iTunes integration with Devialet remote app

[Flashman]

I've been toying around for a long time with AIR via iTunes, JRiver, JPlay and Fidelify (Spotify client). As with many of you, I have had a mixed experience, including dropouts, tics and the dreaded and hated "white noise." Today, for some reason, I went back to iTunes and discovered something neat that many of you probably already know. If you use the Devialet remote app (it's on an iTouch for me), you can actually select "My Music" from within the app, which accesses your iTunes library.

When you do this, it takes you to the iTunes library from which you can access your albums, songs, playlists, etc. For some reason, it played flawlessly tonight for several hours. Never a tic, never any white noise. Nothing but music. I have a mix of CD quality stuff (16/44.1) plus some high-resolution stuff on iTunes and it all played nicely together.

Regarding my setup, I use an AirPort Extreme, with a bridged AirPort Express about two feet from the Devialet, connected by Ethernet. The AirPort Extreme is in a room with the computer and router, and the Devialet and AirPort Express are in my living room. (It's a one-level apartment in France.) Using the WiFi AIR vs Ethernet, I typically get 5 bars on the PC/Air readout, or about -49dBm, which is an excellent signal. I toyed around with both WiFi and Ethernet and both sounded excellent.

Maybe it was just dumb luck tonight. Of course, let's remember that the Devialet folks designed AIR with iTunes in mind. So in theory it should work pretty well. Anyone else tried this?

[Confused]

For me it just plays what's actually stored on my iphone, which are 320kbs tracks, my "real" music library on an external hard drive is over 300 GB, which obviously won't fit on a 64 GB phone.

Yes it's 100% stable, but sound quality drops a bit compared to streaming from the PC itself.

[Damon]

Hi Flashman,

My first post, and not yet a Devialet owner, but your post does apply to one of my general questions. If I understand, you are using the Devialet app to stream music from your computer, but you are using an Apple Airport network; wireless from computer to Airport Extreme > wireless to airport express > ethernet into Devialet? Or is the Airport Extreme wired to your computer?

I understand (I think) that Dev. doesn't use UPnP, but I would want to be able to stream from my iMac to the Dev. as I do now with my Naim Unitiqute. I've tried a wireless system, going from my iMac to an Airport Express, but I did find the sound quality too compromised with the Airport Express.

I am guessing that you have gone to this Apple airport Ext to airport Exp. as a way of not using the Dev. AIR system?

Thanks.

[Flashman]

For me it just plays what's actually stored on my iphone, which are 320kbs tracks, my "real" music library on an external hard drive is over 300 GB, which obviously won't fit on a 64 GB phone.

Yes it's 100% stable, but sound quality drops a bit compared to streaming from the PC itself.

You are correct, Confused. I got excited when I first accessed my music, thinking it was the iTunes library on my PC. Instead, it's a bunch of music I had loaded on my iTouch... but the kicker is that the songs are Apple lossless, so the fidelity is just as good as the stuff on my computer. Sigh. I thought I had discovered a better way of accessing my iTunes library on the computer. Still, when I use the Remote app and access the iTunes library on my computer, it is more stable (not completely) than JRiver, Fidelify, etc. Just not what I thought was a very neat solution.

---

Hi Flashman,

My first post, and not yet a Devialet owner, but your post does apply to one of my general questions. If I understand, you are using the Devialet app to stream music from your computer, but you are using an Apple Airport network; wireless from computer to Airport Extreme > wireless to airport express > ethernet into Devialet? Or is the Airport Extreme wired to your computer?

I understand (I think) that Dev. doesn't use UPnP, but I would want to be able to stream from my iMac to the Dev. as I do now with my Naim Unitiqute. I've tried a wireless system, going from my iMac to an Airport Express, but I did find the sound quality too compromised with the Airport Express.

I am guessing that you have gone to this Apple airport Ext to airport Exp. as a way of not using the Dev. AIR system?

Thanks.

Welcome to the Devialet world, Damon. As you will note from my response in this thread to Confused, I was actually accessing my iTouch and not my PC when I extolled the virtues of the Devialet AIR and iTunes integration on the Devialet remote app.

Now, as to your questions:
1) I am using Devialet AIR (a streaming protocol that acts as a sound card on your computer) to stream music from my PC. I am using an Apple Airport network; wireless from my PC to AirPort Extreme > wireless to AirPort express > ethernet into Devialet. The AirPort Extreme is NOT wired to my PC, though Devialet says I would get a better result this way.
2) You said "I am guessing that you have gone to this Apple airport Ext to airport Exp. as a way of not using the Dev. AIR system?" Nope, I am using Devialet Air. It just turns out that my router (as I live in France, I have an Orange telecom router) was not playing nicely with the Devialet (you would think French to French would be impécable mais non) so I went the AirPort route, which is recommended by Devialet. As to the quality, when it works, I have blissful experiences. The beauty of Devialet AIR is that it sends bit perfect steams to your Devialet, bypassing all the nonsense that typically is associated with playing music through a PC. All the processing is done in the Devialet. Magic, *sigh* when it works! Hope this helps.

