Suggestions for connecting CD transport to wifi speaker

[sachinchavan 15865]

Hi friends,

I have a seemingly simple question which I am not able to find a satisfactory answer to. See, if I have a CD transport with optical and coaxial digital outs, but no Wi-Fi capability, and want to connect it to a wireless speaker (with its own DAC and amp) which has no optical/coaxial in, how do I send signal from the CD transport to the Wi-Fi speaker? Is there any (inexpensive) product that can take digital signal via optical/coaxial from the CD transport and transmit the same via Wi-Fi to the Wi-Fi speaker? I know there could be some loss in sound quality due to the added step, but it’s still worth. What kind of product/ models can you suggest for this purpose? Thanks!

 

[arj]

Hi friends,

I have a seemingly simple question which I am not able to find a satisfactory answer to. See, if I have a CD transport with optical and coaxial digital outs, but no Wi-Fi capability, and want to connect it to a wireless speaker (with its own DAC and amp) which has no optical/coaxial in, how do I send signal from the CD transport to the Wi-Fi speaker? Is there any (inexpensive) product that can take digital signal via optical/coaxial from the CD transport and transmit the same via Wi-Fi to the Wi-Fi speaker? I know there could be some loss in sound quality due to the added step, but it’s still worth. What kind of product/ models can you suggest for this purpose? Thanks!

I do not think you can pass SPDIF over Wifi hence you will need to use a DAC.

BTW does the speaker take a Bluetooth Input ? in that case any simple Bluetooth headphone adaptor can be connected to your DAC with a RCA to 3.5mm cable and streamed via bluetooth to you speaker

You could also use a Wifi streamer from your DAC the same way..remember seeing a few on Amazon although not sure of the audio quality

What speaker is this ?

 

[mbhangui]

Hi friends,

I have a seemingly simple question which I am not able to find a satisfactory answer to. See, if I have a CD transport with optical and coaxial digital outs, but no Wi-Fi capability, and want to connect it to a wireless speaker (with its own DAC and amp) which has no optical/coaxial in, how do I send signal from the CD transport to the Wi-Fi speaker? Is there any (inexpensive) product that can take digital signal via optical/coaxial from the CD transport and transmit the same via Wi-Fi to the Wi-Fi speaker? I know there could be some loss in sound quality due to the added step, but it’s still worth. What kind of product/ models can you suggest for this purpose? Thanks!

How do you play to this wifi speaker normally. Airplay, spotify? I can't recall anything apart from these two which can play over wifi.

If it is airplay, it will be complicated to play the CD player output but it can be done. But spotify can pickup streams only from the spotify server or music saved from the spotify server.

If you are talking about bluetooth, then that is very much possible. There are hundreds of cheap devices on amazon, etc that can take audio in and transmit over bluetooth.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

@arj I was considering the McIntosh RS150 which is an all-in-one with only wifi input. It is streamer-DAC-amp-speaker by itself. I wanted to find any way to connect my CD transport to it so that I could play my discs too. (Of course I can play my CDs on a laptop and Airplay to the speaker, but would prefer not needing to fire up a computer.)

I don’t want the signal to get downgraded by BT limitations. Why can’t there be a simple (D2D) gadget which takes digital in via optical/coaxial and transmits it further over wifi? Is it technologically challenging/complex?

How do you play to this wifi speaker normally. Airplay, spotify? I can't recall anything apart from these two which can play over wifi.

I haven’t bought it yet. But it’d normally play via Airplay, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Roon etc.

If it is airplay, it will be complicated to play the CD player output but it can be done.

How? Please guide. What would be needed for the same?

If you are talking about bluetooth, then that is very much possible.

No, not Bluetooth. I imagine a CD’s resolution and SQ would be downgraded in case BT is used to transmit. Wouldn’t it?

 

[mbhangui]

McIntosh RS150 - Built-in casting: Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, Chromecast, Roon Ready. All of these (except bluetooth) are proprietary protocols. Out of the remaining, only airplay and chromecast are audio streaming protocols. Spotify and Tidal are solutions which fetch music from spotify and tidal. So basically if you want to stream to RS150, someone has to write an application that converts audio out from the cd player, use apple API or google API and send audio via airplay or google cast.

