It feels as if we’ve now accepted streaming and welcomed it into the hi-fi group. Fears had been actual, and infrequently based, that it will substitute bodily media to detrimental impact, providing up inferior efficiency in return for perceived comfort.
In some ways, although, streaming has helped us fall in love another time with these cumbersome outdated discs. With the ability to throw music out of your palm to your audio system will be great, however our need to savour an album’s cowl art work and truly maintain it has removed from been quelled. That speaks for vinyl greater than CD, in fact.
It’s the rise and ubiquity of CD-quality streaming, to not point out the ever-increasing vary of hi-res streaming choices, meaning you don’t want bodily media for respectable sound both.
So sure, you actually can have all of it. That’s why this piece is titled ‘How one can add a streamer to your present hi-fi system’, and never ‘How one can substitute it’ or ‘How one can get the most effective worth on your CD participant on eBay’.
There’s a brief reply, in fact, which might be to move to our greatest music streamers information, make a alternative relying in your funds and necessities, after which plug the factor into your system. However, as ever, there are extra vital issues than cash in relation to getting the most effective sound and have set for you.
And what can we imply by a music streamer? It’s any part that permits you to play music wirelessly – utilizing a streaming service app and/or community storage machine – to your hi-fi system. Many streamers work with Bluetooth as nicely, however that’s probably not what we’re speaking about right here; we wish this machine to hook up with our residence community, both through Ethernet or wi-fi, relatively than must ship music to it immediately from a smartphone, pill or pc. This fashion now we have the potential for even higher sound and better flexibility.
Higher than Bluetooth
If multi-room is your bag and you’ve got already purchased right into a household of wi-fi audio system, then there are many methods to deliver a standard hi-fi set-up into your house-wide system. As many wi-fi audio system and music streamers more and more help brand-agnostic platforms that facilitate multi-room connectivity, akin to Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Chromecast, sticking with one model on your whole-home audio is now not obligatory. However should you do worth design (and sonic) synergy, the large multi-room hitters normally have an answer throughout each product classes, together with Sonos and Audio Professional.
Audio Professional is the most affordable of those two family favourites, with a number of high-performing wi-fi audio system below its belt. Its conduit for streaming music by your offline (unconnected) system known as the Hyperlink 2 (pictured above). It seems to be pretty primary however ticks most of the streaming bins by supporting AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Join and Tidal Join, and it sounds fairly good for £220 / $290 / AU$480 too. That is just about the minimal you must count on to pay for a music streamer.
For Sonos’s equal, the Port (£399 / $449 / AU$549), you’ll have to lift your funds, however these favouring its audio system or who’re already totally immersed within the firm’s eco-system will take pleasure in a extra mature, hi-fi-like efficiency. There’s additionally the amplified Sonos Amp, which is usually a nice choice for many who need their streamer to immediately drive a pair of audio system in a hi-fi set-up, or perhaps a residence cinema system supplied you add different Sonos audio system for encompass channels.
Bluesound is one other multi-room mogul with an inexpensive streamer, the Node, below its belt, and arguably that is the place we enter the true realm of hi-fi and may start purring over the form of sound a streamer could make…
Getting into the realm of hi-fi
For the previous 10 years, Bluesound’s Node has been a trailblazer in delivering decent-sounding streams to hi-fi techniques, simply and affordably. Its newest mannequin, the Bluesound Node (2021), stays a unbelievable entry-level streamer for its (now discounted) worth of £399 / $450 / AU$900, delivering musical, detailed streams and arguably essentially the most intuitive management app round.
It’s now not the category chief, although, its crown having been not too long ago taken by the brand new Cambridge Audio MXN10, which is the extra insightful reformer and represents some of the entertaining and complete methods of including music streaming to your hi-fi system. Therefore its 2023 What Hello-Fi? Award. Nonetheless a bit expensive? The WiiM Professional Plus is a surprisingly mature gateway into streaming.
For those who’re after a streamer and amplifier in a single field, to which you merely join your present pair of audio system (just like the Sonos Amp), you must check out the Technics SA-C600, one other present What Hello-Fi? Award winner and a great-value performer within the more and more widespread streaming amp (or ‘just-add-speakers system’) market.
It’s from right here we start rising by the value and efficiency ranks – and in order for you one thing that sounds higher than a Cambridge MXN10 or Bluesound Node, you’re spending a couple of hundred extra. The Award-winning Cambridge CXN (V2) streamer (pictured prime) has lengthy been certainly one of our favourites on the mid-range worth level and presents a noticeable step up within the sound division.
