idiots guide to storing digital music and playing it through a hifi please?

i’m a bit of an audio luddite and just play records don’t really know what the correct terminology is here and so i can’t really search on google, but as most LPs these days come with a download as well i’m interested in ways to play digital music files through my hifi (quad 44/4045-2/celestion 44) and wondered if anyone could tell me the basics of whats around these days to do it.

i’m guessing the options are some sort of wifi/bluetooth dongle and using my ipad, or maybe a hard drive or an old macmini and playing via my ethernet or something with some form of controller?

is there a rasberry pi option?

as you can tell i really don’t know whats available or can be done, and i would also be looking to do it reasonably cheaply so spending thousands on a bit of kit is out (according to the wife).

You just need a computer with an audio jack output (iPad, phone, iMac, laptop, etc).

Connect the computer to the hifi audio in using a phono lead.

Run one of a million music playing apps on said computer (Winamp, iTunes, Spotify ect) and play the music.

We use Spotify / iTunes on our iMac and play it into a Marantz PM6004 amp / MS-15 speakers.

The simple option is to get a powered Bluetooth receiver – simply plug it in to mains power, plug it into the aux in on the amp then pair your bluetooth device. You can also get ones that don’t need mains power (I assume they run on batteries) but I can’t imagine they are as powerful and as it will be in a static place you may as well get the powered version.

You could even just get an aux to aux cable and plug one end in to your iPad (or whatever) and the other into the amp.

With both of these, if you don’t have a 3.5mm aux in on your amp, you may need an adapter like this.

I just plug my phone into the amp and stream spotify, or you could just play iTunes from you iPad.

Or you could get one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet-Wireless-Receiver-wireless-streaming/dp/B00O0U37HO

You have dozens of different options.

If you want good sound quality then you can look at a laptop and USB DAC plugged into a line level input. DAC’s vary widely in price and there is a lot of snake oil out there.

I always recommend this one for VFM. Behringer UCA202 for £24

As above, our windows 10 htpc does everything in this house, with windows Groove music app doing all standard playing duties, Serato DJ doing more specific duties through a Midi controller. Tried all formats of storage, for human ears on domestic hi fi, MP3 – 320kbps at 44.1to 48khz sample rate is indistinguishable from vinyl or CD, even played on a 10k club rig…

i’ve had to pretty much give up listening to music, it all got too complicated.

buy a NAS, fiddle with it, get it working, it stops working, fiddle about with it, helpline, phone a friend, get it working, stops working, buggrit radio4 it is then.

*thread semi-hijack”

I have a Logitech set up working OK through my hifi but only used it occasionally, there seemed to be something up with it, now my NAS seems borked too.

Is there a similar system that can run with an NAS on only (ie not pc) and has a phone app or other decent controller?

https://www.google.com/chromecast/audio/

Interesting, I wonder how the sound quality compares to “proper” hifi, I’ll have a look.

For years i’ve been using :

WD My Cloud NAS > Bubble UPnP > WD TV Live Media Client > Cyrus 8DAC Integrated

works a treat and the network side of it cost very little.
The client has digital outs so I can bypass its probably low quality DAC and use the on board one in the Cyrus (you may wish to add a seperate DAC to get the best out of your Quad)
I can control the client with Bubble UPnP on my smartphone or tablet switching between local libraries on that device, the NAS or any other device on the network.

You might as well store/encode as FLAC, I can’t imagine you’re going to run out of disc space.

Ive got my entire itunes uploaded to both the NAS and to google play music. Theres chromecasts connected to the decent separates amp and to a couple of cheapy micro systems.

You can play to any of them either via google play music, or the NAS, just using clients on a mobile phone.

In reality the NAS copy is just sitting there, its too easy to play it from google.

An audiophile colleague recommended a bluetooth to analogue converter if you want the best sound quality.

http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,rSeries,Wireless-DAC,rblink.htm

Just plug an apple airport express into a vacant input on the back of your amp, then connect from your phone/ipad/iMac as required. Easy enough even I could do it.

For the price of an Airport Express you could get four Chromecast Audio devices and have change left over.

I just use something like this, depending on how long you need it to be.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=UGREEN+RCA+Audio+Cable%2C+3.5mm+Stereo+Jack+to+2+RCA+Phono+Y+Audio+Splitter+Cable

Plu the hadphone jack into the audio out on the PC, and the RCA into the AUX or a spare input on the amp/hi-fi.

i’ve had to pretty much give up listening to music, it all got too complicated.

It’s as complicated as you allow it to be, there are lots of options, mine involves using my 2010 Mac Mini plugged into my old Yamaha a/v amp, which is at least twelve years, probably fifteen years old now, with an optical TOSLINK from the Mac’s headphone socket, (which has an optical out hidden inside) then I just rip CD’s into iTunes at 350Kb AAC and control playback via Remote on either my phone or pad.
AAC/MP4 at 350Kb is, to all intents and purposes, indistinguishable from Lossless/FLAC/CD by a regular human ear, I know because I spent quite some time doing back-to-back comparisons, and decided that 320 is as good as any reasonable person could want.

While that is true for nearly everyone, the way I (deeply indecisive, I) look at it is that 320kbps AAC is nearly the exact same file size as FLAC, so why not store it lossless?

Then if you transcode to a lossy format in the future, you’ll not add-up the damage to the sound! I have gone mp3 to AAC and had it sound weird after 🙁

I have my music stored on a qnap nas and use bubble upnp to stream to my hifi* via a Chromecast audio. Works really well. I should really buy the full version of bubble upnp so that i lose the 15 track playlist limit but don’t want to give Google any payment details.

*marantz pm66ki / mission 773 downstairs, old Sherwood receiver / jpw speakers in bedroom

…it all got too complicated.

…It’s as complicated as you allow it to be, there are lots of options

bought into a wifi speaker system, bought a NAS, can’t get it to work, listen to R4 in the kitchen.

(i do have some music on my phone, which i can play through bluetooth, but only connecting to one speaker at a time)

I should really buy the full version of bubble upnp so that i lose the 15 track playlist limit but don’t want to give Google any payment details.

What do you think they’re going to do with your payment details, buy Greece?

another chromecast user here. can play to any or all of four around the house over wifi simultaneously, plugged into a dab radio, an av amp, and a couple of old compact stereo systems, from either music stored on phone or pc, direct from iplayer ( controled via PC ), or tuneinradio ( from phone ) for live dab.
very convenient and it means i don’t have the tunes whacked up super loud in one room of the house but can hear it everywhere.
every now and then currys sell them at £15/pop.