Old phones as streaming sources

Good to read - some of - this post, esp. that by the OP.

I’d been using my daughter’s old iPhone 5 for a BT streamer for various internet radio programs like NPR’s Hot Jazz Saturday Night, Radio Bob and Bayern 3 in Germany and several others.

Lately, as I transition to an Android phone ( because I got tired of having Apple’s coders scramble my playlists, contacts and bookmarks. I have Steven Wilson album covers showing up for 1940’s Jazz LPs, for example, folders which normally hold hundreds of songs reduced to four, multiple copies of folders with only partial content in each and worse. The Apple “genius” bar and online help is no help), I’m using my most recent iPhone 13 because I changed the battery and the home button died and replacements don’t work and Apple won’t service old phones) and the sound quality is improved a bit.

While not the same resolution as my TT/vinyl setup, it’s good enough for background sound and allows me to tune into other radio stations like college radio - WTMD -  I can’t get through FM.

FWIW (YMMV) I find it pathetically laughable and sad that with every post like this here on Audiogon and on a handful of other websites the moment someone says “hey, I use this xyz gadget and” some low-T egocentric snob type (no names mentioned or implied directly) jumps in the convo with “well, MINE IS BIGGER, BETTER, the best of the best of the best and you’re a doo-doo head” - not in those exact words, but, while older, the preadolescent/preschool mentality still shines through.

Thanks for sharing, @bruce19

Not sure why so many people get their panties bunched up

by what the OP is doing by re-purposing an old iPhone? I am using an old iPhone SE at the gym by streaming tidal or qubuz on their WiFi. Sounds like my old iPod shuffle but with WAY more music to pic from than iTunes playlists. I use my iPhone 7 in my bedroom as a streamer to a shiit DAC with a Realistic old receiver to power it up. It’s music guys, we are not building rockets for space travel. Just loosen up and enjoy what you have. If you are using a raspberry pi, vanilla wafer, or chocolate cookie and getting music to make you happy, isn’t that the why we listen? Cmon!

Good enough for a garage system I guess. One issue is that at some point the phone will be so old that the O/S won’t support your streaming services apps, but by then you probably would have upgraded to something else.

I tried this initially when I was learning about all this streamer/DAC mess 5 years ago and yeah, it works (an Android phone). I put it on equal footing with USB coming out "raw" from a Raspberry Pi. But some cheap easy to use options available today like a $79 WiiM Mini that you can remotely control come to mind.

Many people trade in their old phones for a modest store credit when upgrading. If that "credit" is more than $80, I’d trade in the phone and buy a WiiM. Otherwise, repurposing an old phone instead of throwing it in the landfill is good. 

It does have me wondering how using an old iPAD to USB adapter to DAC compares to say a WiiM Pro to the same external DAC. With the iPAD I can have a nice album art display I can see across the room.

That more like it. I was beginning to feel completely mis-understood, not to mention stirring some mysterious anger towards inanimate objects that is just not good for you, people.

Thanks for this first line @benanders 

you recruited a lot of single samples united by a culture of expectation bias x rejection of scientific process. 
There are ways to tell if an iPhone is an audibly inferior streamer. No one who responded has done the required steps to make the aforementioned claims of inferiority, so far as this thread reads. That would require an understanding of experimental design, basic statistics, and a fair amount of time/effort.

I read it when I got up this morning and am still trying to parse it, but it sounds damn good. As for what follows you are right on. I started the post in hopes that someone with the time, interest and right knowledge might be tempted to try to objectively validate what I think I hear. Maybe there are some reviewers (I know you are out there) on this thread who may see fit to address the question.

@eagledriver_22 Good on you too mate! I don't have andoid but I bet there are folks on the thread who will appreciate your sharing and i will check out the ios app you mention. I have Roon and can make my old phone a roon endpoint so that serves nicely when I am home and for simplicity I run the Qobuz app on the road.

I started out with a 6s and a Schiit Modi 3+ a few years ago. It was very listenable but not impressive.

On the rare occasions I listen to music on my HT system, I sent it to a Chromecast plugged into the HT receiver. Also just listenable. But one day I connected the old 6s/Modi setup and it was a big improvement over the Chromecast. The 6s has excellent WIFI reception which probably helps.