How can I listen to my CD player with headphones wirelessly?

[Muse]

Doesn't need to be fancy and hopefully not big. Right now my CD player in my kitchen is connected by RCA line output to a simple T-amplifier (~$25) that powers a couple mid-sized Yamaha speakers. The CD player also has optical fiber output, which I'm not using yet. The amp that drives the speakers has treble/bass pots and that helps, but the sound is nowhere near as good as headphones. I have Etymotic Research wired headphones I can plug into my smartphones (Android, have some Windows too), but also have a pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 True Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling In-Ear Headphones. Either solution (using a smartphone or just using the Sony bluetooths for audio direct from a device that will put out a bluetooth signal) would be a HUGE improvement over the sound I get from the Yamaha speakers.

Can I get some suggestions here? Thanks!!!

 

[Trekeritus]

Doesn't need to be fancy and hopefully not big. Right now my CD player in my kitchen is connected by RCA line output to a simple T-amplifier (~$25) that powers a couple mid-sized Yamaha speakers. The CD player also has optical fiber output, which I'm not using yet. The amp that drives the speakers has treble/bass pots and that helps, but the sound is nowhere near as good as headphones. I have Etymotic Research wired headphones I can plug into my smartphones (Android, have some Windows too), but also have a pair of Sony WF-1000XM3 True Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling In-Ear Headphones. Either solution (using a smartphone or just using the Sony bluetooths for audio direct from a device that will put out a bluetooth signal) would be a HUGE improvement over the sound I get from the Yamaha speakers.

Can I get some suggestions here? Thanks!!!

This might help https://vinylrestart.com/how-to-make-a-home-stereo-bluetooth-wireless/

 

[Muse]

Trying to get a handle on possible devices for this. The linked site links the Ziidoo bluetooth 5.0 transmitter and receiver but the reviews at Amazon are problematical. One of those said they would stick with their Google Chromecast. That has Bluetooth support but plugs into a TV via HDMI, wouldn't seem to be a solution in my kitchen. There's a TV in there but it's usually off.

 

[OlyAR15]

Wouldn’t it be easier to just rip the CDs into your smartphone?

 

[Muse]

Wouldn’t it be easier to just rip the CDs into your smartphone?

I could. But what I've done is pretty great:

I have two 301 disc players, daisy chained, for 602 total. Virtually all of the discs have CD Text on them, being personal rips I did of the originals, adding CD Text to my satisfaction. The players have LCD displays. I can see at a glance what's playing, the name of the track, well, the first 10 characters or so. Press a button and the track title streams across. I don't have to pull a phone out of pocket to do this. I don't know that I could get that kind of control with a phone. I've monkeyed with phones and never gotten that. I also have reports I've made of what's in the players. I can find out in a few seconds what's where by inspecting the reports. One's alphabetical by artist, the other is consecutive by slot number. The reports are printed out and stuck to my fridge by magnets. I have reports in my bedroom where I have another pair of 301 disc players.

I'm trying to be open to other ideas. Several people have suggested (in these forums) that I rip my CDs to FLAC. There are downsides to the CD players, they have limited slots, have specific locations. I just don't know how exactly I'd implement a system, what hardware, software, have no idea what caveats, gotchas, difficulties would arise, how satisfied I'd be. A big part would be the smartphone software. I have a NAS, too. Presumably I could have the music files on that and stream via WIFI throughout the house, either to cell phone or stereo systems. Right now, my receivers don't have WIFI or Bluetooth.

 

[Thump553]

The nice thing about ripping your CDs is you will be future proofed. Some day one or both of those CD players will die-they are mechanical devices and I'm guessing at least a decade old. What's good about ripping to Flac is that it is a lossless version of the original CD files-if you later want smaller files (for a player with limited capacity0 you can rip MP# versions off the FLAC files-it will take maybe a minute to do a whole album. I use freeware -Exact Audio Copy (EAC) to rip the CD to FLAC. This is the gold standard software-a PIA to configure originally but there are plenty of great guides around-and Freeac *Free Audio Convertor) to make MP3 copies of the FLAC files for my phone/car.

