stream via DLNA, Bluetooth, AirPlay or otherwise...to this component?

[riotubes]

Hi,

First post here, and I'd like to solicit advice as I'm way out of my element.

I have purchased a NAD D 7050, a digital amp capable of receiving stream from DLNA server or, alternatively, an iDevice via AirPlay or Bluetooth aptX.

Current setup:

- I have a 64-bit, win7 PC

- ASUS RT-AC66U router / Time Warner High Speed Cable

- External USB HDD with music library consisting of FLAC and WAV files

- Sonos app on Win7 pc through which I play my music library, Spotify and radio to..

- Sonos soundbar in media room

- iPad Air with Sonos app

- I do have Logitech Media Server 3.7.7 and squeezelite installed, but not in use

 

New Equipment for playback in different room:

NAD D 7050 digital amp

Gallo Strada IIs

iPad Air as control point

NAD D 7050 specs:

up to 24/192 via digital audio input; 24/96 via computer/type B USB

The NAD is capable of DLNA/UPnP rendering.

Alternatively, one can stream from an iPad via AirPlay (limited to 16/44 !!) or aptX Bluetooth. I have a Q out to NAD as to whether the NAD can decode aptX Lossess or Enhanced aptX which can decode bit-depth and sampling rates higher than 16/44.

 

Goals:

- wireless

- use iPad Air as control point capable of playing music library, spotify, radio

- 24/192kHZ if possible

- utilize existing Win7 pc if possible

- Whereas I am not concerned about SQ on the sonos system, I want highest possible SQ in this Strada/NAD system

Concerns:

- I've heard DLNA control points like PlugPlay are not as bug free and slick as iPeng

- I do get wifi in the room designated for new system, but is far from the router and not consistent...but good most of the time

 

I'm really out of my element here, and would appreciate your advice. Thanks!

[realhifi]

Hi,

First post here, and I'd like to solicit advice as I'm way out of my element.

I have purchased a NAD D 7050, a digital amp capable of receiving stream from DLNA server or, alternatively, an iDevice via AirPlay or Bluetooth aptX.

Current setup:

- I have a 64-bit, win7 PC

- ASUS RT-AC66U router / Time Warner High Speed Cable

- External USB HDD with music library consisting of FLAC and WAV files

- Sonos app on Win7 pc through which I play my music library, Spotify and radio to..

- Sonos soundbar in media room

- iPad Air with Sonos app

- I do have Logitech Media Server 3.7.7 and squeezelite installed, but not in use

 

New Equipment for playback in different room:

NAD D 7050 digital amp

Gallo Strada IIs

iPad Air as control point

NAD D 7050 specs:

up to 24/192 via digital audio input; 24/96 via computer/type B USB

The NAD is capable of DLNA/UPnP rendering.

Alternatively, one can stream from an iPad via AirPlay (limited to 16/44 !!) or aptX Bluetooth. I have a Q out to NAD as to whether the NAD can decode aptX Lossess or Enhanced aptX which can decode bit-depth and sampling rates higher than 16/44.

 

Goals:

- wireless

- use iPad Air as control point capable of playing music library, spotify, radio

- 24/192kHZ if possible

- utilize existing Win7 pc if possible

- Whereas I am not concerned about SQ on the sonos system, I want highest possible SQ in this Strada/NAD system

Concerns:

- I've heard DLNA control points like PlugPlay are not as bug free and slick as iPeng

- I do get wifi in the room designated for new system, but is far from the router and not consistent...but good most of the time

 

I'm really out of my element here, and would appreciate your advice. Thanks!

 

Simple.

 

1) Purchase and download Asset UPnP server software from the web onto computer with your music on it.

2) Purchase an AirPort Express ( if not two).

3) Set one of the AirPort Express's up maybe 3/4 of the distance from your router to the

Room you want to stream to.

4) Use a second AirPort Express in your room with NAD if you want to hardwire NAD to your network (sort of).

