Playing digital files on my HIFI system

[Luis.correia]

Hi.

I currently have an hifi system with a turntable, amp, preamp and speakers. I also have an external hard drive with several gigabytes of music.

What is the best option to play this music (MP3) on my current hifi system? I want something that can read and play the music on my external disk drive, but that I can also connect to the aux input of my amp, and listen to the music on my speakers.

Any budget component you can recommend?

Thanks.

 

[uofmtiger]

Hi.

I currently have an hifi system with a turntable, amp, preamp and speakers. I also have an external hard drive with several gigabytes of music.

What is the best option to play this music (MP3) on my current hifi system? I want something that can read and play the music on my external disk drive, but that I can also connect to the aux input of my amp, and listen to the music on my speakers.

Any budget component you can recommend?

Thanks.

Android & Apple both make phones and tablets that will do this. You just have to find the right app.

 

[Luis.correia]

Can I connect a tablet or phone to a hdd? I guess not.

 

[drew_t]

Is your external drive the simple kind that has to be attached to a running computer to be accessible, or is it one of the ones that has Network Attached Storage functionality?

"several gigabytes of music" isn't very much -- is this what you really meant?

Do you want a means of connecting a computer directly to your hi fi system, or do you want a phone- or tablet-controlled system for wireless streaming of music? Do you presently own, or have a preference for, Apple or Android phones/tablets?

 

[for_p1]

Many Bluray players can play mp3 files from USB disk drive or flash stick.

 

[uofmtiger]

Can I connect a tablet or phone to a hdd? I guess not.

I was thinking of reading and playing off the network....I didn't realize a direct connection was a requirement.

Oppo and a few other DVD makers have USB ports and can read files directly. I have an older Oppo and never liked the user interface for that feature, so you want to look around and read reviews. Also, some require FAT32, so you have to be sure your drive is formatted, as required. Also, I believe some have limits on the size of the drive. I think some Roku players have this ability, but you need a display.

Personally, my suggestion would be to get a connected drive like a Seagate and share the files. This will allow you to access the files from multiple devices.

 

[Luis.correia]

Is your external drive the simple kind that has to be attached to a running computer to be accessible, or is it one of the ones that has Network Attached Storage functionality?

"several gigabytes of music" isn't very much -- is this what you really meant?

Do you want a means of connecting a computer directly to your hi fi system, or do you want a phone- or tablet-controlled system for wireless streaming of music? Do you presently own, or have a preference for, Apple or Android phones/tablets?

Hi. My objective would be not to use the computer. I have 200 or something GB of MP3 music in an external hard drive, that I want to play in my hifi, I just wanted a device that had an usb input (hard drive -> device), the device would play the music (with some type of visual screen), and it would connect through standard rca cables to my hifi system.

I think the late Logitech squeezebox would do... But wireless and multi device is not key for me. I just want to play the music in one place.

 

[Luis.correia]

I have an iPad and an iPhone. The hard drive is simple. Doesn't connect to the home network

 

[for_p1]

Get new Chromecast audio. There are several phone/tablet application which can play music from your library through it.

 

[drew_t]

A Chromecast Audio isn't going to be able to play songs on a simple external hard drive unless the drive is connected to a running computer on the network.

I don't know whether the kind of device Luis is describing exists or not; maybe someone else can chime in.

I'm not an Apple guy, but I believe that If you buy one of the NAS-type external drives, copy all of your songs to it, and connect it to your router, you could then buy an Apple Airport Express router, connect its audio output jack to your hifi's aux input, and play songs on the NAS via your iPhone or iPad. Maybe a couple hundred bucks?

Or you could buy a Chromecast Audio ($35) or an Airport Express and sign up for a trial subscription with one of the streaming services (Google Play Music, Spotify premium, etc.) and try that out for a couple of months -- you may find that the service has basically everything that's on your hard drive, plus almost anything else that you can think of, and that the monthly fee ($10) is low enough to be worth forgetting about trying to get set up to play stuff off the external hard drive. I know that with Google Play Music, if there is something that they don't have, but you do, you can upload a copy of it to your Google storage space and thereafter play it as though it was included with Google Play Music, so you don't have to worry about not being able to play anything. Don't know if Spotify etc. have similar capacities.

 

[Tom Bavis]

Some recent WiFi routers have a USB input and a media server - plug in the drive and everything will be available via wireless - use a Chromecast Audio, controlled by iPhone or iPad for playback. Otherwise, a basic 2 TB network drive is barely more than the drive itself - I paid $150 (and they have gotten cheaper) And this has a media server installed. Either way, music is available without turning on a computer.

 

[BrocLuno]

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/auraliti-file-server.673502/

Ain't cheap, but should do what you asked ...

 

[BrocLuno]

And then there is this ->

The Cocktail Audio X40 is a high quality music server which high-resolution DSD / DXD files supported, CDs happening and rips

when Network Streamer acts, has integrated radio, Internet radio, which provides even a Phoneingang available, with which it

is possible to digitize the records , A 5 "display provides an accurate overview of the stored music and offers plenty of

space, for a variety of configuration options.