Since you have a NAS already, you may want to think outside the box a bit and set up a Raspberry PI based audio streamer, store the music on your NAS and hook the streamer to your receiver via optical or USB cables. Total cost is probably $250 for the hardware (even at today's inflated prices) and there are plenty of excellent guides on how to do this on Youtube. Again, you can get a fine system with freeware.

 

[Muadib]

Have you looked at Bluetooth receivers? You just have to make sure they will output to your Bluetooth headphones, because not all do. Here's a list of some: https://www.lifewire.com/best-bluetooth-audio-receivers-4138227

 

[OlyAR15]

You need to figure out what you are willing to put into this: how much money and/or effort. If you are doing this just because you aren't happy with the sound from your speakers, then the obvious solution is to buy better speakers. You can get some really nice speakers for about $500 - 1000 /pair. That way you don't have to do anything else.

 

[Muse]

You need to figure out what you are willing to put into this: how much money and/or effort. If you are doing this just because you aren't happy with the sound from your speakers, then the obvious solution is to buy better speakers. You can get some really nice speakers for about $500 - 1000 /pair. That way you don't have to do anything else.

The difference I PERCEIVE in using in-ear audio compared to speakers is incredibly dramatic. I can't speak for anyone but me, I don't know what you'd perceive. But for me, it's "night and day." I'm skeptical that any set of speakers can approach the clarity, imaging, the stereo effect, and in particular the treble I get using my Etymotic Research earbuds, of which I have quite a few sets, from their high end ER4S and ER4P to some lesser but still excellent in-ear products, cheaper, but not to-me noticeably inferior.

Now, the Etymotics are NOT wireless. The Sony's I have ARE wireless (Bluetooth), but AFAIK the sound isn't particularly inferior.

I can't say I'm an audiophile, in large part because my hearing is screwed up... too many rock shows in the 1980's and I have had tinnitus ever since. But my hearing seems to be pretty stable.

So, I could invest a lot of time and money into sound that doesn't involve headphones or earbuds but the easier (and I figure more sure fire) approach for me unless and until I can experience satisfactory speaker-driven audio that's comparable (not sure it's possible, honestly, but I haven't visited an audio showroom in decades!!!) is to pursue either Bluetooth or getting my audio through WIFI or just plugged into a cell phone.

I've had my hearing tested more than once and the profile they came up with had me basically normal up to 3000hz and attenuated something like 50% from there on up. It's been some years since my last test but I don't have reason to believe it's changed particularly since then. But I know my hearing isn't what other people's is. I have to ask people to repeat themselves sometimes in conversation because I don't pick up some words. I think other people hear things that are too faint for me. Still, I don't have the sense that everything is quieter than what other people here because I can easily have the sense that things are loud or too loud. I have earmuffs (more than one pair) that I use to protect my hearing. I use those not infrequently to protect my hearing if I'm bothered, i.e. at home.

The speakers in my kitchen are bookshelf Yamaha's (big for bookshelf) that I picked up discounted (I guess open-box) at Sears some years ago. I figure they are pretty decent. In my bedroom, I have Speakerlab, from kits I bought around 1980. They were reputed to be pretty "flat." I wanted speakers that would reveal everything in a recording. That was before I developed tinnitus.

 

[quikah]

Trying to get a handle on possible devices for this. The linked site links the Ziidoo bluetooth 5.0 transmitter and receiver but the reviews at Amazon are problematical. One of those said they would stick with their Google Chromecast. That has Bluetooth support but plugs into a TV via HDMI, wouldn't seem to be a solution in my kitchen. There's a TV in there but it's usually off.

Yes, that is what you want (or something like it). You need to take the reviews with a grain of salt, as they sometimes just don't understand how to work the product. As this is a 2 mode device, you could use it as a you would a chromecast to broadcast audio to another device (receiver mode). That is not relevant to your application (you would use it in transmitter mode). The only red flag I would say is one of the reviews mentioned it was mono only, but I am suspicious of that.

 

[sdifox]

Just rip your cds to flac, put the music on nas and play from your phone to either wired or bt headphones. Foobar2000 is available on android. On PC it has a DLNA plug in. I have it in running in one of my VMs.

As to casting to receiver or other setup see if you can source a chromecast audio. Discontinued, but it works for you.


You are like the only person that looks at the display on the cd changer lol.