5) Try Plug Player or Kinsky apps on iPad.

[riotubes]

Thanks David. Two Qs: are the use of the aiport expresses simply to ensure more stable wireless? In other words, if the NAD were in the same room as the server and router, would these not be needed? Do any of these iPad control point options support gapless playback?

[realhifi]

Thanks David. Two Qs: are the use of the aiport expresses simply to ensure more stable wireless? In other words, if the NAD were in the same room as the server and router, would these not be needed? Do any of these iPad control point options support gapless playback?

 

Yes.

If they were in same room they would not be needed. You wrote that the wifi was spotty, thus the recommendation for the AE.

 

Yes. It depends more on the ability of the NAD to render gapless. The asset UPnP will do gapless. If you need it that is.

[Cebolla]

Do any of these iPad control point options support gapless playback?

Yes. It depends more on the ability of the NAD to render gapless. The asset UPnP will do gapless. If you need it that is.

For gapless support under standard UPnP/DLNA it actually depends on both the renderer's and control point's ability to support gapless. The UPnP/DLNA server, such as Asset UPnP, isn't really involved in the gapless support mechanism, apart from providing the music files in exactly the same way as it would for non-gapless playback situations.

 

To answer the specific question as to whether the PlugPlayer app supports gapless under standard UPnP/DLNA, the answer is no. The Kinsky app can facilitate gapless playback, but only when used with non-standard UPnP/DLNA renderers that support Linn UPnP extensions, aka OpenHome Media (ohMedia).

 

There are currently no third party standard UPnP/DLNA control point iOS apps that support gapless playback. Android apps don't fair that much better, as there's currently only one third party UPnP/DLNA control point that supports gapless for those devices, the excellent BubbleUPnP app.

 

Most apps designed for their own network audio players support gapless playback, but either use their own proprietary mechanism or cannot be used with other manufacturers' UPnP/DLNA renderers. However, there's one iOS app, intended for German manufacturer's devices, Audionet, that does support gapless under standard UPnP/DLNA and can be used by other manufacturers' devices.

 

I'm not familiar with the NAD D 7050, so don't know if it supports gapless playback under UPnP/DLNA, anyway. Doesn't it come with its own NAD app for network streaming?

 

BTW, in what way do you wish to use your existing W7 PC?

[riotubes]

Thanks Cebolla for the education on DLNA. The 7050 is presently enroute, but I have read other user posts which suggest that NAD did not create its own control point for use with DLNA.

 

My plan for the Win7 pc is as use for music library mgt via LMS or JRMC, ripping and storage via external USB HDD. I also use this pc to manage a sonos system.

 

I have read that when JRMC is configured as a DLNA server that JRemote can play gapless. I have been reading a lot of folks' feedback on various forums that these DLNA control points are sluggish, sometimes buggy and generally not as functional as something like iPeng. The one exception seems to be JRemote which people rave about, although technically it is not a control point but rather a remote controlling MC..as I understand it.

 

I don't know if the 7050 supports gapless playback. I will ask NAD.

 

Previously in this thread, it was recommended that I use a few airport expresses to improve the wifi range. I was hoping to avoid pulling CAT6 cable, but I think I will do that, or use powerline wifi. That begs the Q as to whether powerline protocol limits audio to 16/44? My concern with airport express is it limits to 16/44 and I would like to play 24/96 or 24/192. I think the NAD will support these, since the specs indicate that it will play 24/96 via USB and 24/192 via digital input.

 

I'm leaning towards trying three different setups: (1) JRiver configured as DLNA with JRemote, (2) Stream from PC (Logitech Music Serve) to an iPad via iPeng and then, in turn, to NAD via Airplay; however, AirPlay is limited to 16/44.

The vast majority of my library is 16/44 but it would be nice to be able to play other material, or (3) If the wifi range just doesn't do it, then the 7050 has an Ethernet port. In this 3rd scenario, would I control playback via something like iPeng if I was using LMS on the Win7 pc, or otherwise?

