Suggestions needed for streaming music to a home stereo

[Aolama]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for a way to stream files (AAC, ALAC, FLAC) to my home stereo. The files are on my PC laptop, or on iTunes on my iPhone etc. I pretty much exhausted my budget on my power amp and speakers so Im looking for the best budget pieces I can afford to get the music flowing for now. I currently have Kef ks50s, a Red Dragon S500, a SMSL Sanskrit, and a Google Chromecast Audio.   I'll likely pick up a Schiit SYS preamp. 

With this current setup I can only pretty much stream Pamdora, since Itunes won't work with the CCA.   It's looking like the lowest cost option available is to use different software to handle the music files such as JRiver, or PowerDVD Ultra, but I'm unsure if this is the best way?  Any other ideas, software, hardware etc?  I have an insanely low budget of around $200 left to buy the rest, let's see what you guys can think of. 

[firedog]

As far as hardware, something like a Cubox or Rasperry Pi could do what you need for well under your budget. Logitech Media Server (free) or JRiver could do the trick. LMS has plugins for several streaming services, unlike River.

[Apesbrain]

For the PC files, you can install a UPnP solution that supports Chromecast.  I'd probably select MinimServer and BubbleUPnP (you need both). (JRiver is a full-featured desktop music manager alternative to iTunes and it also works with BubbleUPnP.) Download a UPnP controller app for your phone and use it to manage music selection and playback.  For the iOS devices, I'd switch to a music player app that supports Chromecast.  Perhaps there is a single app that will do both: UPnP control and local music casting (e.g. C5 below).

 

http://minimserver.com/
https://www.bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/
http://www.creation.com.es/creation-5-app/

[Cebolla]

Agreed, though I hope you don't mind me clarifying "you need both" means requiring:

any UPnP/DLNA media server (eg MinimServer, JRiver, etc), to provide the audio files over UPnP/DLNA

and the BubbleUPnP Server to provide the bridge between UPnP/DLNA streaming and Google Cast streaming (ie the Chromecast Audio).

 

The OP may not want to use a handheld device for a UPnP/DLNA controller, so can still use the laptop, eg, JRiver will work for this. The foobar2000 audio file player can be used as an alternative to JRiver and with the foo_out_upnp plugin, has the added benefit of allowing you to supply an already gapless audio stream to mitigate the Chromecast Audio's lack of gapless support.

[Cebolla]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

As far as hardware, something like a Cubox or Rasperry Pi could do what you need for well under your budget. Logitech Media Server (free) or JRiver could do the trick. LMS has plugins for several streaming services, unlike River.

Indeed, plus LMS even has a plugin for the Chromecast Audio itself!

[bobbmd]

get rid of your PC get a late 2012 Mac Mini i7 16GB RAM w/El Capitan and you will be in Heaven mine has new WD 2TB hard drive

[Aolama]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I did pick up the Schiit SYS preamplifier so now I have to get the rest of the pieces to make it work. 

 

 

Im glad I did this post because I didn't realize I needed a bridge for it to work (to be honest this is all new to me). I'll investigate the Cuboc and Raspberry, although the idea of using software is very appealing since hardware gets outdated so darn quickly. Now that I think of it so does software!  Any preferences for which software to use?

[CuteStudio]

It sounds like you already have all the hardware you need so I can't see you need to spend any more; your situation is very similar to mine when I looked for software, failed to find it and ended up writing my own..

 

You already have your music on a PC, I'll assume you have a home wifi too, and that you can install the Google Chrome browser onto your iPhone. These a pre-requisites to my suggestion: Wifi + Google Chrome.

Chrome is needed for a correct implementation of HTML5 audio that Safari lacks.

 

Steps to install and run:

1. Download and install SeeDeClip4 on your PC. It's free for everything you want to do: zero cost.
   You need to tell McAfee or Defender you'd like to use Port 8000.
2. Once Installed/upgraded tell it where your music is and make sure you are happy with it on the PC first.
3. Make a note of your PC's IP address, it will be on the Home page of SeeDeClip4.
4. Go to your iPhone, start Chrome and type in the address you saw on your PC.
5. Once it has connected to SeeDeClip4 on your PC (it goes via the wifi!) select on the iPhone 'SLAVE', and plug your stereo into the iPhone's headphone jack.
6. Return to your PC and select 'REMOTE'.

Now click on a song and it will play it on your iPhone. (actually it causes the iPhone to play it from data over the wifi so you get full device quality, no bluetooth or chromecast mid-fi here!).

 

Job done,  total cost £0!

 

You can also connect with any devices around the house at the same time BTW.

 

 

 

[Cebolla]

Ignoring the bit about tying up the iPhone to use as a streamer (which I don't remember the OP asking for), how is this in terms of quality any different to getting to the Chromecast Audio to network stream and play the same files from the PC?

 

Big hint: I'm also questioning your assertion that network streaming audio files via Google Cast is "mid-fi" like Bluetooth.

[CuteStudio]

Was your reply for me Cebolla?

 

I mentioned iPhone as the OP mentioned he had one, unless you just stick to the one phone one tends to build up old phones, I now have 2 tablets and 3 spare android phones: all of which can act as digital sources.

