Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners music streamer

Michael d ,

I totally get not liking the tech. I was not into at first. I don’t need to extol the virtues of streaming music too you because it’s awesome. I’ve found so many great songs and artists and new genres too.

So my current setup isn’t “ hi if” per se. I’m running Spotify and Tidal on an Apple TV with the apps in Apple TV not AirPlay. Apple TV plugged HDMI into tv. Then I’ve got a simple 3.5mm to rca into my receiver from the tv. It’s sounds ok. Anyway , the point of me telling you this is after doing this setup I really want a dedicated streaming component and DAC. And one feature I really like is having it all displayed on my tv. ( which is centered between the speakers. ). I control via my Apple TV remote or the remote in my Apple iPhone.

I can mirror my phone to the Apple TV and do it that way but things are more reliable when plugged in via Ethernet. I like turning it on and hit play and come and go doing things around the house. Walk in and look at tv to see what’s playing. Or sitting down and the display is huge a readable and adds an element of ambiance with the art work.

I guess I’m saying it’s easier than I thought and a nice big display to interact with is really nice.

I’m very likely going to spring for an axiom transformer as you said it does tick a lot of boxes and use it in a similar way. I’m hoping it mirrors off my phone nicely to my tv for a similar setup to what I currently use.

I’m still trying to figure out if I can use transformer without the app and just as DAC. I’d give the Transformer another look perhaps.

There’s a lot of options out there. I’m still in the hunt so I’ll let you know if I come across anything else that looks good.

I can't see how to use the Transformer without the app. The app is needed for monitoring and control.

Kodiak,

Sounds like you and I have similar needs/preferences. I too find streaming music pretty awesome. I have note tabs next to my two Touch devices to jot down new bands or songs I like whenever they may play on Pandora. I have not tried the other streaming services, as Pandora is OK. I opt for the premium service and pay their annual fee. No adds is a bonus. After I get a few songs/albums noted, I buy the CD. Then I rip it to FLAC for the home system, and MP3 for my vehicles via USB thumb drives.

I guess I'm being resistant to using my TV for the display. Seems such a waste of energy to use a 65" display. I suppose I could just get a touch monitor and set that on my equipment rack.

One other gadget you should take a look at, and one I'm really close to buying, is the Nvidia Sheild TV Pro. It has a rabid fan base.

Mojo I think you’re right. You have to use the app.

But it could be used “ quasi “ thru DAC.

For example:

I play a CD in my CD player. Transport only via optical out to optical into Transformer. Signal goes thru DAC and out to receiver via rca out. Once I’ve picked the input in the app and have pre volume set ( In this case 100%) then my interactions are just with my CD player and receiver remote control. Not the app.

This is my interpretation of it anyway.

Michael d

I’ll look at that nvidia. Thanks. Never heard of it.

I’ve never used pandora. I use Spotify the most. Whenever I come across a new artist name or tune I just search and like it in Spotify. I use the note pad in my phone as my phone is usually with me. ( never wanted an iPhone in the first place, it was free so I said sure I’ll try it out , and now I use it a lot. Addictive little gadget ) Then I search further for better recordings of that artist.

I’ve just started a free trial on Tidal so I have less feedback there. But I REALLY like the interface of Spotify. It’s fantastic. If Spotify went Hi res I’d be a one stream app person.

Something I’d like to do is get all my cds ( hundreds ) into a hard drive. My one thing I don’t like about streaming is I don’t own the music. I have a great collection but it’s not “ mine”. Must be a way to rip / record those files to a hard drive.

What does the Nvidia thingy give you that an Amazon Firestick 4K for $50 doesn't? You need a TV to work both.

The Firestick just plugs into my 9-year old Onk's USB port. I got Tidal, Spotify, Amazon everything, Netflix and all the world's garbage channels I could shake a stick at.

I have two FireTV sticks, 4K. They do what they do very well, but they do not access the hard drive where I keep my music files (maybe they can though, I have not tried). The Nvidia thingy also has internal storage, memory, 3.0 USB ports, and for the gamers....you can use it as a game thingy. From what I gather, it also has high res audio output, and will convert to Atmos. Looks like it's unavailable right now.

The Firestick 4K supports DLNA. I have never used it but apparently it works.

It supports these media formats via HDMI (no analog out):

AAC-LC, AC3 (Dobly Digital), eAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, MP3, PCM/Wave, Vorbis, Dolby Atmos (EC3_JOC)

I am not trying to push the Firestick 4K by the way. I am just trying to understand the differences between all these streaming devices.

Hi Michael,

... They do what they do very well, but they do not access the hard drive where I keep my music files (maybe they can though, I have not tried) ...

They will if you install "Plex" which is a free application. You can also add storage to the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K. It is a bit tricky but there are several tutorials on YouTube.

There is a new streaming device similar to the Amazon Fire TV STick 4K but you can easily increase its internal storage. It is the Tivo Stream 4K. It is being introduced at $49 US. There are also a few tutorials on it on YouTube.

jc

I occasionally do some streaming but prefer owning my digital music.

Although the main library is accessible from the NAS, I find many instances where it's better to have the music local. This especially applies to portable devices like phones, iPads, and cars. Also, with the falling price of USB sticks, receivers, preprocessors and soon a few axiom transformers.

The main problem is keeping all the devices up to date. I have always done this manually but really need to come up with a few scripts.