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Subsonic music streaming app

Do any of you use Subsonic to stream your music from your PC to your iPhone/Pod/Pad? I'm thinking about trying it--$5 for the app and a free 30 day trial for the download ($30 "donation" to keep using it after that). I'm thinking I'll have a sort of DIY Squeezebox, minus the hi res capapbility. If anyone is using it . . .

1) How does it sound playing lossless files?
2) Are there any set up adjustments that will improve audio quality?
3) Any quirks or drawbacks?

FYI, I'll be streaming my music library from my laptop to my iPhone which is docked to a Pure i-20 which sends the pure digital stream to my W4S Dac-1.

Thanks for any guidance!
rosedanny
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
I don't think any of those apps will stream to an Android device via 3/4G except for Subsonic and Audiogalaxy. If there is an app that will do that without transcoding lossless files please do tell!
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
"If there is an app that will do that without transcoding lossless files please do tell!"

Yes! I agree completely--I'm loving the Subsonic streamer to my iPhone. It recognizes my iTunes library, my Winows Media Player library, and my HD Tracks library. I have access to all of my files, but they are 320 mp3s by the time they get to the DAC. Either way, it's a fun thing to do and I'm bitten by the bug. I think I'll get a couple of 1TB hard drives and start ripping CDs seriously using the Computer Audiophile CD Ripping Strategy. BTW, I "donated" 20 euros to Subsonic--I think it's well worth it.
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Richard.
Sindre, the developer of Subsonic, sent me this response when I asked if it was possible to bypass the transcoding of WAV, Aiff, FLAC: "I'm not sure what audio formats the iPhone supports, but to turn off transcoding you go to Settings>Players in the Subsonic web interface, then select the player which corresponds to your iPhone and tick off the transcodings." I tried it last night and the improvement was amazing! I know the iPhone Can't play higher than 16/44, but the WAV files streaming through the DAC sounded as good or better than my CD player!
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
Rosedanny....thanks much for posting that. Sounds like they have added some features because when I was using Subsonic they only had a selection for "higher quality" which was more in the are of 192kbs mp3. I'll download it again and hope I can remember how to get it working. I will gladly drop Audiogalaxy and go back to Subsonic if it can in fact stream flac native! I was hoping JRiver would add it to Gizmo, I think it will stream flac via wireless network now but not cellular like Subsonic or Audioglaxy. Won't work for you though as Gizmo is an Android app.

Thanks again for posting the update! Sindre is a good developer and helped me early on with Subsonic setup. I also made a larger donation:)
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Two things to consider:
1)I don't think there is a flac transcoder. I know for sure there is WAV (the file type I use) and have turned off.
2)I have not used Subsonic outside of my house, so I can't speak to the 3G streaming capabilities--over wi-fi it works without a hitch.

BTW, for some reason, WAV files from my Windows Media Library sound better than WAV files from my iTunes library. Go figure.
Danny
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