Wireless to USB DAC problems

Saalor

Active Member
I am looking for a solution to transmit my ALAC music library wirelessly to play through my new Maverick Tubemagic DAC. Please help if you can!

Over time I have saved my music in Apple lossless format on my Windows 7 PC (since Flac does not work on my Ipod classic). I use MediaMonkey to manage the database and handle pc playback. My main stereo (Marantz sr4023 receiver, Stanton DLP2 tt, Mirage speakers, LG dvd player) is in my basement. To play my lossless files on that system, I have been using my ipod Classic with the lineout into my Marantz receiver. Sounds ok but this solution does not permit general access to my PC database on the fly (my PC has significantly more music than the IPOD classic can hold) and relies on the ipod's DAC which is not the greatest.

I tried to purchase the Pure i-20 ipod dock/DAC to improve the DAC while using the IPOD but the shipment never made it to me in Canada (???) and they refunded me. I gave up on that idea as it would not give me full access to my database on the fly anyway (have to load music to the ipod first)

I recently bought the Tubemagic DAC with upgraded tube and opamps to use with my main stereo - sounds great, I like its tubey tubey goodness! The challenge is transmitting my PC ALAC music (a number of files are 24/96 but not all) wirelessly downstairs to play on the new Tubemagic DAC.

So I thought my kids IPADS might provide a solution. I have a wireless router, it works with the IPADs. I bought the IPAD camera kit and a powered usb hub, and it plays music (from files copied to the Ipad) out through the tubemagic over usb. So far so good. The trouble is getting wireless access from my pc to the ipad.

I tried to use IPAD "homesharing" and place my PC music into Itunes to play wirelessly on the IPAD, usb out to the Tubemagic. It just would not work. It seems my PC library is too big to use Apple homesharing, the IPAD times out before the library shows up on the Ipad. Plus iTunes annoys me.

So I tried Splashtop, which enables the iPAD to control my PC wirelessly, play a tune in Mediamonkey on the PC, wireless to IPAD, then out through the Ipad camera kit etc out over usb to the Tubemagic. it works, even with 24/96 files!

Well sort of. The IPAD loses the wireless connection time to time, and sometimes the music stutters as the wireless connection comes in and out.

Needless to say I am disappointed. My router is about 5 years old, will upgrading it be the answer? The router is two floors up from my stereo location. Should I tinker with the router's positioning? Can anyone recommend a powerful router with strong broadcast emission? Or perhaps other options for wireless transmission in my situation?

Thanks
 
iPads do not have the strongest wireless cards, I'd think you are right to focus on upgrading you router.

What model router do you currently have?

.dew.
 
A solid choice for both range and heavy lifting is the

ASUS RT-N66U

I've been using it within an environment very similar to yours and it performs very well.

Not sure but I would think Amazon.ca would have this available for you. If not, smallnetbuilder.com is a gold standard for finding one that meets your needs and budget.
 
Squeezebox (and decent WIFI connection).
You can control it from your ipad, the Touch will handle the hi-res files.
Small footprint, there is some caching if you wifi has a palpitation, one connection to power and one to your DAC.
 
iPads do not have the strongest wireless cards, I'd think you are right to focus on upgrading you router.

What model router do you currently have?

.dew.

The router is a D-Link WBR1310. I have never had good luck with routers.

Thanks for the suggestions I will take a look at the Asus and maybe a Squeezebox touch although I thought Squeezebox was out of production.
 
So I purchased the ASUS router +48V recommended and I like it, it is an improvement and I needed a better router anyway so I think I will keep it.

But it doesn't solve my problem. Playing audio from my desktop database on my basement DAC wirelessly, I still experience frequent drop outs and stuttering.

I am experimenting with router positioning, I also switched to a better channel. If this does not fix the problem I am thinking about purchasing a couple of broadband over powerline units, connect one with ethernet to my new router, connect the other unit by ethernet to my old DLink router in the basement (where my DAC is), and use the old Dlink router as a wireless access point.
 
With the new router it isn't a problem with broadcast range/signal quality anymore, I don't think the range extenders would help alot. I think that the latency comes from the high demands on networkcommunication.

What could help is manage the priorities in the routers software and give high priority to the connection PC-IPad.

A different software-approach for musicstreaming could benefit, although nothing comes to mind right now. Did you try the IPad homesharing option with the new router, maybe that could kick in with the better infrastructure you have now.

Is your D-Link AGN-compatible? The Asus can handle 2.4Ghz/5Ghz networks, does the D-Link as WAP handle both bands? If not, this is another bottleneck.
 
So I purchased the ASUS router +48V recommended and I like it, it is an improvement and I needed a better router anyway so I think I will keep it.

But it doesn't solve my problem. Playing audio from my desktop database on my basement DAC wirelessly, I still experience frequent drop outs and stuttering.

I am experimenting with router positioning, I also switched to a better channel. If this does not fix the problem I am thinking about purchasing a couple of broadband over powerline units, connect one with ethernet to my new router, connect the other unit by ethernet to my old DLink router in the basement (where my DAC is), and use the old Dlink router as a wireless access point.

My thought is that you made a massive upgrade and it did not solve the issue, perhaps the issue is not the wireless network itself? I can't think of a worse networking company than Dlink. I assume you Windows 7 PC is plugged in via ethernet? Have you tried the exact same set up in the same room as the router to remove the possibility of a signal issue?

Powerline ethernet kits are great and your plan to use your old router as an access point is one I've implemented many times. It works if set up properly. I once set up five access points with powerline ethernet kits in one house.

.dew.
 
Ditto the suggestion for the powerline networking. My experience is that if I'm streaming 16/44.1 files, wireless is OK. If I start streaming files with higher bit rates, wireless lacks sufficient bandwidth, and playback issues such as stuttering start to crop up. If you're not prepared to rewire your house with Ethernet cable, powerline networking is probably the next best option.
 
It does seem to be a wireless strength issue despite the new router. I used WiFi analyzer on my android phone and walked around measuring - the signal gets pretty weak. It must be due to obstructions in my house. I tried moving the router as much as I could but not much benefit resulted.

I have not tried homesharing with the new router as I really do not like ITUNES

So last night I replaced the IPAD in this chain with my wife's laptop, connecting wirelessly using Splashtop and that did the trick, worked perfectly. Even 24/96 files have no problems. Plus the laptop is much less fiddly than trying to operate Splashtop on the Ipad with my fingers.

So it seems to come down to the IPAD 2 not having very great wireless reception abilities with a signal that is on the weaker side

It seems like my solution will be to pick up an inexpensive, quiet laptop with half decent wireless reception
 
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