Streamed music through older speakers

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expat

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My wife and I really enjoy listening to Swiss classical radio streamed through our android tablet. At the moment, the tablet is connected to the input jack of our Tivoli desktop radio, and all is well for background music. But once in a while we would like to crank up the sound and the Tivoli has limitations.

We have an older stereo with some nice Paradigm speakers but connecting the tablet through our old 30 year amp sounds like garbage.

I don't want to buy a whole new system, but is there a small good sounding amp we could use between the tablet and our existing speakers?

Thank you.
 
You sure you have the right forum? Welcome to the world of music compressed by computer to fit a data stream. You might try turning the outputof the box way down and conecting to the AUX input on your amp if it has one, but without knowing more about the old amp it's difficult to say. I have more than 30 year old gear made bu Marantz and Pioneer which has outstanding power output and frequency response, and lack of distortion, so 30 years old doesn't mean much.
 
How are you connecting the tablet to the old amp. I do this and it works quite well with a 40 year old technics stereo. The amp has an aux input I am using with the stereo plugs to 3.5mm . Make sure you do not raise the tablet volume too loud as it will overwhelm the stereo plug inputs.
 
You have quite a few options depending on what you want to spend (if anything) and relative to the type of inputs you have on your current receiver.

What do you have driving the Paradigm speakers? I recently gutted my home stereo and replaced my huge Yorkville power amp/Harman-Kardon combo with a Denon AVR-X4200 and a Speakercraft power amp to run my sub. I now just use AirPlay (which the receiver supports natively) to stream from my iPhone, computer....etc. Airplay obviously isn't an option for you, but a setup leveraging something similar like Chromecast, depending on what inputs your receiver supports, might be an option.

I had previously run a Logitech Squeezebox, which I used the optical out into a PS Audio DAC, which then fed into the receiver.
 
Does a tablet need to be plugged into an amplified type input like a turntable? Older systems like yours blow away mass-fi Best Buy garbage,so it's definitely not your stereo. Must be some kind've a connection problem.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Does a tablet need to be plugged into an amplified type input like a turntable? Older systems like yours blow away mass-fi Best Buy garbage,so it's definitely not your stereo. Must be some kind've a connection problem.


No, it would plug into a regular line-level input (not a phono input, which would have WAY too much gain) via 3.5mm headphone jack into a set of RCA's. Unfortunately audio output quality can be hit and miss depending on the device which is why using something bluetooth or wireless that is dedicated for that purpose generally results in better sound quality.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Does a tablet need to be plugged into an amplified type input like a turntable? Older systems like yours blow away mass-fi Best Buy garbage,so it's definitely not your stereo. Must be some kind've a connection problem.



The only way around that is to bitstream the audio through something like a Sonos, AppleTV, or direct USB connection. Some newer AVRs have built-in Bluetooth so you can bitstream the audio straight there for maximum fidelity.

I use an AppleTV for this very purpose and you can bitstream lossless audio from an iPhone across wifi. It's great for parties.
 
Originally Posted By: expat

We have an older stereo with some nice Paradigm speakers but connecting the tablet through our old 30 year amp sounds like garbage.


I could be wrong, but I think the issue is the old stereo and speakers are so good that they are highlighting how compressed the streaming music is.

I don't think an adapter will help, but adjusting the EQ or bass/treble might.
 
I stream audio from a Sonos to a Benchmark DAC to a Mark Levinson Power amp to Mirage M1 speakers, and a Cyrus II integrated amp to KEF 101 speakers. Sounds quite good either way. About the equivalent of FM radio.
 
You are using the headphone out from tablet to which Input on the receiver? The 1/4 phone plug? with an adapter? Try using a y cable into a red/white input on the back, CD,tape, DVD etc it doesn't matter
Also try the tablet volume no higher than 1/2 way up
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: expat
We have an older stereo with some nice Paradigm speakers but connecting the tablet through our old 30 year amp sounds like garbage.

What service are you streaming from?

How is the tablet connected to the old stereo?
 
Tablet to aux in only if you have to do it this way. Your vintage equipment is fine, but the your source needs work. I run a laptop with Linux Mint and JRiver Media Center. I have a Schiit Modi USB DAC between the USB port and aux in on my Kenwood KA8006, also through Paradigms. Sweet, sweet sound, enough power that the cops have been called, and a selection of either streaming and FLAC files on the hard drive.
Future setup will include a pair of restored Klipsch KG-4 stuffed full of Krites crossovers and Ti tweeters, and a tube DAC, probably from Maverick Audio.
 
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Originally Posted By: HerrStig
He's probably using the headphone/earbud output jack which ought to be turned way down and run into the Aux input.


And each channel of the device's stereo output should be loaded with a 33 ohm, 1/8 Watt resistor.

Your garbage music problem is caused by an "impedance" mismatch.
 
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Hmm, thanks guys.
I plug the tablet into out Technics amp/tuner via the headphone jack.
I have tried ALL the input recepticles, but the volume is very low* unless I really crank up the amp, and then sound quality suffers. Even when the tablet volume is turned to the max!

Strangely pluging into the Tivoli's aux input gives very good results. But of course the volume is limited to the little radios output.

*the best result comes from plugging into the CD input jack, but that is still far from satifactory with regards to sound quality.
 
Are you using the same cable to plug it into the Tivoli and the Technics? The CD input and any other non-phono input should sound the same, as they are all just line-level inputs.

Do you have a DAC or anything that accepts optical?
 
Take a small needle or pin and clean the lint out of the tablets port..... ?

The key is to not turn up the volume of the tablet too much

Are you using a y cable.... 1/8 headphone plug to a red and white plugs?
 
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