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Subsonic music streaming app

Do any of you use Subsonic to stream your music from your PC to your iPhone/Pod/Pad? I'm thinking about trying it--$5 for the app and a free 30 day trial for the download ($30 "donation" to keep using it after that). I'm thinking I'll have a sort of DIY Squeezebox, minus the hi res capapbility. If anyone is using it . . .

1) How does it sound playing lossless files?
2) Are there any set up adjustments that will improve audio quality?
3) Any quirks or drawbacks?

FYI, I'll be streaming my music library from my laptop to my iPhone which is docked to a Pure i-20 which sends the pure digital stream to my W4S Dac-1.

Thanks for any guidance!
rosedanny

Showing 6 responses by rosedanny

rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Correction: Subsonic does do FLAC. You can disable the mp3 transcoding so it will stream FLAC flies. I haven't tried it yet, but if anyone has done this please chime in.
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Thanks Richard. I fiddled with Subsonic last night, but couldn't get it to stream to the iPhone. It does indeed seem quirky--will check out Audiogalaxy.
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Update: I tried Audiogalaxy, but it only plays mp3 files. My library is mostly WAV and Apple Lossless. So I slowed down and reinstalled Subsonic, and . . . viola! It works! I have my 68 gig music library streaming to my iPhone, and it sounds decent, like 320bit mp3. I haven't tried the SqueezePlayer, but from what I've read I can't see an app for the iPhone/Pod. So there you have it. Subsonic does work for streaming to an I-device. Now I have a month to play with it and decide if I want to "donate" for the permanant version.
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
"If there is an app that will do that without transcoding lossless files please do tell!"

Yes! I agree completely--I'm loving the Subsonic streamer to my iPhone. It recognizes my iTunes library, my Winows Media Player library, and my HD Tracks library. I have access to all of my files, but they are 320 mp3s by the time they get to the DAC. Either way, it's a fun thing to do and I'm bitten by the bug. I think I'll get a couple of 1TB hard drives and start ripping CDs seriously using the Computer Audiophile CD Ripping Strategy. BTW, I "donated" 20 euros to Subsonic--I think it's well worth it.
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Richard.
Sindre, the developer of Subsonic, sent me this response when I asked if it was possible to bypass the transcoding of WAV, Aiff, FLAC: "I'm not sure what audio formats the iPhone supports, but to turn off transcoding you go to Settings>Players in the Subsonic web interface, then select the player which corresponds to your iPhone and tick off the transcodings." I tried it last night and the improvement was amazing! I know the iPhone Can't play higher than 16/44, but the WAV files streaming through the DAC sounded as good or better than my CD player!
rosedanny OP
80 posts
 
Two things to consider:
1)I don't think there is a flac transcoder. I know for sure there is WAV (the file type I use) and have turned off.
2)I have not used Subsonic outside of my house, so I can't speak to the 3G streaming capabilities--over wi-fi it works without a hitch.

BTW, for some reason, WAV files from my Windows Media Library sound better than WAV files from my iTunes library. Go figure.
Danny
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