Pulled the trigger on Xtreamer

anm

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I just pulled the trigger and paid up for xtreamer. I got a bit late so now I have to pay for shipping too.

My primary application is music - listen to files on local disk and some internet radio. There is nothing better than squeezebox. However, current squeezebox (available in India) can't play from a local disk and I do not wish to have another 24/7 device. WDTV also was a good alternative, but Computer Empire quoted 7200 for wdtv, and then add to it the cost of wifi antenna, efforts to install hacked firmware etc just to listen to some radio stations. Didn't have the patience to wait for squeezebox touch. Xtreamer has the ability to play hi def stuff when needed. Though I always play movies from rented DVD and have stopped buying, so no need to rip for backup, it may be handy some time in the future.

Apple TV restricts on hdd size, and it about twice more costly, and has half the features (I assume - on hi def audio/ video - though I don't really need them)

Basic features that I wanted are there in xtreamer.

- play music from local disk
- play internet radio from wifi
- low power consumption
- remote control
- no assembling, software installs etc required. Though I want to do an htpc, but it is currently lost in RnD, possible component arguments.

There are some serious lacks in xtreamer to be a good music player but I hope they get resolved with time

1. no iphone/ tablet device support as a remote to search/ select/ play music. This should get resolved soon I hope.
2. spdif audio is not bit perfect. What do I do with my DAC? I hope this gets resolved ASAP.
3. no integrated display - which means I need to have a separate display on to play music. To address this, I hope I may be able to buy a very small screen that has small power footprint, and doesn't look odd in my music setup. Maybe I will do a cabinet mod with small vfd/ lcd in future.
3. has a fan - but let us see how and when

Hope I get it tomorrow, and have some mental peace, while getting to play with a device for some time to come.
regards
 
Congrats .. i could not avail a offer of 9.2k for xtreamer as i had bought WD TV earlier..
 
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Congrats anm on your purchase...

you will be able to play music from usb hdd and also thorugh wireless thorugh pc,
The internet option is still not fully functional now and has some bugs.

Yes, at the price, xtreamer certainly has a lot to offer for the buck.

Spidey, where did you get the quote for 9.2k.

As per my understanding the indian dealer was selling at 10 k earlier.
Now its 10k + shipping,
 
Congrates,:clapping::clapping::clapping:

When you say,you see rental DVDs,then you need to copy it on device & then play.Does Xstremer support USB DVD rom?
 
thanks Bull. I hope I will find time to play with it. These days little tight on spare time front.
But I am quite excited to play music from my hard disk. Though I used to play using my philips dvdp, but the projector need to be on all the time, and there was no internet radio, and the playlist etc was not possible. Let us see if the experience gets better.
 
thanks.
But I will play the DVDs with my philips dvdp :)
I think (I read on forum) that it does support usb dvd rom, but not the encrypted ones - most movies.

regards
Congrates,:clapping::clapping::clapping:

When you say,you see rental DVDs,then you need to copy it on device & then play.Does Xstremer support USB DVD rom?
 
thanks Bull. I hope I will find time to play with it. These days little tight on spare time front.
But I am quite excited to play music from my hard disk. Though I used to play using my philips dvdp, but the projector need to be on all the time, and there was no internet radio, and the playlist etc was not possible. Let us see if the experience gets better.


Anm, my WD TV experience, playing Audio CD in Philips DVDp vs PLaying FLAC (ripped from same Audio CD played in DVDp) from WD TV, WD TV was much better in detail, so try the same with XT and let us know how it is :)
 
ok. will definitely try. However, I think my collection for now will be in wav as in my bedroom I would still be using the philips, unless I again get out of my mind and pull another trigger on squeezebox touch :)

The spdif out of this is not bit perfect so not sure how will it compare to my cdp. But will do a comparison for sure. At least I have a headphone now that is considered decent - to make comparisons.
 
The xtreamer is still available for 9.4k on ebay but the catch is :
it is not thru official import channel so warranty is 6mths only.
 
Actually - I did a comparison with NAD CDP and philips DVDP (analog out of both - so may not be a fair comparison) while listening to Santana live CD. In direct switching I was not able to hear much difference. But then I kept listening for a few days on NAD CDP and then played the CD on philips dvdp, and I found the sound a little muffled. Played it back on NAD and found it much much better. I am the one who laffs at so called high end products but again, it could be my mind playing tricks with me.
Will do more experiments like these once I get settled again.
 