 

The phone is the same as an iPad as far as I can see, and these have ways to get optical digital out. For android the use of a OTG USB cable to plug into an Android phone or tablet will drive a DAC or USB/optical converter directly, and setting the tablet to full volume gives you a solid digital output as good as any source. 

 

Yesterday I did just that with my ASUS tablet into this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PCM2704-USB-DAC-USB-to-S-PDIF-Sound-Card-Decoder-Board-Aluminum-case-L6F9/322543220018

 

and testing out on a headphone it sounded rather good. Maybe the all battery power helped :). Note that this < £8 box outputs optical and coax, optical being preferred for the isolation. With the cost of the cables total coast about £10 + spare tablet/phone.

 

For HiFi you may wish to re-time and upsample of course (ultramatch+ultracurve), but the iPhone/iPad/Android phone/Tablet route is a good cheap route to some quality sounds, and the fetching of audio data over wifi is a robust proven technology most people have. 

 

But of course I'd be interested in comparing costs and convenience of your solution, can you outline how you'd do this via Chromecast? Also how would you get the Chromecast sound into the HiFi? I only tried an (unimpressive) chromecast transmission to my TV, for me it was a definite step down in quality.

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

On 8/13/2017 at 6:52 AM, CuteStudio said:

It sounds like you already have all the hardware you need so I can't see you need to spend any more; your situation is very similar to mine when I looked for software, failed to find it and ended up writing my own..

 

You already have your music on a PC, I'll assume you have a home wifi too, and that you can install the Google Chrome browser onto your iPhone. These a pre-requisites to my suggestion: Wifi + Google Chrome.

Chrome is needed for a correct implementation of HTML5 audio that Safari lacks.

 

Steps to install and run:

1. Download and install SeeDeClip4 on your PC. It's free for everything you want to do: zero cost.
   You need to tell McAfee or Defender you'd like to use Port 8000.
2. Once Installed/upgraded tell it where your music is and make sure you are happy with it on the PC first.
3. Make a note of your PC's IP address, it will be on the Home page of SeeDeClip4.
4. Go to your iPhone, start Chrome and type in the address you saw on your PC.
5. Once it has connected to SeeDeClip4 on your PC (it goes via the wifi!) select on the iPhone 'SLAVE', and plug your stereo into the iPhone's headphone jack.
6. Return to your PC and select 'REMOTE'.

Now click on a song and it will play it on your iPhone. (actually it causes the iPhone to play it from data over the wifi so you get full device quality, no bluetooth or chromecast mid-fi here!).

 

Job done,  total cost £0!

 

You can also connect with any devices around the house at the same time BTW.

 

 

 

This is your one warning. Posting links to your own products isn't allowed. 

[CuteStudio]

Sorry I didn't mean to break any rules, I had read others posts like this:

and did not realise it was not allowed.

 

It's a Catch-22 I guess, in the old days of newsgroups and BBS's I'd just say 'hey guys I wrote this program you may like', but today I can't see a mechanism to inform people of new ideas or programs. I did wonder if there was a criteria for a program to be 'socially acceptable' - such as the excellent Daphile product or Moode, Foobar, iTunes, winamp, WMP etc. but have not managed to find any pattern for this (i.e. proprietary, open source, free, free with options etc).  

 

Apologies again for any offence caused, that was not my intention, I am of course open to any suggestions and help.

[Cebolla]

On 8/22/2017 at 10:15 AM, CuteStudio said:

The phone is the same as an iPad as far as I can see, and these have ways to get optical digital out...

 

...For HiFi you may wish to re-time and upsample of course (ultramatch+ultracurve), but the iPhone/iPad/Android phone/Tablet route is a good cheap route to some quality sounds, and the fetching of audio data over wifi is a robust proven technology most people have.

Read more  

I'm confused as to how expanding on your original suggestion in any way answers my question as to why you believe a Chromecast streaming solution would be as you said "mid-fi".

 

My point was that Google Cast's streaming mechanism used by the Chromecast devices allows you to stream and bit perfectly play the original audio files over the network, in much the same way that your audio file 'sender' software (on the PC) and 'receiver/player' app (on the smartphone) combination appears to do, going by your description of it. So if Google Cast is "mid-fi", so is your software!

 

 

On 8/22/2017 at 10:15 AM, CuteStudio said:

But of course I'd be interested in comparing costs and convenience of your solution, can you outline how you'd do this via Chromecast?

The outline of how it can be done is mentioned in @Apesbrain's post (the 3rd one in the thread) & the next post (mine) for further explanations / additional suggestions.

 

The OP already owns Chromecast Audio device, so no need even to have a 'spare' smartphone to turn into a streamer. Most of the software mentioned in the posts are either completely free or have acceptable free working versions with the full versions costing only a few $/£/€.

 

 

On 8/22/2017 at 10:15 AM, CuteStudio said:

Also how would you get the Chromecast sound into the HiFi? I only tried an (unimpressive) chromecast transmission to my TV, for me it was a definite step down in quality.

The Chromecast Audio device can output either analogue (line-level) or digital optical.

I believe you must have tried the Chromecast (video) device with your TV, which only uses HDMI for output. So not so convenient for connecting to a 'HiFi', unless you are using an AVR.