Street life with PLEX & Plexamp

[@DarkoAudio]

Please ensure your comment is 1) on topic, 2) advances the conversation, 3) free of URLs and 4) devoid of conspiracy theories and hubris. Most of all: keep it civil.

[@AustraliaGraves]

It may also be worth mentioning the amazing job Plex does with gathering and displaying your music or media's metadata.

[@divadgnol67]

I really appreciate the fact that you focus on the music. You are KZbin videos are top notch and professional looking and most of the gear you review is high end but you seem to not have lost sight of the fact it's about the music. Thanks again John for all you do and thanks to those that help you. Using talk to text so sorry about the poor grammar

[@sjc1204]

Glad you did a video on PLEX's music feature. I've been using PLEX since it launched in the 2000's. It has become a remarkable platform with a really great product roadmap and engineering talent. When PLEX Pass was launched, a lifetime pass for $35 was offered. I'm so glad I jumped on that.

[@tombyrnerocks]

A word on that ad in the middle of the vid ..... I have never seen a more flawless seamless execution of an ad integrated into a youtube vid in my life! I actually ENJOYED it. The countdown timer in the top left corner, the music edited in under it so it felt like part of the video. Very very good

[@sheffsteel7]

Tom Byrne Pleased you mentioned this....I thought it was part of the video too.

[@obi1sith]

John, thank you for finally trying Plex/Plexamp and giving us your thoughts on it. I’ve been a Plex Lifetime subscriber for over 9-10 years, and been using the Plexamp app since it was part of Plex Labs and only available for Macs/PCs. I love that Plex continues to improve their platform, and offer these options for a more affordable price than Roon. I know it is not a full Roon replacement when it comes to UI and third-party integrations, but I believe they will continue to improve it, and hopefully close the gap. For those suggesting “why not just sync your entire music library to your phone”, you must not have terabytes of music files in your library. Also you’re forgetting about the convenience of adding a new album to your Plex library, and having that album be immediately available on all your devices running the Plex/Plexamp client. John, please continue to explore Plex/Plexamp, and put out more videos about it. Thanks!

[@burdened666]

Hi, Is there anyway to use a Plexamp iOS app to control music through a receiver?

[@thewheelieguy]

@@burdened666 People have mentioned here the newest version of Plexamp can stream to Chromecast and Sonos. I know a few receivers have Chromecast endpoint software built-in.

[@McMurdo]

Glad to see you shed some light on Plex. PlexAmp was an awesome addition to the world of Plex users. After demoing Roon a couple times I can not justify the cost to feature difference.

[@billbones1000]

Same here! Plex is great, especially being able to share servers with friends! I have 6 buddies who all have huge plex libraries, we all have access to each other's stuff.....amazing for both music and film!

[@PotentChr0nic]

I know John mentioned that on Android or iOS the audio is limited to the sound mixer's default output but what if you use an external DAC like the Dragonfly Cobalt. Does PlexAmp support playback of hi-res files (24/96) to these devices? I've heard Android does support an exclusive/focus mode similar to WASAPI on Windows.

[@saschalammers5350]

@Munib So far I haven't found a way to make use of my dragonfly cobalt on my Samsung Note9, except by using USB audio player Pro. You can get out sound by other apps out of the dragonfly, but the volume is very low. I mean, really low! Even with my super sensitive Solaris IEMs. I personally don't need high res audio, but this native upsampling on Samsung phones is driving me crazy. I've a Plex pass for years now, but never really listened to music. If Plexamp would cooperate with USB audio player Pro, that would be a charm 😎

[@MaakBow]

@@PotentChr0nic Yes Plex amp supports 24 96, (and possibly higher?) hardware dependent. even when flinging music from server to plex client

[@grayfool]

Thank you John. At last Plex is recognised by a non computer channel. This is a great solution for many people but seems to be actively disregarded by audio/music channels. Good to see someone singing it's. Praises at last.

[@bcretty606]

I appreciate all the work that has been done to bring your entire music collection on the go. Lately I have given up on streaming and started purchasing CD's again. When I want a few albums to listen to on the go I bring a few CD's and a vintage CD player. It makes the hobby more fun to me and brings it back to its roots. I know this is not for everybody but I feel we tend to overcomplicate the way we listen to music these days.

[@superboy305]

I went down the rabbit hole and I'm going to get cds, nas, cd ripper and Dap.

[@pennfootball71]

I had a sony portable CD player as a kid.

[@dannyjonze]

I had a friend who used to go running with their portable cd player, i was in awe of that.

