What to do with my CD Player

[emollusc]

Originally Posted by Shane

Once you’ve got the CD player sorted out, I’d look at improving your streamer. You may well find that the Naim becomes redundant.
My old Arcam Alpha CD may not be up to the standard of the Naim but it sounds pretty good, being a brilliant implementation of the old TDA1541. However, having now delved into the murky world of the Raspberry Pi, the CD has spent the last couple of years gathering dust under the bed and really should go on eBay.
The implementation I ended up with was a Pi3 with Hifiberry digital output hat into a Beresford DAC, for a total outlay of about £200. There are much better hats and DACs available, but even that modest setup bests the Arcam on SQ.
Setup was quite straightforward. Loading up the Pi with Volumio took about an hour of computer-numpty head scratching, and it’s worked pretty flawlessly ever since. It would be nice to replace Volumio with Roon but my very limited budget won’t stretch that far.

Yes, I want to upgrade the streaming option, however the gap between that and the Naim is very large at the moment. However, I've tried the Pi route and have a problem with have to do everything with a phone / tablet. I like the fact that the Squeezebox has a display that tells you what's playing and a remote I can grab to pause it if the phone rings. I also have several apps that make browsing for music or comedy episode easier. So, my plan is to look at upgrading the power and or DAC then possibly replacing with something better if the upgrades fail. I see this as a medium to long term project and hence the desire to repair my CD.

[pre65]

Originally Posted by emollusc

Yes, I want to upgrade the streaming option, however the gap between that and the Naim is very large at the moment. However, I've tried the Pi route and have a problem with have to do everything with a phone / tablet. I like the fact that the Squeezebox has a display that tells you what's playing and a remote I can grab to pause it if the phone rings. I also have several apps that make browsing for music or comedy episode easier. So, my plan is to look at upgrading the power and or DAC then possibly replacing with something better if the upgrades fail. I see this as a medium to long term project and hence the desire to repair my CD.

To me it's sad that Logitech discontinued the Touch. The Pi, good as it may be, has not the operational ease of rhe Touch.

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by pre65

To me it's sad that Logitech discontinued the Touch. The Pi, good as it may be, has not the operational ease of rhe Touch.

Rubbish! For goodness sake move on. This Logitech stuff is old hat and has only been kept alive by an unassociated forum. If you properly embrace the new options, an RPi based system is head a shoulders better than anything from Squeezebox or from their buy out, Logitech. Wise up!

[bob orbell]

Greg, you wrote - Rubbish! For goodness sake move on. This Logitech stuff is old hat and has only been kept alive by an unassociated forum. - Then why are you and others still ****ing around with old thermionic stuff ? . Bob

[emollusc]

Originally Posted by Greg.

Rubbish! For goodness sake move on. This Logitech stuff is old hat and has only been kept alive by an unassociated forum. If you properly embrace the new options, an RPi based system is head a shoulders better than anything from Squeezebox or from their buy out, Logitech. Wise up!

Logitech dropped Squeezebox because they didn't make enough money from it. I suspect if it had still been around today it would have improved like every other streamer.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Greg.

Rubbish! For goodness sake move on. This Logitech stuff is old hat and has only been kept alive by an unassociated forum. If you properly embrace the new options, an RPi based system is head a shoulders better than anything from Squeezebox or from their buy out, Logitech. Wise up!

So we throw out our SBTs from 2010 and you use KLS3 speakers from 1994?

Good gear is good gear. To approximately quote Julian Vereker talking about upgrading a very long time ago, "last year's Porsche is still a very good car".

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by Richard

So we throw out our SBTs from 2010 and you use KLS3 speakers from 1994?

Good gear is good gear. To approximately quote Julian Vereker talking about upgrading a very long time ago, "last year's Porsche is still a very good car".

Sorry, for some reason I’ve only just seen this.

Yes, SBT’s are old hat and provide substandard performance in terms of available streaming sound quality. All you have to do is visit a dealer and sample current streamers to realise how substandard the SBT is. Thereafter, you can replicate what you heard at the dealer for a fraction of the price with a RPi based system. Specifically I would advocate looking at HiFiBerry and Allo.com based systems. There are many options out there, all worth exploring. They all outperform the SBT significantly regardless of whether special PSU’s are used. If your ears are good, you’ll realise it instantly.

Streaming services are important. These are only relevant if you want to have access to a multitude of music files, thus expanding your knowledge and listening experience. You don’t need this service if all you want to do is listen to your albums you have ripped, but that would be a great shame as you can listen to almost anything you want to explore with a streamed service. I have used both Tidal and Qobuz and after a couple of years of comparison, I’ve settled with my preference, Qobuz.

