Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

[George Hincapie]

I have to say, it's a real shame that Auralic don't release a new Aries Mini. It was a wonderful streaming DAC, with excellent SQ. A new version, perhaps with I2S out for modern DACs, and a flagship AKM DAC for improved audio would just be awesome.

The Aries G1.1 is lovely, but quite expensive for what it is. The G2.1 is better, but priced the same as the new Lumin U2 transport which has optical networking.

[CN211276]

Not long ago I discovered that play back apps do not sound the same when I gave Mconnect a try. I discovered that I slightly preferred Mconnect to BubbleUp, but there was not much in it. This aroused my curiosity and for the first time I was tempted by Logitech Media Server. Being a computer numpty and previously of the opinion that the sound would be the same what ever app was used I had not given it much thought.

Where there is a will there is a way and with Google as a friend I installed LMS/Squeezelite on my PC and connected it to my portable devices. I am very pleased with the improvement in sound quality, not earth shattering but very noticeable right from the off. There is a greater sense of space and subtlies in the music are more apparent. I was not impressed by the LMS app, but the Spueezer app I am using is brilliant. SQ is the same as with the LMS app. The interface is far better than what I had become used to with Qobuz and Radio Paradise. I have not been able to connect to my NAS but this seems to be down to an issue with WD My Cloud which I am hoping will be resolved soon.

I have not been able to install LMS/Squeezelite on the second system because the MicroRendu is older than the OpticalRendu. The software only updates to version 2.7 when 2.8 is required. The solution is the latest SD card which I have ordered. Unfortunately I tried to install LMS on the second system first and wasted time down a blind alley prior to more internet research.

I am very pleased with what I have achieved and will not be going back to DLNA apps.

It took quite a while for the SD card to arrive from the US. Don't know what went wrong with the tracking as it was still meant to be the over side of the pond when it came through the door. The new card is 16GB, double the previous one. Being ham fisted I made a right balls of inserting it and it ended up trapped inside the MicroRendu. I had to go to the watch stall in the town market to get it opened and have the card properly inserted. Was done in no time and I was not charged.

The update to version 2.8 was straight forward but it took a while for me to fathom that a further update was required. Got it up and running through the Squeezer app as I had been with the OpticalRendu in the main system. I was not aware that connecting the main system to Squezer again would be problematic,although the connection to LMS was not affected. Advice I sought on the Sonore forum confirmed that it is advisable to run LMS on one device only. So back to DLNA apps on the second system. A waste of time and £24 but a good learning experience.

WD My Cloud overcame their issue but I have not been able to connect my NAS to LMS. WD support were worse than useless. First they referred me to the LMS forum and later advised that My Cloud and LMS are not compatible. The advice I received on the LMS forum was confusing (to me) and contradictory. Screen shots provided did not appear on my, PC. When I was faffing about with the new SD card some of the CDs on my NAS did temporarily appear on the Squeezer app. I now have a better idea about how I can access my ripped CDs through Squeezer and will spend some time on it during a rainy day. I still have DLNA but have discovered that Mconnect is not compatible with WAV rips. I can't access Radio Paradise with it either. I can play WAV files with BubbleUp and also RP. The interface with RP is far superior with LMS/Squeezer.

[George Hincapie]

Right, the new iEast M50 streamer has arrived from China and is (finally) up-and-running. The installation procedure had me guessing for a bit but eventually it sorted itself out. It is a compact, lightweight and smart little device that you can place almost anywhere. Just needs a 5V wall-wart, a USB power lead and a 3.5mm audio cable (all provided).



Initially I hooked the streamer in to the network with an ethernet cable so I could run the first setup - and the firmware upgraded itself immediately to the latest version. Taking the LAN plug out to run wirelessly meant accessing it via Bluetooth and signing in to the Wifi network. That took a few tries but got there eventually.

The iEast controller app is identical to the Wiim Audiocast app and this player can be accessed by both. Handy, and points to the same software being used by both companies. A whole range of streaming services can be accessed and I could get easily into Radio Paradise and Amazon Music to try them out.

But - where's my NAS? Not found. This had me frustrated, so a web-search got me the information that an app called 'Twonky' has to be set up inside the WD EX2 and then the specific file with the music needs to be given access within that. Once I'd sorted that out, the M50 streamer could find the device and access the music files therein. Hooray!

