[Ern Dog]

I got the Salk Stream Player about 3 months ago and first heard it at an audio show in San Francisco in the Summer 2013. 

Previous sources:  Nad C542, Bada HD-22 tube, Marantz SA11S1 Reference Sacd player, Sony XA5400, Modwright tube Oppo 83, and a MacBook Pro w/Amarra & Off Ramp 4, plus a dac.

In 2013 I made the transition to computer audio using my MacBook Pro and was very impressed.  It was better than all the CD players I had used previously.  I like it so much that I was seriously considering purchasing a dedicated Mac mini music server w/upgraded power supplies.  What sold me about the Salk Stream Player was that it was a stripped down computer with only what was needed to play music files.  All other hardware/software was eliminated.  Plus it was Linux, which I understand is rock solid.

I now have all my music stored as WAV files on a 1 TB Oyen external USB hard drive which is connected to the Stream player, then into my MHDT Stockolm dac via USB.  The player is also connected to my network via Ethernet to my apple Express router.  There are no buttons or display on the Stream player, so to control it I use my ipad and the Mpad app for $3.  This interface is Excellent!  Better than itunes.  It works instantaneously!  Nothing beats having all my music at my finger tips.  It has changed the way I listen to music.

It sounds the most realistic and natural sounding than anything else I've heard in my system.  After I put some vibrapod cones underneath it, it sounded even better. 

My next tweak will be to have Jim add 2 TB ssd memory inside the player, which I regret doing at the start.  My current external drive will then be removed and used as a back up.  Doing this will streamline the player, eliminate a cable, and create more space on my rack.  After that I want to try a Teddy Pardo external power supply, only because everything that I've added a nice robust power supply to has improved the sonics.

Kuddos to Jim for helping me get it configured to my system.  His customer service is the best in the industry in my opinion.

Cheers,
Ernie

[Austin08]

I have my eye on the Salk stream player for quite sometime. I like the idea behind it and would consider to buy it in the future once I have enough money to buy a nice dac. Right now, my Oppo 105 is doing an ok job. Not the best but enough to give me sometime to save more money. Keep us update on it regularly, please. Thanks

[Ern Dog]

Austin,  You won't regret it.  It just doesn't get better than the $1k price (beta program) the Salk Stream is selling at right now, regularly $1295. The stream player has transformed my red book CDs into better than the best SACD's I heard from my previous players for less money!

[PETE6737]

Thanks for your input on the stream player. Jim and it have been discussing my next upgrade to include a stream player in my system. Currently I use the Oppo 105 as Austin08 but I feel the need for a better DAC and knowing that the player can get 2tb of SSD in there is a great plus. Recently I have been ripping my library onto an ext hard drive. While I'm only 25% complete, I also feel a sense of joy using an iPad to control my files of music.  My holdup is waiting on a DSD DAC that will be better than what I have. The Auralic Vega seems to be a possibility for me. I am checking in with Jim  regularly for his opinions and my upgrade will come soon enough.  Happy listening, Pete

[Rocket]

Hi,

Can someone explain how this all works?  Is this the only device I need to use to play music?  Do I need a computer to store music files?  What about a remote?  I'm interested in computer audio but I still don't understand the basics of it all.

Regards Rod

[robcentola]

Hi,

Can someone explain how this all works?  Is this the only device I need to use to play music?  Do I need a computer to store music files?  What about a remote?  I'm interested in computer audio but I still don't understand the basics of it all.

Regards Rod

Hey Rod. Maybe I can answer this for you. I'm not 100% as I'm new to computer audio too:

You would need a computer, USB hard drive, or a NAS (Network attached Storage) to store your music. They, or it, would need to be connected by USB, or Ethernet respectively. You would control it with a smartphone, laptop or tablet. The convenience of computer audio is over the top convenient and you'll never go back. This IS the direction things are going and it looks like the Salk Stream Player a great way to go. I've been looking at one myself, or maybe built a CAPS http://www.computeraudiophile.com/section/c-p-s-489/. Still in the research stages.

