StreamMagic by Cambridge Audio User Reviews

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Awful

I can’t play anything from my NAS music server using this App now. All I get is “Failed to add to queue.” Yes, my CXN/StreamMagic is the latest update. It was working fine for years until the App was “improved.” Desperate, I used my NAS software to access my music files and incredibly the music now plays on the CXN and StreamMagic actually shows the music being played. So now I am forced to use my NAS software to access and play. my music files. Like I said, the App worked fine until it was improved.

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Oh Johnny Boy

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for taking the time to leave us this feedback. We're aware of several customers suffering from a similar problem. We're currently working on improving this for all customers, if you would be interested to test our solution as soon as it's ready please send us an email to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com. It would be helpful if you could also let us know which server/software you are using. Please also include any other feedback or suggestions you might have. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

Getting worse

Every update renders this app more useless.
Resetting passwords, dropping stations and inputs, impossible for guests to use..... after a couple years now, patience is wearing very thin.

Macone39

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi - we're sorry to hear you're not enjoying using the StreamMagic app. Would you mind dropping us an email at streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com so that we can see if there's any way we can improve your experience. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio.

Great App

I really don’t have any complaints about the app. It works as expected. If there is one critique I have, it would be that the scrubber is not very responsive when trying to use it. There are other music apps that I can toggle the scrubber back and forth with ease. I know that may be nitpicking but that’s the best I have . Thank you Cambridge Audio for providing an excellent listening experience!

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otherOldman

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi - we're sorry to hear you are having trouble with the latest update. Please could you drop us an email at streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com with a little bit of information about how you're listening so that we can start to diagnose the problem? Kind regards, Cambridge Audio.

Frustrating

Since the new release My 851N, most of the time cannot find my hard drive plugged into the 2nd rear USB 2 port. It contains my music collection on Flac files. Sometimes if I remove the USB from the external hard drive then plug it back in it can then find it. Never had this problem before. I really like the sound of this preamp/DAC so I hope Cambridge can fix this bug. I can stil play radio presets CDs etc.

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Pam&GeoffAustralia

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for taking the time to leave this review. We updated the 'Early Update' version for 851N users recently. Was this the update that you believe affected the USB drive behaviour, or the app update to 1.4.1? Would you mind sending us an email to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com where I hope we can get to the bottom of this for you. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

User experience can be challenging.

Adding a single song to the queue is more miss than hit. It usually just plays the song instead of adding it to the queue. Essentially I cannot use it.
Qobuz (also Tidal, I use Qobuz) does have a better experience and rather Cambridge having to do so much work on their solution, a suggestion:
Qobuz can be the drivers for selecting and managing queues. They essentially are designed for that purpose.
Your app in the background connects then to the network player for HiRes playback. (Basically a vampire tap pulling the info from Qobuz)
Win - Win - Win. You save on resources and the Qobuz / Tidal do the heavy lifting on interface (which we pay for dearly, their win) and happy customers.
Pretty sure you have a backlog of features you then could work on.
(No, I will not use Apple airplay, low quality, sorry. Maybe if Apple would solve it. Then you also have a headache less I guess.)
Cheers.
My scoring:
3 stars as it technically works
4 stars if the experience and the user interface would be up to date
5 stars if it would have all functions of Qobuz, or better yet, I can use Qobuz and don’t have to deal with any other interface.

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Pt1976

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for your detailed feedback, and explaining your thoughts clearly for us. Our streaming service integrations are somewhat governed by what the service allows us access to, but there is always room for improvement and it sounds like Queue management is an area you feel we need to focus, so we'll take that on board and look in to it. If you have any further thoughts or feedback please send them to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

UPnP unusable

The app overall works well for controlling my CXN V2. However, I host most of my music on a Synology NAS. This is where the app falls apart. Despite the CXN itself, and every other computer on the network, picking up the NAS’s music the app cannot do so. I have even tried switching to new server software recommended by Cambridge Audio’s support page (MinimServer), with no change. Please fix the app, it’s destroying what has otherwise been a great investment.

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nwlb2020

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for leaving us this review, and apologies that you're experience trouble with your UPnP server. Would you mind sending us an email to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com where we can investigate these issues further. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

Good tool

So I recently picked up a 851N music streamer. It allowed me to replace my pre amp and DAC separates with a all-included unit. The DAC section of the 851 is pretty good it’s much smoother than the DAC magic plus which it replaced. The AD DACs were a major upgrade coming from the wolfson. Switching sources is easy in the app and makes it easy to pick usb, air play or Roon which is what I primarily use. Sound quality is good on Sirius symphony hall and met opera radio using air play. The Roon ready is easy to use just select Roon ready in this app and add it as a audio end point on your Roon audio settings tab. It will display album art and track title and artist on the display which is nice. I primarily got this to replace my separates and be able to control the hifi system all from my iPad. Only giving four stars as the app interface could be improved. Really happy with the 851 will give me many years and hours of listening enjoyment. Compared to competitors products which I also looked at this was the best and most stable app at the price point. You could go to blu os but that app has terrible reviews. I’ve been a Cambridge customer since 2010 and have never had a bad product from them. This is the streamer you want to get at this price point because the integration is all managed in house for the app and the hardware. Really pleased with my purchase.

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Doug Brehm

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for this great review, we're very pleased you're enjoying your 851N. If you have any other feedback, or ideas on how we could improve things please let us know at streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com. Happy listening, Cambridge Audio

Good app but won’t work on my iPad

I installed this app on my iPad Air to operate the Cambridge CXNv2 and spent a morning trying to get it to work. The iPad just would not ‘see’ the Cambridge no matter what I did. I then installed it on my iPhone 12 Pro and it worked faultlessly. It works very well; easy to use and very quick. I just wish I knew why it won’t connect to my iPad.

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4:54am

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for taking the time to leave us this feedback. I'm glad things worked well for you on iPhone, would you mind sending us an email to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com lettting us know the model and iOS version of your iPad and we'll take a look into it. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

CXN V2

New streamer may be boxed up based on how bad the supporting app is

Madiluc2

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, we're sorry that we've not met your expectations with the StreamMagic app. Please send us an email to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com where I hope we can solve any problems you're experiencing and discuss any thoughts you have on the product. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio

Constantly stops music playback when app is put into foreground!

The app is in general much better than the old Connect app; however, at least on an iPhone it has a MAJOR problem.
If I am streaming music to my CXN and either my iPhone goes to sleep or I start another app, as soon as I put the StreamMagic app back in the foreground, the music Streaming/playback stops immediately!
This is a big no-go. I hope this will be fixed soon or I may have to look at a replacement for my CXN.

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StuggiBear

4 years ago

Response from developer

Hi, thanks for the feedback and sorry to hear you're having some issues. Can you send us details of the iPhone and iOS version you are using, and how you're accessing your music (i.e. NAS drive or TIDAL/Qobuz) to streammagicapp@cambridgeaudio.com. Please also include any other information that might help us recreate the problem. Kind regards, Cambridge Audio