Article: The Complete Guide To HiFi UPnP / DLNA Network Audio

[Superdad]

Nice and concise guide Chris. Sure beats piecing together the puzzle from Wikipedia and various UPnP/DLNA product vendors!

 

A few random questions:

 

1) Is the Cisco SG200-26 switch you recommend a fanless design? I am looking for a modestly priced managed gigabit switch to replace my old Asante 10/100. But it has to reside in my studio so no fans allowed.

 

2) You stated that "A recent update to the JRemote application enables an iPad or iPhone to become a lossless Media Renderer by streaming audio from the JRMC Media Server directly to the iDevice without transcoding into MP3."

I used to have fun sometimes hooking up a Devilsound DAC that Jonathan gave me to my first gen iPad with the Camera Connection Kit (then an iOS update made the iPad query USB power usage and reject the Devilsound; but it still can work with a powered hub).

If JRemote is allowing iPads to act as a renderer--accepting files up to what resolution?--then how about trying to run that out to a DAC via the CCK USB adapter? That could be VERY cool. An iPad as Control Point and Renderer feeding a high-end DAC!

 

3) It seems a shame that Apple keeps locking down the DAAP protocol and keeping out third parties, because iTunes is still one of the best library curation/player interfaces. And according to your survey of UPnP AV Media Server software, solutions for OS X are still very thin on the ground. Any thoughts on this, other than waiting for JRiver Mac to mature a bit?

 

4) Does the Linn Songbox/Kinsky combo work only with Linn renderers? I ask because they have an OS X version and the interface is probably pretty refined.

 

Thanks again,

ALEX

[Superdad]

 

You're right the Kinsky iPad controller is Linn-centric, but I would encourage non-Linn owners to check it out; I use it regularly to control my MinimServer-PS Audio dac combo. PlugPlayer devotes so much of its iPad screen real estate to a big album cover that there is little room for information about the music, hence the annoying scrolling display. Kinsky gives a much more legible display--particularly important for classical music. I don't think MinimServer is hard to set up on Mac or PC, and you get more control over how your information is display than most apps offer. (Yes, the Synology version is perhaps not for novices due to the complexities of getting Java on the NAS.)

David

 

David: That's the sort of on-the-ground info I'm looking for! To get me to go from library curation/management in iTunes to some clunky DLNA-based server interface is going to take a lot of convincing. I think I once saw the Linn Songbox server, but it was in a system with a Linn renderer. It's good to know that Kinsky can act as a control point for other servers (MinimServer in your case), but can you tell me if Songbox is agnostic to when it comes to what renderers it serves? It should be if it is true to the DLNA standards, but then again, it is a Linn product.

[Superdad]

QUESTION - Has anbody had any success connecting an iPad mini to a USB to SPDIF converter?

 

You have to go through a powered USB hub to get iPads to talk to an audio device these days. I don't have time to look up the spec, but Apple changed the requirements (or should I say realized that they were not querying the USB device per spec standards in the first iPad iOS) about 5 months after iPad gen one came out.

[Superdad]

Superdad, were are you getting your info??? because it's not correct!

 

First it has to do with the current draw of the device. All USB devices declare their current usage from the 5V VBUS. If they exceed the usage from an IOS device it will require a powered HUB.

 

Software wise the IOS devices have (and always had) the same capabilities as the OSX partners. They will require with some usages the Apple Authentication Protocol to work correctly.

 

Thanks,

Gordon

 

Hi Gordon:

I guess I was being too brief and did not explain the technical aspects well (partly because I don't know them as well as someone like yourself, and partly because I was in a hurry and did not look up the correct way to say it). While yes, all proper USB devices declare their current requirement when first connected (although I have been told that for the first seconds they draw very little while negotiating), when the iPad and Camera Connection Kit first came out, iOS was willing to allow the iPad to supply enough current for me to run one of the early versions of the Devilsound DAC without using a powered hub. I even took the iPad/CCK combo with me to the Rocky Mountain Fest one year and plugged into some other DACs while visiting rooms.

 

After the first iOS update for iPad Gen. 1 (would that have been from 4.x to 5.x?), direct connection of the Devilsound DAC stopped working (the usual message about the device drawing too much). Of course it works fine via a power hub as you say, but the fun of walking around with a cordless, digital out music player is gone. And why didn't the CCK USB never work with the iPhone for audio?

[Superdad]

Chris: You might want to add Resolution Audio's Cantata Music Center to the list of really hi-fi DLNA renderers. I am pretty sure Jeff Kalt got DLNA running on it late last year. The whole product is very nicely executed--and it has those lovely PCM1704s...

[Superdad]

It's really impossible to compare the sound quality because each renderer and USB DAC are different.

Haven't checked out the sending 24 bit PCM part yet.

 

Well Chris, one close to valid comparison you could make would be between the Sonore Rendu's S/PDIF output versus the very best USB>S/PDIF converter you have on hand (perhaps the Berkeley)--both feeding the same DAC. Even closer might be to compare the Rendu via DLNA versus Sonore's own USB>S/PDIF converter since the two units likely utilize the same I2S>S/PDIF output circuitry (and the same power supplies).

 

Of course even in these cases you would be comparing the SQ of one specific renderer board versus one specific USB board, so the results would not be a universally valid referendum on DLNA/Ethernet versus USB.

 

Also a lot of variables potentially exist in the available software paths. I suppose its fine if you just use JRiver. But once you allow in other great USB players such as Audirvana Plus, the playing field of real-world advantages quickly gets tilted.

[Superdad]

Just wanted to let you guys know that after quite a lot of tweaking I got my Resolution Audio Cantata working wirelessly with UPnP. Here's my chain:

Win7 64 bit PC (on 24/7)>foobar2000 UPnP server (from bubbleguuum)>Netgear R4500 (router)>Netgear WNCE4004 (wireless adapter)>RA Cantata

I'm using UPnPlay as Controller.

This way I'm able to use it similar to the way I've been using my SB Touch.

Now I'll compare with the Touch to see which of both fares better. Will be using stock USB cable on Touch and Rosewill Cat7 ethernet cable on Cantata.

Let's see how that goes.

Best regards

 

 

I look forward to hearing your impressions! I know the Cantata is a great DAC/CDP just on its own. Jeff did s terrific job with it. And its about the nicest looking PCM1704 DACs still made. I tried to get a friend of mine to buy a Cantata. Would have been perfect for his set-up.

 

I probably asked you this before, but have you tried it with the RA Pont Neuf USB>Ethernet adapter?