The Liv wave music server

[MikeJazz]

Interesting Device.

 

Based on a cubox, with customized configuration of LMS,

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5qIMhPfX0c

 

If someone get's hans on one (would be super cool to have a review here in the CA), please give feedback.

 

It's a nice alternative, on a tight budget to the Aries and the Rendu's...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIV-Wave-Hi-Fi-Network-Music-Streamer-for-music-servers-NAS-and-USB-Drives-/261395504414?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

[Man in a van]

Interesting Device.

 

Based on a cubox, with customized configuration of LMS,

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5qIMhPfX0c

 

If someone get's hans on one (would be super cool to have a review here in the CA), please give feedback.

 

It's a nice alternative, on a tight budget to the Aries and the Rendu's...

 

LIV Wave - Hi-Fi Network Music Streamer for music servers, NAS and USB Drives | eBay

 

 

I have been using one for about six weeks now, very friendly support if you need it.

 

Works with a wide selection of DACs; North Starr Essensio, Micromega MyDac and M2Tech hiface Mk 1 and 2 SPDIF.

 

The optical output connection on the cubox is not as secure as it could be and dislodges at the slightest brush, but that's the fault of cubox.

 

Seems best if left powered on (only needs 5v, 2 amps) as I feel it sometimes take a while to reconnect to the network.

 

I use mine mainly for internet radio but do have an external USB drive connected with music files and it plays those fine. I have no high res' stuff though, just vanilla ripped CDs. you can control it with 'phone apps and stuff.

 

It's OK..(don't ask "how it sounds", I just listen to the music lol.)

 

atb

 

Ronnie.

[Audio_ELF]

Just for a balanced assessment...

 

This is (as Mike commented) a Cubox similar to the current CuBox-i2eX model costing around $90 (£54 at current conversion). This appears to be running purely open source software - a similar setup can be achieved with Squeezebox music system - SolidRun CuBox Wiki - with a small web page for easier setup.

 

Eloise

[vortecjr]

Interesting Device.

 

Based on a cubox, with customized configuration of LMS,

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5qIMhPfX0c

 

If someone get's hans on one (would be super cool to have a review here in the CA), please give feedback.

 

It's a nice alternative, on a tight budget to the Aries and the Rendu's...

 

LIV Wave - Hi-Fi Network Music Streamer for music servers, NAS and USB Drives | eBay

 

Mike, I would have a hard time comparing this to a Sonore Rendu. The Sonore Rendu is a different animal. I could see one comparing it to the SOtM sMS-100 even though the LIV-WAVE has less features...

 

Jesus R

[MikeJazz]

Mike, I would have a hard time comparing this to a Sonore Rendu. The Sonore Rendu is a different animal. I could see one comparing it to the SOtM sMS-100 even though the LIV-WAVE has less features...

 

Jesus R

 

Indeed Jesus, I tried to underline the "on a tight budget".

I expect that the SOTM will perform better, especially with power supply, but it's nice to have different solutions at difference price points and targets..

 

On the other hand, with a DAC with good isolation, something like the cubox/liv wave could well be enought...

[woodford]

so maybe i missed something, but the web UI looks like LMS. is Liv using a version of LMS?

[Audio_ELF]

so maybe i missed something, but the web UI looks like LMS. is Liv using a version of LMS?

Yes... Fundermentally its a CuBox with LMS and a software Squeezebox player.

[MikeJazz]

so maybe i missed something, but the web UI looks like LMS. is Liv using a version of LMS?

 

yes, I believe some customization on the web pages and option to access one of their products, a server...

[livconcepts]

Yes... Fundermentally its a CuBox with LMS and a software Squeezebox player.

 

Hi,

 

I represent LIV who produces the LIV Wave. Let me provide a bit more information about the Wave.

