BillyBatts
ALOHA!
Aloha gents.
I've been a big fan of Airplay/DLNA receivers. I have an older iPhone and iPad, and they make great streaming devices with Airplay. And my Airplay receivers are also DLNA compatible, so I can stream via WiFi from a Windows Music Server (Windows 10 Laptop) and from my BlackBerry Passport. The Passport is actually an amazing phone and streaming device, with full FLAC music DLNA server built-in as well as Apt-X Bluetooth streaming.
Lately, even with an incredible WiFi network, my Airplay/DLNA has left me a little miffed at times. It seams that more often than not, I have to reboot somthing. It's not just set it and forget it. The WiFi Hub, the Airplay/DLNA receivers and/or the iPhone/iPad sometimes need a reboot. And it's problematic streaming DLNA from my Windows Laptop because the receivers can only take ONE DLNA FLAC file at a time, or they have a nervous breakdown and need to be reset, as does the Windows Music Server. Also, one of my Airplay DLNA devices was OPEN (no password required) and I noticed a neighbor was connecting to it and gaining free WiFi coutesy of me. Obviously, that device has been taken out of service.
A few years ago, along comes Bluetooth Apt-X. It is "theoretically" lossles audio transfer. I have done extensive critical listening comparisons between Apt-X and Airplay/DLNA and I honestly can't tell any difference when streaming FLAC. There certainly is no difference when streaming FM Terrestrial or most canned websites that stream at 256 kpbs or less. IMO, Bluetooth 3.0 was when 256 and lower resolution streaming of Bluetooth became equal to Airplay/DLNA. But even at pure FLAC levels, my ears have told me after close to a hundred hours of comparison (and I am not exaggerating on the time here), that it makes no difference if I deliver music via Airplay/DLNA or Bluetooth Apt-X. None at all.
So I have purchased a plethora of Bluetooth Apt-X receivers to replace or supplement my Airplay/DLNA receivers on all of my systems. There are advantages of Bluetooth and disadvantages. Bluetooth is easy, it's peer to peer so it does not rely on a WiFi network, and it's usually eaiser to manage. Sometimes DLNA requires tweaking or there are hidden volume controls. Airplay, not so, but sometimes DLNA is a bit fussy. Yet, as many of you know, there are disadvantages. Range is limited to about 50 feet on Bluetooth and it does not like going through walls or doors. Also, if you are streaming via a live phone (like my BlackBerry Passport), incoming calls can be an issue and you have to switch to handset or you will be talking through your HiFi system. Not so with Airplay/DLNA.
But Bluetooth Apt-X has been as solid as the Rock of Gibralter. No dropouts as long as I'm in range, no rebooting, resetting, tweaking, nothing. And my Laptop is Apt-X compatible, so I can finally stream complete albums without having to go song by song. So much easier than DLNA streaming. And, as an ultra bonus, I have a few Apt-X wireless Bluetooth Earbud and headsets that sound absolutely spectacular with the new Apt-X codec in command of the streaming.
I'll continue to run both as I am not ready to retire my old iPad/iPhone yet as streaming devices, but I think gone are the days when I stream from non-Apple devices via DLNA. I'm going Bluetooth Apt-X only on non-Apple and when I finally retire Apple for good in a few years, I think I'll stick 100 pecent with Bluetooth Apt-X. Heck, by then, Apt-X gen 3-4-5 or Apt-Y will most likely be the new standard, most likely tweaking range and battery life only since Apt-X is already lossless. Although a new Codec is possibly on the horizon to totally revamp the way Bluetooth streams lossless files.
Thoughts?
I've been a big fan of Airplay/DLNA receivers. I have an older iPhone and iPad, and they make great streaming devices with Airplay. And my Airplay receivers are also DLNA compatible, so I can stream via WiFi from a Windows Music Server (Windows 10 Laptop) and from my BlackBerry Passport. The Passport is actually an amazing phone and streaming device, with full FLAC music DLNA server built-in as well as Apt-X Bluetooth streaming.
Lately, even with an incredible WiFi network, my Airplay/DLNA has left me a little miffed at times. It seams that more often than not, I have to reboot somthing. It's not just set it and forget it. The WiFi Hub, the Airplay/DLNA receivers and/or the iPhone/iPad sometimes need a reboot. And it's problematic streaming DLNA from my Windows Laptop because the receivers can only take ONE DLNA FLAC file at a time, or they have a nervous breakdown and need to be reset, as does the Windows Music Server. Also, one of my Airplay DLNA devices was OPEN (no password required) and I noticed a neighbor was connecting to it and gaining free WiFi coutesy of me. Obviously, that device has been taken out of service.
A few years ago, along comes Bluetooth Apt-X. It is "theoretically" lossles audio transfer. I have done extensive critical listening comparisons between Apt-X and Airplay/DLNA and I honestly can't tell any difference when streaming FLAC. There certainly is no difference when streaming FM Terrestrial or most canned websites that stream at 256 kpbs or less. IMO, Bluetooth 3.0 was when 256 and lower resolution streaming of Bluetooth became equal to Airplay/DLNA. But even at pure FLAC levels, my ears have told me after close to a hundred hours of comparison (and I am not exaggerating on the time here), that it makes no difference if I deliver music via Airplay/DLNA or Bluetooth Apt-X. None at all.
So I have purchased a plethora of Bluetooth Apt-X receivers to replace or supplement my Airplay/DLNA receivers on all of my systems. There are advantages of Bluetooth and disadvantages. Bluetooth is easy, it's peer to peer so it does not rely on a WiFi network, and it's usually eaiser to manage. Sometimes DLNA requires tweaking or there are hidden volume controls. Airplay, not so, but sometimes DLNA is a bit fussy. Yet, as many of you know, there are disadvantages. Range is limited to about 50 feet on Bluetooth and it does not like going through walls or doors. Also, if you are streaming via a live phone (like my BlackBerry Passport), incoming calls can be an issue and you have to switch to handset or you will be talking through your HiFi system. Not so with Airplay/DLNA.
But Bluetooth Apt-X has been as solid as the Rock of Gibralter. No dropouts as long as I'm in range, no rebooting, resetting, tweaking, nothing. And my Laptop is Apt-X compatible, so I can finally stream complete albums without having to go song by song. So much easier than DLNA streaming. And, as an ultra bonus, I have a few Apt-X wireless Bluetooth Earbud and headsets that sound absolutely spectacular with the new Apt-X codec in command of the streaming.
I'll continue to run both as I am not ready to retire my old iPad/iPhone yet as streaming devices, but I think gone are the days when I stream from non-Apple devices via DLNA. I'm going Bluetooth Apt-X only on non-Apple and when I finally retire Apple for good in a few years, I think I'll stick 100 pecent with Bluetooth Apt-X. Heck, by then, Apt-X gen 3-4-5 or Apt-Y will most likely be the new standard, most likely tweaking range and battery life only since Apt-X is already lossless. Although a new Codec is possibly on the horizon to totally revamp the way Bluetooth streams lossless files.
Thoughts?
