HI-FI Spotify & Apple Music STREAMING for BEGINNERS (1/2)

This episode is brought to you by EARMEN:

🎥 Camera: Olaf von Voss
🎬 Editor: John Darko
🕺🏻 Motion GFX: John Darko
💰 Ad segment: Jana Dagdagan

📳 Hi-Fi Spotify & Apple Music for BEGINNERS ⬅️ Part 2

💻 How to add AirPlay reception to a Mac

⏰ HOW OUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS GET MADE:

0:00 Intro
3:06 MacBook Air (Spotify Connect)
6:47 Raspberry Pi (Spotify Connect / Apple Music + AirPlay)
11:43 Xiaomi Mi Box S (Spotify Connect / Apple Music + Chromecast)
14:07 Gapless playback

🚨 None of the links below is an affiliate link 🚨

Doorstops…

👉🏻 Doorstop #1
👉🏻 Doorstop #2

Network streamers...

👉🏻 Raspberry Pi 4
👉🏻 A beginner’s guide to Spotify Connect on the Raspberry Pi
👉🏻 Xiaomi Mi Box S
👉🏻 EVanlak HDMI Dummy Plug

Smartphones...

👉🏻 LG V40
👉🏻 iPhone 6S Plus

Hifi system components...

👉🏻 KEF LS50 Meta
👉🏻 NAD C 316BEE V2
👉🏻 Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M

Cables...

👉🏻 Amazon USB cable
👉🏻 iFi USB-A to USB-C adapter
👉🏻 AudioQuest Evergreen interconnect

Also seen/mentioned in the video...

👉🏻 iFi ZEN DAC
👉🏻 Chord Mojo
👉🏻 Maisons du Monde LENOX sideboard:
👉🏻 GIK Acoustics wall panels & bass traps:

Further reading/viewing…

👉🏻 Do I need a DAC for (lossy) Spotify?
👉🏻 A beginner’s guide to DACs
👉🏻 More on DACs for beginners
👉🏻 Yes, hi-res audio is a distraction for beginners
👉🏻 What is gapless playback?
👉🏻 More on Apple Music

#beginners #spotifyhifi #applemusic

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[griffith]

What a breath of fresh air . Basic advice with great perspective. YouTuber audio content is so often absurdly complex and niche. This is Gold John

[dukefan]

"hifi Spotify"

If only Spotify hi-fi finally would come out

[martinsVcm]

I'll never understand why Google stopped producing Chromecast Audio. I have one connected to my speakers and is perfect for this. Small, easy to install. Thanks for the video, great as always!

[harryn]

Loved the video, please do keep doing the beginner friendly content alongside your reviews etc.

The beginner stuff is what encouraged me to put together my first hi-fi system, so thank you!

[Akstergrind]

I'm very new to the world of streaming, so "beginner" videos like this are incredibly useful learning tools for me. I'm discovering so much about hi-fi generally from your content, so thanks very much and keep 'em coming!

[adamyelle]

This is why I love Spotify so much. I like the way that you can control it from your phone, but your streamer is pulling it direct from the source. It also works across so many different devices.

[harrydavidson]

I was really confused about streaming music as I grew up with vinyl, cassettes and then cd's. My solution a couple of years ago was to buy a Yamaha rn803d. This allows me to stream music from a bunch of providers and the amp has around 23 inputs in it. I can still listen to all my vinyl, cassettes and cd's but it has helped educate me on the streaming front and has been fantastic to use. I have also been able to listen to lots of new music that I wouldn't have otherwise heard. I also think that this route was probably the simplest way to go. My previous hi fi had a valve pre, a power, a phono, record deck with separate power supply etc etc. This newer set up has 4 items...turntable/cd/cassette and amp. Always enjoy your videos. Thanks 👍

[garthmckeil]

A few years back I let go of my "audiophile" aspirations and parted with my Denon/paradigm based system. I needed a smaller simpler system that fit with a simpler lifestyle. At this point I am running an Nvidia Shield box for TV and Music and feeding the optical to a set of Klipsch "The Fives". Not a perfect system but an adequate & simple system that the whole family can understand and operate.