 

I would appreciate feedback on the above approaches, or suggestions on a better way. Thanks

[timwsiy]

Hi,

 

I am in a similar situation as I recently purchased the D7050 and I am in the process of trying to find the best option for DLNA playback. My music library is located on a Win7 PC. I have the D7050 hard wired via Ethernet so no wireless to contend with other than the controller piece (when not pushing from the PC). I would like to use a combination of iPad and Android apps to control things (iPad isn't always available). NAD, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have any sort of DLNA app available. I currently have foobar, JRMC, and Asset installed on my PC.

 

So far, I have been able to get JRMC working with the D7050 but not without issues. Under the DLNA server settings, it doesn't work when trying to force a particular bit depth or sample rate if the sample rate is set higher than 48kHz for some reason. So, I have it set to "Original" under Audio - Mode. That seems to be working well for streaming up to 24/96. 24/192 doesn't work (perhaps 96kHz max for DLNA on the D7050?) and oddly 24/88.2 doesn't work either even though that appears to be a supported format by the NAD. The JRiver Gizmo Android app works okay (albeit limited functionality) and the JRemote app on the iPad works well although both can be sluggish and at times buggy such as when skipping ahead, they just seem to freeze up so I have to skip back and then ahead a second time to get it to work. That happens primarily with Gizmo. I have been experiencing some quirky behavior such as some tracks on a playlist repeating twice before advancing to the next track or no advancement at all (plays one song and then stops). I have been playing around with various settings but haven't been able to resolve those issues yet. They don't appear to be related to the controller apps. Any suggestions on troubleshooting would be very welcome.

 

I have the foobar UPnP (bubleguuum) component installed but haven't been successful in getting it to work. It "sees" the D7050 but I haven't been able to get anything to stream to it yet from foobar. Not sure what the issue is there. It says "buffering" but then just appears to stop. I haven't tried using Asset yet. I have only used that with my Oppo BDP-83 acting as the media player so will need to get a controller app for use with the D7050. Sounds like BubbleUPnP is the way to go for Android and PlugPlayer for iPad? Or are there other options that people here recommend?

 

Thanks,

Tim

[Cebolla]

I have read that when JRMC is configured as a DLNA server that JRemote can play gapless. I have been reading a lot of folks' feedback on various forums that these DLNA control points are sluggish, sometimes buggy and generally not as functional as something like iPeng. The one exception seems to be JRemote which people rave about, although technically it is not a control point but rather a remote controlling MC..as I understand it.

Yes, it is unfortunate that controlling UPnP/DLNA renderers is a bit hit and miss, especially with third party controllers. It doesn't help that it's often not obvious where problems might be occouring as it's working with many interfaces and devices, with no one system being exactly the same as another. It's small wonder that proprietary systems such as Sonos or even Logitech Squeezebox with iPeng behave so much better, as it's easier to concentrate efforts on perfecting a closed system than a more open one.

 

JRiver's DLNA control point comes bundled with MC, along with its DLNA server (and built-in DLNA renderer). I ceatainly agree that the JRemote app for JRMC is more like a remote control than a true DLNA controller. This is because you are selecting and playing the music indirectly, by accessing the actual DLNA control point running as part of JRMC on the computer, by remote control. This is ok if the computer will always be available when playing music, because that's where the music files are stored and/or it's also where the UPnP/DLNA server is running. However, for those that are running their UPnP/DLNA servers and have music storage on other networked devices (such as a NAS), having to have a computer switched on too just to run the UPnP/DLNA control point, is not so ideal.

 

 

 

I Previously in this thread, it was recommended that I use a few airport expresses to improve the wifi range. I was hoping to avoid pulling CAT6 cable, but I think I will do that, or use powerline wifi. That begs the Q as to whether powerline protocol limits audio to 16/44? My concern with airport express is it limits to 16/44 and I would like to play 24/96 or 24/192. I think the NAD will support these, since the specs indicate that it will play 24/96 via USB and 24/192 via digital input.

