Apple Music/Spotify/Tidal

[mjzee]

2 hours ago, NIS said:

I hope you guys won't mind a dumb question.  

What is the benefit of something like this over just running your pc straight to your stereo?  Thanks.

The Raspberry Pi IS a computer, but is a lot cheaper than a PC or Mac.  It doesn't come with a DAC, so Stefan added one.  Note that it may be of better quality than the DACs that come with PCs.  Also, Stefan may have wanted to use a dedicated device for his music, rather than tethering his PC to his stereo every time he wants to listen to music, especially if his amp is in an awkward place.  I'm getting around those issues by creating an AirPort network for my house.  Note, though, that each set of speakers needs an AirPort receiver; that's why I was enquiring above whether a Pi can be adapted to work as an AirPort receiver.  It looks like it can, with a little work.

I've just ordered an Pi for my son and I to assemble over his summer break.  I think it will be good for him to follow the directions, see what doesn't work, get frustrated, consult the documentation and web sites, and get it right.  After that, he may want to tailor it to fit any particular projects he may envision.

[NIS]

3 hours ago, mjzee said:

The Raspberry Pi IS a computer, but is a lot cheaper than a PC or Mac.  It doesn't come with a DAC, so Stefan added one.  Note that it may be of better quality than the DACs that come with PCs.  Also, Stefan may have wanted to use a dedicated device for his music, rather than tethering his PC to his stereo every time he wants to listen to music, especially if his amp is in an awkward place.  I'm getting around those issues by creating an AirPort network for my house.  Note, though, that each set of speakers needs an AirPort receiver; that's why I was enquiring above whether a Pi can be adapted to work as an AirPort receiver.  It looks like it can, with a little work.

I've just ordered an Pi for my son and I to assemble over his summer break.  I think it will be good for him to follow the directions, see what doesn't work, get frustrated, consult the documentation and web sites, and get it right.  After that, he may want to tailor it to fit any particular projects he may envision.

Thanks mjzee.  If I fully got into digital like Stefan, I can see the virtue of an inexpensive dedicated device.  I don't think I have the assembly skills you and your son have, though. 

One more dumb question.  You would need some kind of monitor, no?

 

[JSngry]

3 hours ago, mjzee said:

 I think it will be good for him to follow the directions, see what doesn't work, get frustrated, consult the documentation and web sites, and get it right.  

Frankly, I think that's a good parenting tactic for damn near anything!

[mjzee]

2 hours ago, NIS said:

Thanks mjzee.  If I fully got into digital like Stefan, I can see the virtue of an inexpensive dedicated device.  I don't think I have the assembly skills you and your son have, though. 

One more dumb question.  You would need some kind of monitor, no?

 

None are dumb questions; I learned a lot just by reading up on it, spurred by the initial mention here.  The Raspberry Pi was designed specifically to be affordable and a learning tool for students.  I think the initial assumption was that you probably have a spare monitor, mouse and keyboard lying around, so all you need is the Pi itself.  If you don't, you can go to Amazon and buy a combined keyboard/trackpad ($12) and a monitor ($60).  I think a lot of different monitors would work, though, including a flat-screen TV.  A good place to begin your learning curve is the Raspberry Pi site: https://www.raspberrypi.org

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Frankly, I think that's a good parenting tactic for damn near anything!

Thank u.  He's almost 14 now, so I think we're now past the "throwing things when I'm ticked off" phase.  Also, I don't know how many more things we can do like this together, before he gets interested in gurls.  

[Scott Dolan]

I disagree, this will indeed be a dumb question: If you're streaming via Airport/Apple TV, this particular item adds no enhancements, correct? 

One off the reasons I ask is that I've been looking at network audio players wondering if they'll accomplish anything more than my current setup of iMac with iTunes library streaming to my Apple TV and into my main system. So far my research isn't showing any benefits of one over the other. But I'm really just not familiar with the "NAS" things. 

Is my current setup essentially the same thing? 

*edit*

Also, I can do Apple Music through the Apple TV directly, and/or through my phone/pad via Bluetooth to the ATV unit. 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, Scott Dolan said:

I disagree, this will indeed be a dumb question: If you're streaming via Airport/Apple TV, this particular item adds no enhancements, correct? 

