Astra Streaming Options

[Factory Films]

Regarding Streaming on the Astra. I use Apple products. iPhone, iPad, MacBook.  I am reading that streaming to the Devialet Astra through AirPlay 2 sends a compressed signal vs UPnP.  However, I can't seem to figure out how to use UPnP as a controller on my iPhone.  My Devialet will not connect to Chromecast (don't know if it would make a difference anyway).  That seems to leave me with Roon, which only works if I have my MacBook near me to act as the "server" which is annoying. Or I have to spend $1k+ to buy a physical Roon Core. 

Any ideas?

*Side note, i can't even stream Tidal directly to the Devialet through Airplay.. it skips the whole time, Qobuz works fine.  Tidal only works seamlessly when I use Roon.

[ada]

I wouldn't buy Roon Core or any other device at this stage, you have a premium integrated with a big promise on the streaming capabilities. If their streaming stack is not able to cover the promises request a warranty support, it is your right!

Tidal Connect is promoted by them to be natively supported, cut a support ticket and ask them why it doesn't work for you.

Second, for the UPnP, this was the recommendation for Expert from Devialet:
Expert is compatible with UPnP. You can use a UPnP app such as Bubble UPnP (Android), My Audio stream (iOS), Jriver (Windows) or Audirvana (Mac). The UPnP app you select will detect any Phantom connected to the same network and make it an available audio output. Here we use Bubble UPnP as an example.

[Factory Films]

I wouldn't buy Roon Core or any other device at this stage, you have a premium integrated with a big promise on the streaming capabilities. If their streaming stack is not able to cover the promises request a warranty support, it is your right!

Tidal Connect is promoted by them to be natively supported, cut a support ticket and ask them why it doesn't work for you.

Second, for the UPnP, this was the recommendation for Expert from Devialet:
Expert is compatible with UPnP. You can use a UPnP app such as Bubble UPnP (Android), My Audio stream (iOS), Jriver (Windows) or Audirvana (Mac). The UPnP app you select will detect any Phantom connected to the same network and make it an available audio output. Here we use Bubble UPnP as an example.

Thanks. I will advise on the result.

[mdconnelly]

Regarding Streaming on the Astra. I use Apple products. iPhone, iPad, MacBook.  I am reading that streaming to the Devialet Astra through AirPlay 2 sends a compressed signal vs UPnP.  However, I can't seem to figure out how to use UPnP as a controller on my iPhone.  My Devialet will not connect to Chromecast (don't know if it would make a difference anyway).  That seems to leave me with Roon, which only works if I have my MacBook near me to act as the "server" which is annoying. Or I have to spend $1k+ to buy a physical Roon Core. 

Any ideas?

*Side note, i can't even stream Tidal directly to the Devialet through Airplay.. it skips the whole time, Qobuz works fine.  Tidal only works seamlessly when I use Roon.

Why $1k+ for a Roon Core?   The Nucleus One is only $500 or you could go with an even more powerful NUC running ROCK for probably even less.   You'd still need to add an SDD or HDD to store your local music.   I've been running Roon on a NUC running ROCK on my Expert Pro 440 and it works like a charm.   Just be sure to use wired ethernet between your router and NUC or Nucleus One.  I'm assuming here that Roon on the Astra works as well as it does on the Expert Pro.

[Factory Films]

Regarding Streaming on the Astra. I use Apple products. iPhone, iPad, MacBook.  I am reading that streaming to the Devialet Astra through AirPlay 2 sends a compressed signal vs UPnP.  However, I can't seem to figure out how to use UPnP as a controller on my iPhone.  My Devialet will not connect to Chromecast (don't know if it would make a difference anyway).  That seems to leave me with Roon, which only works if I have my MacBook near me to act as the "server" which is annoying. Or I have to spend $1k+ to buy a physical Roon Core. 

Any ideas?

*Side note, i can't even stream Tidal directly to the Devialet through Airplay.. it skips the whole time, Qobuz works fine.  Tidal only works seamlessly when I use Roon.

Why $1k+ for a Roon Core?   The Nucleus One is only $500 or you could go with an even more powerful NUC running ROCK for probably even less.   You'd still need to add an SDD or HDD to store your local music.   I've been running Roon on a NUC running ROCK on my Expert Pro 440 and it works like a charm.   Just be sure to use wired ethernet between your router and NUC or Nucleus One.  I'm assuming here that Roon on the Astra works as well as it does on the Expert Pro.

You are right. I was confusing my Roons. There is the Nucleus Titan, which is $4K!, and the Nucleus One, which is $500.  But I was hoping I could avoid another subscription and piece of gear and stay app-based.

[ada]

Don’ give up on it! You shouldn’t need another gear or subscription, and subjectively, Roon doesn’t sound perfect for everyone. (At least to my ears, there’s a significant difference in how Audirvana sounds compared to Roon.)

[David A]

I use a Roon Nucleus+ and I'm happy with it BUT if all you want to stream is services like Tidal and Qobuz, if you're not also streaming music from your own hard drive, I would not suggest Roon as a streaming option.

The reason is simple. You have to pay a subscription to use Roon and you also have to pay a subscription separately for your streaming services. There are other options you can use to connect to those streaming services without paying a subscription to anyone other than the streaming service.

I use Roon because I also have a large music library of my own stored on my Nucleus+. If I did not have that stored library I would not be using Roon.