Music in the kitchen is via a 90's-model JVC all-in-one micro-tower that actually bi-amps the speakers with separate leads running for bass and mid/treble. Sounds rather impressive for such a humble device and it even has a 'Turbo Bass' setting for the party animals! Plugging the streamer in via AUX socket on the tower's back, let's have some playback. The NAS is accessed via the smartphone app and my own stored albums can be got to. A big hinderance with the old Sonos Connect was that it could only access 16bit/44.1KHz (max) files but the M50 has no trouble with 24bit/192KHz, so hi-res streaming now becomes possible.

Soundwise, the M50 has a firmly-controlled and forward sound from its own line-output, the characteristic ESS Sabre bass definition is present as well and it feels like the Wifi connection is a lot more stable than the Sonos. We are, after all, several generations of digital development further now. Overall I think that the SQ is pretty fine and certainly good enough for doing the washing-up to. A possible experiment will be using the optical output (Toslink adaptor provided) and running it through a full-scale DAC system to check it out in a more revealing installation. However, I will let it run-in a bit for now and just have fun playing with it.

Now this thing has me considering a subscription to Tidal or Qobuz.

Choices, choices ....

[Grumpytim]

Not long ago I discovered that play back apps do not sound the same when I gave Mconnect a try. I discovered that I slightly preferred Mconnect to BubbleUp, but there was not much in it. This aroused my curiosity and for the first time I was tempted by Logitech Media Server. Being a computer numpty and previously of the opinion that the sound would be the same what ever app was used I had not given it much thought.

Where there is a will there is a way and with Google as a friend I installed LMS/Squeezelite on my PC and connected it to my portable devices. I am very pleased with the improvement in sound quality, not earth shattering but very noticeable right from the off. There is a greater sense of space and subtlies in the music are more apparent. I was not impressed by the LMS app, but the Spueezer app I am using is brilliant. SQ is the same as with the LMS app. The interface is far better than what I had become used to with Qobuz and Radio Paradise. I have not been able to connect to my NAS but this seems to be down to an issue with WD My Cloud which I am hoping will be resolved soon.

I have not been able to install LMS/Squeezelite on the second system because the MicroRendu is older than the OpticalRendu. The software only updates to version 2.7 when 2.8 is required. The solution is the latest SD card which I have ordered. Unfortunately I tried to install LMS on the second system first and wasted time down a blind alley prior to more internet research.

I am very pleased with what I have achieved and will not be going back to DLNA apps.

It took quite a while for the SD card to arrive from the US. Don't know what went wrong with the tracking as it was still meant to be the over side of the pond when it came through the door. The new card is 16GB, double the previous one. Being ham fisted I made a right balls of inserting it and it ended up trapped inside the MicroRendu. I had to go to the watch stall in the town market to get it opened and have the card properly inserted. Was done in no time and I was not charged.

The update to version 2.8 was straight forward but it took a while for me to fathom that a further update was required. Got it up and running through the Squeezer app as I had been with the OpticalRendu in the main system. I was not aware that connecting the main system to Squezer again would be problematic,although the connection to LMS was not affected. Advice I sought on the Sonore forum confirmed that it is advisable to run LMS on one device only. So back to DLNA apps on the second system. A waste of time and £24 but a good learning experience.

WD My Cloud overcame their issue but I have not been able to connect my NAS to LMS. WD support were worse than useless. First they referred me to the LMS forum and later advised that My Cloud and LMS are not compatible. The advice I received on the LMS forum was confusing (to me) and contradictory. Screen shots provided did not appear on my, PC. When I was faffing about with the new SD card some of the CDs on my NAS did temporarily appear on the Squeezer app. I now have a better idea about how I can access my ripped CDs through Squeezer and will spend some time on it during a rainy day. I still have DLNA but have discovered that Mconnect is not compatible with WAV rips. I can't access Radio Paradise with it either. I can play WAV files with BubbleUp and also RP. The interface with RP is far superior with LMS/Squeezer.

I think the problem here is getting the PC you have LMS installed on to see the WD drive. Once you can get the PC to see the drive you can copy the path from file manager into music folder on the basic settings page.

[CN211276]

I think the problem here is getting the PC you have LMS installed on to see the WD drive. Once you can get the PC to see the drive you can copy the path from file manager into music folder on the basic settings page.

I got the PC to see My Cloud, eventually. Following advice on the LMS forum I created a drive for it. The problem now is that LMS basic settings does not see it.