One off the reasons I ask is that I've been looking at network audio players wondering if they'll accomplish anything more than my current setup of iMac with iTunes library streaming to my Apple TV and into my main system. So far my research isn't showing any benefits of one over the other. But I'm really just not familiar with the "NAS" things. 

Is my current setup essentially the same thing? 

*edit*

Also, I can do Apple Music through the Apple TV directly, and/or through my phone/pad via Bluetooth to the ATV unit. 

Not sure what else you're looking for ("enhancements").

[Scott Dolan]

Fair enough. Let's start with, is it truly any different? 

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, Scott Dolan said:

Fair enough. Let's start with, is it truly any different? 

Probably not, and it would be harder to achieve.  But a lot of the fun is in the doing.

[Scott Dolan]

Ah, OK. I definitely get that! 

Kudos to you for how you are raising your son.  

 

[Stefan Wood]

On 5/23/2017 at 2:46 PM, mjzee said:

None are dumb questions; I learned a lot just by reading up on it, spurred by the initial mention here.  The Raspberry Pi was designed specifically to be affordable and a learning tool for students.  I think the initial assumption was that you probably have a spare monitor, mouse and keyboard lying around, so all you need is the Pi itself.  If you don't, you can go to Amazon and buy a combined keyboard/trackpad ($12) and a monitor ($60).  I think a lot of different monitors would work, though, including a flat-screen TV.  A good place to begin your learning curve is the Raspberry Pi site: https://www.raspberrypi.org

Thank u.  He's almost 14 now, so I think we're now past the "throwing things when I'm ticked off" phase.  Also, I don't know how many more things we can do like this together, before he gets interested in gurls.  

There is no need for a monitor with my current Pi setup.  I access a hotspot on my local network (iPhone or tablet) by typing 199.162.etc.etc.  in my browser and the application I placed in the Pi (Volumino) to run the machine comes up.  I hook up a 4 tb drive to the Pi, and I can see all the music there.  Hit play and that's it.  The sound quality is as good as my Emotiva cd player.  Sometimes better, depending on the source (24/96 files).  

Edited May 25, 2017 by Stefan Wood

[Scott Dolan]

I have to admit that I'm shocked that people still buy into the 24/96 thing. 

Do any of you experience the occasional hiccup or "skip" when streaming? I'm trying to figure out if it's my internet connection (although I stream movies with no issues), or if it's something that inherent to music streaming services. 

[Stefan Wood]

I don't buy into it; it is just a file format that I have for some of my music.  16 bit sound great using the DAC+.  No skips when streaming.  It's one of the reasons why I dumped my bluetooth receiver for this setup.

[Scott Dolan]

Hmmmm...

I wonder if my issue is from using my phone/tablet to Bluetooth the stream to Apple TV? Too many items in the chain. I think I'll experiment with accessing it straight through the Apple TV app and see if that clears it up. That way it will strictly be over wi-fi. 

What speed is your internet? I doubt that's my problem, just want to exhaust all options. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[Stefan Wood]

5G

[Scott Dolan]

Well, that experiment never got off the ground. Come to find out you have to have an Apple TV 4th gen in order to stream directly through the Apple TV app...  

[mjzee]

On 5/25/2017 at 7:23 AM, Scott Dolan said:

 

Do any of you experience the occasional hiccup or "skip" when streaming? I'm trying to figure out if it's my internet connection (although I stream movies with no issues), or if it's something that inherent to music streaming services. 

If your router is a few years old, ask your internet provider to replace it.  Comcast swapped mine out at no charge.  Made a world of difference regarding dropouts.

[Stefan Wood]

Agreed.

[Scott Dolan]

Hmmm...the one we have is only a couple of years old, but I guess it's worth a shot. 

It's kind of confusing because we can stream HD movies instantly, and all three of us can watch Netflix/YouTube on our individual iPads simultaneously without issue. 