 

The Wave is based indeed on LMS 7.8.1 and Squeezelite 1.6. This means not only you can play your stored music but also Internet Radio and online services such as Spotify and Qobuz (requires premium subscription). It now supports playing back DSD as well as PCM up to 24/384KHz. We've built a web user interface which is touch friendly and with minimal options so it's very easy to use. We've added the ability to either connect automatically to another LMS already running in the network (such as our own LIV server or other Vortexbox systems) but also to be able to connect directly to a NAS or to an USB drive. This is done directly from the Web UI and it's quite easy to do. You can also choose easily between the optical and USB outputs.

 

But the real work has been done on the background, which sometimes people don't appreciate. We're not using the Ubuntu distribution that comes with Cubox. We've done a complete Debian-based OS, very lean, with a custom kernel optimised for USB latency. We've solved a number of problems with the Cubox platform such as Squeezelite stopping to play music after a couple of hours. It already includes additional drivers for DACs that don't work with Cubox by default, such as DACs based on the M2Tech Hiface 1 design.

 

You can access the Wave directly by name on the browse, Mac or smartphone/tablet. You don't have this by default and provides a much better user experience.

 

The ultimate goal of the Wave is to be an extremely easy to use streamer for those who don't have the technical skills or time to fiddle with getting it all to work. If you have a Vortexbox based server, you can simply connect an USB DAC, plug to the network and start it up. It's ready to play. If you'd like to use with a NAS or USB drive, the setup is dead easy. It just works.

 

We'll be adding more features in the feature as we added the ability for the system to upgrade via the Web UI.

 

Nuno

[MikeJazz]

Glad to see you here Nuno, hope the orders start to pile up!

 

Now, one interesting suggestion would be to enable the LIV wave as a NAA.

There is exciting stuff going on with Miskas's developments.

Some folks are enjoying HQplayer player and upsampling algorithms, but when I tested I could not make NAA to work on my cubox.

So I guess if you make it work on wave, this could be interesting alternative...

 

You and Miska if you partner, should have great results!

 

Enjoy CA and Welcome!

[livconcepts]

Glad to see you here Nuno, hope the orders start to pile up!

 

Now, one interesting suggestion would be to enable the LIV wave as a NAA.

There is exciting stuff going on with Miskas's developments.

Some folks are enjoying HQplayer player and upsampling algorithms, but when I tested I could not make NAA to work on my cubox.

So I guess if you make it work on wave, this could be interesting alternative...

 

You and Miska if you partner, should have great results!

 

Enjoy CA and Welcome!

 

We might have a go at it, despite being a completely different platform. There's a Debian version for NAA so should be fairly straighforward to adapt to our OS, which is based on Debian.

 

I'm not sure if something like a cubox can handle upsampling to DSD in real-time though I can see the benefit here for having CDs playing in DSD with DSD Dacs (Schiit Loki comes to mind). Not really convinced about upsampling PCM though.

 

As for DRC, Cubox will probably be underpowered. But there are other platforms we could potentially.

 

I'm not too convinced as well for using a TV interface for music. First, we deactivate all video processing so not to interfere with the audio on Cubox. Second, most of the interest has been for audio only controlled via smartphone/tablet.

 

Would there be interest in having a more expensive system (for let's say £500), fanless, with HQPlayer, upsampling and DRC with a TV interface?

[Audio_ELF]

We might have a go at it, despite being a completely different platform. There's a Debian version for NAA so should be fairly straighforward to adapt to our OS, which is based on Debian.

 

I'm not sure if something like a cubox can handle upsampling to DSD in real-time though I can see the benefit here for having CDs playing in DSD with DSD Dacs (Schiit Loki comes to mind). Not really convinced about upsampling PCM though.

 

As for DRC, Cubox will probably be underpowered. But there are other platforms we could potentially.

Nuno ... the concept behind the HQPlayer is that the "heavy" processing (including all up sampling) is done by a higher powered computer; the NAA (your Liv Wave box for example) is then just a dumb interface between the network and the DAC.

 

As a complete aside, another opportunity you might like to look at would be partnering up with Plex and creating a Plex server / ripper (similar to the Vortexbox) and a small Plex HT client based on similar hardware to the LIV Wave.

