Anyone use a High Resolution Audio Player for home stereo sue?

halkaloogie

The Jerk
Trying to figure out a simple way to stream my digital files on my vintage integrated amp and this seems like a fairly cheap way to do it.

And it should say use not sue...stupid fat fingers
 
If you have Wi-Fi, a Chromecast Audio is a good option for $35.

Add a DAC later on if you like it enough and want to up the SQ.

Eric

All audio from my computer has a low hum that I can't get rid of I tried the Chromecast and took it back because of this. I've tried just about everything I could think of to get rid of the noise but it has something to do with the CPU hardware. It's ok for just having background music but becomes really obvious and obnoxious when played through the main system. I've looked into buying a cheap laptop and a DAC, but some of the high resolution audio players have nice DAC's in them and take SD cards which are cheap.
 
I have been doing this for about two years. I used a Fiio X3 high res player to play mp3 and flac files, and then I upgraded to Fiio X5 iii. The players send analogue signals to my vintage 40+ year-old amps: Sansui 7070, sometimes to Marantz 1060, and then to my JBL speakers. This way I don't need any DAC since the players have it internally. I also can play songs from my laptop computer, this time I use a tiny and cheap DAC (below USD20) and with great results. Even without the DAC I have no noise issue. You might want to check the cable or the connectors, or maybe the amp itself.
 
I have been doing this for about two years. I used a Fiio X3 high res player to play mp3 and flac files, and then I upgraded to Fiio X5 iii. The players send analogue signals to my vintage 40+ year-old amps: Sansui 7070, sometimes to Marantz 1060, and then to my JBL speakers. This way I don't need any DAC since the players have it internally. I also can play songs from my laptop computer, this time I use a tiny and cheap DAC (below USD20) and with great results. Even without the DAC I have no noise issue. You might want to check the cable or the connectors, or maybe the amp itself.

How do you like the sound quality of the Fiio into the Sansui?
And the noise is definitely from the computer I've run powered speakers, headphones, multiple amps, and a ton of other things and unfortunately it's the CPU.
 
If you use a small DAC to run the digital files through vs. using the computer to process the files I suspect that hum will go away.
 
How do you like the sound quality of the Fiio into the Sansui?
And the noise is definitely from the computer I've run powered speakers, headphones, multiple amps, and a ton of other things and unfortunately it's the CPU.
I am very happy with what I hear from the system, since my CD player stopped working, I have never gone back to CDs, I only listen to high res files like flac, ape, and DSD, I can only say I can't hear much differences from CDs.
i agree with Yamaki, the problem is with your pc's sound card, a little DAC should give you clean sound.
 
I am very happy with what I hear from the system, since my CD player stopped working, I have never gone back to CDs, I only listen to high res files like flac, ape, and DSD, I can only say I can't hear much differences from CDs.
i agree with Yamaki, the problem is with your pc's sound card, a little DAC should give you clean sound.
If you use a small DAC to run the digital files through vs. using the computer to process the files I suspect that hum will go away.

Thanks travellersol I think I'll look more into these type of players. With the Fiio do you just run a mini plug to RCA adapter through the headphone out, or is there a way to change the output to make it audio out instead to bypass the built in amp?

And unless my video card with HDMI out is bad and the one before it and the M audio sound card I have in there now left over from my recording days and the build in one and sound blaster from my kids computer and the DAC I got and returner are all bad... It's the CPU... and I've exhausted myself trying to fix it. I even went out and bought a bunch of those ferrite clips for cords to see if that might help but no.

Also the older I get the more I like the idea of getting away from the computer when I can.
 
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I have been doing this for about two years. I used a Fiio X3 high res player to play mp3 and flac files, and then I upgraded to Fiio X5 iii. The players send analogue signals to my vintage 40+ year-old amps: Sansui 7070, sometimes to Marantz 1060, and then to my JBL speakers. This way I don't need any DAC since the players have it internally. I also can play songs from my laptop computer, this time I use a tiny and cheap DAC (below USD20) and with great results. Even without the DAC I have no noise issue. You might want to check the cable or the connectors, or maybe the amp itself.


Check for PM.

Q
 
What I've done on my desktop computer audio system is use an external DAC connected to the computer via an optical S/PDIF cable. That electrically decouples the two. My amp and DAC are up on a higher shelf on my computer desk, so they are physically separated from the computer. Keep in mind that there are many things inside of a computer which cause EMI/RFI (electromagnetic interference, and radio frequency interference), not the CPU so much as all of the various other pieces in the system, including the power supply and cooling fans. Computers have always been a "noisy" EMI/RFI environment, so I have never had them anywhere near my best audio systems.

I don't particularly like using a computer to play audio in my main system, so I use an Oppo BDP-105 as a "network player" and DAC to access the music on my NAS. I do have a USB cable on standby hooked to the Oppo in case I need to use the laptop for audio, but it's rare I would ever do this. (USB has issues, and that is a rabbit hole I prefer to avoid falling into.) Others like Marantz and Pioneer also have network players. They may be beyond your budget, though.

