I’ve been using Apple TV’s as endpoints for our whole house setup. Might seem stupid, but works awesome for our family. All we stream is Apple Music, and these are cheaper than a Sonos and we can sync all them together with airplay 2. If you are all in apple ecosystem, this works good.

Got a question? Please phrase it so that ANYONE can answer. MORE INFO: darko.audio/2020/05/digital-music-streaming-101/

I truly enjoy all you videos. Please keep it going and can't wait!

Appreciate this vid, John. Thank you!

Great video John. Can't wait for part 3. Timing is perfect as I'm making the plunge into digital audio. Keep the intel coming my friend!

I'm a "beginner" and consider myself tech-savvy, and these videos were certainly useful. Of course I could grasp the "server-streamer" relationship beforehand, but I'm completely unaware of the different offerings in the market and the possible DIY configurations given readily available tech at home. I can't wait for part 3!! Also, subscribed.

Love the Node 2i that I recently bought! Great explanation :)

Its all still a mystery to me, even after watching this vid?!! I'll have to watch it again a few times I thin...

Thank you John. Very informative video.

Another extremely useful video. Many thanks.

Great and helpful. Thanks for putting this up!

Just use some old android phone and connect it to a DAC. No need for some new device that is gonna get shut down eventually. Have a nice amp and really good speakers and you're done.

Thank you. I’ve had Logitech servers/ slim server and Twonky on my NAS and I always thought that the player software pulled the music from the server, that is the app read a file from the NAS and and did the bits to sound stuff. You just can’t know it all. Fortunately, people like you exist to help. Thank you again.

I thought you were trying to keep it basic and simple for us newbies. Just kiddin' bro. Love your vids

Thanks, John. You've surely helped me, I know that. Good stuff, mate. 💯👍🏼✌🏼

Always explain the "complicated" to an "easy understanding", thank you so much!

Great video especially for me right now as about to buy my first higher end streamer. Looking forward to next video (hoping it will help unravel the roon in a separate box mystery)

Well done except that even for beginners, it is so daunting to understand all of the configurations. That being said, where’s the dumb down version for 68 year old audiophiles? You do a great job and enjoy your videos very much!

Simple concepts explained the long and hard way. Nice.

I don't know any of this stuff. One of these days, I'm going to have to figure it out.

Super informative! Thank you

Excellent. Thank you.

Sehr hilfreich, danke.

I love how technology has made our lives so much easier

Very helpful. Thank you!!

Very informative. Thank you

I recently bought the Innous Zen mk3 server which resides in my tv cabinet. It connects over wifi to my bluesound 2i in another room and I have to say I am very pleased with the results. I have the bluesound connected to my Rega amp and apart from the turntable, I can control the whole lot either on my phone or tablet using the bluesound app. No issues so far. I was fortunate to have a demo in a room at Audio T and the system sounded far better than the system I originally had in mind. I think it pays to use your own ears and judge for yourself and not go off the latest What Hifi awards. It's probably a step up from a beginner system and certainly not high end. I like to think of it as an "enthusiasts" set up. Looking forward to part three. Good work as always.

Would love to hear you talk about diving a bit into Streamers that can stream directly from the cloud vs Streamers that stream through your mobile device. I’m curious about the sound quality behavior for each & how they could be better suited for different applications. Not a whole video but more like a slight segment of 1-2min in a video clarifying the two.

This series of videos is very informative, appreciate you doing theses. I for one never knew any of this stuff.

It's a thumbs from me. I've had a bit of a go with the RPi but got the feeling I was missing something. It turns out I was missing a lot of thing's. Thank you for doing this and yes , I would love it if you did more.

Very clear, thanks👍

As a home server, I have a WiFi router with an USB port which supports external hard drives. It isn't an expensive router and my music is always on the net, as the router is always turned on. I love it, comparing to the days when I was was streaming from my PC and had to turn it on and off for each music session .

I’ve yet to experience much if any hifi stuff but I’m kind of obsessed with it right now. Started with a dragonfly red and monolith m1060 headphones. Kef lsx will probably be next. Right now I’ve only heard music streamed from phones and sky q I’d be interested to here this stuff and if I notice a big difference

Yes also informativ. I recently bought a Zen m3 because of you ! Brilliant hardware. But I could not talk to my PSAudio Gain Cell Dac...... wrong firmware. Now I have to change the mainboard in the DAC, no worries, its covered by the warranty. Thanks

Super helpful!