 

[Muse]

Just rip your cds to flac, put the music on nas and play from your phone to either wired or bt headphones. Foobar2000 is available on android. On PC it has a DLNA plug in. I have it in running in one of my VMs.

As to casting to receiver or other setup see if you can source a chromecast audio. Discontinued, but it works for you.


You are like the only person that looks at the display on the cd changer lol.

View attachment 56076
View attachment 56077

I've gotta look into that stuff. I had a look at Foobar2000 some years ago. I use an old version of Winamp on my PCs. In Android I'm kind of a newbie, don't know my way around. I use stuff, get by. I haven't ripped to FLAC yet but have been meaning to look into it.

What concern me seems unknowable until I get into this stuff: How convenient, ergonomic, comfortable, informative, non-frustrating ripping my CDs to FLAC will/would turn out.

You are like the only person that looks at the display on the cd changer lol.

Well, among the ones who do (please, that technology doesn't exist just for my benefit) I get a lot out of it. I utilize CD Text very well, have written software to make it easy for me and 95+% of the CDs I actually play (i.e. that aren't sitting on a shelf in the original case) have pretty much exactly the CD Text that I want -- Artist names, dates, song writers, track names (of course), and at the touch of a button I can see any of that. What track am I listening to? Most people have to look it up, not me. Can I get this level of convenience and information access using FLAC files? TBH, I have no idea. I figure it has a lot to do with the software, perhaps on my android phones and my NAS, maybe some other things I don't know about.

 

[sdifox]

I've gotta look into that stuff. I had a look at Foobar2000 some years ago. I use an old version of Winamp on my PCs. In Android I'm kind of a newbie, don't know my way around. I use stuff, get by. I haven't ripped to FLAC yet but have been meaning to look into it.

What concern me seems unknowable until I get into this stuff: How convenient, ergonomic, comfortable, informative, non-frustrating ripping my CDs to FLAC will/would turn out.

Well, among the ones who do (please, that technology doesn't exist just for my benefit) I get a lot out of it. I utilize CD Text very well, have written software to make it easy for me and 95+% of the CDs I actually play (i.e. that aren't sitting on a shelf in the original case) have pretty much exactly the CD Text that I want -- Artist names, dates, song writers, track names (of course), and at the touch of a button I can see any of that. What track am I listening to? Most people have to look it up, not me. Can I get this level of convenience and information access using FLAC files? TBH, I have no idea. I figure it has a lot to do with the software, perhaps on my android phones and my NAS, maybe some other things I don't know about.

Err when you rip cd in eac it can look it up and tag your flac file with all that info. You can even install a music streaming server that shows cover and all the metadata in a nice gui. I don't bother.

It is very easy, much easier than looking up the cd in your rolodex to find out which changer and slot your cd is in and aim the remote at the cd changer and press play on your remote.

If you are inclined to, you can setup a music streaming server and access your music remotely.

I googled

How to setup Exact Audio Copy for FLAC ripping - captainrookie.com

This guide explains how to setup and configure Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for ripping audio CDs to the FLAC lossless format.

captainrookie.com

What nas do you have? Synology can run a plex docker, not powerful enough for movies but should be ok for music.

Do you still buy CDs from HMV by any chance?

 

[Muse]

Err when you rip cd in eac it can look it up and tag your flac file with all that info. You can even install a music streaming server that shows cover and all the metadata in a nice gui. I don't bother.

It is very easy, much easer than looking up the cd in your rolodex to find out which changer and slot your cd is in and aim the remote at the cd changer and press play on your remote.

If you are inclined to, you can setup a music streaming server and access your music remotely.

I googled

How to setup Exact Audio Copy for FLAC ripping - captainrookie.com

This guide explains how to setup and configure Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for ripping audio CDs to the FLAC lossless format.

captainrookie.com

What nas do you have? Synology can run a plex docket, not powerful enough for movies but should be ok for music.

Do you still buy CDs from HMV by any chance?

Who's HMV?

My NAS is Synology DS2014play. At the time was pretty cutting edge, don't know now, but word was there was Plex support, at least some. As I understood it, Plex was in flux, there were some features that were in the works, don't know how that played out.