[@ru55ells]

@@dannyjonze Don't be mate, that friend never heard more than two seconds before it skipped. Even the later Miniidisc players (which were way better) could skip under constant vibration

[@tupuhumuhumunukunukuapuaa3093]

I can't remember the model, but I had a sick slim SONY CD player with a crazy amount of buffer on it, that thing never skipped. Minidisc was the bomb. I had a hookup for the blanks so that helped.

[@ru55ells]

@@tupuhumuhumunukunukuapuaa3093 , i only knew of two, both Sony and both you wouldn't want to run with them swinging around your neck. Still got the old RZ 30, still love it

[@MrTeamRobert]

Nice to see you Jana, welcome back

[@m1tch3llphotos]

Ditto to using Synology NAS for both holding the music library and running the PLEX server. Those machines are a great addition when you are ready to step beyond a dedicated computer as a server and also have a redundant backup solution in the home.

[@1959ludo]

When I want to listen music, I will listen at home, in my living room. Maybe because I’m 61 years old. For the people are young at are used to work computer, this maybe a fantastic solution. I love an easy system that sounds good. The only thing I’m doing is is streaming music from Spotify on my Apple tablet to my Marantz Receiver. In the early days we worked cassettes. I must say I was inspired by you, you showed me the way for music streaming. Ludo

[@impulsesystems]

I use Plex in the car and I am even older than you ;-)

[@1959ludo]

Lee Hammond First: I had never heard of Plex and I don’t know the software. Second: All new types of technology don’t last long, I fed of It. I had a tape dek, I had a cassette deck, I had digital cassettes, I had mini-disc from Sony, I copied my cds for use in the car. I bought SACD cds, I bought blue-ray discs with only music, a costly 5.1 system set up for music, now it’s 7 or 8 or 9 channels. The same with tv. I made the choice for my new home : a decent stereo system old school with an amplifier with can stream, CD player, bleu-ray player not in 4 k, and decent speakers. The reason for buying that amplifier was I could not listen radio any longer in a decent quality. We are played by the industry : for example : speakers with a reasonable price need expensive amplifying. Ludo

[@gameconsoletherapy4434]

Lifetime plex holder. Been using plex and plexamp for the same reasons. The only thing I have learned over the 6 months of using plexamp is to use musicbrainz picard to clean up the metadata of my files. If you clean up the metadata, your experience with plex and plexamp get much better. Nice and clean and beautiful looking library.

[@nobass_stub1394]

I,ve been fumbling with my own Plex (Streaming) Server for years and the ability to now do it without a VPN minimizes my Tech time managing the home made server and Maximizes my Audio time :) Great into vid to Plex Well Done!

[@impulsesystems]

I left Roon for Plex, so I could use Plex Pass in the car, by syncing content to an iPad. This video was linked in the Roon forums, so I get to learn something new. Thanks for the introduction to Plexamp!

[@juliancrun]

Welcome back Jana!

[@HaimPeretz]

Already used Plex for a long years and Plexamp from the beginning.. awesome.

[@tsakouat]

Just gonna throw out there, that having a cloud library with my local tracks being able to sync to all my devices is exactly the reason I chose Apple Music over Spotify which gives you the iCloud music library capability.

[@tobyr8555]

This is what I do as well

[@aweidenhammer]

I’ve often wondered why audiophiles tend to ignore Plex. In an in-home situation, I rather like Plex. I haven’t done a serious shootout for quality against other systems like Audirvana yet though.

[@rjy8960]

I'm an audiophile and started using Plex before Roon - I heard about it, had an old IBM server kicking around so built it up specifically for Plex (16xHDD bays plus RAID expansion,, GPU and driver mod for unlocking Nvidia drivers for >2 concurrent transcodes and it just happened to work nicely for listening to stuff that wasn't available on-line when I was out. Now Plex and Roon share the same audio libraries and I can also watch video's almost as an aside. The one thing that I do need to do some digging on is how to get Plex to stream HD to my iPhone. I can get HD from it with Tidal, but so far no HD playback with Plex. I've checked with other clients and everything downsamples so it looks like it's a server issue.... I so miss those days of being out and travelling and listening to music on the go.....

[@mesonto]

I have, and now have both, I now never use Plex at home, always Audirvana, and actually for sound quality have discontinued Roon. Been using Plex for out of home use for a couple of years now, Audirvana for about 1+ years.

[@gregc7314]

I would ditch Roon for Plex at home if Plex could play to more devices. The only worthwhile device Plex works with is the Chromecast Audio which isn't even made anymore. Rasplex would be good but it appears to be abandoned. Playing to dlna devices could be another option but they don't seem to have any interest in that.