The server has the files and the streamer makes music out of these files. The app tells the streamer what to play.

Thanks for your great videos! Wrt Sonos app send music to the Sonos device: actually Sonos device pulls music from any of the indexed shares (computer, NAS). The app is only a remote (not a server) and does not need to be on the same device as where your music is stored. You can even remove the app all together and the music keeps playing.

Though listening to music was meant to be fun/relaxing,, this all seems very long-winded.

Great Channel Keep it up!

John, thanks for the videos man - Love your point of view, keep it up it helps alot! (Just bought a Mojo/Poly cuz of you and love it!). Would love to see more from you on Acoustics (like your video with Acoustic Insider), EQ and Room treatment, as I feel my (and others) setup would benefit a lot more from your approach of explaining us this. Any chance for that in the future?

Excelente información, saludos desde México

The Sonos Connect/ZP80 doesn’t need a Mac or server for stored music. You can also use a NAS drive or the older (no longer available) Time Capsule.

I believe a good dedicated DAC and a simple streamer capable of bit-perfect USB output would be better for most people in the long run.

I'll never sperate my computer from my hi-fi, It's so flexible

As always informative and well presented....thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the next installment 👍👍

Hi, I’m just getting into streaming and found your video very interesting and well delivered. Regards, Richard Herbert

My server/streaming setup used to be a Windows desktop PC as the server and PS3 as the steamer. To get it to my hi-fi I would use my PS3 as a receiver which was connected to the hi-fi via analogue connections. Now I just have Google Home units around the house. The sound quality is nowhere near hi-fi quality, but I can use voice commands which have worked very successfully for me.

I like the idea of a separate server (in my case a RAID NAS) to use as a repository for all my media which becomes my 'master' copy. In my case I only use my PC's storage for manipulation (and sometimes for a quick backup) with the main content including my work/ excel files also kept on the NAS server. It then becomes very easy to backup. Having streamers for both Audio and Video plus Photos becomes simple, as I always know where my content is. Apart from my backup copies, I also have a duplicate NAS which I can treat as yet another backup or take it with me when I work abroad.

Keep 'em coming John. Another good vid, although I admit that confused me about as much as clarified it all. I'd be interested in comments on what software/app you have to use at each step/option. Obviously Roon is king but aside from that the question is what interface would be needed to select the songs to stream from the cloud/server for each piece of hardware (BluOS, Musicast, iTunes, Chromecast et al). As a newbie to streaming, that would be a key concern.

John, thanks for these type of videos, they are very interesting. Please, go on, I’m waiting for next one.

Mom, I wanna go to John's bunker he's got so many toys

If Im being honest I fully understand this stuff, but you made it sound confusing... I’m not sure how you did that lol. One thing I enjoy and also may help some people when the information is hard to follow is in “part one” you had more on screen visual aids. For instance with each product that you held up there was a symbol for Spotify connect or airplay or UPnP during your explanation. Regardless, great video as usual. Can’t wait for the next one 👍🏼 also I wanted to say thank you for the continued content during this worldwide situation

On my home server/living room pc I have Snapcast (with Librespot for Spotify Connect and Shairport-sync for Airplay) and Music Player Daemon for local files hosted on the server. I use the yaMPC iOS app to control MPD. Right now it’s connected with line-out to my receiver. My TV has a toslink DAC to the receiver. The TV is also connected to a soundbar with HDMI ARC if I want 5.1 surround for movies. The receiver is all analog except for the tuner (Yamaha RX-300 from the late 80s). Turntable connected directly to receiver’s phono input. The tape out is connected to the server’s line-in if I want to record and it runs my music visualizer (8x8 rgb led matrix). Snapcast is for multiroom audio, so I can listen to my music in my whole apartment. In the kitchen I have a Pi Zero W with a Pimoroni pHatDAC I think its called.