My setup, as of now, consists of storing everything on my laptop and an external HDD for backup. I have an Oppo 103 and that's connected to the dac inside my Peatchtree Novapre. I play music one of two ways: 1. Connect the laptop via USB and control everything with the Gizmo app on my phone and Jriver. It works beautifully. I highly recommend Jriver as a player software. It loaded with features you won't believe. 2. If I'm using my laptop, I can send the music files to the Oppo via DLNA, so no wires. That works perfectly, even with hiRez 24/192 files. However, to my ears, it sounds slightly better better wired. Maybe because I'm using the EQ in that mode. The jury is still out on that issue.

Here's some great reading on all this. Maybe you've already looked at this, maybe not. Either way, it's helpful for anyone diving into computer audio: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/524-complete-guide-hifi-upnp-dlna-network-audio/

Hope this helps!

[ernest787]

Hmmmm. I've been trying to figure out the best way to get digital music to my system as I primarily use it for vinyl. However, as we all know sometimes its nice to just be able to pop a cd in or use a playlist when you don't have time to sit and flip vinyl.

I have a decent library of digital music and a decent amount of CDs that I could rip. My issue is that I want a solution that would allow me to play spotify as well, and I'm assuming this would not fix that problem.

Currently I just have an aux cable connected to my system that allows me to plug in my computer when I want to use spotify or other digital music but I'd like to get a permanent solution that I can just leave in my rack

[Ern Dog]

Thanks for your input on the stream player. Jim and it have been discussing my next upgrade to include a stream player in my system. Currently I use the Oppo 105 as Austin08 but I feel the need for a better DAC and knowing that the player can get 2tb of SSD in there is a great plus. Recently I have been ripping my library onto an ext hard drive. While I'm only 25% complete, I also feel a sense of joy using an iPad to control my files of music.  My holdup is waiting on a DSD DAC that will be better than what I have. The Auralic Vega seems to be a possibility for me. I am checking in with Jim  regularly for his opinions and my upgrade will come soon enough.  Happy listening, Pete

It took me the whole Summer to casually rip all my cd's into my computer.  It's kind of a pain, but once it's done, it's done.  I use XLD for Mac to do the ripping.  So far my whole music collection (6000 songs) used 258 GB, so 2 TB will last me my whole lifetime, and then some!

I believe Jim uses the Auralic dac for his streamer, so I'm sure it is an excellent choice.  I don't believe the streamer plays DSD files, you would have to double check with Jim on that.  I have a few hi res files, like Melody Gardot's latest offering on 96/24 bit, and it sounded spooky real.

[jsalk]

I don't believe the streamer plays DSD files, you would have to double check with Jim on that.

Yes, the StreamPlayer can handle DSD files - DSD64 and DSD128, provided you have a DSD-capable DAC. Some DSD DACs (Mytek and any using a HiFace USB interface) require special drivers (which I plan on building into the system).  But most others will work right out of the box.

I will try and put together a simple (as simple as possible) explanation of how all this works and post it here in the next day or so.

- Jim

[Ern Dog]

Hmmmm. I've been trying to figure out the best way to get digital music to my system as I primarily use it for vinyl. However, as we all know sometimes its nice to just be able to pop a cd in or use a playlist when you don't have time to sit and flip vinyl.

I have a decent library of digital music and a decent amount of CDs that I could rip. My issue is that I want a solution that would allow me to play spotify as well, and I'm assuming this would not fix that problem.

Currently I just have an aux cable connected to my system that allows me to plug in my computer when I want to use spotify or other digital music but I'd like to get a permanent solution that I can just leave in my rack

Funny you mention spotify because I just started using it yesterday, and I was also contemplating how to get this playing thru my rig sounding the best.  So were in the same boat.  What I came up with was to use my Apple AirPort express and connect that to my preamp and use the streaming airplay feature.  The biggest disadvantage would be that the sonic would be mediocre, but I'll have to try it and see.

[gregcss]

My next tweak will be to have Jim add 2 TB ssd memory inside the player

I already have streaming equipment but have a question here. I assume you mean a 2 TB hard drive? I also assume a user could upgrade the HDD or the memory on their own if they wanted w/o having to ship back to Jim?