I believe the suggestion of using several Airport Expresses was to provide multiple WiFi points in an attempt to maximise the wireless coverage, since an ideal WiFi network setup should be able to cope the hi-res audio file streaming, even 24/192. The fixed 16/44.1 resolution only applies if you are using the Airport Express as an AirPlay streamer, one of its other functions, which I don't think is relevant to your situation (since your NAD already supports AirPlay).

 

Certainly powerline adapters are worth considering as an alternative to WiFi. They can be a bit of a compromise in that you have to use an ethernet cable to connect your network device to the powerline adapter that's plugged into a (hopefully) nearby electrical power socket. They are usually considered more reliable than WiFi, with more chance of getting a decent network speed (if not close to the device's specified maximum), than using the wireless network. In an ideal situation, you should certainly be able to stream 24/192 res audio files using these adapters. Don't forget you'll still going to need WiFi coverage wherever you are intending to use a wireless device (eg iPad) to control your music playing from, though!

 

Other UPnP/DLNA servers to consider apart from JRiver and Asset UPnP are Minimserver and Foobar2000 with the foo_UPnP plugin component. The foo_UPnP component provides the Fb2k music player software with UPnP/DLNA control point (and renderer) as well as a server, similar to JRiver. You can also turn the Logitech Media Server into a UPnP/DLNA server by installing the UPnP plugin. Unfortunately, I don't think this allows you to use iPeng to use LMS to stream to UPnP/DLNA renderers. However, I believe the UPnP plugin does allow you to use a standard UPnP/DLNA control point to stream from any UPnP/DLNA server to SqueezeBox devices!

[Cebolla]

Hi,

 

I am in a similar situation as I recently purchased the D7050 and I am in the process of trying to find the best option for DLNA playback. My music library is located on a Win7 PC. I have the D7050 hard wired via Ethernet so no wireless to contend with other than the controller piece (when not pushing from the PC). I would like to use a combination of iPad and Android apps to control things (iPad isn't always available). NAD, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't have any sort of DLNA app available. I currently have foobar, JRMC, and Asset installed on my PC.

 

So far, I have been able to get JRMC working with the D7050 but not without issues. Under the DLNA server settings, it doesn't work when trying to force a particular bit depth or sample rate if the sample rate is set higher than 48kHz for some reason. So, I have it set to "Original" under Audio - Mode. That seems to be working well for streaming up to 24/96. 24/192 doesn't work (perhaps 96kHz max for DLNA on the D7050?) and oddly 24/88.2 doesn't work either even though that appears to be a supported format by the NAD. The JRiver Gizmo Android app works okay (albeit limited functionality) and the JRemote app on the iPad works well although both can be sluggish and at times buggy such as when skipping ahead, they just seem to freeze up so I have to skip back and then ahead a second time to get it to work. That happens primarily with Gizmo. I have been experiencing some quirky behavior such as some tracks on a playlist repeating twice before advancing to the next track or no advancement at all (plays one song and then stops). I have been playing around with various settings but haven't been able to resolve those issues yet. They don't appear to be related to the controller apps. Any suggestions on troubleshooting would be very welcome.

 

I have the foobar UPnP (bubleguuum) component installed but haven't been successful in getting it to work. It "sees" the D7050 but I haven't been able to get anything to stream to it yet from foobar. Not sure what the issue is there. It says "buffering" but then just appears to stop. I haven't tried using Asset yet. I have only used that with my Oppo BDP-83 acting as the media player so will need to get a controller app for use with the D7050. Sounds like BubbleUPnP is the way to go for Android and PlugPlayer for iPad? Or are there other options that people here recommend?

