Thinking of changing

[Blzebub]

The fan on my Toshiba laptop never goes on (if it has one).

 

[vln]

BUt do you keep all of your lossless music on your laptop? Speace becomes a big issue if you just want to stream from laptop via Squeezebox. It's what I do, but I keep compressed files on the laptop, can't fit the ALACs.

Oh absolutely - I am about to run out of space, so this cannot go on forever.

As I have explained in my post, going for a NAS is the right thing *for me* - it also saves me the hassle of administrating two computers.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Sam, no need to admin anything very often. Just set it up to run 24/7. Run auto updates and re boot it once a week. I do this from another laptop via RealVNC, which is a screen sharing bit of software.

 

[vln]

Sam, no need to admin anything very often. Just set it up to run 24/7. Run auto updates and re boot it once a week. I do this from another laptop via RealVNC, which is a screen sharing bit of software.

Does your music PC have two HDs, i.e. do you run a RAID setup?

 

[Cereal Killer]

The fan on my Toshiba laptop never goes on (if it has one).

I was using a Toshiba laptop before, a Tecra M10. Twas rather noisy. Now I have total 100% silence from the server, I don't like seeing or hearing the computer fanny'ing on.

 

[ItemAudio]

+1. Total silence from the player/server is mandatory!

 

[Cereal Killer]

Does your music PC have two HDs, i.e. do you run a RAID setup?

No just 1, I backup my music when I've added something new to a external USB HDD. This way the backup isn't spinning away 24/7 so will last much much longer. Its safer this way. RAID isn't a proper backup, its there to keep productivity going, not to create a backup. Most NAS's these days have a USB port for you to back up what's on it to an external USB device.

 

[Paul R]

Do you mean this? HGC.

That's the one.

In principle that plus a digital connection to your DVD player makes your CDS2 and NAC52 redundant. And it is tiny. It also comes from a similar crossover between the professional and domestic worlds that ATC inhabit.

Paul

 

[merlin]

Careful Bub.

You just might be in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I would add a computer audio solution to my existing one. That's what I did. I have a Mac Mini and separate studio dac. All can be controlled from my laptop, iPhone, iPad or iPod.

My core system however remains, and it's taught me a few home truths.

One issue that always worries me is that we really don't just listen with our ears. Whatever the community might say, the part of the brain that deals with emotion is entirely separate from that handling sound waves and is influenced by many different factors.

For me, this goes a long way to explaining the subjective differences we hear (which I might add disappear under controlled conditions). Expectation and perception, mood and other factors all have IMHO an influence on real world buyers - to a greater or lesser degree depending on the person's psychology and past "life experiences".

All maybe a bit deep I guess, but what I am saying is that for me, there is a certain level of attention to detail and quality that results in an improved (and more emotionally rewarding) listening experience. Of course this does not just apply to audio.

I get the impression that Bub is of a similar ilk and with that in mind, I would expect a lot of products mentioned to disappoint regardless of what their objective measurements suggest. It would be sad for him to end up in the "tried steaming and it was awful" camp. In the long term, something with satisfying build quality backed up by professional credibility is likely to result in a greater degree of acceptance and happiness.

 

[Purité Audio]

Bubhave you tried the Linn,we have a dealer near you who could probably bring the Linn and the Weiss MAN if you wanted to compare?
Keith.

 

[Muzak]

That's what I think. What is the point of the Linn DS? Why is it better than a competent DAC plus a, what, a laptop? This is what I don't really understand.

It is not better. It is an all-in-one option (which may be better if that is what you want). Assuming you have lossless files and a stable network, the main thing is the DAC - whether on its own or bundled with something else.

 

[SteveS1]

Indeed, I go the other way - I see streamers as an unnecessary and expensive lock-in. Bub, something like a mini to store and serve your music once fixed would allow you the space to sort out a DAC or DAC/Pre that works well with your ATCs. You just have much more flexibility that way.

 

[Cereal Killer]

Indeed, I go the other way - I see streamers as a lock-in.

Me too, having a DAC with a motherboard built into it just seams wrong IMHO. Both develop at very different paces, computers outdate themselves in seconds by comparison and are what i would call disposable. The only thing of any worth in or on computer, is the data.

 

[Purité Audio]

Having a dedicated machine is nice too, no faffing with playback software, or kernel streaming,Wasapi,latency buffering etc etc, just an on and off switch and IPad.
Keith.

 

[Cereal Killer]

I have a dedicated machine, it was only £500 to build. No faffing with anything. You just need to be slightly competent with a computer. Have a look at the pics in my signature.

 

[Purité Audio]

The only real advantage computer audio has over a cd player is convenience, I understand the 'hobby'aspect, trying mew software, tweaking latency or buffering, experimenting with interfaces, but it you just want to listen to music, then a dedicated machine makes sense IMHO.
Keith.

 

[JTC]

I must admit to having both a SBT and a Mac Mini, both working from the same (NAS-based) library (albeit using Pure Music to access FLAC via iTunes).

Sonically, PM/Mini=>MDAC sounds better than SBT=>CDQ but I find the simplicity of the SBT better than the faffing with iTunes and Remote on the iPad.

Is there a better remote control for iTunes for the iPad, I wonder? It's not that it's bad, as such, but I'd like something that allows me to go a bit further and edit the library remotely, maybe access web-based resources relating to what I'm listening to? That'd lift the experience for me.... but sonically it's fine.

 

[Cereal Killer]

JRiver MC18 has a really cool interface, so has XBMC. MC18 will be available for OSX very shortly.

 

[SteveS1]

Having a dedicated machine is nice too, no faffing with playback software, or kernel streaming,Wasapi,latency buffering etc etc, just an on and off switch and IPad.
Keith.

Great until the updated version comes out. Nothing complicated about CA unless you are determined to make it so, some are of course.

But a chap who's used to sitting speakers up on scaffolding to get a better result is unlikely to be phased (sorry) at spending a little bit of time getting the front end right.

 

[Cereal Killer]

The only real advantage computer audio has over a cd player is convenience, I understand the 'hobby'aspect, trying mew software, tweaking latency or buffering, experimenting with interfaces, but it you just want to listen to music, then a dedicated machine makes sense IMHO.
Keith.

Theres nothing to setup in JRMC, all anyone has to do is install the DAC's driver, select that and 'WASAPI Event Style' as the playback method and your done!. Tis really that simple.