This is why I listen to physical formats 😂

Thanks John, the mists are gradually thinning.. taking ages, but I reckon that's me... 😁🙏

Thanks​ so​ much​ for​ your​ clear​ explanations.​

Thanks for the video...I am now starting to understand streaming etc. My main sources are records, tapes and my digital files going from laptop to DAC to HiFi. Honeslty though....steamers, servers, Tidal, Roon etc are still feeling like alien concepts to me!

John, nice explanation. I would recommend a picture of the flow of the music from the source through the devices and methods (USB, S/PDIF, etc.) to explain this and have as a memento for people to take away. The decision on what device a person would purchase is based on their preferred streaming service vs sound quality (such as Sonos vs Bluesound vs Devaliet) and their compatibility.

You explained it well! I find this area of audio frustrating because different manufacturers handle the functions of serving/streaming/DAC/preamp so differently. So you can find a one-box solution, or find you need four different units if you start in a different way. Everybody seems to have a different view of the technologies and "formats" (Roon/MQA/DSD/PCM). Personally, I'm ready to move my files off the computer, but can't decide how to do it.

Notice the Klipsch back on the stands....enjoying them I take it

I've been interested in the Allo Digione to stream Spotify Connect and Deezer from cloud and also to connect to a USB hard drive to play flac files. Gapless playback is a must. Please recommend an OS, options are dietpi+Allo GUI, Volumio, Moode Audio and Max2Play. Thanks.

I’ve been into computer streaming for quite a few years now using a Mac mini with Audirvana software taking care of my local library and Qobuz music subscription. It works fairly well and sounds ok, but for those starting out I would suggest skipping computer audio and doing things properly. An Innuos Zen mini will make life so much more enjoyable with regard to usability and sound quality and doesn’t cost the earth! It’s next on my upgrade path.

Even though I've been enjoying hifi gear for decades, I am very much a newcomer to all of this myself. I imagine that one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in trying to explain this side of the audio spectrum to someone like me is that we aren't just talking about hardware any longer. There is a cornucopia of software involved and when you consider that one piece of hardware could potentially involve a multitude of software choices the demands on the person trying to explain things seemingly increase exponentially. In addition, we aren't simply talking about a few different formats, each one specific to a particular category of hardware (i.e. turntables play records, CD players play CD's, cassette decks play cassettes, so on and so forth). The person trying to describe this side of the audio spectrum now also has to explain things like 1:1 vs lossless vs compressed and the bandwidth being used to deliver these various choices. In all honesty, I have the feeling it would be easier for me to figure this out over time in a somewhat painful fashion than it would be to know about the ins and outs of all of this stuff and then trying to explain it to someone like myself. I am sympathetic for people like myself trying to digest all of these things, but I am also feel sympathy for someone like John here who is trying to find a straightforward way to explain all of this to myself and others like me. Plus, while sound quality was intended to be the focus of this series of videos, the fact that I realize there are differences in sound quality between different streamers for example certainly raises my curiosity a few notches. The weird thing, is that the brick & mortar stores have always held the highest appeal for me when it comes to making my traditional hifi purchases. However, now heading into this side of things, knowing that I am essentially looking at buying fairly sterile computing devices dealing with 1's and 0's (that is NOT a comment on the music quality produced) takes away a lot of the romance of music playback for me. I'm sad to say that this does feel like it is likely to decrease my interest in a visit to my favorite local brick & mortar shops. The same ones that I have happily supported for many decades now (and vice versa). I already subscribed after part one of this series and I'll continue to watch with interest.

Hi John! Love your content. I noticed you've had the RP-600Ms on the stands for the last couple of videos. Quick question: do you use any sort of EQ or DRC with them? I've got the same speakers and find that DRC and EQ dramatically improves their performance, especially pulling up the staggeringly large dip at about 1.5khz.

I am using a Buffalo NAS drive and Bluesound Node. It is the original Node (built-in DAC analog out not the best) so I use it with an external DAC. The Bluesound GUI-software performs very well IMO.

I refuse to pay a monthly fee for Roon when good free alternatives exist.

