2. digital
  3. 153444-117322

Streamers with best apps?

I tried this question on an Australian forum with no luck, so I'm hoping a more audio savvy community might do better. I currently have a Cambridge Audio CXN which as I discovered has 2 hopeless apps when you want to find classical albums saved on Tidal My Collection. So thinking of ditching the CXN and getting another streamer/server , preferably without a DAC as I will be running it through a Pure Audio Lotus DAC 5. Most reviews of streamers seem to focus entirely on sound quality but as I have discovered the apps used are of almost equal importance. I have considered an Elac Discovery DS-S101-G which is controlled by a Roon Essentials app. So first question. Does anyone know how the Essentials app lists classical albums in Tidal My Collection and does it have a search function for the albums saved? Second question what streamers can you recommend that at least are equal and preferably better than the Tidal app which does have a search function but very little logic as to how it lists classical albums. I have thought about the Bryston BDP Pi, Innous Zen mini or an Auralic streamer but know nothing about the usability of their respective apps. So anyone out there who can help.
128x128mazian
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,944 posts
 
wsrrsw
Apple Music and iTunes before that are/were the gold standard.
I couldn't disagree more. iTunes was bloated, restricted, cumbersome software. Once you tried something such as JRiver's Media Center, you'd never go back.

iTunes started as SoundJam. When Apple acquired it, the company actually disabled some of its functionality.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,440 posts
 
Aurender with their proprietary Conductor App...been a very happy user for 6 plus years. 
jwilson4204
1 posts
 
Define 'best'? So many different categories to own the title of best? Playing the odds, an app might be good in 1, or 2 areas and be mediocre in more and terrible at others too...
Sound quality, ease of use/navigation, free or pay, best in a particular genre, idle log off timetables, too many commercials, video availability, downloadable content... These are just a few categories of judgement that would be differently categorized on your priority list than say maybe mine and others. If you list say maybe 3 different categories to be best in, that would give us better parameters to abide by when making the BEST decision (lol, see what I did there in that last sentence?). 
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,005 posts
 
cleeds  I'm a curated and tweaked playlist type and that's what I'd like now (easy to make and edit lists) that high res streaming abounds. Soundiz can export iTunes playlists but only finds music that Qobuz or Tidal has.

Yes iTunes sure has/had it's warts but it worked/s and making playlists where moving items in, out, up down was easy something lacking with Qobuz. 





mazian's avatar
mazian OP
396 posts
 
Thanks guys for your contributions- some useful, some not so much because as far as I know Tidal is the only hi res streaming service available in Australia. Amazon HD and Qobuz are not yet available and may not be in my lifetime as I am 79. In terms of hardware most of the usual suspects were mentioned with their attendant software. However, like many streamer reviews available there was little detail about how the apps handle classical music. I don't know what "integrates well with Tidal" actually means - does it mean you can actually use the Tidal app from an iPhone? As for Roon I know it's reputation but I don't want to pay another annual subscription if I can help it as I don't want much of what Roon provides. My needs are simple, so let me pose more straightforward questions about apps only

1) How do the apps mentioned list classical albums saved in Tidal My Collection? A-Z, artists, soloists, composers etc and are the lists based on last names, first names or as I have seen the first letter that appears on the album? Listing by artist is fine for pop, rock or jazz but it tends to be more complicated for classical albums, as you have composer, soloist, orchestra or conductor to consider.  

2) Is there a search function for Tidal My Collection - not just for the whole Tidal library offering?

I don't think most software engineers have any idea about cataloguing classical music and would benefit greatly from the assistance of professional library cataloguers. If my ideal app is out there I would like to know.

Back to the actual streamers most of those mentioned are on my possible list, although I don't think Bluesound Node 2i quite cuts it even if it is good value for money. Maybe it doesn't matter if it is plugged into a good external DAC. I don't know but I'm sure someone out there has a view.

More to discover