Anyone provide any suggestions on what product is best to wirelessly connect a PC to a stereo receiver?
I don't mind spending a few bucks to get something that sounds good and is relatively easy to work with.
I've found conflicting reviews on Amazon about products made by Logitech, Sony, etc. so I figured this would be a good place to get some valuable opinions.
Yeah, this has been a problem that is bedeviling me as well. I listen to most of my music via LP or CD, but I have all of my digital music ripped to an external hard drive and I would love to get that to my stereo somehow.
NP: Keith Jarrett Rio
The Logitech Squeezebox changed my listening habits completely - can't recommend it highly enough
My units are from the "Duet" series, these have now been superceeded by the "Squeezebox Touch", that looks even cooler
There are apps to integrate it with your Droid, Tablet, or Iphone
Nothing like having your entire library available anywhere, on any device or on any of your systems
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
I use an Apple AirportExpress via iTunes. That allows me to play and control music wirelessly from any of my wireless devices and my PC.
Chad
I have a Squeezebox as well. But as I understand it, Logitech has killed the product and instead is pushing something else out named "Ultimate Ears". I'm not sure what product in that line equates to a Squeezebox.
Another, more expensive, product is available from Sonos.
Unlike Brian, the Squeezebox did not radically change my listening habits, but it did change my download habits, so now, I try to focus on flac files rather than mp3s. So far I've only ripped about 15% of my CD collection. I got sidetracked on that project when I went back to listening to vinyl. Finishing the digitization of my CDs may have to wait until I retire
I have a Sonos which is great - the interface is very easy to use and pretty flexible. The only thing I can't do with it (I think - I haven't really tried yet) is shuffle the music between albums. I use my phone, PC, ipod, whatever device can get apps or the software, to access all of my music on the hard drive. You can make playlists from your collection, etc. If you have a Sonos Play 3 or 5, you can listen to different music in two places from the same hard drive. I haven't used it yet, but apparently you can use a bluetooth device with it too somehow. This is a new feature. So if someone has something on their phone, but obviously not on your hard drive, the sonos can still play it. It also has hundreds of radio stations, pre-built play lists, and much more. More than I have time to play with certainly.
I also recently bought a bluetooth Bose travel speaker to use for work and, of course, travel. The sound is great and has a cover for the speaker built in for its protection. I play the music from my phone primarily on that. But anyone can use it with their bluetooth device of course.
My LG blu ray player is wifi capable, and has software included, such that I can stream my iTunes library directly to my living room stereo via the blu ray. But it's not perfect--the interface/software isn't completely flexible, and often the track order on a given album is backwards and I can't figure out how to straighten it out for the life of me!
Another vote for the Squeezebox. I have 5 scattered around the house attached to various amps or have built in speakers.
As far as getting music to my receiver, I have many routes.
My Yamaha RX-A2000 is connected ( wired ) to my home network.
It will play music from windows media server ( probably your pc ), a DLNA server ( my ReadyNAS which holds my music collection, mostly FLAC's ripped from cd's), attached USB device, streamed from my Nexus 7 or android device, Squeezebox , Pandora, Napster, net radio, etc. etc.
It is not unique in it's feature set.
Many other receivers support similar network connections in addition to traditional inputs. Lots of them are less than 1k.
My Oppo blueray player will do most of the same streaming sources, and supports a wireless connection. Then it is just a hop to the receiver.
mark
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
I had no idea - really bad newsOriginally Posted by rottersclub
I did some digging after reading this - "ultimate ears" are headphones, doesn't look like there is a current replacement for the duet / touch type product of Squeezebox which is a shame
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
My digital music is on a network disc and I've got an old laptop connected to the stereo. The laptop runs linux and I've installed ssh server software on it, so I can connect to it via wifi from my other laptop. This allows me to run the music player (or in fact any other piece of software) from the old laptop on the other one. Price: $/€/£ 0,-
Brian, sorry, the product I was thinking of is UE Smart Radio. It has some of the capabilities as a Squeezebox, but it is basically a transistor radio for this millennium.
I have a Squeezebox as well. Have we spoken before? Btw, I heard that the company that makes those might go out of business.
