Linn Owners

Linn's Time Is Up

DavidHB

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Hi @DavidHB, yes, I'm Davaar 4.79.383 on my Linn DS and DS-I. I only upgraded to this to take advantage of Space Optimisation v2. The thought of letting beta software (from Linn) run amok gives me cold sweats. I'm already struggling with Linn's control apps as it is, which seem to be in perpetual beta. The Linn helpdesk didn't mention anything about upcoming support for other media servers in future versions of Davaar and I'm not all that keen on signing up to an annual licence for MinimServer 2, especially if I'm not sure it'll have the outcome I want.
The Davaar firmware, in my experience, is much more stable than the control software, in part of course because it is not dependent on local WiFi conditions. I have been on the Davaar beta channel for several years, and I have never had a significant software glitch with my DSMs. Occasionally new stuff has not worked as described in the release notes, but the core functionality has always remained stable. Linn firmware is built on the OpenHome stack, which originated in the very earliest days of the DS, and is pretty solid by now. By contrast, Kazoo and I think the Linn App as well, are built in Microsoft's cross platform Xamarin development environment.

As you are using Android, Have you tried the BubbleDS control point?. It has IMO a far more consistent and intuitive UI than Kazoo, provides lots of useful user options, and also has a proper Exit button so that you can force a restart and a network rescan if and when the WiFi loses touch with your system. There is a licence cost, but it is tiny.

As regards MinimServer, it may well be that version 0.85 works with Kazoo beta Pins; I just can't test that combination. And I don't regard the MinimServer 2 cost (£28 up front for up to three instances, plus £10 p.a. thereafter to receive updates and continue using MinimStreamer) as unreasonable, given that the author, Simon Nash, has to maintain a lot of platforms on which to test development builds ahd installations.

David

 
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Eldarboy

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I just want to be able to share the window like in Kinsky, i.e. the albums on the left and the playlist on the right, without always closing the playlist.
Fortunately, Kinsky migrated to the iPhone 11 I just upgraded to. Indeed this is an excellent point. I always use Kinsky to create playlists: it is more easily done than with the other apps.

 
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JensA

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Have you looked at Roon? There are quite a few of us here that have eschewed Linn's control apps, and have moved over to Roon.

If you use my referral link to sign up for Roon and you'll get an extra 30 days when you purchase:
@Quasimodo

Although I was never as frustrated with the Linn Apps as other users I strongly support Kelly's suggestion:

Although Roon is not for free (about 10 USD/Euro monthly) and will require a pretty fast CPU (either on a PC, Notebook, Mac, NUC or NAS) to run properly it has one "killer feature" which no Linn App can and will ever have:

I am talking about "context", i.e. well written (by top critics and journalists) artists bios and reviews of most of the albums I have ever heard. (please have a look at https://roonlabs.com/features )
 

image.png

In addition I love the excellent Tidal integration. I am no Quboz user but understand this works excellent as well.
Last but not least I have not encountered any technical problems with Roon.

Jens

 

StingRay

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@Quasimodo

Although I was never as frustrated with the Linn Apps as other users I strongly support Kelly's suggestion:

Although Roon is not for free (about 10 USD/Euro monthly) and will require a pretty fast CPU (either on a PC, Notebook, Mac, NUC or NAS) to run properly it has one "killer feature" which no Linn App can and will ever have:

I am talking about "context", i.e. well written (by top critics and journalists) artists bios and reviews of most of the albums I have ever heard. (please have a look at https://roonlabs.com/features )
 

9E5CBE7D-380A-4876-A4F4-17873B83A572.jpeg

In addition I love the excellent Tidal integration. I am no Quboz user but understand this works excellent as well.
Last but not least I have not encountered any technical problems with Roon.

Jens
Are these reviews not just from Allmusic? They appear on many Tidal albums as well, you don't need to spend loads of money for Roon, if that's all you want. You can also browse Allmusic for free, no need for a fast CPU. I think for just streaming from Tidal/Qobuz there is no need for Roon. But for many albums I play there are no reviews on Allmusic. 

I don't use a Linn streamer, seems there are too many issues to me.

 
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kelly200269

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In addition I love the excellent Tidal integration. I am no Quboz user but understand this works excellent as well.
Last but not least I have not encountered any technical problems with Roon.
Qobuz integration works just as seamlessly with Roon.