 

Finally I would like to say that you should make sure you are open about your use of Open Source software and ensure you provide the correct links to the licenses and source code. I have been told I have a one track mind over this - but I think most of your customers will appreciate the honesty while recognising the work you do in configuring the devices.

 

Eloise

[livconcepts]

Nuno ... the concept behind the HQPlayer is that the "heavy" processing (including all up sampling) is done by a higher powered computer; the NAA (your Liv Wave box for example) is then just a dumb interface between the network and the DAC.

 

As a complete aside, another opportunity you might like to look at would be partnering up with Plex and creating a Plex server / ripper (similar to the Vortexbox) and a small Plex HT client based on similar hardware to the LIV Wave.

 

Finally I would like to say that you should make sure you are open about your use of Open Source software and ensure you provide the correct links to the licenses and source code. I have been told I have a one track mind over this - but I think most of your customers will appreciate the honesty while recognising the work you do in configuring the devices.

 

Eloise

 

Hi Eloise,

 

Interesting. Then perhaps the processing could be done in something like our Zen Music Server whilst the Wave would play the music.

 

The Plex Server isn't there yet in terms of the user experience we want to offer, nor does the player part either. There are still lots of usability issues to solve it in order for us to consider it "consumer-grade". For now, our opinion is that it is for enthusiasts only.

 

We have units (the Zen+ Blu-Ray, Spinner and Core) which are based on WHS2011, MyMovies and paired with Dune Media Streamers that do provide a great experience, though at a higher price. However, we are exploring that avenue but we'll need to size the amount of work required to make it consumer-friendly.

 

Happy to discuss options/partnerships via PM.

 

With regards to Open Source, most of the software installed is Open Source done by third parties. Our own code is basically the Web User Interface and we can provide the source as Open Source under GPL3 to anyone who asks. Most of our work is on configuring the kernel, applying patches and configuring the solution.

 

Just like Vortexbox, we provide the glue to make it all a simple solution. Unlike Vortexbox, however, we don't plan to create a generic distro that you can install on multiple devices, it's just too much effort to be worthwhile (particularly for ARM architectures). We'd rather couple the hardware with the software and provide something reliable and ready to use for anyone with the most basic technology skills. No one need to use a command line to use the Wave.

 

We also provide remote support service to our customers to ensure everything is working fine and provide a custom repository for updates which are previously tested in our lab before releasing. Given a standard Cubox is £90 in the UK, we believe that the Wave is reasonably priced at £149 (including free shipping in the UK). As mentioned, if you have the time and the technical skills, you can setup one of these players yourself. It's a great project and we thoroughly recommend it. But some of us just want to enjoy the music rather than sorting out kernel panics or music stuttering.

 

We are considering however producing an image and making that available for free to load on a Cubox. It would likely be a Beta version for community testing and no remote support would be given. However, we'll need to put the infrastructure in place to support this, such as website, forums, beta repositories, building a community, etc. We're a small company, it will take time.

 

 

Nuno

[Man in a van]

Just for a balanced assessment...

 

This is (as Mike commented) a Cubox similar to the current CuBox-i2eX model costing around $90 (£54 at current conversion). This appears to be running purely open source software - a similar setup can be achieved with Squeezebox music system - SolidRun CuBox Wiki - with a small web page for easier setup.

 

Eloise

 

Setting up Squeezebox on one of the many popular (RaspPi, Cubox, Cubietruck, Omroid u3) computers is straight forward to many with Linux experience, for many, it's sometimes a learning curve that requires time and attention that is not always available.

 

For myself, I can hack about and get there in the end, but it's sometimes nice to take advantage (at what I consider a fair price) of those who 'know'.

 

As for a 'web page' interface; forget it!!

 

It might interest you to know that indeed the Cubox from SolidRun is available at a lower cost. I ordered a Cubox-i4Pro at the same time as I ordered the "Wave".

