Bluetooth versus Airplay

[Altoon]

Afternoon all and apologies if the following enquiry is fairly basic, however I'm an old school vinyl and cd audiophile and networking is a mystery to me. As a secondary source of music I'm thinking of subscribing to the lossless streaming service called Tidal. I use Apple devices at home. At the moment the choice seems to be between buying something like an Arcam miniblink and streaming via bluetooth without the aptx codec (as Apple don't support it on the iPad), or getting a much cheaper device such as Neet or Veetop, with an inferior dac chipset, but with the ability to support lossless airplay. Any thoughts on whether it's better to live with the inevitable compression via bluetooth supported by a superior dac, or to use airplay via the inferior dac? Music is to be streamed to a high-end hi-fi set up but I don't expect to recreate what I get from my turntable or SACD player. It's for 'casual' listening. The alternative of course is Spotify with its 320kbps compression.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[Skeptic]

No point in subscribing to a lossless service if you're going to play the music over a lossy connection. (Bluetooth)

If you're considering spending that much on the Arcam Bluetooth hardware, why not get an AirPort Express?

 

Apple AirPort Express Audio Quality

[Altoon]

Good point. I'm committed to Apple anyway and have no intention of moving to Android or PC platforms at any time. Double the price of the Veetop and Neet devices but I assume a much better dac chipset.

[buffalobill]

Apple iTunes, Airport Express and Sony XDR-F1HD radio, marvels of 21st century audio.

[rodrigaj]

I recently set up an Airport Express with Tidal and, as of yesterday, an iPad Mini. Here are some observations:

 

My AE is the model made between 2008 - 2012. Some posters on CA say that that is the best model. The later model has more dropout problems. I did not try the latest model so I can't comment on that.

 

The Airport Utility version that works without dropouts is version 7.6.1. So resist the urge to upgrade firmware on this utility. But if you do, you can downgrade back to 7.6.1. It is one of the few devices that allows this.

 

Finally, I am convinced that Tidal put all of there resources on app development into iOS 8. It is rock solid, and a pleasure to use. I tried them all: Android is not bad, but the rest all seem to be plagued with glitches. I have been amazed at how flawless Tidal works with iPad mini / iOS 8 / Airplay / AE / AU v. 7.6.1.

 

Buy yourself a decent toslink cable and bypass the AE DAC. Bluejeans cable sells a nice one and an adapter plug for the mini plug.

 

If you experience problems it is difficult sometimes to tell if it is Tidal or if it is the AE. My experience is that the very short "hiccups" are AE related and longer dropouts are Tidal related.

 

And of course, you need a robust WIFI setup.

 

Finally, I have been with Tidal since the first day of the USA introduction. I have had many problems, but Tidal seems determined to make it work. There support has been excellent and when I lost service for a one and a half days, they gave me a free week of service.

[buffalobill]

I recently set up an Airport Express with Tidal and, as of yesterday, an iPad Mini. Here are some observations:

 

My AE is the model made between 2008 - 2012. Some posters on CA say that that is the best model. The later model has more dropout problems. I did not try the latest model so I can't comment on that.

 

The Airport Utility version that works without dropouts is version 7.6.1. So resist the urge to upgrade firmware on this utility. But if you do, you can downgrade back to 7.6.1. It is one of the few devices that allows this.

 

Finally, I am convinced that Tidal put all of there resources on app development into iOS 8. It is rock solid, and a pleasure to use. I tried them all: Android is not bad, but the rest all seem to be plagued with glitches. I have been amazed at how flawless Tidal works with iPad mini / iOS 8 / Airplay / AE / AU v. 7.6.1.

 

Buy yourself a decent toslink cable and bypass the AE DAC. Bluejeans cable sells a nice one and an adapter plug for the mini plug.

 

If you experience problems it is difficult sometimes to tell if it is Tidal or if it is the AE. My experience is that the very short "hiccups" are AE related and longer dropouts are Tidal related.

 

And of course, you need a robust WIFI setup.

 

Finally, I have been with Tidal since the first day of the USA introduction. I have had many problems, but Tidal seems determined to make it work. There support has been excellent and when I lost service for a one and a half days, they gave me a free week of service.

 

Be aware, AE will only pass 16/44.1 signal to external DAC. If Tidal has true 24/192 then AE will down-sample.

[Skeptic]

The new design should offer better wireless performance with its simultaneous dual-band design, compared to the older models.

 

Altoon seems to be looking for a device with its own DAC, not a receiver to then hook up an external DAC - though the AirPort Express should offer good performance in both areas.

 

Tidal is only streaming 16/44, so it does not matter that AirPlay only streams 16/44 for music.

[boatheelmusic]

The Airport Express model A1264 (the wall plug-in model tested by Stereophile) has lower jitter than the two newer models. A newer model was tested by CA in these pages and was found to have higher jitter. I have no problems with my A1264s, like Rodrigaj.

 

link:

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/466-measurements-first-and-second-generation-apple-airport-express/

[Skeptic]

Yes, but it offers better analog performance, which is what Altoon is looking for, and any DAC worth its salt will be designed to reject jitter.