Streamers and software
It's been a battle. I have had a Bluesound Node 2i for 5 yrs. I upgraded the power supply. There is nothing wrong with function or sound. I switched to Qobuz a few months ago. I transferred my songs from amazon to Qobuz. Qobuz works great when using the Bluetooth function. When I want to play Qobuz thru BluOS, I am missing several thousand songs, called Favorites. Loading and searching times are not usable.
Finally after 2 months BLUOS says they have no solution. QOBUZ is working on a direct connect app to the streamer, but no release date.
So, reluctantly, I started looking at a streamer. I find several other streamers but have buggy software.
So, from what I see the Innuous pulsar mini has good software I would like to spend as little as I can but it looks like $1-$2k? It would be nice to have a linear power supply. Thanks for any suggestions are welcome.
Here is some I looked at.
Holo Audio Red, Ever solo, Innuous, Volumio
Since you’re open to used this Innuos Zen is well worth a look. No need for an external LPS since it already has one, and it has an onboard drive/storage so you can load your CDs into it as well and have all your music available at your fingertips. Just another option FWIW. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650163113-innuos-zen-mk3-2tb/ |
Eversolo, Wiim,Geselli are all the buzz now. I see too many for sale used already. They would all be a step back from where I am. There is a good selection online of Aurender, one Simaudio, innous but might cost close to $2000. I guess that is a realistic cost to move up a notch. I haven’t been able to get responses on USAM. I have never bought anything but lots of Ebay |
With any software, implementation and hardware are the key to a worry free operation. Out of all the apps being mentioned here, Sense (Innuous) and Conductor (Aurender) are the least likely to experience problems due to their proprietary operating systems. Initial investment is high but you get worry free operation, stellar sound quality and customer support. |
I have tried so many streamers and ditched them, not so much for the sound quality but because of the software. Many people like Aurender (Conductor) but I didn't as it was useless for cataloguing classical music and I lost many albums when connecting. I tried Roon and while Ok it was not IMHP worth the money. I have finally bought an Antipodes streamer which provides excellent sound quality and the choice of using Squeeze or a form of Qobuz native software. Neither is perfect but for my purposes as good as Roon. A final plus for Antipodes is the incredible customer service. If you have any connection issues they will do it for you. |