It is value mentioning that function parity is frequent throughout worth ranges these days – funds fashions can tick as many bins as premium ones in relation to streaming service and platform help. That mentioned, you must nonetheless ensure the streamer you are eyeing up has the function(s) you imagine you may profit from essentially the most. AirPlay 2 is fairly common lately, however not all streamers help Chromecast or Tidal Join.
In case your funds stretches additional, Arcam has confirmed its streaming expertise with the ST60 streamer (pictured above), although that’s an outgoing mannequin and we won’t wholeheartedly advocate its successor, the ST5, regardless of the power of its stereo amplifier siblings. Truthfully, there is a little bit of a niche within the premium market proper now that desperately wants filling!
Loads additional up the chain is Naim’s ND5 XS 2 (£2399 / $3999 / AU$5750), a cousin to our reference system’s ND 555/555 PS DR music streamer however at a fraction of the associated fee. It is right here that efficiency turns into the main target much more. Naim has even gone so far as deleting a show in order to not compromise the ND5’s inner circuitry, simply to satisfy the value level. The dearth of a show isn’t as huge a deal as it might initially appear, both, because the unit is managed by an app that may be seen on a telephone or pill. Both of those units has a vastly crisper and extra informative show than that fitted to any streamer.
In terms of efficiency, at this degree you are getting what an audio fanatic (and we) would describe as ‘correct hi-fi’ – marvellously detailed and extremely exact sound high quality. We’d problem even the best sceptic to guess the music was coming from the ether.
We point out the merchandise above as a result of they’re merely the most effective music streamers presently obtainable by way of worth, earlier than the sums turn into considerably eye-watering, and since they may slot into any well-balanced and comparably gifted techniques. However let’s not neglect {that a} streamer is rather like any supply, and so will be flawed in all the identical methods.
Meaning you’ll must assume past the streamer itself. In case your present set-up is especially energetic, or simple to impress in any space, you’ll must assume severely about system matching. What’s extra, there could also be a streamer we haven’t thought of to be a five-star product – within the sense it isn’t fairly an all-rounder – however that, on your explicit wants, might be a a lot better match than the highest scorers.
So, as ever, it is a case of cautious choice and loads of auditions at your native hi-fi dealership. Don’t learn ‘finest all-rounder’ as finest for everyone.
Supported streaming companies and platforms
Music streamers have many streaming companies and platforms to tick lately. Does it help AirPlay 2 and Google Solid? Does it have Spotify and Tidal Join? Is Bluetooth onboard for fast and simple offline streaming? Does it have bodily connections that you could plug your CD participant, turntable or TV into? As we said beforehand, it is essential to verify these items relying on what companies and platforms you need to use, maybe relying on what different package in your own home helps. Once more, going up the value spectrum sometimes means better efficiency relatively than wider streaming help. You should not be stunned if a funds streamer ticks simply as many streaming function bins as one 5 occasions its worth.
A lot of the music streamers lately help the overwhelming majority of hi-res music codecs, although the higher restrict can range between 24-bit/96kHz PCM recordsdata as much as 32-bit/768 kHz. We wouldn’t get too hung up on the numbers, although, because the overwhelming majority of music isn’t obtainable in these extra excessive file sorts. CD high quality is 16-bit/44.1kHz, and a functionality of 24-bit/192kHz must be greater than sufficient to satisfy the wants of most audiophiles.
To get the most effective person expertise, you’ll actually need a smartphone or pill to manage your streamer. Utilizing such units and your streamer’s app (or a streaming service’s native app) is one of the best ways to navigate giant music libraries and the quickest means of creating playlists. If that does not enchantment, it’s possible you’ll need to search for fashions with a show and conventional distant management.
Observe the same old system guidelines
There are, in fact, a number of musts in relation to introducing a brand new streamer to your hi-fi system.
First and second on the listing are the place you place it and the way you wire it in.
Once more, simply because there’s nothing spinning inside or on prime of this type of supply, it doesn’t change the truth that it’s going to carry out to the most effective of its potential solely when supplied correct help and a few high-quality interconnects.
Most choices will have the ability to hook up with your private home community through wi-fi, which is mighty handy; however we might at all times counsel wiring your streamer in by its Ethernet port the place attainable. It would merely be extra steady, providing better bandwidth, thus enhancing efficiency and avoiding buffering points.
After that, you’re free to benefit from the music. In reality, the listing of concerns when selecting a streamer is similar as with all different hi-fi part, however the important thing takeaway is that, no matter your state of affairs, there may be one for you.
MORE:
See our decide of the finest hi-fi techniques 2023: micro, hi-fi, vinyl
Observe our information on the best way to construct the right hi-fi system
And likewise how to decide on the fitting pair of audio system
On the fence in relation to streaming companies? Seek the advice of our hi-res music streaming companies in contrast
