Streamers

[Hobbit]

I just saw Jacob's write up here on the Naim Classic. Thanks Jacob!: Naim Classic and Sennheiser Conversation | Audioholics

I have always been a big fan of internet radio and streamers. It's always disappointed me how slow this technology has been to catch on. I have one streamer in my bedroom system and out of production Chromecast dongles on my other setups. I love how I can fill my house with in-sync music from my phone or cast from my computer my entire music collection. Neither I could do with Bluetooth.

Recently I've seen a handful of new streamers released, like the Naim in this article and NAD CS1. Even soundbars like the JBL Bar 300 and Polk Magnifi Mini are coming with Airplay and Chromecast. Now all that's needed is companies (uh, google and apple?) working with each other for cross-compatibility. I know the trend is divide and conquer..... But one can only hope.

 

[JLGF1]

You are aware of the two WiiM models? The upper (Pro) model has Chromecast support. They both have functions for sync/latency control (it will measure if within earshot and also has a manual adjustment). I use the Mini with BubbleUPnP/foobar2000 and it works well for local FLAC, Amazon UHD, and Pandora in my case. They have also implemented Roon support and are just waiting on certification (I think).

$89/$149 list.

 

[Hobbit]

You are aware of the two WiiM models? The upper (Pro) model has Chromecast support. They both have functions for sync/latency control (it will measure if within earshot and also has a manual adjustment). I use the Mini with BubbleUPnP/foobar2000 and it works well for local FLAC, Amazon UHD, and Pandora in my case. They have also implemented Roon support and are just waiting on certification (I think).

$89/$149 list.

I wasn't aware of the WiiM. Really cool! It looks like a step up from the Google dongles, at a much higher price however.

I have an old Grace Digital Mondo. The one where they added Chromecast. At the time doing this was a unique thing. It's about 7 years old and now needs to be reset sometimes to get it to connect to Chromecast. I haven't seen an update in ages either. That's what made me start to pay attention to what's out there.

I am glad to see that companies are being allowed to put in the competing Airplay and Chromecast in their product. It's good to see they're making some concessions.