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iPad2 as streamer/transport?

post #1 of 33
9/23/11 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
OK...this might seem like a question that's been asked and answered before, but I haven't seen a thread covering it here.

I have and am very happy with an SBT in my main, 2-channel rig. However...like just about everyone I assume...I lust after an iPad/2 as fancy, big touchscreen remote...lol. So much so that I've thought about selling my SBT (and high-current PSU) to fund an iPad2...and use it with an SB Duet I currently use in our Family Room (and have also elicited responses for alternatives to the rather pricey iPad...after all, if I just planned to use it as touchscreen remote, most tablets...I asusme...would do). BTW, that plan bit the dust when I was reminded that the Duet does not support hi-res.

Now I'm reading that the iPad/2, works rather easily..and rather well...as a transport unto itself? That a $29 (and like $5 on fleece-bay) camera connection kit converts the multi-port to usb, and can stream bit-perfect output up to 24/96?

This seems like HUGE news to me, yet I don't see a lot of hoopla about it? Am I missing something? Is the news too new? Too old? Rather than $500 for iPad/2 as remote, the iPad/2 becomes the remote/transport...slash post on AVS and check your email while you listen all-in-one?

Am I making too big a deal about this? Drawbacks? Doesn't really work? Anyone tried it and got any thoughts? Before I drop 5-hunee, I'm thinking about spending the $5 for that connection kit, and try it into a usb DAC.

CD

P.S. BTW, the reason I kept posting as iPad/2, is part of my question is will this work...if it works at all...with an iPad "1", as well as 2?
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post #2 of 33
9/23/11 at 4:11pm
I can't follow.
What are you trying to do? Put headphones in your iPad? Connect it to your amp with a wire? What is it I don't get about this wired "remote control"?

Oh, and the Camera Kit is just a USB port and an SD card slot (alternatively, there are two plugs) for the iPad.
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post #3 of 33
9/23/11 at 4:43pm
Yes CD, it's a capable transport and with iOS5 and iPad2 Mirroring, you'll be able to 'fling' any application content (audio/video/HD/1080x....whatever) right to an ATV2...lot's of apps do this already. S
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post #4 of 33
9/23/11 at 4:58pm
You want the iPad2 as mentioned already. The iPad1 won't mirror in the same way. Have a look at Plex while you are at it.

Philip
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post #5 of 33
9/23/11 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
No, no...I guess I didn't do a very good job of explaining this (or else I really misunderstand). I'm not talking about using the iPad/2 as remote to something else; of course I know that's not groundbreaking. With usb output, the iPad/2 becomes the player, yes?

So...iPad/2, camera connection converter to usb; usb output to usb DAC, and I touch an album and iPad/2 plays it. Did I miss something?

CD
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post #6 of 33
9/23/11 at 5:23pm
Nope, you didn't miss anything. iPad can play media stored in it......through wired interface or wirelessly through a network.....you choose. Ditch the USB interface/cable, install an Airport express via optical to the DAC and stream media stored on the iPad. Load up Pandora, LastFm, Spotify, etc and stream that audio content as well. No 'remote' application here....full multitasking. Minimize that app and surf,game,watch,learn,whatever. I call mine my couch buddy.
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post #7 of 33
9/23/11 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayhem13 View Post

Nope, you didn't miss anything. iPad can play media stored in it......through wired interface or wirelessly through a network.....you choose. Ditch the USB interface/cable, install an Airport express via optical to the DAC and stream media stored on the iPad. Load up Pandora, LastFm, Spotify, etc and stream that audio content as well. No 'remote' application here....full multitasking. Minimize that app and surf,game,watch,learn,whatever. I call mine my couch buddy.

How does AE do optical to a DAC? I know iTunes won't play my FLAC, and especially hi-res FLAC; but I think there's an app to play FLAC over network? Any way to go wired to the iPad?

CD
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post #8 of 33
9/23/11 at 6:38pm
I guess i 'assumed' the DAC has an optical input. The Airport has an Optical output...use a standard optical cable and a mini adapter. That's how i use em.

As for wired hookup, the only viable digital out i know of is this

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC953ZM/A

Are you sure there's an 'audible' difference?...if that what concerns you.

Airport express has been shown to be bit perfect at 44.1khz standard CD res....but your SB's do a good job at this as well. There's just ALOT more the ipad can do than the usual whole house audio solutions can.

I haven't reserched the whole camera/sd adapter thing but i have read about using digital camera protocol with special folder names and files with exactly eight characters in the name plus the extension.
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post #9 of 33
9/23/11 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayhem13 View Post

I guess i 'assumed' the DAC has an optical input. The Airport has an Optical output...use a standard optical cable and a mini adapter. That's how i use em.

