How to play 192kh/z 24 bit music on Reactor’s

[sony1995]

I have a pair of reactors playing music from tidal using airplay. Due to the circumstances regarding limitation streaming from airplay from an ios device i switched to an android device to take use of the UPNP. And from here on, how can i make my reactors play say 192 kh/z 24 bit music?

[Snoopy8]

Welcome to the forum...

Have you downloaded either BubbleUPnP or Hifi cast? They will play 24/192 music from your phone/tablet and whatever you can find on Tidal.

[sony1995]

Hi and thanks for that.
I've downloaded bubleupnp but here I couldn't stream higher quality than a normal CD 16/44,1 bit from Tidal.

I bought a 96 khz 24 bit album which i saved locally on the phone and played through bubbleupnp, here i got the quality i wanted.
The sound was out of another world, never before has the speaker played so well and reproduced microscopic sounds and positioned them properly throughout the soundscape.

I'm looking to set up a nas where I store all my music files. Then I want to use the phone as a control unit. `

Is this something that can be done on the reactor?

[Snoopy8]

You need to subscribe to Tidal Hifi to get higher resolution music.

Yes, you can use a NAS to store music. You will need to set up a UPnP server on the NAS to access the music and control using phone.

[Charcharius]

If you ever return to iOS, MConnect seems to be working quite well for me.

Cons:
1 - you need to buy iPhone and iPad (landscape) separately.
2 - It’s a little buggy and a bit slower to see my speakers that Audirvana (which I also use on my Mac)
3 - navigating Tidal tracks/albums/playlists/favourites is a bit confusing and inconsistent between iPhone/iPad versions
4 - interface isn’t very pretty


Pros:
1 - not having to be tethered to my computer to stream
2 - pretty cheap, even after buying two copies

[Juanbk]

If you ever return to iOS, MConnect seems to be working quite well for me. 

Cons:
1 - you need to buy iPhone and iPad (landscape) separately. 
2 - It’s a little buggy and a bit slower to see my speakers that Audirvana (which I also use on my Mac)
3 - navigating Tidal tracks/albums/playlists/favourites is a bit confusing and inconsistent between iPhone/iPad versions
4 - interface isn’t very pretty


Pros:
1 - not having to be tethered to my computer to stream
2 - pretty cheap, even after buying two copies

Hi, im interested in this app, but could you gona little more in depth of how the while process is?

[Charcharius]

Hi Juan - happy to help. Can I bother you to expand on your question?

This software is a good app to stream or play local music (I believe it can access a NAS as well, but I’m not sure) to AirPlay, GoogleCast, or UPNP devices. The key for me is the ability to do this without direct PC/Mac involvement, in contrast to Audirvana. It apparently streams MQA as well, though I have currently logged a ticket with them as I cannot get my USB DAC (Zorloo Ztella MQA) to confirm MQA streaming to my headphones.

[Juanbk]

Hi Juan - happy to help.  Can I bother you to expand on your question? 

This software is a good app to stream or play local music (I believe it can access a NAS as well, but I’m not sure) to AirPlay, GoogleCast, or UPNP devices.  The key for me is the ability to do this without direct PC/Mac involvement, in contrast to Audirvana.  It apparently streams MQA as well, though I have currently logged a ticket with them as I cannot get my USB DAC (Zorloo Ztella MQA) to confirm MQA streaming to my headphones.

Thank you!, well mainly I use my reactors through Tidal, Apple Music (Airplay), but always interested in streaming in high res. I hear people talking about network streamers, and dacs ( dragonfly, chordmojo etc.. ) all of this being confusing for me.
when I saw this post , I understood that with this app a phone and an iPad I can stream in high res, for example in tidal masters ( am I right?)
and then start looking for more high res of my fav music.
what I understood is that you are limited on apple products to cd quality 44.100 , so this is where is confusing as well


and now that we are here, and you seem to understand far more, what would be the best most practical way of streaming high res music on my reactors?

[Charcharius]

I'm no expert, and I have a lot to learn!  I'm hesitant, as I'm sure I'll get corrected -- but here is what I think I know.  Please correct me!!!

I think of things this way.
Original recording > Final Source Material > Digital File for Distribution > Regional Transmission (streaming, NAS, local file) > Decoding (MQA only) > Rendering (MQA only) > Local transmission (Airplay, Bluetooth, UPnP) > Digi/Analog Conversion > Amplification > Wire connection to Speaker > Speaker Output.

No step in the process can add detail - they can limit it though.

So, how do we stream hi-res?

1. Make sure the digital file is what you want. Tidal does FLAC for CD-quality (they call it "Hifi") and Master for MQA.  There is a lot of debate as to whether MQA is worth the hassle.  My take is that it is -- but I'm enjoying the tinkering involved either way!
   
