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17 hours ago, Rexp said:

Re SQ using Tidal HiFi, it sounds better than upnp and LMS.

I don't see how that's possible. UPnP goes essentially from my router to my streamer. AirMusic goes from my router, through my phone, to my streamer. I tried AirMusic, streaming YouTube Music. It sounded awful. 

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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On 4/23/2022 at 2:43 AM, Rexp said:

Youtube? lol. Best you try lossless 16/44.1

No, not YouTube, YouTube Music. Regular YouTube is 128kbps AAC. YouTube Music is 256kbps AAC, and comparable in sound quality to Spotify 320kbps MP3.

 

I expect most people who use AirMusic will be playing compressed music files. The YouTube Music app does not go through my LG G8 phone, the phone is strictly a controller. Casting from the phone is clearly inferior. Of course resampling YouTube Music from 48kHz to 44.1kHz in AirMusic didn't help. 

 

I didn't bother to listen to 16/44.1 files because I specifically wanted to try AirMusic with YouTube Music. I could try uncompressed files, but I'm absolutely certain that inserting a mobile phone between my network and exaSound renderer will only do harm. I don't see any potential benefit over the more direct connection via BubbleUPnP. A more interesting test would be AirMusic vs. the BubbleUPnP app in Cast mode.

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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14 hours ago, Rexp said:

Wow you're so stuck in your theory you're not prepared to try it, shame.

OK, I tried it today. AirMusic did indeed do better with 44.1kHz zero compression FLAC than it did with 48kHZ YouTube Music. I also tried 24/88.2, which played back at 44.1. AirMusic was a clear step down in SQ compared to UPnP via BubbleUPnP. With Bubble, soundstage layering was better, sound was smoother, better bass and rhythmic drive.

 

This was not a surprise to me, given the different chains each went through:

AirMusic: wi-fi to LG G8 ThinQ, wi-fi to PlayPoint renderer

UPnP: wi-fi to range extender with LPS, CAT8 to EtherREGEN A side, B-side via Furutech LAN-8 cable to Playpoint.

 

I've uninstalled AirMusic. If for some reason I need to cast through my phone, I will do it via BubbleUPnP in Cast mode. I didn't bother to compare the two.

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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1 hour ago, audiobomber said:

This was not a surprise to me, given the different chains each went through:

AirMusic: wi-fi to LG G8 ThinQ, wi-fi to PlayPoint renderer

UPnP: wi-fi to range extender with LPS, CAT8 to EtherREGEN A side, B-side via Furutech LAN-8 cable to Playpoint.

On further thought, that was wrong. Both systems go through the extender and ER. The only difference is the "mobile phone + AirMusic" vs. BubbleUPnP.

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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14 hours ago, Rexp said:

We're using different phones, mine is a Vivo, Android 11, that could also be a factor..

Could be, but I'm skeptical. I am also on Android 11. The G8 is reputed to be one of the best sounding phones, due to the Quad DAC. Why would going through a non-audio optimized mobile phone be better than bypassing it?

14 hours ago, Rexp said:

Btw do you get gapless playback?

Sorry, can't say. I only had the free version and it started beeping after five minutes, so I only listened to singles.

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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2 hours ago, Rexp said:

Sorry for confusion, I know AirMusic is gapless, I was asking about your upnp set up.

Yes, BubbleUPnP is gapless.

Main System: QNAP TS-451+ NAS > Silent Angel Bonn N8 > Sonore opticalModule Deluxe v2 > Corning SMF with Finisar FTLF1318P3BTL SFPs > Uptone EtherREGEN > exaSound PlayPoint and e32 Mk-II DAC > Meitner MTR-101 Plus monoblocks > Bamberg S5-MTM sealed standmount speakers. 

Crown XLi 1500 powering  AV123 Rocket UFW10 stereo subwoofers

Upgraded power on all switches, renderer and DAC. 

 

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