[George Hincapie]

Right, the new iEast M50 streamer has arrived from China and is (finally) up-and-running. The installation procedure had me guessing for a bit but eventually it sorted itself out. It is a compact, lightweight and smart little device that you can place almost anywhere. Just needs a 5V wall-wart, a USB power lead and a 3.5mm audio cable (all provided).



Initially I hooked the streamer in to the network with an ethernet cable so I could run the first setup - and the firmware upgraded itself immediately to the latest version. Taking the LAN plug out to run wirelessly meant accessing it via Bluetooth and signing in to the Wifi network. That took a few tries but got there eventually.

The iEast controller app is identical to the Wiim Audiocast app and this player can be accessed by both. Handy, and points to the same software being used by both companies. A whole range of streaming services can be accessed and I could get easily into Radio Paradise and Amazon Music to try them out.

But - where's my NAS? Not found. This had me frustrated, so a web-search got me the information that an app called 'Twonky' has to be set up inside the WD EX2 and then the specific file with the music needs to be given access within that. Once I'd sorted that out, the M50 streamer could find the device and access the music files therein. Hooray!

Music in the kitchen is via a 90's-model JVC all-in-one micro-tower that actually bi-amps the speakers with separate leads running for bass and mid/treble. Sounds rather impressive for such a humble device and it even has a 'Turbo Bass' setting for the party animals! Plugging the streamer in via AUX socket on the tower's back, let's have some playback. The NAS is accessed via the smartphone app and my own stored albums can be got to. A big hinderance with the old Sonos Connect was that it could only access 16bit/44.1KHz (max) files but the M50 has no trouble with 24bit/192KHz, so hi-res streaming now becomes possible.

Soundwise, the M50 has a firmly-controlled and forward sound from its own line-output, the characteristic ESS Sabre bass definition is present as well and it feels like the Wifi connection is a lot more stable than the Sonos. We are, after all, several generations of digital development further now. Overall I think that the SQ is pretty fine and certainly good enough for doing the washing-up to. A possible experiment will be using the optical output (Toslink adaptor provided) and running it through a full-scale DAC system to check it out in a more revealing installation. However, I will let it run-in a bit for now and just have fun playing with it.

Now this thing has me considering a subscription to Tidal or Qobuz.

Choices, choices ....

I have both; Qobuz is always my choice if the album or track exists there. I just keep Tidal for the wider catalogue.

[George Hincapie]

Tweak to the M50 streamer:

I spotted that the supplied wall-wart PSU is rated at 5V/1A. Swapping in a 2A phone charger effectively doubled the available wattage - the effect on the device is that it becomes noticeably faster and more responsive on the wifi controller app and the SQ is clearer and punchier

A step up in sonics and versatility over the Sonos Connect at 1/4 of its price.

No complaints.

[CN211276]

I only subscribe to Qobuuz as I slightly prefer the sound. Gaps in the catalogue are not a problem as there is an online form where you can inform them with the link to the album from another streaming platform. I send them the link from free Spotify. It does not happen often as most of what I am into is fairly main stream.

I think both platforms provide free trials and it would be worth comparing, especially with a MQA DAfC. Bear in mind that the top Tidal tier is around twice the price of the top Qobuz one.

[Grumpytim]

I think the problem here is getting the PC you have LMS installed on to see the WD drive. Once you can get the PC to see the drive you can copy the path from file manager into music folder on the basic settings page.

I got the PC to see My Cloud, eventually. Following advice on the LMS forum I created a drive for it. The problem now is that LMS basic settings does not see it.

It won't, that 'bit' of LMS only sees drives that are on the same machine as LMS.

You can get LMS to see remote drives if you copy the path to the music folder from File Manager to the music folder field on the basic settings page. The path should look something like this \\WDCloudthingy\Music. The WD drive is likely to be hiding in the network part of File Manager.

You'll know if it's worked as when you paste the field should go green, and it will save that path. If that works then go for a clear & rescan if a scan isn't triggered automatically.

If not then we'll have scratch our heads and try something different.

Good luck.

[CN211276]

I got the PC to see My Cloud, eventually. Following advice on the LMS forum I created a drive for it. The problem now is that LMS basic settings does not see it.

Took me a while to activate the DLNA / UPNP access to my WD drive with the Twonky app. Maybe there is an app that needs to be installed on your WD - or specific permission given within the app for access to files.