I have a Apple Airport Express. I don't love it. My PC is withing 20' of my home theater receiver, so I did what most audiophiles recommend. I bought a 25' RCA cable and play Winamp via my Aux input on my receiver when I want to listen on bigger speakers. My PC speakers are Klipsch THX 2.1.
Sad that Squeezebox est mort, but have a look at this:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/produc...peaker-adapter
Only $39 beans per system
I'm thinking that if you used the Winamp app you could use these to do pretty much the same thing as far as getting the jams from your PC to the home theater / systems using your droid, tablet, or Iphone as the remote
If my devices ever die, this will be my first shot at a replacement
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
That looks pretty cool, Brian. I'm gonna have to look into that.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Some intriguing suggestions. Since I want to be able to have control while away from my PC, can any of these devices allow me to use a wifi enabled iPod Touch as remote control (I have no tablet or smartphone)? Lemme guess: There's an app for that.
There is, indeed, an App for that.
If you use an Airport Express and use iTunes, and download "remote" you can access your main iTunes library remotely via iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone, and stream directly to your home stereo. One bit of advice I've read is to use the Optical Out/In option between the Airport Express and your receiver for true digital signal to your receiver. If you want even better fidelity you can buy a DAC and interface it between your receiver and the Airport Express.
One word (as Kristi mentioned):
SONOS
I looked at the Sonos before deciding on the Squeezebox
Sonos was a lot more expensive, however I have only heard good things about it - esp as far as ease of set up
Looking at the website, to connect a home theater you'd need their "Connect", which is $349 and you'd need one of these for each system
You still need a droid, tablet, or Iphone as the remote
EDIT - Reviews on the Logitech Speaker adapter that I'd mentioned above do not speak well of the sound quality, I'd better hope my Squeezebox Duets don't die anytime soon. I loath Itunes, but might have to switch to Airport Express if they did
BG
Last edited by Brian Griffin; 01-10-2013 at 07:58 PM.
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
Me too and with Airfoil one can stream any audio from say a browser or anything that uses the computer's soundcard from a PC or Mac.
Best/peace, Steve
I just got my Sonos last year and it cost me $275 for the connect (it is connected to my home theater - the central music station in the house) I also have a sonos PLAY 5, which costs about $399 that is portable to any room with a plug. Doesn't need a separate receiver or anything and plays right off the hard drive. Yes, it is an investment to set it up - but it is a great system once you have it. If I had speakers in all of the rooms in my house, I could just play off of the one box. And use the remote from any room in the house. (We fuck with each other sometimes by changing people's music from far away rooms) And yes, you need a iphone, itouch, tablet or droid. We had just made that move anyway when we got it, so it worked out well for us.
I looked at sonos and decided on using an old pc w/iTunes and iTunes remote from iPad/iPhone to play library thru stereo. Pretty happy with results. Also adds ability to watch YouTube on large screen tv.
11 years of NEARfest http://www.flickr.com/photos/kschere...1700/lightbox/
No doubt - I've only heard great things from owners it's just expensive.
If you had three home theaters in your crib, wouldn't you need three "Connects"?
With the Duet it was $399 for the small receiver box, (looks like an airport express), and a full function remote that had a display that showed the artwork.
The additional receiver boxes were $99
Apps on the Iphone and later the Android totally leapfrogged the standard remote, I never use it
Looking at Ebay, even used Squeezebox components are going for stupid money due to them being cancelled
Does anyone know if Crapple's "Airport Express" will work with a PC?
Winamp has a plug in for it, so theoretically you could use one of these for each of your systems and have your Droid / Tablet as the remote using the Winamp app
That would pretty much mirror what I'm doing now with the Duets
I think the Express's are only $99 ea
BG
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
Brian, yes you would need a Connect for each system, but they can all play off of one hard drive at once. And play different music if desired. But yes, pricey to buy more than one....
Kristi, been scouring the forums looking for a potential replacement for my Duets down the road and there is one deal breaker for the Sonos - apparently there is a 65,000 file limit on libraries, and mine is beyond that.
I also believe, although not sure on this point, that at least one Connect needs to be hard wired to the router - my router and PC are in the basement, neither home theater is down there
At this point in time , there really doesn't seem to be an alternative for what I'm doing now - hopefully the hardware lasts for quite some time until something does hit the market
BG
Last edited by Brian Griffin; 01-12-2013 at 08:59 AM.
"When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."
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