I am looking for a device which can do following things:
- Creates its own Wi-Fi network, tablets/smartphones/home network router can connect to it without hassle.
- Reads and plays audio content from most popular web streaming services or internal memory of tablet/smarphone/USB input/SDcard dock built-in.
- Can stream lossless audio using AirPlay/DLNA protocol.
- Can be seen in Android/iOS devices as "network player" or "wireless loudspeaker" etc.
- Can also have AptX Bluetooth connectivity but only as an emergency.
- Converts received audio to I2S/SPDIF digital format without internal D/A conversion.
- It is easy to set-up and use.
- It need to be CHEAP. Just simple PCB module or plastic box. I am not interested in 'Audiophile' magic boxes which cost fortune.
Sometimes such a devices can be seen on popular webshops but I am concerned becouse their life cycle is extremely short and companies producing them are showing up and disappear so it is a real mess in this regard.
For being certain, I don't want:
- Devices with analog output only.
- Bluetooth-only devices.
- Devices which rebuild and compress audio stream.
- HDMI or TV boxes, I don't understand how to handle HDMI interface as digital audio input.
It would be great you guys could help me to clarify the thing and to find good solution. Thanks for all help. I am sorry but I've got headache from never-ending searching and reading about these all wireless streamers.
- Creates its own Wi-Fi network, tablets/smartphones/home network router can connect to it without hassle.
- Reads and plays audio content from most popular web streaming services or internal memory of tablet/smarphone/USB input/SDcard dock built-in.
- Can stream lossless audio using AirPlay/DLNA protocol.
- Can be seen in Android/iOS devices as "network player" or "wireless loudspeaker" etc.
- Can also have AptX Bluetooth connectivity but only as an emergency.
- Converts received audio to I2S/SPDIF digital format without internal D/A conversion.
- It is easy to set-up and use.
- It need to be CHEAP. Just simple PCB module or plastic box. I am not interested in 'Audiophile' magic boxes which cost fortune.
Sometimes such a devices can be seen on popular webshops but I am concerned becouse their life cycle is extremely short and companies producing them are showing up and disappear so it is a real mess in this regard.
For being certain, I don't want:
- Devices with analog output only.
- Bluetooth-only devices.
- Devices which rebuild and compress audio stream.
- HDMI or TV boxes, I don't understand how to handle HDMI interface as digital audio input.
It would be great you guys could help me to clarify the thing and to find good solution. Thanks for all help. I am sorry but I've got headache from never-ending searching and reading about these all wireless streamers.
I think your first item
- Creates its own Wi-Fi network, tablets/smartphones/home network router can connect to it without hassle.
is a non starter.
These days, I think its pretty easy for a device to make its own wifi network, but it won't connect to your existing network. Two different networks won't connect. I'd advice connecting it to your existing wifi, almost everything out there will want to connect to your router, and as long as your phones and devices are also connected they can all talk.
And this is just my opinion, looks like a pretty long list, good luck with your search.
Randy
- Creates its own Wi-Fi network, tablets/smartphones/home network router can connect to it without hassle.
is a non starter.
These days, I think its pretty easy for a device to make its own wifi network, but it won't connect to your existing network. Two different networks won't connect. I'd advice connecting it to your existing wifi, almost everything out there will want to connect to your router, and as long as your phones and devices are also connected they can all talk.
And this is just my opinion, looks like a pretty long list, good luck with your search.
Randy
I've owned a couple of WIFI DACs that had digital and analog outputs. They did not create their own local WIFI network, tho. I seem to recall try that with settings in the computer - just point to point. I don't see it as important. Also had the Logitech thing, that wasn't really designed to be a passive end point, but could be used that way.
Let us know what you find. There are more and more cool products on the market. There is even lossless Bluetooth, I think.
Let us know what you find. There are more and more cool products on the market. There is even lossless Bluetooth, I think.
Thank you all for the input. I've already figured out two interesting devices:
SoundStream - iEAST looks 'professional' on paper, it has its own dedicated app but the device is somewhat pricey.
Streaming box Renkforce renkCast Musik AirPlay, DLNA from Conrad Electronic UK by now this is my favourite, it can read files from pendrive, but "Renkforce" company standing behind it is unknown. It seems that remaining stock is limited. Another OEM chinese module put into random box?
Lossless Bluetooth does not exist for this time. In order to reach sufficient audio qualities you need to have AptX protocol support in your mobile device which is not always obvious. Airplay IS lossless. It streams audio "as is", leaving conversion duties for DAC. You can throw in FLAC, AAC, WAV, everything goes as is. As far as I know...
