Cambridge CXN V2 functionality?

[MarmiteSandwich]

(02-06-2021 16:26)JohnT Wrote:  Yes, the CXNv2 is really gapless. FLAC is my default format but m4a and others including hi-res formats are also supported – see the Cambridge Audio website.

At the time I was considering upgrading to the v2 model, my local Richer Sounds were very helpful and said I could buy a v2, try it out for a few days and could return it for a refund if it wasn’t suitable.

John

As suggested by @JohnT, I approached my local Richer Sounds, who were very amenable to a trial loan of their shop model CXNv2, on which I have carried out some preliminary tests. First impressions:-

The Good News.
- The analogue-out sound quality was very impressive and a big improvement on my existing setup, which is really a reflection of my existing DAC, not a digital issue.
- I did manage to play Internet radio, including BBC, from MinimStreamer, using the attached playlist. I can't vouch for all the stations but my regulars worked - R3, R4, KUVO, Verulam. I only managed this by either using the StreamMagic app, or by using the Windows control point UPPlay. Attempts to use BubbleUPnP, or the Bubble OpenHome server for radio were not successful.
- ALAC files (with a .m4a extension) play truly gaplessly.

The Bad News.
- Serious: m4a files containing lossy aac data play, but every track suffers from a small stutter within the first 5 seconds of starting. In addition, the gapless functionality is not good - there is an audible discontinuity at the transition. You can hear the join. Combined with the stutter, it means that albums with continuous playing music across track boundaries sound very bad. This is a deal breaker for me, and I have referred it to Cambridge Audio for their comments.
- Annoying: UPnP seems to be implemented in a minimalist way, and I'm not sure it is following all the rules. CA really want you to use their app, and I would say probably most CXN users do this. BubbleUPnP and UPPlay work in ways inconsistent with other renderers (well, upmpdcli on a Pi, anyway). I am having trouble getting the BubbleUPnP server to emulate OpenHome well, so that I can use multiple control points on different platforms. There are lots of detailed niggles I could report, but they may be fixable with some help from the developers of these 3rd party software products.

Jury still out at the moment.

Simon - did you want me to carry out some MinimStreamer testing, while I have the kit?
Marmite