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I think my ancient Denon stereo may be on the fritz and I'm considering the alternatives.
I don't need multi-room, but I want to be able to connect wirelessly from my Macbook, via music stored on my NAS and online (Amazon music cloud at the moment).
I expect that Sonos is likely to be the default answer (what is the sound quality like?) but I'd like to see what the various hardware options are.
No idea of budget yet as it's just a thought at the moment.
Any suggestions?
Every time I think about this question, the answer is always sonos. Can't bring myself to stump up the cash, especially for the "connect" so I can also use my existing kit in the living room.
The sound quality from the stand alone boxes seems pretty good every time I've used them at other people's places.
I disagree with the above 🙂
My Squeezebox successfully played digital media through my old hifi until it died a couple of years ago
There didn't seem to be a direct replacement at the time so I looked at Sonos which had a disappointing music quality for the wonga
The result was a Samsung stand alone speaker for about 270 notes with Bluetooth and apple air play which we use to stream from various electronic gizmos
Right now I'm off to see how to turn our new Raspberry pi into a music server.....
Just looking at the Sonos: Is the 5 worth the extra, over the 3?
I actually quite like the look of the Denon CEOL system.
I have the ceol. It's great, paired up to a set of arcam solo's. Small but very effective.
have a look at the Yamaha CRXN560D - it may do what you want
Sonos sound quality can be as good as you want it to be. Buy the Connect > DAC > Amp > Speaker.
Mine is hooked into my AVI active 2.1 setup and sounds [i]amazing[/i].
I use a lowly WD TVLive to stream from anything on my network, it's a cheap device but I'm using the digital output so has no effect on sound quality.
Sound quality is taken care of later.
NAS> WD client> Cyrus DAC> Cyrus Amp
The user interface on the wd can be a little clunky using its own remote but using a phone/tablet and bubble to control it works a dream.
As above, in the Sonos world Connect is as good as you want it depending on what you play it on.
I'd go 5 over 3 but be more tempted with a pair of Play 1's. I have a Connect, 5 and 1.
Works well with Amazon, as well as Google Play, Spotify, digital radio etc.
For one room only, separates, speakers and somethink like a raspberry pi could be a good option.
Assuming you run everything via your MacBook, then Airport Express straight into the amp (or via a DAC)
But, as I only stream Internet radio or from iTunes, this may not be any use for a NAS. But if it is, then it's only 80 quid.
EDIT: as above, this works well for a single room (or multiple rooms but I assume each AE will only receive the central stream, so may not work for multiple parallel streams).
Assuming you run everything via your MacBook, then Airport Express straight into the amp (or via a DAC)
As I said in the OP: My amp is on it's way out.
It might be worth looking into picking up a good s/h amp and using an Airport Express, it might be more cost effective than a Sonos, and you could extend it in the future by getting extra Airports with active speakers.
EDIT: as above, this works well for a single room (or multiple rooms but I assume each AE will only receive the central stream, so may not work for multiple parallel streams).
AirPlay doesn't do multiroom, each one comes up as a separate receiver.
Denon ceol acts as an AirPlay receiver so no need for an airport express.
On second thought, it would be good to have an amp that I could play directly from the NAS, without the Macbook.
denon receivers with networking do that well. avr2113 mine plays flacs and mp3s fine and even shows the album art. Linked with a nas and dlna server i can use my android phone running bubbleupnp to send files to play on the amp without even picking up the amp remote.
no multiroom though, but to be honest if i need portable music i use my android phone and a speaker.. a billion times cheaper and better sounding.
As I said in my OP: I don't need multiroom.
mikey74 - Member
On second thought, it would be good to have an amp that I could play directly from the NAS, without the Macbook.
As mentioned previously ^ take a look at the wd TV live thingy, it can be had for about 50 quid and it works very well if using bubble etc to control it.
You can pick an amp to your requirements, making sure it has an integrated DAC or even a separate one depending on your budget there can be many options..
As far as an amp which streams from your NAS being as I have Cyrus how about a look at their one box lyric or streamline systems?
http://www.cyrusaudio.com/cyrus-audio-all-products