As for wired hookup, the only viable digital out i know of is this

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC953ZM/A

Are you sure there's an 'audible' difference?...if that what concerns you.

Airport express has been shown to be bit perfect at 44.1khz standard CD res....but your SB's do a good job at this as well. There's just ALOT more the ipad can do than the usual whole house audio solutions can.

I haven't reserched the whole camera/sd adapter thing but i have read about using digital camera protocol with special folder names and files with exactly eight characters in the name plus the extension.

Sure; most DACs have an optical input...I just didn't see optical-out on the AE (I guess that's where the mini-adapter comes in?).

Wow, I'm sorry; I just don't follow what you're saying. I was just wondering if there was a way to stream to the iPad by a wire...vs. wirelessly? As far as the camera connector...it's just a usb output to any DAC that takes usb; I'm not sure where the whole 8-character folder name comes into play?

This thread has gotten out of whack. Guys...the iPad plays music; it's just there was never a way to get the music out of it to a stereo. Now there is; usb, via this camera converter.

Sheesh. Here, maybe this says it better than me http://www.benchmarkmedia.com/discus...ion-audio-dac1

CD
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post #10 of 33
9/23/11 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDLehner View Post

...the iPad plays music; it's just there was never a way to get the music out of it to a stereo. Now there is; usb, via this camera converter.

CD......um......there was ALWAYS a way to get music out of it.....without wires.....using Airplay. You wanna plug it in and tie it down.......be my guest. Kinda takes the portable outta the tablet though. Different strokes for different folks i guess.
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post #11 of 33
9/23/11 at 9:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayhem13 View Post

CD......um......there was ALWAYS a way to get music out of it.....without wires.....using Airplay. You wanna plug it in and tie it down.......be my guest. Kinda takes the portable outta the tablet though. Different strokes for different folks i guess.

OK...but is AE bit-perfect up to 24/96? I thought AE came with a LOT of trade-offs?

CD
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post #12 of 33
9/24/11 at 3:41am
I'm not sure you can get HD Audio out of an iPad.

But more importantly: you don't have a remote anymore then, right? I mean: Why on earth do you want to use an iPad to permanently connect it to your HiFi????
Wouldn't an AppleTV do here? Note: An AppleTV 2 is just an iPod touch without touch screen so anything audio you can do with an iPad you can also do with an AppleTV 2.
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post #13 of 33
9/24/11 at 4:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDLehner View Post

OK...but is AE bit-perfect up to 24/96? I thought AE came with a LOT of trade-offs?

CD

No, it can't do 24/96........yet. With iTunes offering high res audio downloads i'd like to believe hardware support isn't far off though. The iPad2 offers sooooo much funtionality right now, it's hard to fault it for it's lack of high res audio though.
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post #14 of 33
9/24/11 at 5:05am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolio107 View Post

I'm not sure you can get HD Audio out of an iPad.

But more importantly: you don't have a remote anymore then, right? I mean: Why on earth do you want to use an iPad to permanently connect it to your HiFi????
Wouldn't an AppleTV do here? Note: An AppleTV 2 is just an iPod touch without touch screen so anything audio you can do with an iPad you can also do with an AppleTV 2.

OK, to clear a few things up: I guess part of the confusion is where I would place the iPad/2. I would place it on the table by my listening position. So for all those who say "well, you lose the remote"...no; it is the remote and player in one.

For those who say "why don't you just use it as remote"? Well, I'd love to; but there is an economic consideration. Just dropping $500 for a "remote" is a purchase that isn't as easy to justify, as say...selling my SBT and PSU, because the iPad/2 can replace it, and it's basically an even swap dollar-wise.

For those who say "just get an ATV2 for the transport, and use the iPad/2 as remote...an ATV2 only adds $100 to the cost"...I believe both the ATV2 and AE are "crippled" in ways direct output out of the iPad/2 is not.

Again, if you read that article I posted a link to, output out of the iPad/2 is claimed and verified to be bit-perfect to 24/96. AFAIK, no other apple product can lay such claim? Not without something 3rd party...like Pure Music or Amarra...to transcode.

CD
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post #15 of 33
9/24/11 at 5:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayhem13 View Post

No, it can't do 24/96........yet. With iTunes offering high res audio downloads i'd like to believe hardware support isn't far off though. The iPad2 offers sooooo much funtionality right now, it's hard to fault it for it's lack of high res audio though.

No, it's a value to be sure. I mean look...if it could a) be it's own player, b) obviously be my remote (and again...just so there's no confusion...I'm talking about choosing something to play from it, that then streams directly out of it), c) allow me to check email while I'm listening to it, d) allow me to post on AVS and my own forum while I'm listening to it...and e) pick it up and do all the other iThings with it, when I'm not in the listening room; $500 is certainly a bargain.