EDIT: WiFI is not a audio streaming protocol (unlike bluetooth). It is a general purpose medium for transferring data and is agnostic to the kind of data being passed over it. So if one wants to use wifi, one has to basically write client application and server applications to be able to transmit audio over wifi.

 

[arj]

@arj I was considering the McIntosh RS150 which is an all-in-one with only wifi input. It is streamer-DAC-amp-speaker by itself. I wanted to find any way to connect my CD transport to it so that I could play my discs too. (Of course I can play my CDs on a laptop and Airplay to the speaker, but would prefer not needing to fire up a computer.)

I don’t want the signal to get downgraded by BT limitations. Why can’t there be a simple (D2D) gadget which takes digital in via optical/coaxial and transmits it further over wifi? Is it technologically challenging/complex?

I am not aware of any device which can send a SPDIF signal via wifi. not sure if technically can be due to the issues of degradation in the signal and introduce jitter where even a cable is bad enough

best option is to use tidal to play the same songs

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

best option is to use tidal to play the same songs

And what to do with my largish CD collection?

Why should it be so difficult to convert a SPDIF signal to wifi? Aren’t both digital (zeros and ones)? Isn’t what we need is just a reclocker (or whatever the appropriate term is) to avoid jitter? Isn’t that what happens when the signal is transformed in reverse (from wifi to SPDIF) in a streamer?

 

[arj]

And what to do with my largish CD collection?

play it on your Hifi . doubt if you might see a very big difference qith this speaker.

Why should it be so difficult to convert a SPDIF signal to wifi? Aren’t both digital (zeros and ones)? Isn’t what we need is just a time corrector (or whatever the appropriate term is) to avoid jitter? Isn’t that what happens when the signal is transformed in reverse (from wifi to SPDIF) in a streamer?

maybe there is but I would not bet a big enough market for it for someone to make on. how many people use a cd transport these days. perhaps even less than record players ?

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

play it on your Hifi . doubt if you might see a very big difference qith this speaker.

Arjun, I am exploring downsizing from the hifi to an all in one. And I want to play my CDs too. There are other AIOs with optical and coaxial in, but ‘form factor - price - SQ’ wise the RS150 fits best.

maybe there is but I would not bet a big enough market for it for someone to make on. how many people use a cd transport these days. perhaps even less than record players

I found this through an internet search - not sure if it’s available here. Also, it is over designed (has a DAC as well as USB-SPDIF converter) for my need. Still hoping there’s something out there for this peculiar need and someone here knows!

D2 24-BIT WIRELESS DAC

Visit the post for more.

audioengine.com.au

Hope this is a trustworthy Indian reseller. Shall speak to them tomorrow:

Audioengine D2 Premium 24-Bit Wireless DAC

Advantages of wireless - The D2 wireless system transmits bit-perfect PCM-stereo simultaneously to up to 3 receivers. This PCM stream is routed from/to the various components of the system (optical transmitter/receiver, USB controller and DAC) via the I2S Bus, which maintains data integrity througho

proaudiohome.com

 

[arj]

Arjun, I am exploring downsizing from the hifi to an all in one. And I want to play my CDs too. There are other AIOs with optical and coaxial in, but ‘form factor - price - SQ’ wise the RS150 fits best.

Ok..do give it some time before you get rid of the hifi

I found this through an internet search - not sure if it’s available here. Also, it is over designed (has a DAC as well as USB-SPDIF converter) for my need. Still hoping there’s something out there for this peculiar need and someone here knows!

D2 24-BIT WIRELESS DAC

Visit the post for more.

audioengine.com.au

looks like a good component but considering the speaker does not have any other inputs other than wireless how will this connect ?

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Ok..do give it some time before you get rid of the hifi

That’s the plan. Only if the pros outweigh the cons and I don’t miss much. Frankly, simplification is now the overarching theme for life in general. I won’t even mind a good SQ mini Hifi with CD player built in (like older times). Please provide any stellar suggestions. One such small product to play CDs and another AIO Wi-Fi speaker for streaming could be another approach.

looks like a good component but considering the speaker does not have any other inputs other than wireless how will this connect ?

Hmm. I am hoping the speaker can catch the Wi-Fi signal from transmitting piece (like from a Wi-Fi router) and I won’t need to use the receiving piece. That’s what I want to check with the seller.

