@mapman - that’s the start - sounds easy enough
- it’s the "go from there" part that I am talking about.
A pretty effective USB cable is this one from Ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HiFi-Power-Supply-Audio-Signal-Splitter-Cable-USB-DAC-Decoder-Pure-Handmade...
But if you want better sound from a USB solution, then you can get into...
What’s the best software for my computer
- will it provide an intuitive and flexible interface?
- at what cost?
- will new OS releases support my software or is there an upgrade charge?
- then there is the threat of computer virus infections and/or system crashes
- what if I change to a computer with a different OS?
You’ll read about how much better a USB-SPDIF interface is
- which one is a good one?
- what’s a good SPDIF cable for this option?
- what’s a good power supply for the USB-SPDIF interface?
Then you might want to stream high definition 24/192 sample rates - hopefully your choices of gear support this resolution?
etc... etc...the list goes on
These were all the little "issues" I personally thought about and chased down from the many forum postings here on Agon, just to see how good I could get the sound.
So - does the OP really only want to "stream music" or do they want a great "streaming option" that will grow over time?
- I guess that’s the question only the OP can answer :-)
My Bluesound Node 2 provides vastly superior sound to my computer streaming into my Schiit Bifrost DAC via a USB cable.
- I don’t have to think about USB or SPDIF cables
- I don’t have to think about compatibility with the next OS release
- Ripping CD’s is a simple task
- I have the major streaming services built into the Node 2 interface
So for me it’s all about ease of implementation and use...
- easy to use with an adaptable interface
- crash-proof implementation
- immune to computer OS upgrade issues
- multi "platform" support - Windows/apple/android ++++
- great technical support
If the OP wants to store digital content from Ripped CD's or downloads - I use a NAS drive with mirrored drives
- if one disk dies you simply replace it with a new disk
- the software on the NAS drive replicates the data on the good disk onto the newly installed disk automatically
- simple and eficient
I’ve had my Node2 in the system for around 4 years and in that time it has not crashed and I only had to call support once - it was NOT a Node 2 issue - they actually debugged my router for me
If you just wanna stream music from the web regardless of quality - then just buy a USB cable and - BE HAPPY :-)
If you want to atream great sounding music for a relatively small outlay (i.e. compared to some people’s rigs) that will grow over time, is easy to use and immune to OS upgrades
- Get a Bluesound Node 2 or Sonos or another similar streaming device that works off of Ethernet or Wifi
Regards - Steve
- it’s the "go from there" part that I am talking about.
A pretty effective USB cable is this one from Ebay
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HiFi-Power-Supply-Audio-Signal-Splitter-Cable-USB-DAC-Decoder-Pure-Handmade...
But if you want better sound from a USB solution, then you can get into...
What’s the best software for my computer
- will it provide an intuitive and flexible interface?
- at what cost?
- will new OS releases support my software or is there an upgrade charge?
- then there is the threat of computer virus infections and/or system crashes
- what if I change to a computer with a different OS?
You’ll read about how much better a USB-SPDIF interface is
- which one is a good one?
- what’s a good SPDIF cable for this option?
- what’s a good power supply for the USB-SPDIF interface?
Then you might want to stream high definition 24/192 sample rates - hopefully your choices of gear support this resolution?
etc... etc...the list goes on
These were all the little "issues" I personally thought about and chased down from the many forum postings here on Agon, just to see how good I could get the sound.
So - does the OP really only want to "stream music" or do they want a great "streaming option" that will grow over time?
- I guess that’s the question only the OP can answer :-)
My Bluesound Node 2 provides vastly superior sound to my computer streaming into my Schiit Bifrost DAC via a USB cable.
- I don’t have to think about USB or SPDIF cables
- I don’t have to think about compatibility with the next OS release
- Ripping CD’s is a simple task
- I have the major streaming services built into the Node 2 interface
So for me it’s all about ease of implementation and use...
- easy to use with an adaptable interface
- crash-proof implementation
- immune to computer OS upgrade issues
- multi "platform" support - Windows/apple/android ++++
- great technical support
If the OP wants to store digital content from Ripped CD's or downloads - I use a NAS drive with mirrored drives
- if one disk dies you simply replace it with a new disk
- the software on the NAS drive replicates the data on the good disk onto the newly installed disk automatically
- simple and eficient
I’ve had my Node2 in the system for around 4 years and in that time it has not crashed and I only had to call support once - it was NOT a Node 2 issue - they actually debugged my router for me
If you just wanna stream music from the web regardless of quality - then just buy a USB cable and - BE HAPPY :-)
If you want to atream great sounding music for a relatively small outlay (i.e. compared to some people’s rigs) that will grow over time, is easy to use and immune to OS upgrades
- Get a Bluesound Node 2 or Sonos or another similar streaming device that works off of Ethernet or Wifi
Regards - Steve