So it's not a matter of faulting it for lack of hi-res. It's just that no hi-res is a deal-breaker for me. I'm not trying to "future-proof"; I have LOTS of hi-res files now. Otherwise, I would still sell the SBT and PSU...put a SB Duet that I have in the Family Room into my main system, and get an iPad/2 as remote. But, the Duet doesn't support hi-res either.

CD
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post #16 of 33
9/24/11 at 7:06am
CD:
Seems to me that storing music on the iPad is not viable - you're going to eat up that 64GB storage space in a hurry even with only 16/44.1 files...
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post #17 of 33
9/24/11 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mnilan View Post

CD:
Seems to me that storing music on the iPad is not viable - you're going to eat up that 64GB storage space in a hurry even with only 16/44.1 files...

Guys, I think I've already mentioned (more than once?); not looking to store music locally on the iPad/2. I have a 10T file-server, and the iPad/2 is more than capable of streaming from a shared, network device.

CD
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post #18 of 33
9/24/11 at 9:16am
Sell only the PSU, it's snake oil anyway.
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post #19 of 33
9/24/11 at 9:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDLehner View Post

For those who say "just get an ATV2 for the transport, and use the iPad/2 as remote...an ATV2 only adds $100 to the cost"...I believe both the ATV2 and AE are "crippled" in ways direct output out of the iPad/2 is not.

I don't believe that's the case.
I don't believe you'll get 24/96 audio output on the iPad. I know it's audio unit can handle that sample rate and process it internally but I don't believe it's going to leave it alone then when outputting it.
And I don't think you'll manage to connect a USB sound card to it but of course I could be wrong here.
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post #20 of 33
9/24/11 at 9:34am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolio107 View Post

I don't believe that's the case.
I don't believe you'll get 24/96 audio output on the iPad. I know it's audio unit can handle that sample rate and process it internally but I don't believe it's going to leave it alone then when outputting it.
And I don't think you'll manage to connect a USB sound card to it but of course I could be wrong here.

Did you read the article I posted from Benchmark Coolio? Do you think they're lying...what, just to sell DACs? I think they're doing OK without trying to push the iPad as something it's not.

CD
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post #21 of 33
9/24/11 at 10:59am
No, I didn't read it. And I said I could be wrong
Obviously you CAN connect a USB DAC to the iPad.

But I still don't understand the business case. I mean: do you HAVE that particular DAC?
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post #22 of 33
9/24/11 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolio107 View Post

No, I didn't read it. And I said I could be wrong
Obviously you CAN connect a USB DAC to the iPad.

But I still don't understand the business case. I mean: do you HAVE that particular DAC?

Why does he need that particular DAC? He's just looking for a way to get his 24/96 audio files streamed from his computer to his sound system, and this is the only Apple solution that seems like it will work.

Computer (streaming) ===> iPad2 (USB output) ===> DAC ===> Amplifier

(The suggestions of Airport Express and AppleTV are being shot down because they cannot output 24/96)

The only issue is that you mention that you want to keep the iPad2 at your listening position, so that you would have to have a longer USB run to your DAC (presumably). If this doesn't bother you, I say go for it. It's kind of an expensive experiment, but if that article says it works, and it looks like a good solution to your needs, do it.
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post #23 of 33
9/24/11 at 10:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDLehner View Post

Sure; most DACs have an optical input...I just didn't see optical-out on the AE (I guess that's where the mini-adapter comes in?).

[ ]
CD

On the AE (I have one connected to amplified speakers) the audio jack doubles as analogues and digital (optical) outputs. The same it true for the Mac Mini, but not true for the ATV2 (only optical).

philip
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post #24 of 33
9/25/11 at 1:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 5seonds View Post

Why does he need that particular DAC? He's just looking for a way to get his 24/96 audio files streamed from his computer to his sound system, and this is the only Apple solution that seems like it will work.

Computer (streaming) ===> iPad2 (USB output) ===> DAC ===> Amplifier

Yes, but you need a DAC with a USB interface that supports Apple's drivers. Are DACs on USB standardized like keyboards or mice? You can't bring your own drivers on iPad.

And OK, the second part would be whether CD'S DAC has a USB interface but reading his posts it probably has.
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post #25 of 33
9/25/11 at 3:47am
Thread Starter 
Well, for the record, I've mostly passed on this idea; but not for the reasons most have listed...lol. I guess this is still pretty "cutting-edge" for some, so there seems to be a lot of confusion about how this does or does not work (5seonds seems to be the only one who "got it").