[leeharveydarke]

First rule of Darko Club - never close the tab until you hear the eye pops.

[Dave_Rice]

I've been using Raspberry Pis for years, but thank you for making this video. The technical details can be very hard to sort through especially for beginners. It's a great service for people just dipping their toes into the world of streaming. One comment I would add is just how much of a bargain the Raspberry Pi is. The Pi itself starts around $35 in the US. You do have to take into account the cost of the USB cable (unless you are like me and have a ton of those things lying around), the AC adapter, the SD card, and a case. All in, you are still in for WAY less than $100. What else in hi-fi costs so little? And, say you pick one up and streaming music just isn't your thing? There are literally thousands of things people use these little computers for. From learning how to write code, to building robots, to making a sweet home theater PC. Make the jump! Embrace your inner geek! So much fun for so little money.

[woodshop-audio]

I love it when you do these "how to" videos. I'm not a beginner but found this really interesting and it gave me some ideas that I had not thought about before. Keep doing these!

[jwbrook]

Love using my raspberry pi with Volumio as a streamer. Thank you for that encouragement in your other videos!

AND, one of my favorite features of Spotify Connect is that you can use any device with Spotify installed as the “remote“. So, I can start playing a track on my phone, walk into the next room and continue managing my listening session from my iPad, or turn on my computer and do the same. To me, that is just about the epitome of convenience, which really, is what streaming is mostly about.

Your “back to the basics“ videos are very helpful, John. Much appreciated!

[cbayardelle]

I’m so glad you explained streaming using a laptop, I bought an amp that has a digital input, & was told to hook up my pc to listen to music. I’ve have Spotify on my iPad. I’ve been using a meridian 203 dac & Cambridge audio cd2 player for years. I’m purchasing a Wimm pro to stream to my new system. I now understand that I needed to have Spotify on my laptop to use my new amp’s dak. My laptop is very old, & I’ve been using iPads since their inception. For the first time I’m listening to bookshelf speakers, after using different magnepans models since the 80’s.
I can’t thank you enough

[JeffJacquesmd]

Great video John.
One of the things I love about the audio community is our desire to help people on their own individual audio journey. This video is critical to helping neophytes improve their experience and enjoyment of music.

[rayhilliard]

Thanks so much for this video. I'm 60 and just getting re-interested in hi-fi, and much has passed me by over the last 20 years. Looking forward to learn how to stream using good hi-fi separates as I enter retirement next month and will have time on my hands again.

[sesomediagroup]

Thank you for making this video.

One comment about the term “streaming”: when I first started putting my system together at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I had a really hard time distinguishing music service streaming (i.e.Tidal/Qobuz/Spotify) from ripped CD file streaming from a domestic music server. Eventually, I realized that when most people discuss “streaming, ” it is in the way John discusses in this video: from a commercial service over the interwebs.

If, however, you enter the audiophile world by ripping a large CD collection (via an Innuos product) into files that you can play across your home, one also can consider that to be streaming.. It’s just a different use case and application than what John discusses here.

[doopisday]

If you’re talking about streaming Apple Music remotely, it’s helpful to mention Apple TV 4K. This is the one instance where using airplay is similar to Spotify Connect. If you airplay to the Apple TV, it will stream from the Apple TV, not the phone. Much less flexible than Spotify Connect, but worth mentioning. Also the Apple TV makes a great visual control for seeing your music playing as others have already mentioned.

[calvinkhor]

Thank you for making a truly beginner friendly video for the beginners. There are many people who would like to get to know the audiophile world but they’re discouraged by the “pros” whom I’d call the keyboard warriors. This is very easy to understand, I’m excited for the next one! 🤓

[atulnsingh]

It is simple to be complicated, but complicated to “be simple”!
And you do it every time, with so much ease. Keep it up John 👍

[jacksonianc]

Glad to see a very empathetic approach to getting into high-end audio—just discovered your channel and I'm loving it.