Let’s start by explaining what audio streaming is and why you might want to consider it.

 The basic idea behind streaming services is simply that you pay a flat rate monthly subscription to have access to a huge library of online music. You simply select the song or album you want to listen to and push the play button. Most popular streaming services have a massive library of content, they allow you to create and save lists of content you like, and they have various ways they can be configured to select content for you, based on the sort of content you like, and what they expect will appeal to you.

While the actual sound quality streaming services offer varies quite widely many now offer CD quality or even high-resolution content. Another benefit is that your music will be available wherever you have a device that can access your account, so no more worrying about which room you left that CD in, and you can usually even listen on the road on your phone.

Of course there are a few drawbacks.

First of all, you have to pay for a subscription, and if you cancel that subscription, you lose access to all of that music. Another disadvantage, at least for some folks, is that streaming music generally requires an Internet account at home and uses phone data if you do it on your phone. And, of course, you need to have good Internet access if you want to avoid dropouts and outages, but streaming music requires a lot less bandwidth than streaming video.

What is “a streamer”?

Many modern smart phones, and smart TVs, and AVRs have the software required to connect to various streaming services built right in. A streamer is simply a separate audio appliance that is designed specifically to deliver high quality streaming. Streamers often offer better sound quality, more flexibility, and more features than the free streaming capabilities built into other devices. They also offer the option of adding streaming capabilities to audio systems that don’t already offer it.

What does a streamer cost?

Many devices, including some AVRs and smart TVs, include built-in streaming capabilities for free, and you can download free software clients for most of the major services that work on your smart phone or computer. But you can also buy separate dedicated streaming devices that cost anywhere from almost nothing to several thousand dollars. We’re going to look at some of the differences and similarities between the various options in detail here to help you figure out which is the best choice for you.

Also note that, to do high quality audio streaming, you will need to subscribe to one or more streaming services. (Like with television, there are free services, but most of those offer limited audio quality, or include commercials, or are limited in other important ways.)

Choosing what streamer to buy…

In the following section we’re going to explain some of the differences and similarities between the current streaming options. As you probably know Emotiva has just introduced our first new audiophile music streamer, so we’ll also interrupt from time to time to mention why we think OUR new streamer, the Emotiva DRS-1 Differential Reference® Streamer, is probably the best choice for you.

Starting at the bottom…

The cheapest and easiest way to stream music is to use one of the streaming apps already installed on your phone, or TV, or AVR. The features and capabilities may be limited, and with some even the sound quality may be limited, but this option is free. Just sign up for a streaming service, log in to your account, and you’re good to go.

Bluetooth…

The next best option, and one that works OK for some people, is Bluetooth.

Specifically, you can do your streaming on your phone, then use Bluetooth to send the audio from your phone to your stereo when you want to. This option is convenient, but unfortunately it has several drawbacks. For one thing, because Bluetooth is not lossless, the sound quality is a bit limited, and some streaming apps will limit the quality even more. It also means that, whenever you want to listen to music, you’ll be using your phone’s battery, and your data if you don’t have unlimited, which can add up if you listen to music a lot. It also only works if your phone stays within range and connected and, with some phones, it can make receiving or making phone calls while you’re listening to music a bit of a challenge.

So let’s see how a separate streamer would be a better option…

A streamer is a separate device…

This means that your streamer stays connected to your stereo. It works when your phone isn’t around, it keeps working when you take your phone out of the room, and it doesn’t tie up your phone when you’re listening to music. Since it stays connected to your stereo, you don’t have to fuss with pairing it, and it works through your home wired or WiFi Internet connection instead of using up your phone minutes. And, of course, since your streamer is a serious audio component, the biggest difference is that it always gives you the best sound quality that’s available on your streaming service. 

How do you control a streamer?

There are various different ways that you can control a streamer. Almost all streamers can be controlled using an app on your phone, most can also be controlled from a computer or tablet, and some include some sort of built-in touch screen as well. A few offer additional options, like controlling them from a Web browser, without having to install a dedicated app.

(To be quite honest, almost every streamer has a different app, and most can also be controlled using the app that goes with your favorite streaming service… and apps are always going to be a matter of personal preference. The app is intimately associated with the software on the streamer itself so some of the details are quite important.)