EAC I have messed with from time to time, used some. I have used various audio programs/utilities... Winamp to just play an audio file, if nothing more is required. I've used Audacity a lot lately, have Total Recorder Standard Edition, have had it for ~15 years (guessing), use it a lot. I use it to make scheduled recordings of radio, also to make real time digital recordings of whatever the PC's audio has going on. It's pretty versatile and I don't recall encountering a single bug, which is impressive. Cheap program and the updates have been free ever since. They have a pro version too.

I'll check out the other stuff you showed and linked. Busy right now producing my radio show (using Audacity) for today + 9 days (college radio), will be done later today.

 

[sdifox]

Who's HMV?

My NAS is Synology DS2014play. At the time was pretty cutting edge, don't know now, but word was there was Plex support, at least some. As I understood it, Plex was in flux, there were some features that were in the works, don't know how that played out.

EAC I have messed with from time to time, used some. I have used various audio programs/utilities... Winamp to just play an audio file, if nothing more is required. I've used Audacity a lot lately, have Total Recorder Standard Edition, have had it for ~15 years (guessing), use it a lot. I use it to make scheduled recordings of radio, also to make real time digital recordings of whatever the PC's audio has going on. It's pretty versatile and I don't recall encountering a single bug, which is impressive. Cheap program and the updates have been free ever since. They have a pro version too.

I'll check out the other stuff you showed and linked. Busy right now producing my radio show (using Audacity) for today + 9 days (college radio), will be done later today.

As in you still walk into a record store and buy CD xd.

HMV - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You'll have to figure out if your Synology can run plex docker, I don't have any idea if yours does.

Here's how to stream music and video on your Synology NAS with Plex

Plex is a popular service that allows you to set up your very own home server and stream content anywhere inside and outside the home. Here's how to do it on your Synology NAS.

www.windowscentral.com

NAS Compatibility List

The following spreadsheet provides information about compatible NAS devices as well as basic capability information. View Plex NAS Compatibility Guide...

support.plex.tv

 

[Muse]

You need to figure out what you are willing to put into this: how much money and/or effort. If you are doing this just because you aren't happy with the sound from your speakers, then the obvious solution is to buy better speakers. You can get some really nice speakers for about $500 - 1000 /pair. That way you don't have to do anything else.

Even if my hearing were perfect, the world's greatest speakers wouldn't suffice in my kitchen. The reason is that the refrigerator's compressor is on 1/2 the time. My isolating earbuds take care of that problem. Last night I did some work in the kitchen with a 12' headphone extension cable stretching from one of the CD players. It sure beat the speakers, but wireless earbuds is what's required for music listening satisfaction in the kitchen.

 

[killster1]

The difference I PERCEIVE in using in-ear audio compared to speakers is incredibly dramatic. I can't speak for anyone but me, I don't know what you'd perceive. But for me, it's "night and day." I'm skeptical that any set of speakers can approach the clarity, imaging, the stereo effect, and in particular the treble I get using my Etymotic Research earbuds, of which I have quite a few sets, from their high end ER4S and ER4P to some lesser but still excellent in-ear products, cheaper, but not to-me noticeably inferior.

Now, the Etymotics are NOT wireless. The Sony's I have ARE wireless (Bluetooth), but AFAIK the sound isn't particularly inferior.

I can't say I'm an audiophile, in large part because my hearing is screwed up... too many rock shows in the 1980's and I have had tinnitus ever since. But my hearing seems to be pretty stable.

So, I could invest a lot of time and money into sound that doesn't involve headphones or earbuds but the easier (and I figure more sure fire) approach for me unless and until I can experience satisfactory speaker-driven audio that's comparable (not sure it's possible, honestly, but I haven't visited an audio showroom in decades!!!) is to pursue either Bluetooth or getting my audio through WIFI or just plugged into a cell phone.

I've had my hearing tested more than once and the profile they came up with had me basically normal up to 3000hz and attenuated something like 50% from there on up. It's been some years since my last test but I don't have reason to believe it's changed particularly since then. But I know my hearing isn't what other people's is. I have to ask people to repeat themselves sometimes in conversation because I don't pick up some words. I think other people hear things that are too faint for me. Still, I don't have the sense that everything is quieter than what other people here because I can easily have the sense that things are loud or too loud. I have earmuffs (more than one pair) that I use to protect my hearing. I use those not infrequently to protect my hearing if I'm bothered, i.e. at home.