2. Transmission is the first issue.  While the Tidal app works great, it can be a dead end for wireless, as it doesn't have UPnP built in.  If you have a wired connection to your Reactors, it isn't a problem.  Importantly, neither AirPlay nor vanilla Bluetooth can handle anything better than FLAC (44 kHz).  Apt-X (HD Bluetooth) is an option if you're not on iOS, but the Reactors don't support Apt-X.
   
3. MQA adds a wrinkle.  You need to decode (44 kHz -> 88 kHz or 48 kHz -> 96 kHz) and render (96 -> 192 kHz) - each step "unfolds" details in the music file.  Tidal, MConnect, and Audirvana can decode (typically done in software).  Rendering is typically done in hardware (like a MQA capable DAC) but I'm trying to confirm if apps like Audirvana can render as well.  The Dragonfly acts as your renderer. The Reactors CANNOT render MQA (they have an internal DAC though!)
   
4. If you wire your DAC to the Reactors, you can get this full 192 kHz MQA data to them.  If you stream over wireless, as I do, you're limited to 92 kHz.  This streaming MUST be done via UPnP.
   
5. I don't know anything about DSD or over very high bitrate file formats, but I believe the Reactors can handle up to 192 kHz if you transport the files via wire or UPnP.
   

So, for our Reactors,

• WIRED: 192 kHz data (rendered MQA or HiDef formats) from a DAC
  
• WIRELESS: HiDef formats or up to 92 kHz MQA 
  

I use Audirvana (requires a Mac or PC) to stream and decode the MQA.  The Mac transports the decoded stream at 92 kHz via UPnP to the reactor [Note I am trying to confirm if Audirvana can also render], which DAC's, amplifies, and creates the sound.  Their iOS app is a remote control for the Mac.

MConnect simplifies the process by streaming and transporting the file via UPnP to the speaker itself.  They claim MQA decoding, but I'll confess I'm not convinced.  For example, when I play MConnect on my iPad through my USB DAC (Zorloo Ztella MQA version), it indicates that it is playing at only 44 kHz.

Does this help?
Aaron

[Juanbk]

I'm no expert, and I have a lot to learn!  I'm hesitant, as I'm sure I'll get corrected -- but here is what I think I know.  Please correct me!!!

I think of things this way.
Original recording > Final Source Material > Digital File for Distribution > Regional Transmission (streaming, NAS, local file) > Decoding (MQA only) > Rendering (MQA only) > Local transmission (Airplay, Bluetooth, UPnP) > Digi/Analog Conversion > Amplification > Wire connection to Speaker > Speaker Output.

No step in the process can add detail - they can limit it though.

So, how do we stream hi-res?

1. Make sure the digital file is what you want. Tidal does FLAC for CD-quality (they call it "Hifi") and Master for MQA.  There is a lot of debate as to whether MQA is worth the hassle.  My take is that it is -- but I'm enjoying the tinkering involved either way!
   
2. Transmission is the first issue.  While the Tidal app works great, it can be a dead end for wireless, as it doesn't have UPnP built in.  If you have a wired connection to your Reactors, it isn't a problem.  Importantly, neither AirPlay nor vanilla Bluetooth can handle anything better than FLAC (44 kHz).  Apt-X (HD Bluetooth) is an option if you're not on iOS, but the Reactors don't support Apt-X.
   
3. MQA adds a wrinkle.  You need to decode (44 kHz -> 88 kHz or 48 kHz -> 96 kHz) and render (96 -> 192 kHz) - each step "unfolds" details in the music file.  Tidal, MConnect, and Audirvana can decode (typically done in software).  Rendering is typically done in hardware (like a MQA capable DAC) but I'm trying to confirm if apps like Audirvana can render as well.  The Dragonfly acts as your renderer. The Reactors CANNOT render MQA (they have an internal DAC though!)
   
4. If you wire your DAC to the Reactors, you can get this full 192 kHz MQA data to them.  If you stream over wireless, as I do, you're limited to 92 kHz.  This streaming MUST be done via UPnP.
   
5. I don't know anything about DSD or over very high bitrate file formats, but I believe the Reactors can handle up to 192 kHz if you transport the files via wire or UPnP.
   

So, for our Reactors,

• WIRED: 192 kHz data (rendered MQA or HiDef formats) from a DAC
  
• WIRELESS: HiDef formats or up to 92 kHz MQA 
  

I use Audirvana (requires a Mac or PC) to stream and decode the MQA.  The Mac transports the decoded stream at 92 kHz via UPnP to the reactor [Note I am trying to confirm if Audirvana can also render], which DAC's, amplifies, and creates the sound.  Their iOS app is a remote control for the Mac.

MConnect simplifies the process by streaming and transporting the file via UPnP to the speaker itself.  They claim MQA decoding, but I'll confess I'm not convinced.  For example, when I play MConnect on my iPad through my USB DAC (Zorloo Ztella MQA version), it indicates that it is playing at only 44 kHz.

Does this help?
Aaron

Wow, been waiting for this info for more than a year, thank you so much, this clears all out, and for many others as well!!