I have had the "Wave" now for about six weeks; I'm still waiting on the Cubox. SolidRun do not seem to understand 'customer support'.

 

Here's my 'Desktop' system, OK it's on the floor at the moment but that will change,

 

http://

 

 

atb.

 

Ronnie

[Conor]

Hi

This seems to be exactly what I need if it will work with an Arcam rDac and a NAS.

 

Can you advise, please?

 

 

QUOTE=livconcepts;322639]Hi,

 

I represent LIV who produces the LIV Wave. Let me provide a bit more information about the Wave.

 

The Wave is based indeed on LMS 7.8.1 and Squeezelite 1.6. This means not only you can play your stored music but also Internet Radio and online services such as Spotify and Qobuz (requires premium subscription). It now supports playing back DSD as well as PCM up to 24/384KHz. We've built a web user interface which is touch friendly and with minimal options so it's very easy to use. We've added the ability to either connect automatically to another LMS already running in the network (such as our own LIV server or other Vortexbox systems) but also to be able to connect directly to a NAS or to an USB drive. This is done directly from the Web UI and it's quite easy to do. You can also choose easily between the optical and USB outputs.

 

But the real work has been done on the background, which sometimes people don't appreciate. We're not using the Ubuntu distribution that comes with Cubox. We've done a complete Debian-based OS, very lean, with a custom kernel optimised for USB latency. We've solved a number of problems with the Cubox platform such as Squeezelite stopping to play music after a couple of hours. It already includes additional drivers for DACs that don't work with Cubox by default, such as DACs based on the M2Tech Hiface 1 design.

 

You can access the Wave directly by name on the browse, Mac or smartphone/tablet. You don't have this by default and provides a much better user experience.

 

The ultimate goal of the Wave is to be an extremely easy to use streamer for those who don't have the technical skills or time to fiddle with getting it all to work. If you have a Vortexbox based server, you can simply connect an USB DAC, plug to the network and start it up. It's ready to play. If you'd like to use with a NAS or USB drive, the setup is dead easy. It just works.

 

We'll be adding more features in the feature as we added the ability for the system to upgrade via the Web UI.

 

Nuno

[livconcepts]

Hi Conor,

 

Yes, the Wave works fine with the Arcam rDAC (as well as the more recent irDAC) and connecting to a NAS.

 

 

 

Hi

This seems to be exactly what I need if it will work with an Arcam rDac and a NAS.

 

Can you advise, please?

[satsurfer]

any more recent info on the Liv Wave, now called Innuos Wave. Unfortunately with a higher price tag. Was 149£, now 179£ :-(

It's very silent here and on the internet...no recent information on google. Still interesting to buy?

 

or buy pioneer streamer with built in dac for 179£ (same price as the Wave)

 

Pioneer N-30-S Network Audio Player with Front USB: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

LIV Wave - Hi-Fi Network Music Streamer for music servers, NAS and USB Drives | eBay

 

Innuos Wave Wireless HiFi Network Music Player for music servers NAS & USB Drive | eBay

 

also not on stock any more.

 

Innuos - Innuos Wave

[satsurfer]

or http://www.teufel.de/raumfeld-audio-streaming/raumfeld-connector-p9527.html

149 €!!! (110£)

 

would use it with external DAC (old Onkyo TX-DS 989)

[Man in a van]

or Raumfeld Connector online kaufen | Teufel

149 €!!! (110£)

 

would use it with external DAC (old Onkyo TX-DS 989)

 

 

I take it you are UK based.

 

If you want to stream any of the BBC iPlayer programmes, then LMS is your best bet, and if you don't want to do it yourself, the Wave is (imho as an owner) an excellent choice.

First rate support, why not contact the company and tell them what you want to do as your questions here don't really detail your expectations or requirements.

[satsurfer]

Thx Man in A van. I'm from Belgium (not UK). Just worried you don't hear for almost a year from this company. I read somewhere the wave is still in Beta.