The Auris bluMe seems better than the AudioEngine B1, at $141. I am very happy with mine and hence the recommendation.
USB or Bluetooth from Mac laptop to Wyred 4 Sound Dac? Advice
I have a Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2. I want to play music from my laptop through my Dac hooked to my home audio system. It will require a USB cable to be 35+ feet if around door casing (we have tile floors) or approximately 20 feet if I can run the cable under a oriental wool rug. I see there are a couple of flat USB cables on the market and wondered if I would be better off running a USB cable or using a Bluetooth receiver like the Audioengine B1 Bluetooth and just stream the music. Might be using Jriver and playing 24 bit music or maybe just iTunes in lossless. This is my last hurdle to complete my system. At least for now. Any advice? Thanks.
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Make sure you use an actual repeater, as opposed to just an extender. Also make sure we’re talking USB 2.0 for that length. Here is an example: http://amzn.to/2cBEoKl The repeater uses the USB power to increase the distance the signals can travel. At the end consider a USB isolator. Not always needed, but depending on the quality of isolation at the DAC end can be useful: http://amzn.to/2c67sXl You could also build your own Linux based music streamer for $600 and use iPhone or Android phone apps to control it. Also has iTunes integration. This would let you put your music server next to your DAC. Lastly of course is the PS Audio $600 unit, which does what your cable and isolator would do. http://www.psaudio.com/products/lanrover-usb-transporter/ My least favorite for it's outrageous cost. Seriously, I can build a 2TB music server for that much! Best, Erik |
Couple of other simple and relatively inexpensive solutions. I have a similar problem with my desk/computer removed from my stereo rack. My DAC is a Cambridge Audio DAC plus. I tried Chromecast audio which sells for $35 and would plug in to your DAC thru a mini-Toslink to Toslink (optical) cable ($15). If you set up Chrome browser on your Mac or any other device it will "cast" music to the Chromecast audio and then to the DAC. I did seem to have some reception issues with the Chromecast audio intermittently and was very unhappy that it did not support airplay. So I switched to an Airport Express ($99) using the same cable connection and am able to stream my music from iTunes. I also have quite a bit of high res music on my Mac and I understand that if I install J-River software I will be able to stream that to my DAC thru the Airport although I have not yet tried. BTW I also have set up a Mac mini to connect directly to my DAC via USB as theoretically this should be better quality sound. (I use remote software from my iPAD and placed the mini on my stereo rack next to the DAC) With the mini next to the DAC and a direct USM connection I was able to play my high res files using VOX. So there may be some cheap methods for experimentation! Joe |
I travel with my job and don't have time to rip a bunch more cds onto something different. I have tons of music already in lossless on my laptop. I just want an easy way to play my laptop over my stereo using the Wyred 4 Sound Dac. I want to be home and enjoy my music when friends are over or just for non critical listening. Simplicity is my goal whether using a usb cable or Bluetooth to dac. Want the best quality of those two options. Thanks for the advice and if I had time to do what you are saying I might do it but right now I just want to enjoy what I have. |
I was thinking you might be able to do what I do which is: 1) rip CDs to digital and store them on network attached storage (i.e. NAS) drive which plugs into router via ethernet cable 2) Use Sonore microRendu as digital network player. It's a tiny box about size of deck of cards that takes ethernet cable as input and usb cable as output. It comes with tiny hard adapter that plugs its usb out directly to your DACs usb input(or you can use any usb cable you prefer) 3) control your music playback via app on iPad, iPhone or Android phone with a variety of free apps that the microRendu sees and lets it play the music files stored on the NAS, or stream services online like Tidal, Roon or internet radio. 4) If you prefer not to run a long ethernet cable from router to microRendu, using power line adapter kits that send the music signal from the router over your A/C copper lines to an output at an A/C outlet near the DAC, then a short ethernet cable to the DAC is another option. This last option is okay with good adapters but not quite at same sonic level of performance. The online reviews of the microRendu, including Hans beekhuyzen's video review will make all this easy to understand. Cheers, Spencer |
Hi Spencer. I have a huge library of cds. I make playlists on my laptop for different moods or if we have company. Dinner music, late night etc. I use the laptop mainly for that. Unfortunately the laptop is on my desk and my audio equipment is on a wall to the left. There is a door between the desk and the audio equipment rack. Now I do have a router in the same room. I could run an Ethernet cable from it. If it goes to the dac it would only have to run about 15 feet maximum. Where would I run the Ethernet cable? From the router to the Wyred 4 Sound dac? New to this. Thanks for any advice or direction to look. |
Is your music library so small that your plans revolve around the library being stored on the internal drive of the laptop? Do you use the laptop while playing the music(so it wouldn't be able to sit close to the dad when music is playing)? Do you have a router setup and if so can you run ethernet cable into the listening room from the router? Cheers, Spencer |