I'm at least a couple of updates behind on my iPad, so I think I'll restore and update it this afternoon to see if that takes care of the issue first. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Scott Dolan

[Niko]

in my case, I'm pretty sure that the occasional hick-ups are due to the Bluetooth receiver: I get them regardless of whether I stream directly from Wifi, or whether I download music into spotify to play it from there... And when I'm directly streaming music on my phone or laptop, there are no hick-ups...

regarding streaming vs ownership: I view spotify more like a substitute for library than a substitute for my own music collection... of course, they don't have "everything" and sometimes stuff comes and goes ... but compared to pretty much any physical library in the world, they're doing extremely well: "Borrowing stuff" is much more convenient and the selection is far better...

Of course, you don't get a sense of ownership - but given how vast their collection is that would be a bit too much to ask. The entire (?) Steeplechase catalogue is in there - but I would not even want to feel like I have it all in my apartment in physical form. Nevertheless, it's pretty cool that I can spontaneously start exploring Dexter Gordon's Steeplechase albums while travelling on a train...

[Pim]

I am not a big fan of streaming music. Collecting music is my hobby and I want something physical to hold. I want to read the liner notes, watch some photographs. I am probably old fashioned or light hearted....

But streaming is nice for exploring music and it helps to make decisions what to buy and what not to. So I recently started an Apple Music trial. Now, part from a small disappointment about the quantity available, something else really pisses me of. From about 2005 I am keeping all the info and data in my iTunes up to date and correct. That includes the right artwork. With more than 10000 songs it has been a hell of a job. Since my Apple Music trial started everything changed automatically and not in a good way. I think 2/3 of my music has the wrong artwork now, sometimes even by a completely different artist and album. This really sucks... 

Anyone else with this problem or am I the only compulsive disordered person here?

[porcy62]

There are lots of "hi end" streamers out there that can be controlled directly from on board screen or with apps on phones or pads, I even listened at them in "my" hifi shop and some of them sounds good. As someone noted before, I grown up with records, music and hifi magazines and collecting records and upgrade hifi rig is part of the fun, as well as hunting records, both online or in real shops. Actually I even own too much music, so music streaming doesn't appeal me. Anyway I recognized that it can be useful for a lot of reasons. I think the same about books and ebooks.

[Scott Dolan]

5 hours ago, Pim said:

I am not a big fan of streaming music. Collecting music is my hobby and I want something physical to hold. I want to read the liner notes, watch some photographs. I am probably old fashioned or light hearted....

But streaming is nice for exploring music and it helps to make decisions what to buy and what not to. So I recently started an Apple Music trial. Now, part from a small disappointment about the quantity available, something else really pisses me of. From about 2005 I am keeping all the info and data in my iTunes up to date and correct. That includes the right artwork. With more than 10000 songs it has been a hell of a job. Since my Apple Music trial started everything changed automatically and not in a good way. I think 2/3 of my music has the wrong artwork now, sometimes even by a completely different artist and album. This really sucks... 

Anyone else with this problem or am I the only compulsive disordered person here?

Hmmmm, no. That’s not to say that iTunes doesn’t have an innate tendency to just do whatever the hell it wants at times. But iTunes and Apple Music really have no direct relation to each other. They are two completely separate entities. You’ve obviously had something go very, very wrong, but I don’t think it has anything to do with Apple Music. Have you tried to restore iTunes from a previous save? 

What kind of artists were you looking for on Apple Music that you couldn’t find? I tend to think their catalog is rather impressive, and I’m mostly listening to European Free Improvisation these days. 

[Pim]

Thanks Scott, maybe I explained it the wrong way. I have not checked the ITunes library on my pc yet. What I meant was the library on my IPhone. This contained the music from my ITunes library (with all the correct data). Apple Music changed all this data in my ‘Music’ app on my phone. From every artist there is something of course, yet I can’t find a lot of specific stuff by for example: Billy Harper, Hamiet Bluiett, Mal Waldron, Hannibal and so on. 

[Scott Dolan]

OH! Yes, the integrated app. I’ll have to check mine, as I have no music loaded on my phone, I only listen to podcasts on it, or the occasional tune from Apple Music. 

That said, have you tried restoring your phone to see if it loads your library correctly? You’ll have to be without it for maybe an hour or so, but hopefully that would do the trick. 

[Pim]

Thanks for the advice Scott! Haven’t tried that yet and will try when I have got some time for it