Here at Emotiva we’ve chosen to partner with Volumio to provide the app on our DRS-1 Differential Reference® Streamer.

This means that Volumio is both the software that runs on the DRS-1 unit itself and the app that is used to control it from your phone or other device. Volumio is one of the most mature streaming apps around, with a history of over ten years of continuous development and improvement, which we feel is important to ensure that our users have the best possible overall experience – now and for the foreseeable future. In case you were wondering, our DRS-1 runs on Linux, and Volumio also partnered with us on the hardware development to ensure a perfect match between the software and the hardware platform.

Our DRS-1 can be controlled using the Volumio app, on a smart phone, or on a tablet or  The DRS-1 can also be controlled using a plain old web browser, on a phone or computer, if you don’t want to install the app. It can even be controlled using your TV and a mouse plugged directly into the unit itself. 

We’ve skipped the front panel touch screen for one simple reason. We didn’t see much point in including a screen on the unit itself that was about the same size as the screen on your phone, is less convenient to use than your phone, and won’t be readable from across the room anyway. If you want a nice big screen for your DRS-1, you can connect our HDMI output to any monitor you like, including your main TV screen, either directly or through an HDMI input on your processor.

Types of audio outputs…

There are several different types of audio outputs offered by various streamers. Many streamers only offer digital outputs. Some low-cost streamers do this just to make the product simpler and save some money, while some high-end ones simply assume that you’re going to be using their streamer solely as a digital source, or connect it to an outboard DAC, and so simply have no use for an analog output. And some offer analog outputs that are clearly afterthoughts and just plain don’t sound very good. 

At Emotiva we’ve included both digital outputs and high-quality analog outputs on our DRS-1. While we assume that many users will use one of the digital outputs we continue to believe that analog outputs are also important. You may want to use the DRS-1 to add streaming to a purist fully analog system, or you may just want to have a choice of options when connecting it to a processor or AVR, or you may even want to connect your DRS-1 directly to an amplifier. 

So, to maximize your options, we’ve included a really good audiophile DAC in the DRS-1, with balanced and unbalanced analog outputs. 

Internal streaming apps…

Most streamers, including our DRS-1, actually offer a combination of internal streaming apps, and support for streaming through your phone. We offer the ability to stream major streaming apps like Tidal, and Qobuz, and Spotify, using the software on the streamer itself, which will let you control what plays using your phone, while not having to keep your phone connected.

You can also do this with files you have stored on your own network, or with files that you have stored on a USB hard drive or SSD connected directly to the DRS-1. However, as with all other streamers, whether they bother to mention it or not, you may need to stream some of the less popular services through an app on your phone.

Playing local files…

Many streamers can also play files from a local file server, or a network attached storage device (NAS), or even from a USB device plugged straight into them, although on some this capability is somewhat limited. 

From our experience a lot of people who stream still have a sizeable collection of local music files that they listen to. Our DRS-1 can handle a large collection of local files living on a local USB stick, or hard drive, or SSD. Our DRS-1 can also handle a wide variety of two-channel file formats, including MP3, FLAC and WAV, and DSD, in both standard and high resolution, and can easily handle and manage a file library with tens of thousands of files. 

A few other interesting options…

In addition to everything we’ve mentioned so far, our Emotiva DRS-1 Differential Reference® Streamer and Volumio include a few other interesting features as well.

One is the Volumio Manifest User Interface, which can display additional information about whatever album you have playing, and the group and players associated with it, on the app, or on your TV if you have that connected. This includes information about whatever music you have playing, including files you’re playing locally, as well as music from streaming services.

The DRS-1 is also automatically licensed as a Volumio Premium device, which unlocks Volumi Premium features, like support for Multi-Room audio control and playback between the DRS-1 and other Volumio Premium devices. 

And finally…

The Emotiva DRS-1 Differential Reference Streamer is a serious, purpose designed and built, premium audio device. It features a solidly built all-metal chassis, with a machined aluminum face plate, and an internal audiophile grade switch mode power supply… (we really don’t like wall warts either).

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