Streaming Media player to replace dead CD player (1 Viewer)

[JSJ]

My CD changer died and I have a ton of CDs. I decided to enter the new age and use my Synology NAS to stream ripped copies of my collection. Since I have a ROKU I added the appropriate channel and connected to the Synology device just fine and am able to stream music. I was actually rather pleased with the ease of that connection.

So, whats the problem? I have a Denon AVR 4806 and have two of the amplifiers dedicated to zone 2 which goes to several rooms in the house. The ROKU is connected to the Denon via HDMI and it seems that the Denon will not route anything but analog signals to zone 2. I can only receive streaming in my den. Boo.

My question is....is there any device out there that will stream audio and connect via RCA cables to the Denon AVR to perfectly replace the defunct CD changer?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[JohnRice]

Do you have a price range? There's a pretty broad selection of options, but they kind of tend to be expensive. Also, current receivers, especially Denon, tend to have several streaming options built in. Your receiver is many generations old, so it lacks playback of HD audio tracks as well as other current options like 4K and Atmos/DTS:X.

 

[Al.Anderson]

A cheap solution is to use a Roku and a Plex server.

 

[JohnRice]

Are there any Rokus that have analog or optical/coaxial digital audio outputs that a DAC can be connected to? To get it to work with his current receiver, he needs a source with an analog output.

 

[JSJ]

Thank you all for your responses.

I would rather avoid purchasing a new DVR. The price for one of those will render just about any other device cheap. I realize I am laddering technology here, but I have no intention of replacing my Polk speakers or my screen.

I have the ROKU in place already and it is talking just fine to the NAS so the logical connections are just fine. My intention is to re-rip all my cds in a lossless format so that I will be done with that once and for all. Even though I won't get the benefit today.

I have not limited price at this point. Obviously, lower is better. I realize that I won't get the best, purest results, but after all this is going to remote-room wall/ceiling speakers so there is an inherent limitation there.

So any list of devices for a client (don't need disk space!) will be welcome. I stumbled into something called Popcorn Hour (I am beginning to feel generationally disconnected) but have not explored. Any other HW solutions|?

 

[English Invader]

A DVD/Blu-Ray player with RCA and USB ports. Streaming wouldn't be possible (although some might have an app for Spotify) but you could run your music off USB pens or just off the CD like you did before.

You could also hook up a smartphone/tablet to your TV and stream music through Spotify but then you wouldn't have the benefit of using your own personal collection.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Are there any Rokus that have analog or optical/coaxial digital audio outputs that a DAC can be connected to? To get it to work with his current receiver, he needs a source with an analog output.

The 2016 model Roku Ultra has a digital optical output. This feature was removed from the latest model, but I am sure there are some available on the used market.

However, I wouldn't recommend the Ultra anyway. I own this 4K model, and it's been the most unstable piece of gear I've ever owned. Roku's software engineering group has no clue what they are doing. They have introduced no less than 5 different bugs when releasing a new firmware version over the 1.5 years I have owned an Ultra. The current bug involves complete loss of audio with DD 5.1 material, introduced with a new firmware release a couple of weeks ago. A subsequent release from a few days ago did not address the issue.

Last year one of the bugs actually ended up bricking my unit, and Roku made me pay shipping to California to get a warranty replacement. My advice is to stay far away from Roku's 4K units. They have absolutely no quality control as part of their software development. Their 1080p units have been fine, though.

I ended up acquiring an Apple TV 4K device as an alternative, and it's been very stable. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the outputs necessary for the original poster of this thread.

 

[messzeal]

How I wish I have the correct answers to your questions.. But the truth is that I'm not really sure.