[@emanueltomasini9947]

Plex / Kodi are not bitcorrect as I know. It's not really suitable for large music library. It's a video project

[@MaakBow]

@@gregc7314 I just made a raspberry Pi streamer with DAC that works well as a plex player. Im using Plexamp headless on top of Raspberry Pi Os. Plex "Fling"ing is way better than chromecast (on the same network) instant track changed and play pause etc. Plex Embedded works also

[@johnrobins795]

So nice to see Jana pop up; I do pay attention to whom is acknowledged filming (or involved with) your videos, and been awhile since she's been mentioned doing one, (or for that matter any anywhere). If covid-19 related, hope this might mean more involvement with yours and others on her Earspace :)

[@phantomrad1]

You can rent private cloud servers and install Plex. It allows you to have access all the time without the worry of power or network issues, you can access anywhere in the world at very high speed and low latency. I have my entire music collection stored on one and it is brilliant. Just sync it with your home NAS etc and it will have everything you store at home immediately updated to the server. Also acts as a backup to your music collection should anything bad happen.

[@DarkoAudio]

A good tip!

[@andrewwilson8273]

Dropbox works for me. Easy peasy! But yes.

[@2112earl]

I love Plex & Plexamp

[@bluebox2600]

I've never taken much interest in PLEX until about an hour ago ! just installing everything as I type. Excellent and informative video once again. Cheers John.

[@goldenears9748]

Brilliant, Ive had a lifetime Plex pass for 4 years and use it for music vids and films too. Is essential on the go. For anyone who wants this go for it you wont be able to go back !

[@normalman6686]

Good info, and great to see Jana back on Darko.

[@drewmcauley8725]

So good to see Jana!!

[@elwis74]

Nice touch with the NAD AD implementation

[@thudson9653]

Glad to see Jana again. It's been awhile. Hope she's doing well.

[@JaquesBobè]

Just connect your phone to your hard drive, copy the album to the phone, and listen locally. Bam! Works both on android and iPhone. No internet required. Can use any lossy/lossless format. All modern phones come with AT LEAST 128GB of storage, which is plenty for anyone's collection of top favorite albums. Am I missing something?

[@DarkoAudio]

"Just connect your hard drive to your phone". It just isn't that simple if you've ever done it. Especially if you a) have a multi TB library, b) listen to FLAC and c) use an iPhone. The point, in case you missed it, is to have one's ENTIRE music library available at one's fingertips, anywhere. And to be able to play any song from within a single app with a few clicks.

[@flohmann]

@MIX MASTER STUDIOS Of course, if you don't use an iPhone or iCloud...

[@alyngerard1563]

Three years later and I am going to post this note. I am just becoming aware of Plex and PlexAmp through another more current (Apr 2024) YT vid of John’s. He and other well-informed creators seem to find it life-changing. So, of course, I want to take a look and see what I am missing as well. I stream my music to my IEMs often when I am out and about; initially found how it gobbled up my bandwidth allowance (costing serious penalty dollars) and immediately began to download everything in my Apple Music, Apple Classical, and Idagio (excellent Classical streamer out of Berlin) libraries to both my iPad and iPhone. They are completely synced to both cloud servers. I run around now having all of my music completely available on-demand at no cost. So I ask myself: What is the advantage to John and others and why don’t I see it? After a week of investigation, I think that I now understand. They are what I think of as power users-music aficionados (all ❤ guys!) whose libraries are beyond 256GB, the typical high side of tablet and phone storage. And actually you have far less available due to the OS, apps, etc. And it seems also that they may be pulling rare recordings from a wide variety of streaming services outside the mainstream players like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and the like. That is very different than my usage and requirements in which my entire library, including hi-res classical fits on my phone in 75-80 GB and I still have another 100gig empty! Plus I can access bit perfect 24/192 if I really want (that sunny day in a hammock at the beach!) by dongle/Audioquest Cobalt/wired IEMs or headphones. And the other difference is that I can be satisfied with NOT having 100% of my library with me at all times. I am not that OC. So, after all that, it seems that Plex is not actually targeted at me or others like me. It is nice to finally know that. If you have read this far and believe that my logic is wrong and that I am still missing out on something terribly valuable, please don’t hesitate to let me know with a clear explanation. I remain open to sensible change. Always.

[@Pksparty2112]

I like the way you handle ads. You’re doing it right. 👍

[@RalphAverbuch]

Picked up a plex lifetime pass recently for approx £70. I then took my music and dropped it into a spare HDD plugged into a Pi4 running OpenMediaVault 5 and a Plex server. Works perfectly for streaming (or downloading) music when out and about. Yes it can do movies but for me Plex has become my go to solution to the impending demise of Google Play Music.

