dac, like this, 6ft Optical Toslink to Mini Toslink M/M 5.0mm OD Molded Cable - Monoprice.com.

[incaviking]

bikemig, all of those DACs you mentioned have RCA outputs, right? So the Dual 1/4" to RCA cable could work then to connect my monitors. But are there any DACs with two 1/4" outputs and mini Toslink inputs? That way I could use my existing XLR->1/4" cables... I imagine they exist somewhere since my Scarlett 2i2 has two 1/4" outputs.

[WINDIANRECORDS]

Bikemig again with the correct responses; that HOSA cable would work fine, but two things to point out in regards to your Monitors/Speakers:

 

Since that cable is a 1/4" TS unbalanced (which is fine since the RCA signal at the beginning is unbalanced as well), your monitor's volume setting will need to be higher than whatever it is set at when they are plugged into your Scarlett, which uses balanced out. For example, I keep my Monitors at 5 when I'm using a balanced signal as the source, but about 7.5 or so when using unbalanced. The monitors should definitely get loud enough, just keep that in mind if that's the way you go.

 

Also, HOSA cables are not bad quality, but I'd try and find something like this:

Hosa HPR-015X2 Pro Stereo Interconnect Cable, Dual REAN 1/4 in TS to | Performance Audio

Better connectors last longer than those standard HOSA connects. These are RANE/Neutrik connects, which are quite nice.

[incaviking]

WAIT, hold the phone. I can use my Apple TV? Then I don't have to buy an airport express?? Awesome.

[WINDIANRECORDS]

WAIT, hold the phone. I can use my Apple TV? Then I don't have to buy an airport express?? Awesome.

 

Ah yes, yes you can! They still have optical out, correct? I don't know the max resolution/bit-rate for the AppleTV, but the Airport Express and the other DACs listed above seem to max out at 44/16; you can send higher resolution, but they internally resample on-the-fly.

 

The 44/16 quality of these DACs is nothing to sneeze at, though, and should sound just as good as what your Scarlett is currently putting out. Just letting you know up front the limits of the AirPlay/proprietary systems those other DACs use.