Streaming audio is relatively new in the world of traditional audio. Hi Fi brands think it seems a little scary. And that’s not surprising, because with streaming comes the world of networks and software around the corner: computers. And it seems as if hi-fi lovers by definition have an aversion to computers.
Streaming Audio… flavors
There are several ways to stream. It can be done very simply with a PC or laptop, a piece of software to play music and a usb-dac. Although this is not really streaming, many people push it underneath. In fact, it’s just about playing files to a dac. This is not streaming, because with streaming the data is basically over a network. A LAN – local area network – or from the Internet (in fact a WAN: wide area network).
It is also possible with a smartphone that streams to a dac via bluetooth. Or with a special PC that streams from a NAS – network drive. Connected or not – usually via usb – to a nice converter.
Finally, there are the special streamers. Think of Aurender, Bluesound, HEOS, Sonos or for example Linn and Naim. There are many…
Services
Inseparable from streaming are the online services. Spotify has opened this market. But meanwhile there are a lot of them. Think of Deezer, Tidal, Qobuz, Pandora and not to forget the internet radio services. Rdio, LastFM, etc.
Reviews and stories
At Alpha Audio we write a lot about streaming audio. We have a large amount of tests (reviews) and of course the necessary background stories and workshops. Think of step by step stories about NAS, media servers or in-depth stories about the basics of a streaming audio system.
English
Comments