[@shahidyt]

Love the NAD Janadvert

[@johnnybhoy3058]

Or is it a Jana NADvert?

[@DarkoAudio]

@@johnnybhoy3058 Actually, it's JaNADvert.

[@ScottGamble1]

John Darko Jana should do all adverts henceforth!

[@rywonday]

I'm a huge fan of Plex and Plexamp. It's perfect for a guy like me who prefers to own music and just use the monthly fees I would normally give to a streaming service towards a new FLAC download on Bandcamp. At least that way I know the artists are getting a good chunk. The music streaming abilities behind the curtain have improved hugely over the years with Plex as well. Plexamp is just the icing on the cake - with the latest update adding Chromecast gapless playback. Man, it can't be beaten. Even the meta data is getting better with each update. Thanks for shining a light on this great product John!

[@timchromecast]

Does it change the metadata? As I prefer my own metadata. I tried Roon and was very underwhelmed... problems with multi-disc albums, no artwork or poor quality for obscure and even less obscure local artists. With other apps I don't have this kind of 'problems'.

[@jamesstruble1]

There is an option in plex to use local metadata and have Plex try and fill in the gaps

[@jamesstruble1]

Ryan thanks for letting us know about the chrome cast ability!! Have you tried to cast from Plexamp to another Plex/Plexamp client?

[@rywonday]

James Struble I have not tried that yet. I cast to Chromecast Audio almost exclusively. Works great! Though, I will say that chromecast functionality is available with the free PLEX app as well. I don’t think that the free app is nearly as good (for music) and I don’t believe it has gapless playback.

[@paulclarke5387]

Been a PLEX user for several years and added a PlexPass last year. Now I listed to my library anywhere.

[@Christos9]

I was amazed when I realised that I could change the resolution of my videos in realtime with Plex. Turn them from 4K to 720p to save data. Now I can do the same with music and it is awesome. Thank you.

[@mattneibaur215]

Great suggestion and it motivated me to rip my old CD collection to flac formatted files and install them on a Plex server. Roku TV has a Plex channel. I'm able to get my old collection back and available through out my home. My TV connects to my stereo via optical cable and a Schiit DAC. I can now hear my entire CD collection using my Roku remote. Thanks for making this video.

[@sonofagreatsouthernland]

Thanks for taking the time to put this vid together! I already have the plex pass but forgot or talked myself into using Tidal and other services instead. Waste. Back to Plex I go and take full advantage of this option.

[@genesequence]

i've been a subscriber for a few months now, and while i may not have the audiological sensitivity to appreciate most of your content, the offhand Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie reference ensured my eternal loyalty! Love the channel - fantastic, stylish content!

[@billywindsock9597]

Just thinking back to my early hifi days, after buying my LP12. If I wanted to listen to an album, I went to where the albums were, I picked it up and then carefully put it on my Linn. I then listened to the side I wanted and then mostly turned it over and listened to side 2. If I wanted to listen to it out of the house, I had to use a cassette in my Walkman. I made my own tapes - I had a Nakamichi which sounded great, but was a sod to set up to match my ever changing Walkman of choice. Those were the options. We are now living in the future and it is complicated. Whenever you say 'just,' it gets complicated.

[@ru55ells]

What's complicated about it Billy?

[@bjrnsjohnsen1278]

LOVE that you highlight Disc 3 of Bowie At BBC, my favourite and favourite sounding live recording of all time

[@DarkoAudio]

it's waaaaaaay better than the glastonbury performance.

[@_RKev]

Nice footage from Friedrichstraße, very fitting for the video

[@petergrisdale4190]

Thanks for this review! I was looking into Plex and this answered a lot of my questions. FYI - Plex server can be installed on a Raspberry Pi for those who don’t want to use Windows or iOS.

[@mutekatsu]

@peter Grisdale, have you done this yet? It’s my next project. The first project being learning to just get the pi up and running😆. I am hoping to hook up a RPI 4 to my server with a SSD attached using plex as my streamer. I am not tech savvy so learning as I go. Any tips?

[@stevemurrayphotos]

Big thumbs up for 'I'm no Plexpert' !

[@eetu2532]

One of the main reasons I use Roon is the DSP features. I was hoping Plexamp would have had proper built-in EQ but it's very basic. So not replacing Roon at home but as an on-the-go solution seems nice.

