wifi multi room numpty with some questions...
Discussion
Hi everyone
I'm sure a similar question to this/these must have been asked before but I can't find anything. All of authors of the topics I've looked at already seem to be a bit further along the learning curve than me! Hopefully someone can help me...
I've got an old but great sounding hifi in the lounge (Arcam amp, Rotel CD, Rotel tuner, bi-wired Mission speakers). This also feeds a pair of Monitor Audio ceiling speakers with independent volume control in the kitchen/dining/family room. I have more CD's than I can bothered to count and at the moment hardly have any music stored on phone/tablet/PC/mp3 player. Since having a family I don't sit and "properly" listen to music anymore, it's on as background music or for playing dad's disco! Mrs L'rs has decided the lounge needs decorating and we've agreed to try and consolidate the number of hifi boxes if it can be done relatively cheaply and without hugely impacting the sound from the Missions for the odd chance I do get to listen to them.
All I need now is a new way of storing/playing/controlling music. There's no requirement (at the moment) for
- different source of audio in lounge and family room (but that might change in a few years) because they are next to each other
- music upstairs, although I'm sure that WILL change in a year or 2 when daughter is a bit older
Having not looked at any hifi products for years, I've realised things have moved on... a lot! What I am considering is:
Music storage in less space than CDs
1. Copy discs to PC hard drive.
2. Copy discs to external hard drive - I need to get one for backing stuff up anyway and Western Digital do one which broadcasts wifi
3. NAS - Don't know much about these. Am I right in saying it's just like copying to 1 or 2 but with better quality files? Could this be kept upstairs with PC & router or need to be in lounge?
Accessing music Hhifi separates, interconnects and speaker cables I get but at the moment this is the bit of the digital tech confusing me!
1. Sonos bridge and a Connect feeding Arcam amp so can do without CD player and tuner. Likes - gets good reviews, able to add speakers to other rooms in the future, neat, easy, keeps good sound of current amp & speakers. Dislikes - costs. Questions - is this overkill for what I need now, how will sound compare to CD player (I know will not be as good, but how much worse will it be), will the Arcam simply act as a power amp and volume control etc be done through Sonos?
2. Tablet or phone (both android) and blue tooth receiver plugged into amp. If I connect tablet or phone to wifi from the Western Digital hard drive can they send music to amp via bluetooth? Likes - must be cheaper than Sonos (!), if it's possible it will give me what I need now. Dislikes - not as flexi for future as Sonos (however if cheap to do I'll not mind replacing with Sonos or similar in a couple of years), doesn't sound as simple to set up as the Sonos but if I know more about the options it might be!
3. NAS - don't know how this would work
4. Something else I haven't considered yet
Control
1. If Sonos then obviously use their app.
2. If tablet/phone and bluetooth will I simply control track playing as if I was sat upstairs in front of PC and then use the amp as now for volume? Will I need an app for tablet/phone to make this work and an extra piece of kit to send signal to lounge or will Western Digital wifi be sufficient?
3. NAS - no idea!
Whatever solution I (we?!) come up with, apart from being neat and reasonably inexpensive, it needs to be simple for Mrs L'rs and 7 year old daughter to use and not need me to be around to make it work for them
Sorry for so many questions.... If anyone can help explain things and/or answer the above in simple language with some examples of the kit I might need I'll be very grateful.
Cheers,
L'rs
I'm sure a similar question to this/these must have been asked before but I can't find anything. All of authors of the topics I've looked at already seem to be a bit further along the learning curve than me! Hopefully someone can help me...
I've got an old but great sounding hifi in the lounge (Arcam amp, Rotel CD, Rotel tuner, bi-wired Mission speakers). This also feeds a pair of Monitor Audio ceiling speakers with independent volume control in the kitchen/dining/family room. I have more CD's than I can bothered to count and at the moment hardly have any music stored on phone/tablet/PC/mp3 player. Since having a family I don't sit and "properly" listen to music anymore, it's on as background music or for playing dad's disco! Mrs L'rs has decided the lounge needs decorating and we've agreed to try and consolidate the number of hifi boxes if it can be done relatively cheaply and without hugely impacting the sound from the Missions for the odd chance I do get to listen to them.