[Damon]

Flashman,
Thanks for your responses, both to my message and to Confused; both are very helpful. I don't have a Devialet (yet) but I am strongly inclined to get one. I've had two nice listening sessions at the Vancouver dealer, and each time, I felt a sense of ease to the music that I've never had before. I've had several PM exchanges with another member here who also has Naim experience, and his descriptions of the Devialet sound seem to match mine very closely.

But as I am familiar with the UPnP system, and the brain-busting frustrations that it brings, I am unclear about how the Devialet works in that regard. So, Your thread was the target of my first post (don't want to stray too far off-topic).

Thanks for the explanation. It is a good start to building an understanding of how the Devialet will work. We do listen to a great deal of internet radio, and currently stream all our music. I can see the path to a mac mini as a music server, but the iRadio function is still a bit of a mystery.

Again, thanks for the great reply.

[PhilP]

Hi Damon,

from what you've said I think that you currently store your music on an iMac and use a UPnP server running on the same computer to stream via wired ethernet to your Unitiqute. You have many options if you buy a Devialet. The following two are probably most applicable given your current situation:

1) Keep your music on the iMac as it is and continue running your existing UPnP server to stream via wired ethernet to your Uniqute. Then use the digital output from the Unitiqute to stream to the digital input on the Devialet. This has a lot of advantages - you don't have to move your music, presumably you're happy with your existing UPnP server and the streaming functionality of the Unitiqute including access to internet radio. n-Stream is good, robust control point software. The Devialet will be acting as a DAC + integrated amp and you will get full advantage of the great sound!

The only unknown (to me) is the quality of the digital output (S/PDIF) from the Unitiqute - I think you'll have to try that for yourself.

2) Move to iTunes on the iMac. This is straightforward - move your music into iTunes and use that as the music player to stream both your music and internet radio. Stop using your existing UPnP server and sell your Unitiqute. Install Devialet AIR software on your iMac. AIR will take control of your sound card so the music that you play using iTunes (including internet radio) will be streamed to your Devialet. I use AIR wirelessly and it works 100% of the time for me. Others prefer using AIR over wired ethernet. You can then use the Apple Remote App running on an iOS device to control iTunes on your iMac.

A variation on 2) is to use a different music player e.g. Amarra, Audirvana etc instead of iTunes. Some think they offer better quality sound (even through AIR) but this sometimes comes at the expense of usability.

Good luck!

Philip

[f1eng]

I have used the streaming of music from my iPad to my Devialet since the function was added (on one of the Air updates).
I also use iTunes having tried JRiver and Audirvana I have used it since the first iPod.
I don't have dropouts very often on my iMac, Air, Time machine, Devialet 800 using iTunes and it is always bit perfect.
I understand iTunes doesn't work as well as some of the others on a PC, but I gave my PC away when I retired and that was before I bought my first D-Premier.

One funny little incident happened at one of the Oxford Audio open days. Riccardo was playing me a song I didn't know from his phone, D-Premiers into Wilson Saschas IIRC, and somebody coming into the room was bowled over by the sound quality. They were speechless when it was explained that they were listening to a song streamed wirelessly from a phone.

[flohmann]

I have all my music on an iMac (2tb internal drive for music, 256gb internal SSD for OS and apps, with external 2.5" hard drive for Time Machine backup), connected directly via ethernet cable (CAT7) to the Devialet 250. I use iTunes as my player, with the Remote app on an iPad to control it all from the couch (also a great Android app called Remote for iTunes on my Moto X phone -- no need to be all Apple to have this work).

It works perfectly, no drop outs. And, unlike all the other players, I'm confident iTunes will work with every update of OS X, and that Remote will also work reliably, and that all of this software will be supported by Apple going forward (which is more than I can say for many other options).

[Damon]

Thanks to all for these posts. There is good info here and it is very helpful to me. Reading flohmann's post, I realize that I could, even now, run ethernet cable from my iMac to the Naim and/ or the router. That wiring would also serve the Devialet when I get one (as I'm sure I will, once the domestic dust settles).

At least I'm better prepared now to ask more specific questions about streaming or music storage next time I'm in the shop.

[Giddy707]

Hello Damon,
I just joined this chat found this thread.
Have you bought your Devialet yet? Your last post was Oct 2014, more than a year ago.
I am in Vancouver/Richmond, if you are interested, we can discuss more.
David