Hi kboley_uk, to answer your questions:
You only need one device to store your music and act as a UPNP Server.
The Phantoms are the renderer hence they effectively do the digital to analog conversion.
(The CXN device needs a digital to analog convertor in order to drive the analog speakers it connects to - its irrelevant in the case of the Phantom speakers.)
The most important decision you need to make is to decide what your storage/upnp server is. Personally I recommend a fully fledged PC of some type rather than a NAS device especially if you intend to make use of other software. A full PC allows you to use it for other things such as photo backups, monitoring software, video playback etc.
In my case I use a Windows 10 PC for things other than my music, eg software that monitors my fishtank parameters etc. Just make sure whatever device you get can run the software that you need. I would recommend a small fanless PC but others may disagree.
I was also using PLEX software as my upnp server which was great for playing local music to the Phantoms and also for storing and playing videos to my smart TV but Plex does not support internet radio which is why I use Mininserver/Mininstreamer to listen to radio stations - its powerful software but not that easy if you aren't computer literate. Again one advantage of a PC based solution is the opportunity to try a wide variety of software (often free) whereas a NAS will run a more limited range of software.
I have an Apple device and I use MConnect to select my music/radio tracks - its fairly simple (a good thing) and works well for me.
Couple of questions for you:
1. Is the device you are planning to use to select your music IOS or Android?
2. Do you intend to listen to the radio over upnp?
3. Are you happy to go the DIY approach or would you prefer to purchase a fully setup music player?
kantblue
PS I think you said you already have a windows 10 PC? If you want to see how this works you can set this up easily and for free.
If you don't want to listen to the radio via upnp then try installing Plex - its self-explanatory but there is a setting to turn on the UPNP server. If you have an IOS device and want to listen to radio then try MinimServer for your local music as the setting up is easy for local music. You will then need an app to select your music and direct it to the phantoms - this depends on what phone you have? Apple or Android.
You only need one device to store your music and act as a UPNP Server.
The Phantoms are the renderer hence they effectively do the digital to analog conversion.
(The CXN device needs a digital to analog convertor in order to drive the analog speakers it connects to - its irrelevant in the case of the Phantom speakers.)
The most important decision you need to make is to decide what your storage/upnp server is. Personally I recommend a fully fledged PC of some type rather than a NAS device especially if you intend to make use of other software. A full PC allows you to use it for other things such as photo backups, monitoring software, video playback etc.
In my case I use a Windows 10 PC for things other than my music, eg software that monitors my fishtank parameters etc. Just make sure whatever device you get can run the software that you need. I would recommend a small fanless PC but others may disagree.
I was also using PLEX software as my upnp server which was great for playing local music to the Phantoms and also for storing and playing videos to my smart TV but Plex does not support internet radio which is why I use Mininserver/Mininstreamer to listen to radio stations - its powerful software but not that easy if you aren't computer literate. Again one advantage of a PC based solution is the opportunity to try a wide variety of software (often free) whereas a NAS will run a more limited range of software.
I have an Apple device and I use MConnect to select my music/radio tracks - its fairly simple (a good thing) and works well for me.
Couple of questions for you:
1. Is the device you are planning to use to select your music IOS or Android?
2. Do you intend to listen to the radio over upnp?
3. Are you happy to go the DIY approach or would you prefer to purchase a fully setup music player?
kantblue
PS I think you said you already have a windows 10 PC? If you want to see how this works you can set this up easily and for free.
If you don't want to listen to the radio via upnp then try installing Plex - its self-explanatory but there is a setting to turn on the UPNP server. If you have an IOS device and want to listen to radio then try MinimServer for your local music as the setting up is easy for local music. You will then need an app to select your music and direct it to the phantoms - this depends on what phone you have? Apple or Android.