Here's the idea guys: I currently have an SBT and PSU that I'm very happy with (and btw coolio, I do hear a difference with the non-switching PSU). But who wouldn't want an iPad/2 as remote? It's a great interface...big, bright, touchscreen controller right at your listening position. Not only that, but it can do so many other things, when it's not being your remote...and even during.

But, at $500, it's kinda like saying who wouldn't want a Porsche? However, if I could break-even in selling the SBT and PSU for an iPad/2...and gain a bit-perfect transport, and tocuhscreen remote...and wireless gadget...in the process, that might be a trade worth considering.

The article from Benchmark is because they have demonstrated it can work with their usb input; but I can't imagine it's for any reason exclusive to Benchmark...I'm sure any usb input will do (and yes, my DAC has usb input...whose doesn't?). My hesitations really have more to do with FLAC not being natively supported in Apple/iTunes. I think the ideal solution is for a cheap transport at the system location (like the $100 ATV2, if it only did hi-res and supported FLAC...maybe it does with a hack/jailbreak?), and then $500 for a remote doesn't seem so pricey.

Still...my wife already has an iPad2; for about $5 on eBay, I can get the camera connection kit needed and try it, before I would plunk down for my own. When I put it that way, I'd almost be stupid not to at least give it a shot (although I'm sure it will involve some tweaking).

CD
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post #26 of 33
9/25/11 at 6:23am
Any Adroid tablet can do what you was trying to do with the stupid iPad2. Why?
Because Apple "locks" their users to Apple hardware, to their formats, to Apple store. USB on Apple is used only with their hardware and software installed on PC/Mac. There is no "streaming" on third-party devices (not approved by Apple).

Android tablets have USB connectors (that accept external HDD), will have CIFS drivers to connect to a shared windows folder via WiFi - mapped DIRECTLY in the device as a folder, without a stupid software to run like the iTunes! Apple tablets have also microSD card port that can be used to expand the storage and can take unlimited ammounts of SD cards, each with another content. Andoroid tablets will play FLAC files over a digital connection (usually HDMI).
And you can use several different "Market" stores, or you can install an app from SD, or from USB, or over the network.

Sure, some people think that iPad give them some kind of social advantage in front of their friends. Good luck with that!
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post #27 of 33
9/25/11 at 6:43am
Please let us know how it works out CD. After reading the Benchmark link, i think it's going to be plug and play with any USB Dac. It wpuld make for a very nice, portable, hi-res Jukebox......although i doubt my 45yr old ears can discern the difference anymore.
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post #28 of 33
9/25/11 at 8:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoNic67 View Post

Any Adroid tablet can do what you was trying to do with the stupid iPad2. Why?
Because Apple "locks" their users to Apple hardware, to their formats, to Apple store. USB on Apple is used only with their hardware and software installed on PC/Mac. There is no "streaming" on third-party devices (not approved by Apple).

Android tablets have USB connectors (that accept external HDD), will have CIFS drivers to connect to a shared windows folder via WiFi - mapped DIRECTLY in the device as a folder, without a stupid software to run like the iTunes! Apple tablets have also microSD card port that can be used to expand the storage and can take unlimited ammounts of SD cards, each with another content. Andoroid tablets will play FLAC files over a digital connection (usually HDMI).
And you can use several different "Market" stores, or you can install an app from SD, or from USB, or over the network.

Sure, some people think that iPad give them some kind of social advantage in front of their friends. Good luck with that!

I agree with all that. I even started a thread looking for feedback on alternative tablets...but no one has really chimed in much.

It's easy to sh*t on someone else's idea; instead, why don't you tell us what you do Sonic?

CD
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post #29 of 33
9/25/11 at 2:26pm
You can play flac on the iPad, just not with Apple's iPod App.
I believe there are flac players for iPad although I don't use any.

Also, the iPad can use 96/24 FLAC music, iPeng does that (iPeng does play play but only as a stream from Squeezebox Server).
What I do NOT know is what the iPad's hardware does with the 96kHz, 24 Bit decoded raw audio iPeng sends it...
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post #30 of 33
9/25/11 at 3:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CDLehner View Post

It's easy to sh*t on someone else's idea; instead, why don't you tell us what you do Sonic?

What do I do? I DON'T use my Android tablet for streaming. I have a Viewsonic GTablet (modded with Android 3.0 and al the neccessary bells and whistles) but it's just incomod to use a tablet for that. Tablet is moving a lot with me, I don't fell like connecting it to receiver and power supply in the living room.

I prefer to use the WDTV Live for streaming FLAC files from my Win7 shares, over ethernet, to my digital receiver. It is permanently connected.
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