SoundStream - iEAST looks 'professional' on paper, it has its own dedicated app but the device is somewhat pricey.
Streaming box Renkforce renkCast Musik AirPlay, DLNA from Conrad Electronic UK by now this is my favourite, it can read files from pendrive, but "Renkforce" company standing behind it is unknown. It seems that remaining stock is limited. Another OEM chinese module put into random box?
Lossless Bluetooth does not exist for this time. In order to reach sufficient audio qualities you need to have AptX protocol support in your mobile device which is not always obvious. Airplay IS lossless. It streams audio "as is", leaving conversion duties for DAC. You can throw in FLAC, AAC, WAV, everything goes as is. As far as I know...
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I built a airplay dac last year with a pi and a dac hat. If your houselhold is iphone/ios based like mine is, airplay works well.
This dac is connected to a powered speaker, making a wireless speaker that sounds much better than what I could have purchased for the price.
I also just bought a little tp link blue tooth receiver, its connected to my family room HT setup. I don't use either one for real critical listening, but they work well for background music and the rest of the family
This dac is connected to a powered speaker, making a wireless speaker that sounds much better than what I could have purchased for the price.
I also just bought a little tp link blue tooth receiver, its connected to my family room HT setup. I don't use either one for real critical listening, but they work well for background music and the rest of the family
Sonos Connect might work for you. No Wifi access point, no bluetooth. But it has most of the audio features you want. You'll need a jitter filter like iFi on the digital output for audiophile use, but the analog outs actually sound very good for a consumer player. It plays everything from anywhere. Even ADC for your analog sources.
You could add eeros WiFi system to get the WiFi you want. It is also excellent and relatively cheap.
You could add eeros WiFi system to get the WiFi you want. It is also excellent and relatively cheap.
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The iEAST products appear to be based on the Linkplay A28 modules. The SoundStream product is comparable to the Dayton WFA28. I downloaded their app and it works with the Dayton WFA02 and WFA28 boxes that I have.
These are nice products, and they do most if not all of what you are looking for. See this page for a partial list of products that use these modules: Products Powered by Linkplay | LinkPlay
The modules implement a mesh router, which means that each box has its own access point that extends your own WiFi network. The modules work well as long as you have a modern router and well behaved equipment on your network. They do most of what Sonos and Heos do, but they are more "open" and more DIY-friendly. You can buy the just the modules at Parts Express for $25. I've got some boards with the A28 module and an ADAU1701 DSP, but I haven't built them up or tested them yet.
You seem to have some conflicting (or at least challenging) requirements, but I think you could achieve most of your needs by using a Raspberry Pi and a "hat" with SPDF outputs like an Allo DigiOne. You would then need to choose some software to run it. A lot of what you want is available in piCorePlayer 4.0, which can be set up as a wifi hotspot (or just join to a network). See this link.
The website is here.
Good luck!
Cheers
Whit
The website is here.
Good luck!
Cheers
Whit
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Neil this is the answer I was looking for, could you tell me more about external connectivity and MOQ of this module?
Price may have gone up. I see a A31 board mounted on a little ir/lan board for $38. For the A31 or A28 board alone, it says call for pricing. Did you call and get for $25?
Looks cool.
No, but I screwed it up for everybody else
. It used to be about $22. The price isn't listed, but if you go to the shopping cart and enter that part number directly, it will give you the price and let you order it. Just for grins, I called, and when I told the rep what I did, he said the retail price was $25 and the price I was seeing was the distributor price. So they "fixed" it and unless you get distributor pricing, it's now $25.The board I am making is Rev 4 of that stereo 3-way DSP board at audiodevelopers. I've got the boards and I probably have enough parts to build up a prototype, but I haven't even tested the Rev 3 boards yet, so I'm not in a real hurry. But if I get it working, I'll contact Parts Express about the possibility of making this a product that they could sell. Someone from PE contacted me a while back about doing that, but that was before my wife decided to have our grandchildren stay with us for almost the entire summer
.You can find the connection diagrams by searching for the FCC filings on the modules (google "A28 fcc"). The list of exhibits has the user manual, which has all of the connections, signal definitions and sample I/O circuitry. Linkplay has 4 modules out now, and two of them are Alexa-powered (A76 and A88).
Linkplay is more "open" than other providers of mesh routers for audio, and it is a fairly mature product. But there are others that use the Qualcomm modules (Hitachi and Panasonic). I don't know where Sonos, Heos (Denon) and Bose get their WiFi technology, but I'd be interested to get a report if someone is willing to dismantle one of those products.