[@vincentrenaud7249]

Apple Music does all that automatically, in case some don’t know this. It is not a well documented feature, but music that you have in your music library that is not available from Apple Music, will be uploaded to Apple server (included in your subscription fee, no space limit) so it remains available in your music library anywhere you go. I like that feature.

[@DarkoAudio]

Does Apple Music store FLAC in the cloud? Can it hold 3TB of the stuff?

[@vincentrenaud7249]

No unfortunately, it doesn’t support FLAC, but AIFF and WAV are supported. Would you have 3TB of music that is not featured on Apple Music? I have about 1TB in my music library and most of it is available from Apple Music and maybe 1GB is not available but since it was uploaded to Apple server, it remains available when I’m away from home.

[@gojamzim]

You can save space by encoding with Apple Lossless (ALAC) which is similar to FLAC. Plus  Music can be accessed via its Android app and also via a web browser.

[@shiningpath3430]

For all those "bitperfect" junkies, Plex app for Windows also provides an option to select audio output (and there-in option to use ASIO or WASAPI of your DAC). Even for the price of their lifetime pass, it Plex offers fantastic value for money and 99% works out of the box. For some wireless routers you may need additional settings in the router to make it accessible, but thats not an arduous task.

[@jgm3796]

I completely agree. Lifetime pass is a fantastic value.

[@drevanhoof3067]

I think the same possibilities are offered by Synology. Everyone that has a Synology NAS can use it as a music server and can install DS-music on there phones. In DS-music you can also download albums from your library to take with you and listen wherever you want without an internet connection.

[@cryptout]

Yes! Big plex fan here! I love that you keep trying new things to stream music and not settle for one ecosystem.

[@superhoops73]

This needs an update. Much has changed in the PlexAmp world since you made this.

[@fightsong03]

I use a DAP for outdoor listening. Better quality audio and no worries about busting ur mobile data usage..That is if u don't mind carry an extra equipment.

[@MrCarptime]

Very interesting prog, thanks John for the overview! And also, thanks a lot for the operator job.

[@amk221]

I have been doing the same with Roon/Plex, but I didn't know about Plexamp so thanks for the heads up! Plex's UI/UX knocks the socks of Roon!

[@giovannialfano5979]

I hear my owned 400 CD, since almost 5 years, from PLEX. Best of all, they are all in wav format. Convenient, easy, fast, pervasive. What else? PS. my first ripped original CD has been made with Amiga, and its 300MB (yes, MegaBytes) hard disk, long long time ago. So...everyone discovers the magic at their own speed.

[@spikebookbinder3502]

Same epiphany realised this week. I've always had issues with plex network connections out of the house (probably user_error!) but have a workaround using 'pivpn' on my omv nas - this enables full use of plex/plexamp streaming to android out of the home. I appreciate the content and production (& music!) John, ta very much. Edit: Scratch the above Plex now configured correctly and streaming without fault or with the need of pivpn running. All-in-all a good user experience .

[@pagehallblade9000]

have you tried manually specifying the port to 32400 in the remote access tab in settings in plex there are instructions and you may have to do it via your router im no tech wiz but i managed it

[@xjmzrq]

Spot on. I have this challenge with a few of my favorites as well. Thanks for the info.

[@bugsbunny8239]

Don't get using Plex to stream outside the house. 1) Have to rely on the network for reliability on my music stream 2) The cost of Plex Premimum is similar to 1 Tb SD card that could store my entire library (don't need data to listen to music) Basically, an SD card is cheaper and better quality. Oh wait... I forgot about iPhone users - never mind.

[@BlownMacTruck]

I know this is shocking, but different people have different use cases. I don't have to pay for my phone at all - it's work supplied, including unlimited data. Unless I'm traveling, I'm never in an area where I have spotty coverage. Why wouldn't I take advantage of streaming? Also iPhones are hardly the only phones without SD card slots. Again, people have different use cases and different requirements.

[@OriginalgEd]

JD talks to this specific point early in the video. Maintaining your own backup of your library on a separate card is a hassle for some folks. how do you sync all the album art, playlists. remembering to resync the SD card with the 5 new CDs you just added before you rush to leave the house etc. What software to use to do the syncing? Maybe Plex already offering these features for cloning your collection (I don't know). I also copy my music to an SD card as I have limited data capacity so I am familiar with what a hassle it is and it contains music I've since decided I no longer like, missed the ratings I have given my music at home and doesn't have any recent music on it. different use-cases.

[@SuperKimjong]

You could download music for offline listening to your device - no need to rely on network reliability.