Putting a sound card into the computer with an optical digital output, and buying an external DAC (there are some really nice low-cost DACs out there now), would be one way to go about fixing the hum issue.

There is also the slim possibility of a ground loop issue between where your computer is grounded, vs. where your audio system is grounded. Or if your Sansui only has a two-prong plug where both prongs are the same width, you could try flipping the cord in the outlet to see if it helps.
 
All audio from my computer has a low hum that I can't get rid of I tried the Chromecast and took it back because of this.

Can't imagine hum being transmitted to a CCA over WiFi. So the hum is in the digital path and not in the D/A conversion?

Eric
 
Can't imagine hum being transmitted to a CCA over WiFi. So the hum is in the digital path and not in the D/A conversion?

Eric
That confused me also...but I think the output might have been going back through the computer somehow...?

I don't see hum ever being transmitted digitally unless there were some sort of D/A conversion, followed by an A/D conversion, in the computer at the sound card that was picking up hum in the analog domain in the process. The only far fetched thing I can think of is that if someone used a coaxial digital link between a computer and a DAC in an audio system, that could be the source of a ground loop (the ground/shield of the digital coax connector). That is why I use optical for my desktop rig--there is no electrical connection between the two, no possibility for ground loops or "garbage" from the computer traveling along any of the wiring or shielding somehow. WiFi cannot transmit hum; WiFi only exchanges packets of bits.

At any rate, a Chromecast device, if connected to a receiver, is completely decoupled from any computer, other than a WiFi signal. The computer, phone or tablet only sends instructions to the Chromecast in order to play back the music--no audio is actually processed on the device doing the casting. Even playback from a network drive sees the audio being streamed from a server to the Chromecast, with the computer/phone/tablet being the device telling the Chromecast to begin the casting process.
 
In order to eliminate the hum, My first thought would be to make sure the Computer is on a separate electrical circuit (Breaker) from all the other Audio Components.

Vintage Amps and Receivers are not always shielded well. I had hum in a Saba receiver that came from a USB charger that was on the same circuit.

Eric
 
I really have no idea about the noise and have all but given up on it. And I should have been more clear on the sound it's not a hum. More ground noise, like the speaker noise when you have an amp turned up all the way with nothing playing. It is being added when the file is being retrieved but before it is played. If I burn a CD or put the file on my phone or another device it sounds clear, but no matter what program I play it on my or what I play it through from if I play the file from the computer it hums. I have 4 hard drives and it doesn't matter which one the file is on, Bluetooth, WiFi, HDMI, digital audio, RCA, mini plug, 1/4", headphones it all has it.

It doesn't make any sense to me or anyone I've shown it to, it's probably something simple and obvious, but I have no idea what it is.

I've been looking into these high res audio players and think that's the easiest solution to my problem.

Is there anyone else other than travellersol who is using one?
 
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Trying to figure out a simple way to stream my digital files on my vintage integrated amp and this seems like a fairly cheap way to do it.

And it should say use not sue...stupid fat fingers

Raspberry Pi with Volumio software. Add your favorite USB DAC.
 
I use an Astell & Kern AK100 hi-rez player in a second system in the office. The connection uses the headphone out jack from the player to a 3.5mm input on my Yamaha mini-system.

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I can also use this in my truck if I am so inclined as I have a 3.5mm input there, too.
 
I use an Astell & Kern AK100 hi-rez player in a second system in the office. The connection uses the headphone out jack from the player to a 3.5mm input on my Yamaha mini-system.
I can also use this in my truck if I am so inclined as I have a 3.5mm input there, too.

How do you like the sound quality using the 3.5mm (to RCA?) plug into a receiver?
 
It's not optimum but the USB input into the mini-system is MP3 only, which sounds shrill and flat to me. That's my fault...I use balanced connections from my D100 into the MX135 in the main system so I've spoiled myself. :D

The mini-player has an internal DAC and I'm playing 16/44.1 up to 24/192 FLAC files through it so it's actually pretty danged good, IMHO. Again, it's either the mini system or the truck system so anything will be an improvement above MP3 in those systems.
 
It's not optimum but the USB input into the mini-system is MP3 only, which sounds shrill and flat to me. That's my fault...I use balanced connections from my D100 into the MX135 in the main system so I've spoiled myself. :D

The mini-player has an internal DAC and I'm playing 16/44.1 up to 24/192 FLAC files through it so it's actually pretty danged good, IMHO. Again, it's either the mini system or the truck system so anything will be an improvement above MP3 in those systems.

Ive been looking into a few different players that have audio out to bypass the headphone amp and have quite decent DACs. I don't see why they wouldn't sound good through my main system. Also since they can play hi-res and DSD files as long as there isn't degradation of sound somewhere I would think it could sound better that my CD player with the right files.
 
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They should sound fine on your main system. I also looked at allot of portable players. I finally decided on my Oppo portable dac and iPad. I use the Oppo with both my laptop and iPad to playback ripped cd’s and downloaded hires files. I use a mini jack to rca cable into my Onkyo.
 
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