More Air + Win 10

[Hifi_swlon]

Well, perhaps it's now "the best cable, (for some people, predominantly on Windows 10 and who only want to play music at CD quality or less and for 5 minutes at a time), is no cable"

Out of interest have they always stipulated AIR requires a dedicated network?

[Confused]

I don't think the term "dedicated network" makes any sense in this context.

[thumb5]

Needless to say, the web site is still full of superlatives describing AIR as we speak -- such as:

Invented for high definition music, AIR enables you to enjoy all your streaming audio content without compromise (up to 24 bits / 192 kHz), via Ethernet or Wi-Fi, regardless of the format, multimedia player or streaming service that you use.

AIR (Asynchronous Intelligent Route) is the world's most advanced audio streaming technology.

I do wonder what the ASA would have to say about that.  And it beats me how they can keep a straight face while saying:

For solid streaming though we really recommend to use USB instead.

 
(Sorry, I'm not adding anything to the discussion, but..."you wouldn't let it lie".)

[mdconnelly]

(Sorry, I'm not adding anything to the discussion, but..."you wouldn't let it lie".)

The truth is, it is time to let it lie.   If you want to stream to your Devialet, find a way to do so other than AIR (it simply doesn't work consistently unless you're among the lucky few).   I love my Devialet  and I love my music. But that combination simply can't include AIR for streaming - at least not for me at this time.

So I'm very eager to discover what works best other than AIR.  Devialet support has explicitly told me that using USB is my best bet.   So I want to find something that sounds as good as AIR (when it's working), better than my SB Touch, and without having to actually put a computer in my listening room.  Perhaps it's the SonicOrbiter SE, perhaps the microRendu whenever it is released.  What else?   Surely there are (or soon will be) an abundance of viable solutions here. 

I just want to find one and am tired of bashing (or reading bashes) about AIR.  I do think Devialet will eventually fix it, but nothing has led me to believe that will get fixed anytime soon. So fine.  What else is available?  I don't mind spending $$ if a  great solution exists.

[Zorbon]

Wow!

Thanks for all the feedback.

Hope my responses are of some help to others.

1. I have tried USB with a slightly upmarket 5 meter length cable from my MS Surface Pro. It works reliably, but not as good sounding as wired Ethernet. I also am angered by Devialet's avoidance of this problem.

2. I tried Air 2.13 with all win 10 updates, ccleaner after removal of 2.14. Sounds good, but just stopped after a not too bad 3 hour session. I will try further. Slight hope?

3. I agree with the member who said lets get on with something that sounds good and works. However here in Thailand some choices are limited and the idea of an in home test is most often met with confused stares into the distance or laughter. So, what works well? I am hoping for something not too expensive as I hope to return to Air. What about Chromecast? It is only about twice US retail here.

Again thanks and if Devialet responds to me I will post.

[hk6230]

OK, my turn to chip in on this topic. I have been using AIR successfully for some time, since Win10. I have done a lots of AIR testing including AIR-wifi from my Win10 tablet and AIR-ETH from my Win10 NUC. I have even dedicated AIR-ETH for NUC so that I can use AIR-wifi whenever I feel like streaming desktop music app from my Win10 tablet. I can say it is 100% trouble-free for music files up to 16/44.1 bitrates. As for 24/96, hardly any issue, too. DSD64 and 24/192 are the 'trouble maker' which may caused white noises once in awhile (unpredictable). Yes, this is an imperfection of AIR but with my almost perfect playback with AIR, I have to give it a thumb up.

I don't have special hardware or super-duper router to make all this works. What I found out is that, AIR breaks when certain 'wifi-enabled' devices are trouble makers. In my case, Sonos Bridge is screwing up my wifi environment. Once removed, everything works perfectly. So, I do believe if one look into one's network environment and devices, you may resolve AIR playback in your environment.

I know AIR is not perfect, and possibly never will, considering Devialet's concentration on Phantoms and other special interests. In any case, they have given us a taste of wireless audio transmission which gets the industry to improve on it with their own implremention, like Roon. And AIR has saved me lots of money which could be spent on all the USB interconnects and enhancements. And, with Devialet, I get to have a very tidy hifi rack which is very inconspicuous and improves WAF.

I hope you guys will not be discouraged and keeps trying to improve your AIR playback. If all fails, then maybe just get a pair of Sonos Play:5 and enjoy truly wireless music.

[Zorbon]

Thanks for the pep talk re Air. I will continue to fiddle and try, but with USB for when I just want to relax and listen.

So what has helped USB SQ for folks around here?

OK, my turn to chip in on this topic. I have been using AIR successfully for some time, since Win10. I have done a lots of AIR testing including AIR-wifi from my Win10 tablet and AIR-ETH from my Win10 NUC. I have even dedicated AIR-ETH for NUC so that I can use AIR-wifi whenever I feel like streaming desktop music app from my Win10 tablet. I can say it is 100% trouble-free for music files up to 16/44.1 bitrates. As for 24/96, hardly any issue, too. DSD64 and 24/192 are the 'trouble maker' which may caused white noises once in awhile (unpredictable). Yes, this is an imperfection of AIR but with my almost perfect playback with AIR, I have to give it a thumb up.

I don't have special hardware or super-duper router to make all this works. What I found out is that, AIR breaks when certain 'wifi-enabled' devices are trouble makers. In my case, Sonos Bridge is screwing up my wifi environment. Once removed, everything works perfectly. So, I do believe if one look into one's network environment and devices, you may resolve AIR playback in your environment.

I know AIR is not perfect, and possibly never will, considering Devialet's concentration on Phantoms and other special interests. In any case, they have given us a taste of wireless audio transmission which gets the industry to improve on it with their own implremention, like Roon. And AIR has saved me lots of money which could be spent on all the USB interconnects and enhancements. And, with Devialet, I get to have a very tidy hifi rack which is very inconspicuous and improves WAF.

I hope you guys will not be discouraged and keeps trying to improve your AIR playback. If all fails, then maybe just get a pair of Sonos Play:5 and enjoy truly wireless music.

[wiresandmore]

I dropped into the London Westfield store recently and was amused that they couldn't get AIR (on a Mac) to work for the demo and had to go and reset the Mac to get it working - the demo guy (who was very good and helpful to be fair) inferred this happened quite often. I've long dropped any attempt to get AIR working as USB with Roon has been rock solid.

[Cylob]

1. I have tried USB with a slightly upmarket 5 meter length cable from my MS Surface Pro.  It works reliably, but not as good sounding as wired Ethernet.

That's exactly my solution for now. And my pain.
AIR just sounds better and I can't get any closer to my Devialet with my computer...
No problem for a month or so, but I'm tired of all the promises of them fixing it "soon".
Last beta of AIR was july as I recall...

[jmorrell]

I've witnessed the errors in windows 10 once.

I use foobar to stream via AIR ethernet. I'm using the KS: Devialet Air WAVE Kernel service, as opposed to the standard DS: Speakers (Devialet AIR) direct sound output.

I've had great results using the Kernal streaming method. Refer to this guide (scroll to section C): http://www.24bit96.com/usb-computer-audi...audio.html