[@DarkoAudio]

That's right. This my video shows one very specific use case: to have your entire library - in my case 3TB - available to me anytime, anywhere and to be able to play ANY song with just a couple clicks from inside one app. I thought this use case would be of interest to many people so I made a video about it. And I think the appeal is obvious when your library is bigger than 1TB, you archive in FLAC and your phone doesn't accommodate microSD cards i.e. ALL iPhones and many Androids. Simples.

[@bugsbunny8239]

@@DarkoAudio Your videos are great - really enjoy your content! Your library is certainly larger than mine as I'm OK with only 1 Tb (for now). For me in a rural setting cellular is not always the best. Plex is a great platform - I have a dedicated Plex server (I have the lifetime subscription) for my movies and TV shows. Definitely a specific use case that is worth exploring.

[@ajuyal]

Yay Jana is back :-)

[@CreativeNative94]

Mr. Darko, I stumbled upon this video two nights ago at 2 am, and now my life is forever changed, haha. I was using my Sony NW A55 DAP for music (both wired and Bluetooth) for about a year until the audio jack broke. I was bummed about only having it as a Bluetooth audio device and missing my DAC and Bluetooth receiver functions. I also recently got Roon and got spoiled by all of its features. I want to keep my A55 because I have guaranteed, more reliable music playback, but have always hated listening via my iPhone 12 Pro because of "lesser sound quality", decreased battery life and data, and having to always rely on my phone. But, the ability to have more custom features in Roon really fascinated me. I was digging to see how I could find a way to use Roon on the go, and my search led me here. I am super happy about it and was even able to get my head out of the "but it's not hi-res" cloud 😂😂😂it was a learning curve for me to figure out Plex/Plexamp, but I think I've got it now. Thank you again!

[@yourdiytechlife]

I’ve been using Plex for both audio and video in the house but now you’ve convinced me to try Plex amp. Just downloaded it and I like what I see so far. 👍

[@andrewwilson8273]

Of course, you don't need PlexAmp to use Plex outside your home. I've been using Plex for music on my mobile devices, including my phones, for years. I still prefer the main Plex app.

[@anhy10ful]

@@andrewwilson8273 Can the. main Plex app download music from plex server for offline playing?

[@davidsmithson9236]

John, thank you for listing your music - always interesting and worth investigating. As to how Plex works, I can tell you that it involves a fair bit of magic - like how an automatic car transmission works.

[@DavidBurrows]

I have been a PlexPass user for ages, and outside of my home I mostly use Plex to stream music. The PlexAmp app is great, the ONLY issue I have with it is that I cannot use it to cast to a Chromecast device (I have Chromecast Audio attached to my main music stereo) but the main Plex app on my phone does work with Chromecast. Great video, John Darko. You have a new subscriber in the US.

[@barneyjones5174]

My first thought was to play the CD on a portable CD player. What i do and very good sound.

[@ayellowbeard]

I've had a Plex server for several years now and tried out the Plexamp app early on but wasn't impressed enough at the time to stick with it. However, I think enough time has passed with enough improvements made and figure if John is doing a positive video on it, it's probably worth trying it out again. Cheers!

[@cls63amgwagon34]

On Apple Music you can add any local files to your iCloud music library and stream from your phone or download it to your phone

[@DarkoAudio]

Does Apple Music support FLAC like Plexamp?

[@cls63amgwagon34]

John Darko that I do not know, I’m more of a casual audiophile, but that’s just been my solution for music not on Apple Music, that I have locally

[@orozkoinsider]

John Darko AFAIK you can add ALAC files but iTunes match will convert them to AAC and then upload the file. If it matches a low res mp3 file then it will get access to their AAC version.

[@DarkoAudio]

@@orozkoinsider So no lossless audio with the Apple Music solution (which doesn't surprise me).

[@dinoso]

@@DarkoAudio It will play your ALAC files at home but will convert to 256 AAC for steaming. But is just like you said in the video, most of the time you wouldn't play hi res on the street.

[@FilipCools]

This is a standard feature of Apple Music. You can even upload your CD’s in Apple Lossless format into your personal Apple Music Library in the Cloud. I use the 256 Kbps ACC format which is good enough for me.

[@portcorner_noise]

What I really dig is the integration with Tidal, so basically I have music from my NAS at home + Tidal all in one desktop/IOS app which is amazing... reason why I dumped Spotify.

[@chriscroz]

For those that don't know, Plex is available as a channel on Roku (it's initial purpose). It depends on the Roku device, but devices like the Roku Ultra will be able to stream HiRes (16/44.1) audio, which makes a rather inexpensive music server system that doesn't rely on wifi to get around the house. The problem is that the only output from the Roku standalone devices is an HDMI. If they were to put a simple optical or coax output, they could capture a lot of the market that is looking for an in expensive network streamer (e.g., all the of the Google Audiocast folks, etc.).

