"Cast-able" music streamer for home use?

[technodanvan]

I'm not sure really what it is I need, but here is the situation. I'm turning part of my office into a music room of sorts, with my desk at one end of the room and the hifi stuff at the other end - I'm guessing the room is around 20x12 or so. I have a cheap set of speakers for my computer that I intend to use for normal computer alerts and the occasional Youtube video. However, I want to be able to 'cast' music over to the main stereo for music as well. I do not have, and do not want, a TV screen at that end of the room, so it needs to be something my computer can 'see' and control but does not require a screen to function.

The hifi setup itself is in limbo now, and is currently cobbled together from various low-end stuff I have lying around. It'll eventually be replaced with a good preamp/DAC (I'm leaning towards the NAD M12 or RME ADI-2, but there are so many to choose from!) and a NAD M22 amplifier, along with a CD transport and a turntable of some kind. Speakers will vary depending on projects going on at the moment, but the likely permanent party will be the Wavecor Ardent. I mention this so you get an idea of the level I'm shooting for, so maybe it would turn out some other streaming thing would do a better job...perhaps even something with local storage and a decent remote control? I have all my music already ripped to FLAC on a Synology NAS (currently about 500GB in all) so I'd really rather not have to do that all over again though.

Anyway, looking for any and all suggestions as I'm really unfamiliar with this arena. I'm sure there are inexpensive solutions out there, but if there's something worth the money I'll certainly entertain it.

[Kevin P]

An easy way is to have your computer send audio via Bluetooth to your stereo. If your receiver, preamp or DAC doesn't have Bluetooth built in I recommend the Audioengine B1 Bluetooth receiver. It supports the aptX-HD Bluetooth codec, has a great DAC plus an optical output so you can connect it digitally. It has great range too, and you can pair multiple devices (phone, tablet, computer) to it.

[technodanvan]

Thanks Kevin, I hadn't even considered bluetooth as a possibility. Current preamp does not have bluetooth but my desktop computer does, though I don't know if it supports modern bluetooth since it's several years old at this point. I had been entertaining the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 as a possibility...the price is a bit higher than I'd like given the functionality, but considering the majority of my music playback may well come through the device perhaps it is not so bad.

[technodanvan]

I've been doing a little more research and finding a lot of different devices, ranging from Yamaha and Pioneer systems up to things far beyond what I'm willing to spend (looking at you, Naim!). From my research I also determined the chosen device natively needs to be able to process DSD streams since most standalone DACs do not, meaning this should either plug directly into an amp or use analog outputs to a good preamp. From the research, it appears the Cambridge Audio Azure 851N might be a better choice given the better internal DAC.

[Faye Groen]

You have 500GB of music stored in FLAC format on a Synology NAS and would prefer not to have to re-rip it.

Based on the information provided, you may want to consider a streaming solution that has network connectivity and can connect to your computer and NAS. Some popular options include the Sonos Connect, the Chromecast Audio, and the Bluesound Node 2i. These devices can be controlled through a smartphone app or a standalone remote and can stream music from various sources, including your computer and NAS. It's worth researching each option to see which one fits your needs and budget best.

[technodanvan]

Hi Faye! I ended up going with a NAD M12 and using Roon to stream to it. Works pretty darn well!

Edit: I forgot that I initially purchased a Raspberry Ii with HiFi Berry 'hat' that worked really well, also with Roon. The M12 came a little bit later.