You've just convinced me to stick to vinyl. LOL

Thanks

It would be interesting to see a streamer like the bluesound vs a Mac mini using audirvana

Speaking of rpi: Apart from the exceptional piCore player (only LMS/Squeezelite) there is GentooPlayer too. It can be configured as streamer, server, server/streamer. You can use Squeezelite (R2), but also MPD and many more options. Another great MPD or Squeezelite (no LMS) distro is Archphile. Off topic: A great "comparison" in another series of videos would be the MPD vs Squeezelite topic.

i know it's not specific to music only, but more as such a music server. but i've set up a Plex media server a couple of years ago. i still find the functionality and interface to be one of the best looking around.

I bought my initial Sonos set up over 10 years ago and I love how simple and easy to use it is. I have a connect plugged into my Arcam amplifier, a Sonos 1 in the Kitchen and a 3 in the dining room. I have another connect plugged into an old Bose speaker in the bedroom. My music is either Spotify or ripped cds on a WD MyBook plugged into the router. All of this is getting old and the impending big Sonos update is a concern. What do I do? I hear you say that the sound quality is better on other products, but they also sound more complicated. My plan is to get more Sonos to augment and slowly replace the old kit. Should I look at other options? I also like the fact that Sonos is already plugged into last.fm, although it does clash with Spotify creating a double scrobble which I have to manually delete.

Sonos Connect...my understanding is that the Windows app is only needed for initial configuration, it is not used to serve files. In fact my files are served via SMB Windows style shares from my Linux based OpenMediaVault machine.

I currently have the Sonos port connected to my Denon AVR. That system is about one year old. I use the Tidal hi-fi streaming service. i’ve often wondered if I can improve the sound that I’m currently getting over my home system with this current set up.

Hey John, when are hairdressers opening in Berlin?

Excellent description, but wow complex as to where to start! I’m an Analogue man, so my media is LPs (for now ... not convinced given the faff of short term play & cost of vinyl) plus CDs. I did once upon a time run a Vortexbox Server via Windows 8 interface, but found the upkeep of files and manual indexing/genre a chore TBH. So I returned to media for ease. That said my wife now shares her Spotify (family) account, so I’m thinking of a mini box ‘Project Stream S2’ to add to my system for easy access of additional music while reducing my CD collection to a core value “listening book”. Just tooooooo many choices these days.... and I believe SIMPLEST (like me) is best BUT any advice is welcome, keep up the good work 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😊

Both the Sonos and the Bluesound are not upnp because they are running their own software server internally. You only need to tell them where is the folder that contain the music. This is also one of the cool point of the Bluesound: just plug an usb hard-disk in the back and the music will be "served" to the player using the metadata (or by folder if you like...)

As someone who doesn't have a network, and doesn't want a computer running all the time, I was especially interested in the combined server-streamer idea. There doesn't seem to be many options there though. The Innuos not available here/now. The Elac Discovery DS-S101-G seems great, but sound quality reputed to be not-so-good. There's pi options, but I'm wary of the tech aspect (not sure I'd be up to it & not sure I want that either).

Hi! as a roon user, is there ANY sound quality advantage of using a dedicated streamer (any price), against a good computer (ie: mac mini or a intel nuc) running roon core and connected to a nice dac? At least in terms of UI, I think the second solution is way more powerful, flexible, scalable and easy to use, and it is almost free compared to some streamers priced as if they were made of pure gold.

Love your reviews. I’m using Chord Mojo as DAC connected to MacBook with Curious USB cable to enjoy Qobuz on HiFi system. Will there be any improvement in sound quality using Chord Poly or a Streamer (e.g Volumio Prima) replacing MacBook? Thanks!!

I have a Sonore Microrendu Streamer to a Hugo 2 dac. It’s completely stripped from all gimmicks and stuff you don’t really need but usually pay for. Simple, small, powerful and amazing value for the money ! It’s just not mainstream...(pun intended;)

Thanks for the explanation, very useful albeit a little confusing at the same time! I wanted to ask where does a software like Audirvana sit in all of this?

@John Darko, although I’ve been subscribed for a while, LOVE this series, as there are many gaps in my knowledge. Currently running Roon server on my Mac desktop (because that’s what I have) but hoping to get a NUC on which I’ll run Roon and Plex. Do you prefer Windows or Linux for such a setup? Thanks for the info and the inspiration.

I see you move your acoustic wall panels, Could you please give us some explanations how you treat your room and where a beginner should start with room treatement? Thx.