 

Thanks,

Tim

It is unfortunate that there doesn't seem to be a supplied app with the NAD to control network streaming, which does mean a bit of trial and error finding a suitable third party control point to use.

 

Have you tried streaming with different hi-res audio file types? It may help to use an uncompressed type such as WAV or may be transcode the original file to WAV (if that's possible in JRiver). I know that you can set the foo_UPnP server to do that, so that might help with the strange "buffering" issue in Foobar2000. Bubbleguuum, the developer of foo_UPnP, is quite approachable on the Fb2k's Hyrogenaudio forums, so is worth contacting, at:

foo_upnp - Hydrogenaudio Forums

 

Definitely can recommend the BubbleUPnP control point app for Android (also by Bubbleguuum). It will be worth testing to see how the free version of it gets on with using the JRiver DLNA server & foo_UPnP server to stream to the NAD.

 

BTW, Have you tested the D 7050's gapless playback support when network streaming?

[timwsiy]

I've done some further testing of different DLNA server settings in JRMC 19 so providing an update on that. Only 24/48, 16/48, 24/44.1, or 16/44.1 work when attempting to force conversion to a single bit depth/sample rate combo ("Specified output format" in JRMC). Setting JRiver to "Original" works for files sent at up to 24/96 except it doesn't work for 24/88.2 files for some reason. 24/176.4 and 24/192 also don't work when set to Original so I am guessing the D7050 is limited to 24/96 via DLNA but that doesn't explain the failure of 24/88.2 to work.

 

When setting it to Specified output format, songs frequently get repeated one time before progressing to the next track. It does not do gapless playback under these settings. When setting it to Original, playback stops completely after each track requiring manual advancement to the next track. Very frustrating and I can't figure out what would cause that behavior. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

When my iPad is connected directly to the USB port, and D7050 source set to Dock, it works very well using JRemote app (set to not convert to MP3) on the iPad. No quirky behavior and yes gapless playback! Only downside is that it is limited to 24/96 and of course the iPad is tethered so can't use it away from the D7050. I don't have a whole lot of source material at a higher sample rate and this isn't my main listening setup so I can live with that limitation. Still, I would much prefer to get the DLNA option working well.

 

I haven't had time to play around further with Foobar and foo_UPnP or with Asset. Hopefully will have some time this coming week. Cebolla, thanks for the advice and recommendation of BubbleUPnP. I will give it a try.

[riotubes]

timwsiy, thanks for the feedback on your experience thus far. I have a feeling that 24/96 is max via DLNA but I'll confirm this with NAD today and report back. For an alternative to DLNA until you work that out (but only up to 16/44), you could install Logitech Media Server (free) on your server and then use iPeng on iPad or Squeezepad on Android (in-app purchase to make use of iPeng-player) and then stream to the 7050 via AirPlay if using the iPad (16/44 lossless) or aptX Bluetooth via Android. Mine is not set up so I have not tried this, but this was suggested as something to try. No high rez, but many report that iPeng/SqueezePad are vastly superior to the DLNA control points at this time.

[timwsiy]

timwsiy, thanks for the feedback on your experience thus far. I have a feeling that 24/96 is max via DLNA but I'll confirm this with NAD today and report back. For an alternative to DLNA until you work that out (but only up to 16/44), you could install Logitech Media Server (free) on your server and then use iPeng on iPad or Squeezepad on Android (in-app purchase to make use of iPeng-player) and then stream to the 7050 via AirPlay if using the iPad (16/44 lossless) or aptX Bluetooth via Android. Mine is not set up so I have not tried this, but this was suggested as something to try. No high rez, but many report that iPeng/SqueezePad are vastly superior to the DLNA control points at this time.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I have used Logitech Media Server with a 2nd gen Squeezebox prior to getting the D7050 and was honestly routinely frustrated with it as it was often very difficult to find specific albums (not listed in the genre where they should be, same album listed twice with some songs in one and some in the other, various artist albums not appearing under the various artist heading, etc.). I have been very happy using Foobar for several years but never as a DLNA server so that is new territory for me. I just recently started testing JRMC as I have heard great things about it. I am hoping one of those two will work out for me but definitely open to other options. I have used Asset with my Oppo BDP-83 via DLNA but that was never a very smooth process, primarily due to limitations of the Oppo. I intend to give that a try with the D7050 but haven't had time to look into what to use as the controller with it on my iPad and Android. I have a fair amount of source material in 24/48 or 24/96 format so really wanting a solution that works for those.