[robcentola]

I have a question: From what I gather, I can stream from a NAS via Ethernet. I see there's no app yet and one would brows from a web page? That part is a little confusing to me. Also, does anyone know if I can use Jriver with Salk Streamplayer?

I have to say, it sure is a nice looking piece of equipment.

[jsalk]

I already have streaming equipment but have a question here. I assume you mean a 2 TB hard drive? I also assume a user could upgrade the HDD or the memory on their own if they wanted w/o having to ship back to Jim?

A regular hard drive can be added.  You can have anything up to 6TB with the current StreamPlayer (the last time I checked). If you want SSD, it gets expensive and I think the limit would be about 1TB (last time I checked).

As for adding a hard drive on your own after the fact, that is not possible.  In addition to the hard driver, you have to install a small power supply and a SATA board and then run some wires to the processor board to power it with the new, added power supply.  This is not really an end-user process.

- Jim

[robcentola]

BTW, Jim. Me and the wife are having coffee and listening to Tingvall Trio right now as I type. Sounds amazing. I thank you as does my wife.

[jsalk]

I have a question: From what I gather, I can stream from a NAS via Ethernet. I see there's no app yet and one would brows from a web page? That part is a little confusing to me. Also, does anyone know if I can use Jriver with Salk Streamplayer?

I have to say, it sure is a nice looking piece of equipment.

JRiver runs on Windows (and now on the MAC).  It is a very good program, but requires a much more complicated platform (a full-blown computer) and is much more complex (since it is designed to play movies as well).  I do not personally like JRemote on the iPad.  mPad (remote control application) has a much nicer interface.  The StreamPlayer is a linux-based system and runs MPD server software (probably the oldest and most mature music player app).  It is simple, yet quite powerful and there are remote control apps that run on just about any device you want from an iPhone to and Android phone to an iPad.  The system is designed to do one thing and one thing only - stream music.

- Jim

[robcentola]

JRiver runs on Windows (and now on the MAC).  It is a very good program, but requires a much more complicated platform (a full-blown computer) and is much more complex (since it is designed to play movies as well).  I do not personally like JRemote on the iPad.  mPad (remote control application) has a much nicer interface.  The StreamPlayer is a linux-based system and runs MPD server software (probably the oldest and most mature music player app).  It is simple, yet quite powerful and there are remote control apps that run on just about any device you want from an iPhone to and Android phone to an iPad.  The system is designed to do one thing and one thing only - stream music.

- Jim

Interesting.

Now, just out of curiosity, could one somehow install a linux version, music only to the player? Not a dealbreaker, just wondering.

Linux  http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?PHPSESSID=orj3l81idu4dsotm6acbdu3cq4&topic=83707.0

[Ern Dog]

I already have streaming equipment but have a question here. I assume you mean a 2 TB hard drive?

Ops that's what I meant.

[ernest787]

Funny you mention spotify because I just started using it yesterday, and I was also contemplating how to get this playing thru my rig sounding the best.  So were in the same boat.  What I came up with was to use my Apple AirPort express and connect that to my preamp and use the streaming airplay feature.  The biggest disadvantage would be that the sonic would be mediocre, but I'll have to try it and see.

Let me
Know how that works for you. I've considered that same solution. I've also considered a roku that is strictly used for audio. I believe it's the roku 2 that would work using the app to control it.

But I'm definitely interested in the salk streaming player if the rest of my music library. Sounds like an easy solution

[Austin08]

Jim, does the mPad do the tagging or something else?

[jsalk]

Interesting.

Now, just out of curiosity, could one somehow install a linux version, music only to the player? Not a dealbreaker, just wondering.

Linux  http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?PHPSESSID=orj3l81idu4dsotm6acbdu3cq4&topic=83707.0

You probably could install it on the hardware, but it would be a completely different application.  You would probably want to install one or the other.  And the JRiver app would likely require different hardware to run on (a complete computer with more memory, a faster processor and video circuitry which are not requited for the StreamPlayer system).

- Jim