Ipad as Music Server

JoeyGS · Sep 19, 2012

Has anyone tried the following digital source configuration with an Ipad?

External hard disk ---> Airport Extreme ---wifi--> Ipad ----> USB adapter (camera kit) -----> USB Dac

In the above configuration, the Ipad plays the music file stored at the external hard disk via wifi thru the Airport extreme.

The reason for the above is the limited storage space built-in into he Ipad.

Also, will the digital music data retain its format, if hi-res, after it has gone through the above chain?

JackD201 · Sep 20, 2012

Is this configuration possible at all?

JoeyGS · Sep 20, 2012

JackD201 said:
Is this configuration possible at all?

Really have not tried it yet but the airport extreme has a USB port where you can attach an external hard disk

I already used the above setup with out the airport extreme and external hard disk. Just used the camera kit with USB into the USB DAC and you have clean and detailed sound. The iPad is a very good source as there is no moving mechanical part/s that would induce noise.

rblnr · Sep 20, 2012

Have not done that, would think you need iTunes on a computer somewhere to manage as the Airport Extreme with an HD attached does not function as a NAS. I do have a few systems being fed by $99 Airport Express' using the toslink out. iPad is the controller (using the remote app), external hard drive holds the music that is served by iTunes. I highly doubt that you can get USB digital audio out from the iPad, but as my wife will quickly point out, I've been wrong before.

My point is that (which you may already know) if you have a computer, you're $99 away from getting the same music and not having your iPad tethered to a DAC which sounds clumsy to me. This is if you can accommodate toslink. Otherwise you have to add a toslink to USB adapter. If iTunes is your server software, you have to change the output res in the Midi interface to accommodate hi-res, then back again to 16/44.1. There are a bunch of programs such as Amarra and bit perfect that can do this automatically though. Lastly, if you can find one, less than $300 gets you a Squeezebox Touch. USB out, server software that automatically adjusts bit/sample rate, good iPad control software, etc.

JackD201 · Sep 20, 2012

AFAIK the external disk port is for backup purposes (Time Machine). In any case I'll ask my partner (not the audio business, the IT one) if it's possible. I doubt it though.

JoeyGS · Sep 20, 2012

rblnr said:
Have not done that, would think you need iTunes on a computer somewhere to manage as the Airport Extreme with an HD attached does not function as a NAS. I do have a few systems being fed by $99 Airport Express' using the toslink out. iPad is the controller (using the remote app), external hard drive holds the music that is served by iTunes. I highly doubt that you can get USB digital audio out from the iPad, but as my wife will quickly point out, I've been wrong before.

I am currently getting digital audio signal from the IPad thru it's LOD by buying the camera kit connector. The camera kit has one adapter where you connect to the IPad's LOD and on the other end you have USB out. From the USB out connector you use a USB cable which will be connected to an external USB DAC. It's works!

The reason I am exploring this is that I now have an IPad and no extra laptop or PC as music server.

Larry Ho · Sep 27, 2012

hi, this configuration is perfectly ok.

We tested and play around iPad + Camera kit with Da Vinci 384K DAC. The result is nice but highest sampling rate is 48K only.

Also, the power profile of USB descriptor is different for each DAC's USB interface. Not every USB 2.0 DAC can be compatible with this configuration.

Enjoy.

JoeyGS · Sep 27, 2012

Hi Larry,

Thanks for your input.

An option that I am thinking of to solve the USB compatibility is to insert a USB to spdif converter between the camera kit connector and the dac, so that dacs with spdif inputs can also be used.

DACMan · Sep 30, 2012

You need to confirm that the USB port on the Airport Extreme can be connected to a USB DAC (or other "USB AUDIO OUTPUT DEVICE").

While the USB ports on most computers can be connected to either, the computer sees the DAC as a "USB audio device"
and not all media players and such have the necessary drivers to work that way.

Many devices (like most Blu-Ray players) can be connected to a thumb drive but NOT a DAC.

For example, the Squeezebox Touch CAN, but you have to tweak the software to get it to work
(which you can do because it is actually an itty-bitty Linux computer

JoeyGS said:
Really have not tried it yet but the airport extreme has a USB port where you can attach an external hard disk

I already used the above setup with out the airport extreme and external hard disk. Just used the camera kit with USB into the USB DAC and you have clean and detailed sound. The iPad is a very good source as there is no moving mechanical part/s that would induce noise.

JoeyGS · Oct 15, 2012

Will this work?

Ipad2 ----> Camera Kit USB adapter -----> USB cable with separate data and power lines (connected to battery source) -----> M2tech Hiface I USB-SPDIF converter ----> DAC

The reason I need to use the M2tech Hiface USB-SPDIF converter is due to my esternal DAC which only has a SDIF coaxial input connector. So since the Ipad2 cannot supply power to the Hiface, then a cable with separate data and power lines will be separately run thru a y-cable configuration and a battery pack will supply the needed 5 volts for the Hiface.

JoeyGS · Jan 24, 2013

I will try this solution to use Ipad as a music server:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...38769950.98669.460963790606035&type=1&theater

Some of the reviews:

http://www.audiostream.com/content/ifi-iusbpower-taking-audioquest-draginfly-dac-notch

http://www.ifi-audio.com/en/news.html

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/ifi-iusb-power-supply-neat-tweak-and-upgrade-usb-dac-13832/

jkeny · Jan 24, 2013

No this won't work as the hiface1 uses proprietary drivers. The hiface 2 will work but only if you use a usb hub.

Edit:The iPad reduced the power it will serve to connected devices from 100mA to 20mA with the introduction of IOS 4.2 - a new "feature" it would appear

. Even if a device reports itself as 20mA or less, & the device can use UAC2 native drivers, the iPad still requires some extra hoops for it to jump through. Not sure what extra hoops these are but some USB hubs satisfy this requirement.

As far as I know, the Airport Extreme downsamples everything to 48KHz also but maybe someone can correct me here?

JoeyGS · Jan 30, 2013

There is a current review of using the Ipad/Camera Kit Connector in conjunction with the iFi iUSB Power with USB-PSDIF converters. There were mixed results. Following is the excerpt from the review and the link to the full review:

The iFi USB’s applications run a little deeper than simple computer appendage. It designed to work with Apple’s iPad and Camera Connection Kit. I had mixed results with this.

I excitedly – and ultimately mistakenly – imagined the iFi brick to be a magic bullet for Apple iPad audiophillia – a way to enable communication between ANY USB device and Apple’s iPad. After all, the iFi was ponying up the necessary 5V so why would the iPad care what the power draw might be? But it did. It cared very much.

When attaching the following to the iFi iUSBPower and then to iPad, the “too much power” error made an unwelcome appearance and precluded sound routing to the USB device:

Peachtree Nova125 (XMOS)
Wyred4Sound uLINK (XMOS)
Micromega MyDAC (XMOS)

Ruh-roh. See a pattern there? At first blush, it seems the iPad CCK doesn’t enjoy pitching to XMOS chipsets but (I learned later that) iFi’s iDAC also runs with XMOS at the USB helm and the iPad brooks no quarrel with it. Ditto the Resonessence Concero – its Cypress CY7c68013A chip played ball beautifully. iPad audiophillia conclusions: three units that don’t work, two that do. Readers are advised to try before they buy should iPad playback be the number one aim of the iFi iUSBPower.

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2013/01/amr-ifi-iusbpower-review/

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Ipad as Music Server

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