All I need now is a new way of storing/playing/controlling music. There's no requirement (at the moment) for
- different source of audio in lounge and family room (but that might change in a few years) because they are next to each other
- music upstairs, although I'm sure that WILL change in a year or 2 when daughter is a bit older
Having not looked at any hifi products for years, I've realised things have moved on... a lot! What I am considering is:
Music storage in less space than CDs
1. Copy discs to PC hard drive.
2. Copy discs to external hard drive - I need to get one for backing stuff up anyway and Western Digital do one which broadcasts wifi
3. NAS - Don't know much about these. Am I right in saying it's just like copying to 1 or 2 but with better quality files? Could this be kept upstairs with PC & router or need to be in lounge?
Accessing music Hhifi separates, interconnects and speaker cables I get but at the moment this is the bit of the digital tech confusing me!
1. Sonos bridge and a Connect feeding Arcam amp so can do without CD player and tuner. Likes - gets good reviews, able to add speakers to other rooms in the future, neat, easy, keeps good sound of current amp & speakers. Dislikes - costs. Questions - is this overkill for what I need now, how will sound compare to CD player (I know will not be as good, but how much worse will it be), will the Arcam simply act as a power amp and volume control etc be done through Sonos?
2. Tablet or phone (both android) and blue tooth receiver plugged into amp. If I connect tablet or phone to wifi from the Western Digital hard drive can they send music to amp via bluetooth? Likes - must be cheaper than Sonos (!), if it's possible it will give me what I need now. Dislikes - not as flexi for future as Sonos (however if cheap to do I'll not mind replacing with Sonos or similar in a couple of years), doesn't sound as simple to set up as the Sonos but if I know more about the options it might be!
3. NAS - don't know how this would work
4. Something else I haven't considered yet
Control
1. If Sonos then obviously use their app.
2. If tablet/phone and bluetooth will I simply control track playing as if I was sat upstairs in front of PC and then use the amp as now for volume? Will I need an app for tablet/phone to make this work and an extra piece of kit to send signal to lounge or will Western Digital wifi be sufficient?
3. NAS - no idea!
Whatever solution I (we?!) come up with, apart from being neat and reasonably inexpensive, it needs to be simple for Mrs L'rs and 7 year old daughter to use and not need me to be around to make it work for them
Sorry for so many questions.... If anyone can help explain things and/or answer the above in simple language with some examples of the kit I might need I'll be very grateful.
Cheers,
L'rs
To address one of your questions, NAS - simply means Network Attached Storage it is essential a hard drive (s) with a network address so it shows like a normal mapped network drive would in Windows. It is similar to an external hard drive, but does not need the computer attachment to allow access through the network. In this case, a NAS would be suitable placed next to your router out of sight.
As for the control of the system, I know there are a lot of Sonus fans on here and whilst it is expensive, is the best route to go down for something that is a) simple, b) expandable and c) relatively cost effective for a complete solution that will work.
Other options will include something like the Denon DNP720AE which is a hifi separate sized network audio player, this unit will access your music stored on your NAS or PC or even a Piccollo which has an amp built in, but when you consider the cost of some of these, the Sonus makes even more sense.
You could use a tablet with the headphone jack out into your amp, but it's a messy set up on my opinion and a faff if you want to use the tablet and listen to music.
Chris
As for the control of the system, I know there are a lot of Sonus fans on here and whilst it is expensive, is the best route to go down for something that is a) simple, b) expandable and c) relatively cost effective for a complete solution that will work.
Other options will include something like the Denon DNP720AE which is a hifi separate sized network audio player, this unit will access your music stored on your NAS or PC or even a Piccollo which has an amp built in, but when you consider the cost of some of these, the Sonus makes even more sense.