[timwsiy]

I've been testing BubbleUPnP controller app on my Android. So far, this seems to be the best option as it is playing well with both JRMC server and Asset server. Combo with Asset is working very well so far but more testing needed, especially on hi-rez files to confirm they are streaming correctly (converted to 24/96 if above that). Still no gapless playback unfortunately so it appears the D7050 doesn't support that but I think it may have cleared up the issues I was having with repeated tracks or non-advancement to next tracks. Jury is still out but I may have found a winner!

[riotubes]

timwsiy, did you settle on BubbleUPnP and Asset?

 

It took awhile, but I received feedback from NAD on a number of features. I thought I'd share this Q&A in case others are considering the NAD D 7050...

 

1. Does the D7050 support gapless playback via any of the following sources:

 

DLNA/UPnP

AirPlay

AptX Bluetooth

iPad dock

 

NAD: The D7050 doesn't support gapless for any of the above

 

2. When streaming via DLNA, can the 7050 play at bit-depth/sampling rates higher than 24/96kHZ, such as 24/192 or 32/384?

NAD: 48K which is a limitation by Apple module (RioTubes: I'm skeptical of this reply; any thoughts?)

 

3. When streaming via DLNA, can it play 24/88 specifically?

NAD: No.

 

4. Same Q when using the 7050's dock input with iPad. Will it play 24/88, 24/96 and/or 24/192 or just 16/44?

NAD: iPad is limited to 48K

 

5. Regarding its ability to use Bluetooth aptX, will the 7050 only work with the basic aptX codec,or will it also work with "aptX Lossless" or "Enhanced aptX" which can process higher resolution formats (not limited to 16-bit/44.1kHZ like the basic aptX codec)?

 

NAD: Only aptX. Enhanced aptX and aptX Lossless are not features in the D7050. There is no current plans to release an upgrade to included them.

 

6. This is a long shot, but I am wondering if something like squeezelite software (a squeezebox emulator) could be downloaded on the 7050?

NAD: No, this is not possible. Nor are we planning to make it possible in a future upgrade.

[timwsiy]

Sorry for the slow response. I have pretty much settled on BubbleUPnP and Asset although definitely still open to other options and still playing with JRMC when I have time (not much lately). Not sure what the cause was but was never able to resolve the track repeat vs. no advance issue with JRMC. Other than that, I had no complaints with it. BubbleUPnP and Asset seem to let you get deeper into the configuration than what you are able to do with JRMC as the server and associated controllers. Forcing conversion to WAV in Asset seems to be the best option, supporting 24 bit playback, including 24/96 but unfortunately not 24/88. That is the one piece that is still evasive and unfortunately Asset doesn't appear to have any settings that would allow me to force 24/88 down to 24/44 without also restricting 24/96 files. Regarding gapless playback, I concur with NAD's response above for DLNA/UPnP but not with their response on iPad dock which definitely supported gapless playback when I tested it. I have not tested AirPlay or Bluetooth.

[Audio_ELF]

It took awhile, but I received feedback from NAD on a number of features. I thought I'd share this Q&A in case others are considering the NAD D 7050...

I know these are answers from NAD but they don't sound right in some places...