Actually - I did a comparison with NAD CDP and philips DVDP (analog out of both - so may not be a fair comparison) while listening to Santana live CD. In direct switching I was not able to hear much difference. But then I kept listening for a few days on NAD CDP and then played the CD on philips dvdp, and I found the sound a little muffled. Played it back on NAD and found it much much better. I am the one who laffs at so called high end products but again, it could be my mind playing tricks with me.
Will do more experiments like these once I get settled again.


Do the blind test, I usually ask my friends to play it and they wont tell me whats playing now. This helps in keeping mind tricks away :)

Also, PI prefer to hear music after 11pm when I do comparison at low sane volumes :)
 
Congrates,:clapping::clapping::clapping:

When you say,you see rental DVDs,then you need to copy it on device & then play.Does Xstremer support USB DVD rom?

Yes it does play media from usb cdrom but u cannot play copyright content, i also shared my pc dvd drive and it was able to play avi and mkv files of my pc dvd drive.

The xtreamer is still available for 9.4k on ebay but the catch is :
it is not thru official import channel so warranty is 6mths only.

spidey will recommend to avoid ebay for the same as it is not worth it,

xtreamer India, is honoring the warranty and will also help in case of any issues.

I also was getting it directly from Amsterdam and it was costing 8.5k but i bought it from the local dealer here to have peace of mind and warranty coverage .
Till now no problems have come up in the products sold by xtreamer india and no user has reported DOA

My recommendation is to avoid ebay.
 
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Hi guys

Ive ordered my xtreamer yesterday...and guess what.. u get a free HDMI cable if you are a member of techenclave..but you need to order before tonight and mention ur user id to them. I will be receivin the player in a couple of days...will keep you posted!!

cheers!!
 
Sorry - I could not post reviews as I could not review. My daughter was unwell again. Then we shifted our house so everything is waiting to be setup. Last weekend was Diwali weekend so not much moved this weekend either. Though front speakers are setup with the HK stereo amp, projector still is in awkward position and is waiting to be ceiling mounted.
As I mentioned, I watch DVDs with DVDp, and hoped this device to be great for music playback including internet radio. I realized that internet radio feature is not available as yet AFTER I purchased it. Disappointment. Then the site/ forum said it would be there in fw 2.0 but now it seems it is not there even in fw 2.0 and is slated for 2.1. Forum is quite hostile even to customers, so quite pissed off with xtreamer.
I played a WAV rip kandisa album (ripped using accurip) but while moving from a track to another it sent out a loud shriek to my speakers - I am afraid it can damage my speakers. Not sure what is causing it though.
A/B between NAD CDP and xtreamer for music - obviously I could figure out NAD was better, but it wasn't a day and night difference. But that was one small listening session, with me sitting too close to speaker to gauge imaging etc. I was doing the switching myself between two inputs and since my HK doesn't have remote feature I had to sit there.
I should have waited for squeezebox touch - it has everything I need. I am still hoping to see a sensible ipod/ iphone remote that doesn't need TV/ projector to be turned on, music player app and internet radio. Maybe it can run a slim squeezecenter as well - let us see. For now it is gathering dust.

regards
 
Hi Anm

I just picked up a PopcornHour on my current US trip, which is to supplement my Squeezebox, which I use with a Netgear NAS. This(A100) Popcorn doesnt work wirelessly, like my SB 3-which is a really nice piece of gear and is connected via my DAC to my amp. I plan to use it mostly for video, but it also plays a fair number of audio formats-though like your unit, it needs a display-which the SB doesnt.

George
 
Hi Anm

I just picked up a PopcornHour on my current US trip, which is to supplement my Squeezebox, which I use with a Netgear NAS. This(A100) Popcorn doesnt work wirelessly, like my SB 3-which is a really nice piece of gear and is connected via my DAC to my amp. I plan to use it mostly for video, but it also plays a fair number of audio formats-though like your unit, it needs a display-which the SB doesnt.

George


Where did you get PCH A100? I only find A110 on PCH website. A100 on their refurbished section is out of stock. Is it available online? Thanks
 
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