Personally, I just love Roon. It makes navigating my music an absolute pleasure  :)

 

kelly200269

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I think for just streaming from Tidal/Qobuz there is no need for Roon.
It's the way that Roon integrates all of your music libraries/sources that's the 'killer' feature.

It doesn't work on a folder hierarchy like other programs, and integrates your own personal library(ies) with your streaming 'library' (favourites). Very clever.

 
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StingRay

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It's the way that Roon integrates all of your music libraries/sources that's the 'killer' feature.

It doesn't work on a folder hierarchy like other programs, and integrates your own personal library(ies) with your streaming 'library' (favourites). Very clever.
But as I said just from streaming Tidal/Qobuz there seems little point. I don't have any libraries, I have a few cds on a USB stick which are not on the streaming sites, you can get loads of albums on a USB stick now. I don't do playlists or favourites either. I tend to play albums.

 
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JensA

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But as I said just from streaming Tidal/Qobuz there seems little point. I don't have any libraries
OK, this might be different.
However I really like the look and feel of Roon and the fantastic integration of my own music library (of about 90.000 songs) with Tidal.
As @kelly200269 just said: Roon is a joy to use.

And yes: It's just one google search to obtain dozens of reviews and bios of any album or artist but I simply like the fantastic integration of these features within Roon.  don't think that this 10 $ monthly is a wast of money besides the fact that this is a fraction of the price we all inclusive you have spent for audio hardware.


 

 
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frans5508

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If you're just streaming from Tidal/Qobuz, then I can appreciate where you're coming from.

However, Roon is a joy to use. Unlike the Linn apps, and Tidal's/Qobuz's web interfaces IMO.
Agreed.

I personally appreciate an intuitive user interface, high level of compatibility across devices/browsers and just a good user experience (bug free, speed, smooth loading, professional release management etc). I like the idea of having one app for all music. When just streaming, Roon offers perhaps less added value but the user experience is just a bit better and what i like is the way Roon makes suggestions/recommendations which goes further than for example Tidal or Quboz. When you have a fairly big library as I have it makes even more sense. To me, it's worth the $9.99....I can't call that expensive.....

 

StingRay

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OK, this might be different.
However I really like the look and feel of Roon and the fantastic integration of my own music library (of about 90.000 songs with Tidal).
As @kelly200269 just said: Roon is a joy to use.

And yes: It's just one google search to obtain dozens of reviews and bios of any album or artist but I simply like the fantastic integration of these features within Roon.  don't think that this 10 $ monthly is a wast of money besides the fact that this is a fraction of the price we all inclusive you have spent for audio hardware.


 
It all adds up, I don't usually spend that much on gear as I keep it for many years, so if I buy Tidal plus Roon that is probably more than I spend on gear. Tidal is £20pm, Roon is about £10pm? So £360 per year. You can get a used streamer for about £200.

 

frans5508

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It all adds up, I don't usually spend that much on gear as I keep it for many years, so if I buy Tidal plus Roon that is probably more than I spend on gear. Tidal is £20pm, Roon is about £10pm? So £360 per year. You can get a used streamer for about £200.
fair enough. it's personal, depending on budget, priorities etc!

 

sunbeamgls

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It all adds up, I don't usually spend that much on gear as I keep it for many years, so if I buy Tidal plus Roon that is probably more than I spend on gear. Tidal is £20pm, Roon is about £10pm? So £360 per year. You can get a used streamer for about £200.
Indeed, but without content, the £200 streamer is worthless, is it not? Content has to be paid for in some way or other (or at least it SHOULD be paid for).

 

StingRay

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Ray
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Indeed, but without content, the £200 streamer is worthless, is it not? Content has to be paid for in some way or other (or at least it SHOULD be paid for).
Well yes although there are quite a few offers around at the moment, I've had many months free this year, thanks to Deezer, Qobuz and Tidal offers. I'm now on a Tidal offer of £6 for 90 days, although they currently have  a better offer going.

Not worthless as you can play various internet radio stations, which are free, Radio Paradise has decent sound quality and the music is not too bad, you can also stream ripped cds.

