Help required please, I have SoundBridge M1001 and M500 units and Apple iMac running iTunes.

I have the M500 with active speakers in my office wired via ethernet cable direct to my wireless router which is then wired to my iMac, this works perfectly and streams music without delay or buffering.

I have the M1001 in my main listening room in another part of the house, it is wired direct to hi-fi amp and runs two set of speakers in separate rooms. It runs wirelessly to my router, with the iMac running the Firefly programme.

I am perfectly happy with the quality of the stream, however I do suffer buffering, I've improved my wireless router to try and increase the signal, but buffering continues.
Due to this I have decided to install an ethernet cable from the router to the M1001. However, though the M1001 says it is connected by ethernet cable, and the rear lights are lit, it will not show the music library. I have reinstalled the M1001 to factory settings and rebooted several times, I have also rebooted the router and iMac/iTunes, the lengthy cable (30m) has been checked with the M500 and is fine, I have also disabled Firefly but it will not show the music from iTunes as the M500 does..

Can anyone help with tips or ideas to cure this before I install the cable through walls and under carpets. Many thanks. MIke

If the M1001 says Pinnacle on the front then it does not support iTunes.

Have you considered using a Powerline adaptor or wifi repeater instead of running cables through the house?

Thanks for the reply jjaf.

It has Pinnacle on the front, so that's my problem, thanks for the info. A real shame and rather odd as it supports iTunes wirelessly but not wired. I'll keep an eye out for a Roku version on ebay.

I've used a Powerline adaptor and of course had no connection and now I know why.

I have also used a wifi repeater, and found this slightly improved the buffering problem but not 100%.

Thanks

jjaf wrote:

If the M1001 says Pinnacle on the front then it does not support iTunes.

Have you considered using a Powerline adaptor or wifi repeater instead of running cables through the house?

Hello icepixmike,

welcome to the forums.

rather odd as it supports iTunes wirelessly but not wired

Pinnacle branded SoundBridges do not support iTunes at all; this is because Pinnacle never licensed the protocol from Apple.

To connect a Pinnacle device to your iTunes library you have to use Firefly. Unfortunately this software doesn't work on newer versions of OS X so it might not be a solution for your issue.

You might consider running a UPnP-AV/DLNA server on your Mac, for example Serviio, Plex, Elgato EyeConnect, Logitech Media Server or Twonky Server. Many of these are capable of serving your iTunes library to theSoundBridges.

Greetings
dupondt

Yes, it works perfectly with firefly wirelessly, with my Mac running OS 10.6.8, I just suffer the buffering problem which I'd like to cure. I would also like to upgrade my Mac software to Mountain Lion, which I gather won't run Firefly. So wanting to go wired has a two fold solution for me, stopping the buffering issue and also allowing me to upgrade software.

Thanks for the input.

dupondt wrote:

Hello icepixmike,

welcome to the forums.

rather odd as it supports iTunes wirelessly but not wired

Pinnacle branded SoundBridges do not support iTunes at all; this is because Pinnacle never licensed the protocol from Apple.

To connect a Pinnacle device to your iTunes library you have to use Firefly. Unfortunately this software doesn't work on newer versions of OS X so it might not be a solution for your issue.

You might consider running a UPnP-AV/DLNA server on your Mac, for example Serviio, Plex, Elgato EyeConnect, Logitech Media Server or Twonky Server. Many of these are capable of serving your iTunes library to theSoundBridges.

Greetings
dupondt

There's something else going on here. Since it was previously working wirelessly with Firefly, it is not a daap licensing issue with the Pinnacle. I would start by setting a fixed IP address and see if that helps. I don't know why, but that sometimes resolves these issues.

bregent wrote:

There's something else going on here. Since it was previously working wirelessly with Firefly, it is not a daap licensing issue with the Pinnacle. I would start by setting a fixed IP address and see if that helps. I don't know why, but that sometimes resolves these issues.

Hi Bregent,
Thanks for posting a reply, I'm not sure how to set a fixed IP address, I have managed to get my hands on a Roku M1001 and will try it wired instead of the Pinnacle version and see if it works as my Roku M500 already does.

I will post if it's a success.

Thanks

An update for those that posted, I have replaced the Pinnacle soundbridge M1001 with the Roku branded version soundbridge M1001 and as dupondt posted this one works perfectly as I wanted. Wired and Wireless.

Now to install my ethernet cable!

Thanks to all those posted with advice, now selling my Pinnacle soundbridge M1001.

Interesting. My memory's a bit hazy, but I believe that Firefly serves both RSP and DAAP protocols. So there must be a problem with your router not transmitting RSP packets over the wired Ethernet - possibly just a setting somewhere. Since the Pinnacle isn't licensed for daap, it relies solely on RSP.

bregent wrote:

Interesting. My memory's a bit hazy, but I believe that Firefly serves both RSP and DAAP protocols. So there must be a problem with your router not transmitting RSP packets over the wired Ethernet - possibly just a setting somewhere. Since the Pinnacle isn't licensed for daap, it relies solely on RSP.

I've looked at my belkin router settings and can't see anything that mentions RSP and DAAP protocols, I'm probably looking in the wrong place but thanks for the input

The setting wouldn't be labelled RSP or DAAP - it's not specific to those. Look for 'igmp' or 'multicast' or 'multicast filtering' settings or similar.

A month on and all is running very smoothly.

My Pinnacle M1001 has been replaced by the Roku branded version, it is now permanently ethernet wired to my router, which in turn is directly wired to my iMac, and picks up my complete iTunes collection.

I have also added a Cambridge Audio DacMagic Azur (DAC) which is connected optically to the M1001, then the DAC runs to my amp.

I must say that I'm amazed in the difference the DacMagic has made, the sound is much more detailed, with a much fuller bass and greater range in the layers of instruments.

I would recommend to any M1001 users, if you can try a DAC, do so.

I followed Icepickmike's suggestion and offered myself a little birthday present in the form of a Cambridge Audio DAC. Pricey little thing, but WOW! It really does make a difference. Thanks for the recommendation.

46jimbo wrote:

I followed Icepickmike's suggestion and offered myself a little birthday present in the form of a Cambridge Audio DAC. Pricey little thing, but WOW! It really does make a difference. Thanks for the recommendation.

Which DAC did you go for Jimbo? We have the DACMAGIC 100 and DACMAGIC PLUS available here. I picked up the Azur version that is no longer made off ebay mainly because the reviews were better than the newer versions, it also saved me a little on the cost.

Another note that I'm sure has been mentioned many times on the forum, is file type, I have over 30,000 music files, and until recently all were MP3's, however I still have the CD's for nearly 10% of the files and re-ripped them to itunes as lossless files. What a difference these make as well. Sure they take up extra space on my hard drive, but it's well worth it.

It's the DacMagic 100. I got it thru an Amazon reseller.

As for high bitrate lossless files, I find that my wifi can't stream it fast enough, so there is a lot of buffering.