The speakers in my kitchen are bookshelf Yamaha's (big for bookshelf) that I picked up discounted (I guess open-box) at Sears some years ago. I figure they are pretty decent. In my bedroom, I have Speakerlab, from kits I bought around 1980. They were reputed to be pretty "flat." I wanted speakers that would reveal everything in a recording. That was before I developed tinnitus.

get one of those sets of headphones that has a memory card slot, no need to stream or anything of course if you are a DJ at your own house my best idea is for you to have playlists instead of needing to "see what track is playing" (i have never needed to see a track just listening should be enough?) just choose different playlists for diff days etc. you have 1200 cds that you listen to? i feel like the time to load up and spin a cd when changing would be a turn off. (but those 400 cd/dvd players are super cool for their day i had one too)

 

[Muse]

get one of those sets of headphones that has a memory card slot, no need to stream or anything of course if you are a DJ at your own house my best idea is for you to have playlists instead of needing to "see what track is playing" (i have never needed to see a track just listening should be enough?) just choose different playlists for diff days etc. you have 1200 cds that you listen to? i feel like the time to load up and spin a cd when changing would be a turn off. (but those 400 cd/dvd players are super cool for their day i had one too)

I have five 301 disc Pioneer players. They support daisy chaining 2 together, so I have a pair in my bedroom and a pair in my kitchen. The 5th sits in a closet. It had an accident in shipment (I got a refund and then fixed it as best I could) and it's not 100% functional. It's usable, but it won't advance from slot N to slot N+1 for some reason. Maybe a laser malfunction. Otherwise, it _maybe_ works OK, I keep it for backup in case one of the other 4 goes bad. So far so good, those Pioneer players are terrific. Not perfect, but way way better than the Sony 300 disc player I was considering way back when I bought the first Pioneer. The other Pioneers I bought used off Ebay, one at a time. They don't have LCDs, I think it's LEDs in the display.

I like to know what I'm listening to, be able to glance at the player, maybe press a button a time or two and see things like artist, disc title, name of track, whatever other CD Text I have on the disc that I decided might be wanted, e.g. dates, song writer, whatever, length of the song, the disc, how long until song is done, all that stuff.

Many of my discs are both in the bedroom and the kitchen (i.e. duplicates). Not necessarily in the same slot number. I have reports in both rooms that I make with my printer and PC software.

 

[Muse]

As in you still walk into a record store and buy CD xd.

HMV - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You'll have to figure out if your Synology can run plex docker, I don't have any idea if yours does.

Here's how to stream music and video on your Synology NAS with Plex

Plex is a popular service that allows you to set up your very own home server and stream content anywhere inside and outside the home. Here's how to do it on your Synology NAS.

www.windowscentral.com

NAS Compatibility List

The following spreadsheet provides information about compatible NAS devices as well as basic capability information. View Plex NAS Compatibility Guide...

support.plex.tv

I'm right now installing Plex Media Server on my Synology DS2014play NAS. I have no idea if it includes the docker. I'm watching a video right now (8 minutes) that shows how to set up Plex Docker. Complex! I have to study this stuff, figure out what's what. For one thing, Plex and Synology DSM (their OS) seem to not always work together. Worked in beta, not in release candidate, the guy says! Whoa! One reason I never looked into Plex much was the fact that not long after I got the NAS people were saying they had high hopes for Plex with my particular NAS but that it hadn't been fully implemented YET!

 

[sdifox]

I'm right now installing Plex Media Server on my Synology DS2014play NAS. I have no idea if it includes the docker. I'm watching a video right now (8 minutes) that shows how to set up Plex Docker. Complex! I have to study this stuff, figure out what's what. For one thing, Plex and Synology DSM (their OS) seem to not always work together. Worked in beta, not in release candidate, the guy says! Whoa! One reason I never looked into Plex much was the fact that not long after I got the NAS people were saying they had high hopes for Plex with my particular NAS but that it hadn't been fully implemented YET!

Docker is a lightweight virtual machine application. You are probably not using it.

My cd chabger came with a folder where you can put the cd booklets in the pocket corresponds to the cd slot.