 

1. Does the D7050 support gapless playback via any of the following sources:

 

DLNA/UPnP

AirPlay

AptX Bluetooth

iPad dock

 

NAD: The D7050 doesn't support gapless for any of the above

While UPnP is often not gapless ... I've yet to see any manufacturer manage to screw up gapless with AirPlay or Bluetooth both of which should be a continual stream from the device and so long as that device plays gapless so will the receiver. The iOS connection should work gapless too unless they have implemented it in a strange way.

 

2. When streaming via DLNA, can the 7050 play at bit-depth/sampling rates higher than 24/96kHZ, such as 24/192 or 32/384?

NAD: 48K which is a limitation by Apple module (RioTubes: I'm skeptical of this reply; any thoughts?)

 

3. When streaming via DLNA, can it play 24/88 specifically?

NAD: No.

Blaming support for high res on the "Apple" module is a red-herring. There are a lot of devices offering Apple AirPlay and/or dock connection which also support high red via UPnP. It sounds again like confusion.

 

4. Same Q when using the 7050's dock input with iPad. Will it play 24/88, 24/96 and/or 24/192 or just 16/44?

NAD: iPad is limited to 48K

You could try using the Apple Camera Connection kit to the "computer" USB input see if that works at 24/96

 

5. Regarding its ability to use Bluetooth aptX, will the 7050 only work with the basic aptX codec,or will it also work with "aptX Lossless" or "Enhanced aptX" which can process higher resolution formats (not limited to 16-bit/44.1kHZ like the basic aptX codec)?

 

NAD: Only aptX. Enhanced aptX and aptX Lossless are not features in the D7050. There is no current plans to release an upgrade to included them.

No comment

 

6. This is a long shot, but I am wondering if something like squeezelite software (a squeezebox emulator) could be downloaded on the 7050?

NAD: No, this is not possible. Nor are we planning to make it possible in a future upgrade.

You could use a single board PC such as Beagle Board or the Wandboard (see Community Squeeze project) to add Squeezebox functionality.

 

Eloise

[riotubes]

When my iPad is connected directly to the USB port, and D7050 source set to Dock, it works very well using JRemote app (set to not convert to MP3) on the iPad. No quirky behavior and yes gapless playback! Only downside is that it is limited to 24/96 and of course the iPad is tethered so can't use it away from the D7050.

 

Timwsiy, did you use the stock ipad lightning cable (the one use for charging the battery) when configuring the D7050 for "Dock" source, or do you need a special cable?

[paulkouhan]

Hi,

I use the Nad D7050 with minimserver on a NAS and BubbleUpnp on my android device.

 

First I want to tell the Nad is the best amp I tested this far ! I think it needs high efficient speakers ( mine are 100 dB ).

 

I made some test and find the same results :

 

24/96 is the highest rate that it can get on dlna.

when converting flac to wav on the server 24/96 does not work anymore...

 

I may try asset or using ethernet instead of wifi ?

 

except this issue that works very well !

[Cebolla]

Thanks for testing the NAD D7050's DLNA streaming capabilities. I don't believe anyone's yet confirmed whether it supports gapless playback or not doing so. Have you tested this?

 

It'll definitely be worth testing hi-res network streaming using a wired connection, rather than wireless, for more reliable results.

 

The other thing to bear in mind is that if you are getting the UPnP/DLNA server to transcode hi-res FLAC to WAV, the NAS that it's running on may struggle doing so. This is because its CPU will require the use of the extra processing functions of an FPU (floating point unit, aka maths co-processor). If the CPU hasn't got access to an FPU, the floating point functions required for transcoding hi-res will need to be done in software and possibly cause it resource issues. What NAS are you using, BTW?

[paulkouhan]

I did not find a way to play gapeless ...

 

Concerning the transcoding, I will try with an ethernet connection and, or with my computer as a server.

The NAS I use is QNAP TS119 P II.

 

Yes gapeless would be nice !

[Cebolla]

Indeed, shame about lack of gapless support!