Not to be a nit-picker about this, but this thread has nothing to do with "PC-based" "Source and Line", so it doesn't belong here. These products can be used with PC-based music servers using DLNA, but usually the source is internet streaming (Spotify/etc.) or local stores on a cell phone. Typically, these devices would not be used with a PC at all, in fact, it took me a while to figure out how to use a PC with this technology. Hey--the Room Acoustics and Mods guys got their forum--when will WiFi and "smart speaker" diyer's get theirs? According to the chart below, those HiFi systems of years past are rapidly dying off, with Wireless Speakers taking their place.
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Not to be a nit-picker about this, but this thread has nothing to do with "PC-based" "Source and Line", so it doesn't belong here. These products can be used with PC-based music servers using DLNA, but usually the source is internet streaming (Spotify/etc.) or local stores on a cell phone. Typically, these devices would not be used with a PC at all, in fact, it took me a while to figure out how to use a PC with this technology. Hey--the Room Acoustics and Mods guys got their forum--when will WiFi and "smart speaker" diyer's get theirs? According to the chart below, those HiFi systems of years past are rapidly dying off, with Wireless Speakers taking their place.
+1 !
Considering truly Hi-Fi point of view, are there any drawback of lossless Wi-Fi streaming? Clocking? Putting multi devices into perfect sync?
The board I am making is Rev 4 of that stereo 3-way DSP board at audiodevelopers. I've got the boards and I probably have enough parts to build up a prototype, but I haven't even tested the Rev 3 boards yet, so I'm not in a real hurry. But if I get it working, I'll contact Parts Express about the possibility of making this a product that they could sell. Someone from PE contacted me a while back about doing that, but that was before my wife decided to have our grandchildren stay with us for almost the entire summer
ADAU1701+SSM3582... Sounds like give it to me and take my money. Hey, man... Summer has been ended, I am so curious about your development in this regard!
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I've been using Playcast on the PC to send my FLAC files to the WiFi speakers shown below. It works fine and sounds great...it is 16-bit 44.1KHz audio. The module is supposed to support up to 24-bit/192KHz audio, but I don't know how to make it work at those speeds yet.
There are some occasional "hiccups" where there appears to be phase relationship changes due to sync issues, but I don't know yet whether that is due to RF interference, network congestion, or what...just haven't had time to track it down. I've heard it when both speakers are L+R, but I've never noticed a problem with one set as L and the other as R. Much more testing to follow, but so far things look promising.
What you can't overstate is how "convenient" WiFi speakers can be. The tekkies in the family can cast from their music libraries at high resolution, so they are good for serious listening. But the casual listeners can use their phones and tablets to stream fairly good quality audio using a shared playlist paradigm. Wives and non-tekkie family members enjoy those shared playlists, and they like being able to listen any time by using a simple, well designed app on their cellphone. And if you have multiple WiFi speakers in the house, you can route the audio wherever you want directly from Spotify or other sources. My wife liked the speakers in the picture because they sounded great and because she was able to select what she wanted to hear while sitting down with her phone in her lap. On the other hand, if I had built some old-school monkey boxes with a rack of audio gear to go with them, she probably would have castrated me on the spot.
ADAU1701+SSM3582... Sounds like give it to me and take my money. Hey, man... Summer has been ended, I am so curious about your development in this regard!
Ooops--I got mixed up about the Rev numbers. I still haven't finished testing Rev 2, but I've got Rev 3 boards (with the A28) I want to start building up. Rev 4 will use the SSM3582. I want to get to that one because the SSM3582 would be a good update for the line array amp used in the speakers shown below. I had used a mix of SSM3302 and SSM2518 amps for that design (see the article on Case Study #3 at audiodevelopers). I want to make sure I understand that amp very well before trying to put 10 of them on a PCB.
Right now I am getting slowed down because I need to learn some basic Android programming. I was using the MIT App Inventor for the cell phone app that controls the DSP, but they had a major change recently where you have to use the new widgets to publish your app on the Playstore. However, the new widgets involve major changes to the app, because nothing fit on the screen properly after I updated the code. So rather than update the App Inventor code, I thought it was time to "do it right". So I'm trying to redo the App Inventor code using Android Studio, but I'm not finding that world to be particularly "intuitive". But once I get past that hump, I've got those Rev 4 stereo 3-way DSP boards pegged as a high priority.
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