- High-quality DAC Music Server
- Faster 700 Mhz MIPS processor
- High-quality metal housing
- Milled and 12mm thick aluminum front

- 5 "color display with 800x480 pixels
- Plays CDs and rip them on an optional hard disk
- To save with Phoneingang records lossless
- Recording from the radio possible, time-controlled and up to 192kHz
- Supported formats: HD FLAC, HD WAV, MP3, FLAC, WAV, WMA, M4A, AIF, AIFF, ALAC, AAC, PCM, PLS, M3U
- Conversion of the music collection possible to other formats

- Network capability including Internet radio through Gigabit network point and wireless adapter
- Are currently supported Simfy, qobuz and RECEIVA Internet Radio
- Controllable with tablet and smartphone with a UPNP App
- As a DLNA Media Server, client and media renderer can be streamed to and from the X40
- A 2.5 "(up to 4TB), 3.5" (up to 4TB) or SSD (up to 4TB) can be installed
- DAC (Analog Converters Digtial to) SABRE³² Reference DAC ES9018K2M
- Playing DSD64 (2.8224MHz), DSD128 (5.6448MHz) DXD (24bit / 352.8KHz)
PCM (up to 32bit / 384kHz) including 24bit / 192kHz WAV / FLAC and other high-resolution formats

- Inputs: each 1x optical, coaxial, phono, 2x AUX
- Outputs: each 1x optical, coaxial, HDMI, XLR, FM, LAN, 3x USB
- Output: HDMI, headphone output, optical, coaxial
- Pre-Out: Symmetrical (AES / EBU XLR), unbalanced (RCA L / R)

- Size without feet (WxHxD): 32,5cm 43,5x 8,8x
- Size with feet (WxHxD): 32,5cm 43,5x 9,8x
- Including quality 1TB 3.5 "hard drive from Western Digital (WD Green), which is designed for quiet operation

 

[LML999]

I'm not an Apple guy, but I believe that If you buy one of the NAS-type external drives, copy all of your songs to it, and connect it to your router, you could then buy an Apple Airport Express router, connect its audio output jack to your hifi's aux input, and play songs on the NAS via your iPhone or iPad. Maybe a couple hundred bucks?

I believe that this is correct. I've got the NAS, ripped a bunch of CDs to it, and am ready to take the next step. Looks like the Airport Express is the correct component. A shame, as I've got two Airport Extremes and a Tower already in my network, but none of these has a stereo out port.

With this setup, where is the digital to analog conversion taking place? Within the Airport Express? Would a higher audio quality setup include a Mac Mini and an external DAC?

How much difference in audio quality would there be between these two setups?

Thanks!

 

[drew_t]

My understanding is that the Airport Express will output either an analog signal or a digital signal -- it's controlled by what type of cable you plug into it. Regular old audio cable with 1/8" stereo plug gets you analog via the built-in DAC; optical audio cable with mini-Toslink plug gets you digital. So if you want to experiment with an external DAC, you can do it without buying a Mac Mini.

 

[woofmytweets]

there's a couple options with the chromecast audio - with a free google play music subscription, you can upload 50,000 songs which can then be streamed to your chromecast at will, from either the google music app or a web browser.

you can also stream local files with several chromecast enabled apps:
https://www.google.com/intl/en_ca/chromecast/apps/?utm_source=chromecast.com#?speakers

apparently, there's a way to use foobar too - i actually have been planning to test this, as i just got in the optical cables i needed today to test 2 other chromecast audios - because the audio version of the chromecast allows you to group them together for simultaneous playback on multiple systems. (if you're ordering a chromecast, you need a special optical cable to use the digital output)...monoprice PID 1557 or equivalent.

as for the NAS, you can think of it as the same thing as connecting a usb hard disk to your computer and then sharing it on the network - in concept. the advantage of the nas is that you'll most likely get dlna support - the one i have has a web-based music player, so from there you can just stream that to the chromecast.....anything web-based can be easily streamed to the chromecast by using google's chrome browser with the chromecast extension installed.

anyway, it's late, i'll report back when i've had a chance to dig behind a couple recievers and plug in those cables...plan is to install one on each of 3 systems, group them together, and wait for the noise complaints to come in.

also don't confuse the chromecast with chromecast audio - the audio does only sound, but the regular (video) ones don't support grouping them together for simulcast.

 

[LML999]

My understanding is that the Airport Express will output either an analog signal or a digital signal -- it's controlled by what type of cable you plug into it. Regular old audio cable with 1/8" stereo plug gets you analog via the built-in DAC; optical audio cable with mini-Toslink plug gets you digital. So if you want to experiment with an external DAC, you can do it without buying a Mac Mini.

Got it, thanks!

With one of my systems, I have digital in, so I can use the onboard DAC on the receiver. With a second, older system, I will probably start with the stereo out, then add an external DAC later.

 

[woofmytweets]

OK - well i was feeling motivated this morning - decided it was time to mess with my chromecast audios. I have 3 systems that are equipped with CCAs. I grouped them together using the app, and then downloaded a 60 bps mp3 of a metronome that i cast to all 3. turning the volume down on one system allowed me to sync the other 2, now all three systems are in (near as my ears can tell) perfect sync. it was really hard to find the exact to-the-ms adjustment, so i scanned for the setting on the upper and lower end where i could first detect a sync disparity, and then set it in the middle.

for those interested, they cast 48kHz pcm via optical, (or analogue via 1/8" - yuk) and while you can cast audio to a regular chromecast, the feature where you can group multiple devices is only available on chromecast audio units.

 

[CKDC]

Take a look at the Auralic Aries Mini.

 

[CKDC]

What are your issues with the software? They updated the software at some point. Did you experience the software before they "improved' it?

After subtracting the cost of the Tidal membership, the mini is $310. (I am already paying Tidal.)

Assuming one owns an ipad (as I and the OP have) what is out there that allows wireless streaming and is plug and play for $310.00 plus the cost of a hard drive? (I do not want to get involved with anything involving experimental software or hardware.)