 
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JensA

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Well yes although there are quite a few offers around at the moment, I've had many months free this year, thanks to Deezer, Qobuz and Tidal offers. I'm now on a Tidal offer of £6 for 90 days, although they currently have  a better offer going.

Not worthless as you can play various internet radio stations, which are free, Radio Paradise has decent sound quality and the music is not too bad, you can also stream ripped cds.
@StingRay
No doubt you are a very clever guy who knows how to safe money but I would not regard "ripped cds" as "free" music for obvious reasons :S .

It's entirely upto you to decide how to spend your money.
From your previous posts I do understand that you

- are not a friend of Linn streamers as there "seems to be too many issues" with this brand
- deem Roon's fee o 10 $/€/GBP monthly as too expensive and have no use for it
- like free Radio but are listenting to albums only

While it is absolutely OK to have these views I wonder why you are posting this in a "Linn Owners Club and Forum":
It might turn out to be a huge challenge to convince Owners of Linn streamers that they spent their $$$ in poor hardware and that they should store their music on an USB stick  :nuts:
 

 

Nestor Turton

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Jan 30, 2019
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@Quasimodo

Although I was never as frustrated with the Linn Apps as other users I strongly support Kelly's suggestion:

Although Roon is not for free (about 10 USD/Euro monthly) and will require a pretty fast CPU (either on a PC, Notebook, Mac, NUC or NAS) to run properly it has one "killer feature" which no Linn App can and will ever have:

I am talking about "context", i.e. well written (by top critics and journalists) artists bios and reviews of most of the albums I have ever heard. (please have a look at https://roonlabs.com/features )
 

9E5CBE7D-380A-4876-A4F4-17873B83A572.jpeg

In addition I love the excellent Tidal integration. I am no Quboz user but understand this works excellent as well.
Last but not least I have not encountered any technical problems with Roon.

Jens
That's fine if you want all that information, but I prefer simplicity. The two parts of Roon that deterred me from using were the suggestions (there is something inherent in me that makes me want to choose what to play rather than be software driven) and reviews. I don't really understand the concept of a top critic. It is very easy these days to listen to something for free and then make a decision about whether you wish to buy the LP, CD or download. Do I really need to read what a critic thinks of the music to make this decision? Lots of critics write bad reviews about music that I really like and good reviews about albums I would never wish to endure again: so I choose to ignore them these days. 

I have albums in a JRiver MC library with the essential details in the metadata so I can easily find an album to play. True, it doesn't tell me who played sitar on Amon Düül II's Tanz Der Lemmings, but I still enjoy the album without being aware it was none other than the great Al Gromer Khan. However, it does tell me the Type of Music, Genre, Album Artist, Album Title, Track Artist, Track Name and who wrote the song, which is enough. Quite a few of the songs in my library have lyrics attached. 

So whilst I understand the appeal of Roon for many, I remain one of the few who like a more basic interface. I played vinyl records for years; many of which barely tell told me who was playing on the album so I have grown used to minimalism. 

 

StingRay

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Ray
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@StingRay
No doubt you are a very clever guy who knows how to safe money but I would not regard "ripped cds" as "free" music for obvious reasons :S .

It's entirely upto you to decide how to spend your money.
From your previous posts I do understand that you

- are not a friend of Linn streamers as there "seems to be too many issues" with this brand
- deem Roon's fee o 10 $/€/GBP monthly as too expensive and have no use for it
- like free Radio but are listenting to albums only

While it is absolutely OK to have these views I wonder why you are posting this in a "Linn Owners Club and Forum":
It might turn out to be a huge challenge to convince Owners of Linn streamers that they spent their $$$ in poor hardware and that they should store their music on an USB stick  :nuts:
 
I did not say Ripped cds were free but as I have bought them in the past there is no expenditure. I only rip the odd album which is not on the streaming sites, I can plug that into my streamer.

i did seriously consider buying a used Linn streamer but was put off by the issues mentioned on this forum, so I bought some other brand which works very well.

Roon for my set up is of very little use, so is not worth it.

I never said I liked internet radio, you need to check why I said you can use it, I only use it occasionally as I prefer choosing my own music and yes it is usually whole albums.

why am I here, because all these posts come up on the WAM forum, some are interesting. This post is about changing from Linn to other brands.

Hope this clarifies. 

 
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