 

[arj]

Hmm. I am hoping the speaker can catch the Wi-Fi signal from transmitting piece (like from a Wi-Fi router) and I won’t need to use the receiving piece. That’s what I want to check with the seller.

Maybe the more tech folks can answer but I understood that transmission by wifi needs something else to define the protocol like airplay so the communication can take place and the receiver understands the signal. TCP/IP by itself cannot do that.

But again more than happy to be proven wrong !

 

[bornfi]

If it is your CD collection that you are worried about going redundant/useless then if you have iTunes running on any computer that has a CD drive, you can AirPlay. I just tested it here and so, there is a service charge bill of which I will be mailing soon .

 

[mbhangui]

Maybe the more tech folks can answer but I understood that transmission by wifi needs something else to define the protocol like airplay so the communication can take place and the receiver understands the signal. TCP/IP by itself cannot do that.

But again more than happy to be proven wrong !

True. tcp/ip is like that road from Pune to Mumbai. Just by standing at the tollgate isn't enought for me to be transported to Mumbai. I need any vehicle that can travel on that road.

In this case. ethernet cable, wifi are just two different roads. You need a vehicle like airplay, google cast to take the music from the source and transfer it to the destination. The problem is also that the mcintosh is allowing just 4-5 specific vehicles to enter the gate. So you will have to build that vehicle that will travel from the CD player to the mcintosh

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

If it is your CD collection that you are worried about going redundant/useless then if you have iTunes running on any computer that has a CD drive, you can AirPlay. I just tested it here and so, there is a service charge bill of which I will be mailing soon .

Thanks. As I wrote somewhere above, I can play through the computer and Airplay, but hate firing up a computer just to play music.

In this case. ethernet cable, wifi are just two different roads. You need a vehicle like airplay, google cast to take the music from the source and transfer it to the destination

Thanks. Amply clear with that analogy! Guess one’d need a computer/mobile/streamer to dispatch the vehicle.

 

[mbhangui]

Thanks. Amply clear with that analogy! Guess one’d need a computer/mobile/streamer to dispatch the vehicle.

Yes. A computer with a sound card that has audio in port. After that install linux, connect our cd player RCA out to the soundcard and use pipewire to read the audio in port and transmit to any airplay device using RAOP. Like I said, it is complicated

PipeWire: AirPlay Sink

 

[bornfi]

Thanks. As I wrote somewhere above, I can play through the computer and Airplay, but hate firing up a computer just to play music.

Tough ask ...I am sure you must have but just checking if you have also looked at wireless offerings from Kef and Buchardt?

 

[mbhangui]

@sachinchavan 15865 You can connect cd player to google home max aux input and since mcintosh supports google cast, i guess one should be able to tell google home max to play the sound received on aux input to mcintosh. If any forum member has google home max we can ask him/her to test this.

There are no actual analog outputs on any of the Google Home devices, which is unfortunate. It would be a nice feature.

But, Google has something called Chromecast, and Chromecast will allow you to send audio, or even audio and video, to any device wirelessly that's on the same home network as your Google Home Assistant.

Aux input for Google Home Max - Google Nest Help

The aux port on Google Home Max lets you play media from various devices like phone, laptop, CD player, or vinyl record player. You can still use Google Assistant for other things while

support.google.com

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

@sachinchavan 15865 You can connect cd player to google home max aux input and since mcintosh supports google cast, i guess one should be able to tell google home max to play the sound received on aux input to mcintosh. If any forum member has google home max we can ask him/her to test this.

Aux input for Google Home Max - Google Nest Help

The aux port on Google Home Max lets you play media from various devices like phone, laptop, CD player, or vinyl record player. You can still use Google Assistant for other things while

support.google.com

@mbhangui, I have a CD transport and not CD player, so the aux in of Google Home won’t help. Also, I’d like to use the speaker’s DAC if I am paying for it.

 

[mbhangui]

@mbhangui, I have a CD transport and not CD player, so the aux in of Google Home won’t help. Also, I’d like to use the speaker’s DAC if I am paying for it.

Doesn't your cd transport have an audio out? RCA out? That's all it is required to connect to aux in of google home