With the DMS and AiOS products, we often get asked, “how do I use other streaming audio services besides what’s supported in the DMS and AiOS?”
Supported simply refers to what music streaming services are built into the DMS and AiOS. Built into means that the DMS and AiOS access the service’s servers directly through its firmware and an internet connection once you’ve connected the DMS and AiOS to your router, either with a wired or wireless connection. To control the supported services, you simply use the free Cary Steamer App, which will access and control their supported services from within.
All DMS and AiOS products include TIDAL, Qobuz, Spotify, and vTuner built into their firmware. However, the older DMS-500 does not include Qobuz in its firmware. You can still stream Qobuz in all its high-resolution glory if you are a Roon or Audirvana user. Both have Qobuz integrated into their platform, and since the DMS-500 is Roon Ready, you can stream Qobuz via Roon’s RAAT protocol or with Audirvana via DLNA. Pretty cool!
Both TIDAL and Qobuz offer a high-resolution tier. If you subscribe to one of these tiers, the DMS and AiOS can stream high-resolution music in multiple ways. TIDAL offers MQA high-resolution audio. This offers up to 24 bit / 384 kHz audio. However, the hardware must be MQA certified and be capable of decoding it. The great news is that all DMS and AiOS products are MQA certified with full hardware decoding! Qobuz offers up to 24-bit / 192kHz audio, and it does not require any special certification. Once again, the great news is DMS, and AiOS’ high-resolution capabilities far exceed what TIDAL or Qobuz offers, meaning there is a lot of technological headroom in their digital and DAC stages, if or when they offer anything higher.
So, what about the initial question of how do I use other streaming audio services with DMS and AiOS that are not built into them? It is very simple. The DMS and AiOS also include Bluetooth and AirPlay. You simply open the streaming service app in question and connect it to the DMS or AiOS with either Bluetooth or AirPlay. Keep in mind AirPlay is only available on iOS devices for the most part. Bluetooth is a great and easy way to enjoy CD quality or below from other services. Please know with Bluetooth, the data stream comes into your phone/tablet and is transmitted straight to the DMS or AiOS. Because the signal is “point to point,” Bluetooth range is limited, and walls or obstacles can interfere. Bluetooth is usually below CD quality. If the streaming service is below CD quality (which many are), then no loss in sound quality. If you have a phone or tablet with AptX or AptX HD Bluetooth, you can stream CD quality or slightly better from a streaming service if that streaming service is CD quality or better. AirPlay is another way to do this. With AirPlay, the data stream comes into your phone/tablet and is transmitted to your network router via Wi-Fi. The router then sends the signal to the DMS or AiOS either with Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable depending on how you have the DMS or AiOS connected to your router. AirPlay range is much greater (depending on your network) and has higher quality. This is a better choice for streaming services offering CD-quality music. Short of a high-resolution music streaming service, any service you stream to the DMS or AiOS via AirPlay is basically as good as what the streaming service is offering.
There you have it! With Bluetooth and AirPlay, your choices for streaming audio services expand well beyond what is integrated into the DMS and AiOS platforms. What’s more, you do not have to sacrifice quality beyond what the streaming services offer. Enjoy Pandora, iHeart Radio, Tunein Radio, Apple Music, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, and MUCH more.
Have fun exploring!
If you are located in the United States and Canada, you can purchase the DMS and AiOS products directly from our factory on CaryDirect.
If you are located outside the United States and Canada, please contact your local Dealer/Distributor to purchase.