[@bhbacon]

Thanks, John. Hugely informative.

[@viveshsahu7229]

"redbook flac is good enough"...I could not agree more. I have the 'best of sade' cd and I am yet to find a high rez version of any album that sounds better than that. Yes, there might be some subtle differences but a proper processed track would make more difference in sound that everybody could agree upon. By the way you could link your tidal account to your plex account without buying plex pass.

[@matthewhoult1350]

Great video and a good solution to off line listening

[@devin.briggs]

I just built a server and spent about 2 weeks redownloading flac versions of my entire mp3 music collection. Got a lifetime Plex Pass and Plex Amp. Cancelled my Apple Music plan and couldn't be happier.

[@H_ologramic]

OG Real Gone FTW

[@JimacGTti]

Totally agree - Plex + Plexamp is just very convenient (and they are looking at adding many more features, inc chromecast) - it's for, as you say - a music first audiophile. The lifetime PlexPass is quite often on a special offer, so that may be worth thinking about for other subscribers/watchers here in the Comments. Works reasonably well with Android Auto too, for access to those difficult to find tracks in the car. For my household in general, it is the 1st port of call for playing music. Visualizations are a nice touch too.

[@simmo123]

Awesome video. Plex is also available for most NAS boxes so you could copy your music to a NÀS and share using plex from there.

[@lukehouge9776]

They also have a plexamp version for pi, so I use that with a DAC hat as my streamer. Also, just yesterday the plexamp mobile apps were updated with chromecast so you can use that app to cast to the streamer-- its a really slick setup!

[@alastairorchard]

Hey John - excellent video as always. Couple of points : 1. Not everyone will find it as easy as you did you enable remote access to the server - it depends on your ISP / port forwarding / NAT / etc. 2. If you are in to audiobooks then the equivalent app to Plex amp is called Prologue - absolutely invaluable since Apple removed books from Music and killed the ability to stream them unless they’re encoded as music. 3. Finally, as some commenters mentioned, iTunes Match does something similar in that it provides access to your personal tracks from any device, however : a. Music streams from the apple servers and not from your house (probably a good thing) b. Hi-res files are uploaded as CD quality and so you need an alternative solution if you want to go mobile with FLACs c. Apple limits the number of devices you can access your music to 10 (which sounds a lot, but isn’t actually if you have a family. I’d definitely stick with Plex which you’ll find handles movies and TV even better... Keep up the great work!

[@cam_934]

@alastairorchard : "1. Not everyone will find it as easy as you did you enable remote access to the server - it depends on your ISP / port forwarding / NAT / etc." Incorrect, you don't need to open any ports through your router, consider it like remote access apps like teamviewer/anydesk etc, Plex server tells your Plex account your IP address and what port its using, the PlexAmp app talks to the Plex account to get that info and connect to your Plex Home Server. Or if you have enough storage space on your Phone then just download them.

[@stephendixon8575]

Certainly not going to ‘advance the conversation’ in a cerebral way but love the outtakes at the end John! - nice touch, please keep it up 👍

[@OHMAudioChannel]

I've been using PLEX for a better part of 3 years now and I absolutely love it.

[@RootsMusicHawaii]

People who run sonicorbiter software (anyone with a sonicTransporter - e.g. Michael Lavorgna) have the option of switching their server back and forth between Roon and Plex easily via sonicorbiter.com. So, all of these people (me included) should be able to easily access all server content when out of the hose by subscribing / adding PlexAmp and switching their server to Plex before leaving the house. Or get a second server and dedicate to Plex or run both software applications on one machine like your laptop John. Thanks for introducing me to this! Roon has promised this functionality for years and has not been able to deliver. Glad there is now a good solution.

[@alonwasserman640]

When on the go, I'm using the BubbleUPnP app (Android only) connecting to my minimserver that indexes all of my ripped music at home (and BubbleUPnP server). The servers run and the music is stored on my Synology NAS. Works great, you can also listen to Tidal/Qobuz (not Spotify) from the app. It will also transcode to lower bit rates if wanted. No subscription needed (just a small one-time payment for the app license)

[@machiventa858]

Can you combine local content and tidal content into the same playlists?

[@ajeerson]

@@machiventa858 Yes you can!