You’ll benefit using an operating system. There are many free options to choose from such as Volumio. All good but a little clunky. Alternatively, invest in Roon. It is well worth the outlay and makes cruising the music fields a great experience. I bought a lifetime membership a while back when it was very affordable. Even at the current price of £700 it is good value. Compare the price with what you might spend on a quality CD player, it’s an absolute bargain. If you want Roon lifetime membership, sign up soon as from what has been said on the Roon forum, it’ll not be around for much longer.

Really, if you are still messing about with a SBT, you could do much better.

As for Richard’s comment on my use of WAD’s 1994 KLS3 speakers, what has changed in speaker design since 1994? Speaker design has generally remained the same over the last 26 years. There are innovative speakers like Devialet Phantoms which are science bending cutting edge technological developments, but sorry, having listened, I don’t like the artificial sound. The carbon fibre drivers in my speakers are still current production. I have been smart enough to upgrade the tweeter with a SEAS current production model. Therefore, as not a lot has happened in speaker development, mine are pretty much at the cutting edge of best competent performance. They sound real and are completely up to date. Nothing to do with 1994. They are 2020 speakers and I love them!

[Richard]

Hi Greg,

I know you love your speakers which is why I found the irony a bit confusing.

I’m not sure who/what the rest of your post’s about but, if it was to me, SBT is fine at the moment thanks.

Maybe you could post a new thread about how to stream music from the web, the gear, setting up, services, costs, accounts, benefits etc.

[colin.hepburn]

Originally Posted by Richard

Hi Greg,

I know you love your speakers which is why I found the irony a bit confusing.

I’m not sure who/what the rest of your post’s about but, if it was to me, SBT is fine at the moment thanks.

Maybe you could post a new thread about how to stream music from the web, the gear, setting up, services, costs, accounts, benefits etc.

Yes, I for one would be interested in this as you will see from my post.


Hi Greg/Richard
I was thinking about trying out streaming music but sound quality kind of puts me off although I do stream moves now. But the sound quality is not so much of an issue with moves but is not bad with a good film

My first thoughts are that I don’t want high priced subscription charges. I like to own my music on hard copy really but I admit I am old school when it comes to that so never bothered looking into streaming but can now see some off the advantages’ of it today

Right so as I know nothing about streaming it would need to be affordable but good sound quietly and DIY. on that it seems the raspberry pi would be the way to go. judging from some on here and others online so what can anyone tell me about this system like what is needed for it to work and also what streaming service are availably Volumio seems to be chosen a lot with this system it also has to be cost-effective for me to dip a toe in
Thank
Colin

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by Richard

Hi Greg,

I know you love your speakers which is why I found the irony a bit confusing.

I’m not sure who/what the rest of your post’s about but, if it was to me, SBT is fine at the moment thanks.

Maybe you could post a new thread about how to stream music from the web, the gear, setting up, services, costs, accounts, benefits etc.

Sorry, what irony are you referring to? It might be irony to you, but certainly not for me. I’ve even explained it for you.

Good that your SBT presently satisfies you. There is no problem with that other than it is a pity because you could do so much better for relatively little outlay. I don’t believe your ‘who/what the rest of your post’s about’ statement. You are more astute than that suggests. It’s your choice. You can stick with your substandard SBT or move on. Sure it sounds fine but does not reveal the realism, fine detail and musical nuances a better product will, and certainly can’t facilitate the best performance of current streaming services.

If you don’t have a friend who is using quality streaming, I suggest you visit a dealer to see what streamers are currently available. You’ll be gobsmacked at the prices. I’ve listened to units priced at £17K and consider what I had at home was as good, but at least it will start your educational process.

Thereafter, as a starter, explore the use of a cheap Raspberry Pi based system, backed up with boards from HiFIBerry or Allo.com. I seem to be repeating myself because you claim not to understand

There is no need for me to start a thread on how to do this. All the information you need is readily available on the web, particularly on hi-fi forums. Here’s an example....

https://theaudiostandard.net/thread/4216/volumio

There are plenty more if you would care to search for them.

Incidentally, I’ve moved on long ago from a RPi system. They are great because they are so cheap. In the meantime I had a microRendu which was much better and now only have a wired network connection into my Devialet 250 using Roon supplied by Qobuz. Top high resolution sound with effortless service. Qobuz is about £180 a year offering you a library of sound you could never completely listen to in your lifetime. It has changed my listening. I always used to listen to music I knew. Now I will select anything regardless of whether I know it or not. The consequence is that my actual library is expanding all the time. There is much I start to listen to that I readily reject after a few minutes, but there is much I love to keep for the future. Anyway, I have found with a good set-up, random listening is just fine in itself.