- #Add minimserver to audio player upgrade#
- #Add minimserver to audio player software#
- #Add minimserver to audio player Bluetooth#
Once configured, a Connect panel lets you select one or more “speakers” for playback. The Play-Fi app may have undergone numerous updates since the last time I played with it, but to me it looked the same. I also used the Play-Fi app for connecting a Polk Audio Omni S2 Wi-Fi speaker in another room, to verify Play-Fi’s multiroom capability. I connected the rPlay to a Hegel Music Systems Röst integrated amp, using both the Arcam’s variable analog and coaxial digital audio outputs. While the rPlay’s Wi-Fi connectivity proved robust, I made a point of using a wired Ethernet connection for my installation, just to guarantee that there would be no dropouts or other problems.
#Add minimserver to audio player upgrade#
A recent upgrade of router to a Netgear Orbi, which I bought to ensure dependable wireless streaming of 4K-resolution video from Netflix, could also be a factor. The difference with the rPlay might have something to do with Play-Fi - since I checked out the McIntosh RS100, DTS has updated the app five times. No such problems when I installed the rPlay in my audio rack, which is on a different floor of the house from my wireless router. I would then have to unplug and return the device to the desired spot and hope the connection would hold. In previous outings with Play-Fi products, including McIntosh’s RS100 Wi-Fi loudspeakers, I’ve found setup a drag: pairing with my wireless network required numerous attempts, and inevitably ended in my placing the device within a few feet of my router. The rPlay comes with an outboard 12V power supply.
#Add minimserver to audio player software#
It also has a LAN connector, a screw terminal for its Wi-Fi antenna, a USB port (for software upgrades only), small buttons for system resets and WPS pairing, and a rocker Power switch. The rPlay’s bottom surface is made of a rubberized material to prevent it from scratching or sliding off the top of a preamp or integrated amp - a likely place for the rPlay in most systems.Ĭonnections on the rPlay’s rear panel are limited to coaxial digital and fixed and variable RCA analog outputs. About the size of a mass-market paperback, it has a sturdy, all-metal case that slopes down gently in front, with buttons to adjust or mute the volume when the analog outputs are active. While many compact devices designed to add a specific function to a system can look cheap and feel cheesy ( e.g., media streamers made by Roku and its competitors), the rPlay is, in comparison, extraordinarily well built. Enabling the Critical Listening mode in Play-Fi boosts that to 24/192, but streaming is then limited to one device at a time in that situation, Arcam suggests that you use wired Ethernet, not Wi-Fi. Used in a multiroom configuration with up to eight separate rPlay or other Play-Fi-compatible devices, it can stream uncompressed audio with up to 16-bit/48kHz resolution. You connect it to your network and control it using the Play-Fi app, which provides integration with Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, and a handful of other services. The rPlay’s UPnP feature is compatible with a wide range of media servers, and its support of 802.11b/g/n is supplemented by wired Ethernet.Īside from that, there’s not too much more to say about the rPlay. Using the DTS Play-Fi and Apple AirPlay platforms, it adds network connectivity to a preamp or integrated amp.
#Add minimserver to audio player Bluetooth#
The rPlay is part of Arcam’s rSeries line of audio accessories, which also includes a phono preamp, USB DAC, and Bluetooth streamer. Two grand just to add streaming? Thanks, but no. And while the features and build quality these offer can be impressive, many are also component-size beasts that add bulk and complexity to a system, and some are also downright expensive. A number of such players are made by companies ranging from Marantz to McIntosh. Network audio players are standalone devices designed to add Internet audio and DLNA/UPnP streaming capabilities to an existing system. A related category that I’ve ignored completely is the network audio player, a group that includes Arcam’s new rPlay ($599 USD). In the past year I’ve reviewed an array of all-in-one products, ranging from wireless powered speakers to integrated models combining streamer, DAC, preamp, and amp functions in a single case.
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