[@77936fief]

i've been using plex for a good portion of 6 years, it's one of the best media management servers out there

[@JulizzetteColonBilbrautEsq]

Plex has been around for a while. At the beginning it helped you cast photos and videos from your Android. I carry an A&K player and a pair of iems to listen to the music that I want in its original sound quality. I have up to 1TB of space so I get to carry a lot of my music in my pocket. Love your videos John! 😉

[@Trvgn]

you can access Plex from outside the house also without paying for the pass or using plex amp, can't you? At least, I do it for the video content, so I guess the audio would also be available. Don't know about the offline predownload stuff, since I never download to my phone.

[@michaelculhane7227]

great content. great video. so helpful and useful.

[@loouis33]

Hi @DarkoAudio ! In your opinion, how did this video aged with the arrival of Roon ARC ? What service would you recommend and why ?

[@benhunt3880]

Does anyone think that Plex is a suitable alternative to Roon? I'm just checking out all my alternatives and of the top of my head I can't figure out where the overlap is. Thanks

[@philippzierdt8384]

So good, I installed plex server just next to roon server on the same NUC (16GB RAM) with AudioLinux. Dear John , I wanted to write to you since a long time and thank you for all your work and sharing. I learned a lot from your videos and got hooked! Greetings from the sunny Freiburg (come around if you are in the surroundings of Freiburg). cee you philipp

[@stewartmacdonald601]

The only real issue I've had with Plex amp (except the difficulty I seem to have in keeping albums listed together and not split into multiple albums), is the lack of casting support. I use, for example, chromecast audios dotted around the house (like one hooked up to a nice Rotel amp and wharfedale speakers in the garage), and I can't cast from plexamp to them. But can from the main plex app.

[@DarkoAudio]

Cast support was added last week.

[@rendart18]

I have the TIDAL HiFi + Plex Pass for 19.99 (Tidal HIFI alone costs 19.99 over Tidal). A server with Roon and Plex including my files. I also use Roon at home and Plex mobile for my files without constantly synchronizing my mobile devices with new files. And the whole thing also for videos. Works flawlessly.

[@rendart18]

@@satanicballerina Hi, you have a regular subscription to Tidal. So you can listen to master quality via the Tidel app - bitperfect via the USB Audio Player etc. Of course a download function via Tidal app. I had the Tidal HIFI subscription before. Via Plex you actually have Tidal HIFI - in addition to Plex. No risk. The only difference: Payment via Plex and not via Tidal.

[@luiscorrea6530]

I’ve been using Plexamp for a couple of weeks and it’s fantastic. I also have Roon at home. Is there any way to share my Roon Playlists to Plexamp? Thanks

[@TheChiptallent]

Set Plex up on an old iMac could not have been easier. Streaming my entire CD ripped library on plexamp on my iPhone and iPads.

[@MrPrinceofthenile]

I have been using Plex and Plexamp for a few months now in a similar way but also to listen to my flac/mp3 library at home which is on a NAS. I have been streaming music from my macbook pro to my hifi using Plexamp straight to a dac. Its not super convenient bc i use a wired usb connection to the dac. So i am planning to take the plunge and get a streamer. So... would i be able say to use Plexamp on an Allo USBridge for example? Or a Cambridge Audio CXN? I dont pay for any streaming services currently so Tidal, Spotify etc are not important. I just want to stream from my Plex library. Any ideas?

[@jamesstruble1]

Khalid, you can but building the correct boot disk is not easy and it appears that Plex has, at least for now, abandoned pi as a platform

[@ZagatoZee]

Plex Amp is easily my most used audio source while in the car.

[@tonyreimann]

I have been using Subsonic for years. Ever considered it?

[@portcorner_noise]

Love your glasses Sir, brand please?

[@davidweinberg6711]

There was a comment (perhaps embedded as a reply as I can't find it at the moment) about the Prism Music app. I loaded it today and it links directly to Plex. One time app purchase (post trial) and all set. I think this too, has potential for music on the go.

[@DavidEHaworth]

The ncie thing about prism is that it supports high res audio on an iphone if you're using an external DAC. I've tested this with an iphone and a mojo. There's a couple of bugs (which i have reported to the dev) and it sadly doesn't support DSD files but it's still an advance. I lika like this use case in the home so I can listen with headphones and not be tied to a PC...

[@zjzozn]

Nice one Dave 👍 Plex Amp look smashing 🤓

[@ifinn_flavorlessgum]

When I’m on the commute I like to get away from my library to explore BBC6 or other radio channels. It’s a chance to discover new sounds.

[@andresvaldevit3692]

I'll give it a try. I do have the Plex pass but have never heard of this app, I may replace my Spotify premium wich has songs that go missing and are greyed out from time to time for some reason.