One minor thing: The remote isn't telling the server what to push to the streamer. It's telling the streamer what to pull from the (possibly remote) server.

This is great! How do you perceive the WiFi reception quality using the allo audio metal case?

The Picoplayer on your Pi also supports multiple configurations: player, streamer or server. www.picoreplayer.org/ Of course, the other major point to mention is how much of the audio "hardware stack" is in the "solution" as well. Where will the DAC and head-amp/pre-amp and amp be? In the streamer/server, or in external components? Also, I think you'll find that many of these protocols are more "pull based" (or "ongoing handshake based") rather than simply "push based" from a server. Again, it depends on the sophistication of the endpoint, not just the server implementation. I think by trying to simplify things so much, you've actually made it more complicated than it is. I would simply talk about "clients" and "servers" and "gui". Once people understand the differences between, you can then explain how these things can be in multiple boxes, or even all crammed together in one. Same for the hardware! :) Still, great job as usual. Love your work. :)

I would like to see a video regarding the the best streaming method/service for sound quality. I know I don't like my Sonos connect at all for sound quality. Streaming via upnp seem much better, but are there better solutions?

I've been wanting to get into the network streamers aspect and this series is really helping me. I'm more interested in the RasPi streaming device but I wanted to know if I use Roon with a RasPi, can I turn it into a server that streams to itself? I don't want to use separate always running PC. I know the Volumio software allows streaming services at a price and streams local files free of cost. But, anything for Roon? Also, any free or one-time fee service to stream Tidal and local files at MQA/lossless quality?

Another big thanks from a novice 👍🏻

How do you evaluate digione signature hat output in terms of sound quality? Is it better or worse than the other streamers you showed in the video? Thanks, I love your videos!

Clear as mud 😁🖖

The Raspberry Pi is just a personal computer just like your NUC, it can be a server, player or both. Roon being the exception I suppose as of their software packages, they've only released the Roon Bridge for Armv7 and Roon Core is only available for x86.

Thanks for the video, John. What stands are you using with the RP-600M that are seen in the background ?

Hi John, I am new to this world of streamers and its ecosystem. Came across your channel while looking for reviews for an entry level IEM. Thanks for sharing your experience and creating awareness. But ( for me) apart from the gains mentioned, there is also a growing curiosity and sort of want ( actually a need) to build a decent budget friendly streamer ecosystem too. So in that context I would like to ask if there was specific reason for choosing a DigiOne and not the Signature in this video. Was that a deliberate choice ? Thanks again,

Hi John. I discovered your channel recently and find your reviews very helpful even though they’re purposely narrow in subject. Based on my needs and budget I figured the Volumio Primo is a good option me. You gave it a high rating in your review from about a year ago, but I don’t see you mentioning it in your recent videos. Is there a reason (long term quality, support,etc) your opinion about the Volumio changed? If so, I’ll look at the Allo DigiOne (I’d rather pay a bit more for a better plug-n-play experience with the Volumio)

Hi John. Great videos on streaming. My only grouch is the monthly fee for services. I know there are not many about. Though it would be great if you did a hifi tuner review. Free music for all once you you have bought your equipment.

I am loving the bluesound node with yamaha as2100 and dynaudio special 40. What would be a good upgrade, look for an external dac for the bluesound? And in what category of dacs should you look for a significant better sound?

Have you ever reviewed Yamaha musiccast streamers? Interested as they're generally so much cheaper than alternatives - you can often pick up the wxad-10 streamer for £100 but even their more expensive stuff is a lot cheaper than the likes of Sonos and bluesound. Would be good to know your opinion

My S.A.C.D player even sounds better now lol , John came up in the LP/CD Era also, I am about to go full streaming also. I was streaming with my Pioneer Elite SX-N30 Hi-Res Reciever (799.00US) Its built in streamer was Ok but dont think the ifi Audio Zen-Blue paired with AptX-HD transmitter, gave that streamer a run for the money and now this new LC3-Plus is coming out can't wait to try that B/T codec !! John , Really appricate the videos ! ! I'm trying to keep up ! Hell MQA CDs also now in Japan ! Crazyness ! Nothing beats a direct connection as one would say 😆 😆