 

I've had a look at the QNAP site to see which cpu the TS119 P II uses and it just says it's a Marvell 2.0 GHz, so can't tell if it has got an FPU or not without the actual CPU model number. You might still be ok to transcode hi-res FLAC files to WAV with it, even if it hasn't got an FPU, since the CPU is quite a fast one.

[JasonSct]

Indeed, shame about lack of gapless support!

 

My D 7050 has the May 2014 firmware (ver 1.63).

 

DLNA gapless playback seems to "work" but with sound quality issues, well, it depends on the brand of media server. It "works" gaplessly using either JRiver MC or Foobar 2000 but both media servers, regardless of music format, result in choppy and clicky sound quality when the second track starts. Using Windows Media Centre it plays with 2 second gaps of silence between tracks yet all of the tracks sound perfect.

 

May I ask someone else with the ver 1.63 firmware to check this out? Either I got a dud unit or the firmware broke it.

Obviously not an issue with everyone else's units running the old firmware.

[timwsiy]

My D 7050 has the May 2014 firmware (ver 1.63).

 

DLNA gapless playback seems to "work" but with sound quality issues, well, it depends on the brand of media server. It "works" gaplessly using either JRiver MC or Foobar 2000 but both media servers, regardless of music format, result in choppy and clicky sound quality when the second track starts. Using Windows Media Centre it plays with 2 second gaps of silence between tracks yet all of the tracks sound perfect.

 

May I ask someone else with the ver 1.63 firmware to check this out? Either I got a dud unit or the firmware broke it.

Obviously not an issue with everyone else's units running the old firmware.

 

I just finished updating to 1.63 firmware and not experiencing the choppy/clicky issue but I am using Asset UPnP with Bubble UPnP as the controller and not getting gapless playback (as expected) so it sounds like the same as your experience using Windows Media Centre.

[JonFo]

Resurrecting old thread to add some important info, as the Google has this thread listed as relevant for 7050-related searches.

 

I have a new D 7050 and I'm on v1.66 firmware (latest as of posting date).

 

First, the DLNA implementation is buggy, with the most serious issue being that it advertises that its capable of gapless play, but when feeding it uncompressed PCM, that's not true and it breaks badly. As described by others, the first track will play fine, the second track starts to get garbled and by the third it's just clicks.

Once it gets to the clicks state, its hosed, and must be cold booted (power plug pull).

 

After many adventures described in this thread over on the JRiver forum Setting up a NAD D 7050 Integrated amp / DLNA renderer with MC, I discovered that if one disables the 'SetNext' support in the DLNA server feeding this client, then it all works well. Still need to force the server to convert any source to 16/44 or 16/48.

 

For instance, with stock Asset and BubleUPnP app, it failed with the sequence I described, but JRiver MC with that command disabled works perfectly. Asset might have a similar setting, haven't checked.

[timwsiy]

Thanks for the updated info! So are you saying that you are getting gapless playback now with MC? I will have to search for that setting in Asset. I don't recall seeing it before but it has been a while since I played around in the settings.

 

 

Resurrecting old thread to add some important info, as the Google has this thread listed as relevant for 7050-related searches.

 

I have a new D 7050 and I'm on v1.66 firmware (latest as of posting date).

 

First, the DLNA implementation is buggy, with the most serious issue being that it advertises that its capable of gapless play, but when feeding it uncompressed PCM, that's not true and it breaks badly. As described by others, the first track will play fine, the second track starts to get garbled and by the third it's just clicks.

Once it gets to the clicks state, its hosed, and must be cold booted (power plug pull).

 

After many adventures described in this thread over on the JRiver forum Setting up a NAD D 7050 Integrated amp / DLNA renderer with MC, I discovered that if one disables the 'SetNext' support in the DLNA server feeding this client, then it all works well. Still need to force the server to convert any source to 16/44 or 16/48.

 

For instance, with stock Asset and BubleUPnP app, it failed with the sequence I described, but JRiver MC with that command disabled works perfectly. Asset might have a similar setting, haven't checked.