You could use a tablet with the headphone jack out into your amp, but it's a messy set up on my opinion and a faff if you want to use the tablet and listen to music.
Chris
You're on the right track. To stream your personnel music firstly you need to copy it to your PC, use iTunes or similar. A NAS allows you to store your music on a device that can be left on 24/7 whilst your computer sleeps, most users would either host their iTunes (or similar) directory on a NAS or copy their library to it for back up and to act as a source. I used to do this but recently got given a Mac Mini so now I use this instead. It doesn't matter where your music is stored (PC or NAS) just that the location can stay on 24/7, if you have a family computer that could be left on then this is fine.
Sonos is definitely the way forward and is so easy to use you'll love it, you just need to make sure you have good Wi-Fi in each room so your smart phone / tablet can be used to control playback. As you note the Sonos Connect will do for your Hi-Fi, just connect to a spare input and set the volume to 12 o'clock or so, you can then use the volume control on the app, then add Sonos zone players (Play:5/3/1 integrated speakers or Connect amp and speakers) in the other rooms. It's all pretty straight forward but fire away if you need help.
Sonos is definitely the way forward and is so easy to use you'll love it, you just need to make sure you have good Wi-Fi in each room so your smart phone / tablet can be used to control playback. As you note the Sonos Connect will do for your Hi-Fi, just connect to a spare input and set the volume to 12 o'clock or so, you can then use the volume control on the app, then add Sonos zone players (Play:5/3/1 integrated speakers or Connect amp and speakers) in the other rooms. It's all pretty straight forward but fire away if you need help.
Great, thanks guys 
Am I right in saying the NAS will give better quality files and sound than normal PC drive?
As mentioned above I've been looking at one of these for PC backup. I assume the Sonos can read from that? Would adding an external DAC to that drive improve the sound quality or am I getting confused by the DAC blurb and I actually wouldn't need one with the WD drive?
Cheers,
L'rs
Am I right in saying the NAS will give better quality files and sound than normal PC drive?
As mentioned above I've been looking at one of these for PC backup. I assume the Sonos can read from that? Would adding an external DAC to that drive improve the sound quality or am I getting confused by the DAC blurb and I actually wouldn't need one with the WD drive?
Cheers,
L'rs
Longers said:
Am I right in saying the NAS will give better quality files and sound than normal PC drive?
No, won't make the slightest difference. It's irrelevant where they are stored on your network and the type of HDD can't effect the quality of playback. The most important consideration is the format you rip the CDs to, you want to use an uncompressed format like FLAC or WAV for best results. Some useful information on the Sonos Forum.
As long as you rip your music to a lossless format the playback offered from a Sonos connect is in-line with a good CD player, you certainly won't be 'losing' quality. however as you note if you wish to up the ante you can use an off board DAC that offers better performance than the one built-in to the Sonos Connect. Start without and if you want to make improvements visit you local Hi-Fi store and see if you can borrow a DAC to test.
Went out at the weekend and purchased the Sonos Bridge & Connect.
WOW WOW WOW
What a brilliant system - easy to set up, easy to use & sounds great. It will totally transform the pleasure derived from music in this house.
Thanks to ASK1974 for answering my questions and the recommendation
WOW WOW WOW
What a brilliant system - easy to set up, easy to use & sounds great. It will totally transform the pleasure derived from music in this house.Thanks to ASK1974 for answering my questions and the recommendation
Longers said:
Went out at the weekend and purchased the Sonos Bridge & Connect.
WOW WOW WOW What a brilliant system - easy to set up, easy to use & sounds great. It will totally transform the pleasure derived from music in this house.
Thanks to ASK1974 for answering my questions and the recommendation
My pleasure.WOW WOW WOW
What a brilliant system - easy to set up, easy to use & sounds great. It will totally transform the pleasure derived from music in this house.Thanks to ASK1974 for answering my questions and the recommendation
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