Need recommendations for PC-based server

woodlander

Vintage listener
I am interested in building a music server. I have tried the Cambridge Audio 640H and found that it has more problems than I am willing to take on, but it demonstrated to me that the concept is valid. I like the convenience of quickly selecting and playing stored music.

I need to get some specific recommendations as to what hardware and software would be required for such a project. I am willing to spend some money for this, but I don't have an unlimited budget. I would like to keep the total $ in the 1K to 2K range. I am looking for a soundcard that will provide good quality output, a good PC (this is probably the easiest), and any required software.

My objectives are 1) store CD images, preferably uncompressed, 2) Organize and select them for playback, and 3) connect to Pandora. #3 is also easy. A web browser and a couple of add-ons will take care of that.

If anyone out there has any experience that they are will to share, I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks in advance.
 
I use an old Pentium III PC with some external hard drives for about a 1 TB of FLAC file storage. I use a $70 M-Audio Transit USB soundcard to pass the digital signal through to my external DAC. No digital to analog conversion is done by the PC. I rip using EAC and my player is Foobar2000.

You can do this very cheaply. There is really no need for a high powered PC for this task unless you want a high powered PC for this task.

I also use a Roku Soundbridge for playback as well.
 
I use an old Pentium III PC with some external hard drives for about a 1 TB of FLAC file storage. I use a $70 M-Audio Transit USB soundcard to pass the digital signal through to my external DAC. No digital to analog conversion is done by the PC. I rip using EAC and my player is Foobar2000.

You can do this very cheaply. There is really no need for a high powered PC for this task unless you want a high powered PC for this task.

I also use a Roku Soundbridge for playback as well.

Thanks. I had wondered how fast a PC I really need for this. What is your external DAC?
 
I currently use a Musical Fidelity X-DAC Vol. 3. However, I have used less expensive DACs and they have worked fine.

You don't really need any PC power for lossless playback. Where it helps to have a fast PC is the encoding of the WAV files to whatever lossless format you use. The ripping of the CD is more CD-ROM based and the encoding to lossless speed depends on the PC processor.

John
 
I am interested in building a music server. I have tried the Cambridge Audio 640H and found that it has more problems than I am willing to take on, but it demonstrated to me that the concept is valid. I like the convenience of quickly selecting and playing stored music.

I need to get some specific recommendations as to what hardware and software would be required for such a project. I am willing to spend some money for this, but I don't have an unlimited budget. I would like to keep the total $ in the 1K to 2K range. I am looking for a soundcard that will provide good quality output, a good PC (this is probably the easiest), and any required software.

My objectives are 1) store CD images, preferably uncompressed, 2) Organize and select them for playback, and 3) connect to Pandora. #3 is also easy. A web browser and a couple of add-ons will take care of that.

If anyone out there has any experience that they are will to share, I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks in advance.

I'm curious. I've got PC's lying around, and have been using a pretty good one to convert some vinyl to MP3 format (320 kbs). The sound is pretty good, much better than the same tracks taken off CD.

My question is, are there 'Hifi' quality sound cards I could/should be using? I'm pretty sure the rest of the system is fine, fast processor, plenty of memory, fast hard disk.

Second, what are you guys using to distribute media from the server? Right now, I've got the outputs of the server connected to the aux in on a preamp, but I'd like to access the music and videos on the server from any place in the house.

bs
 
I currently use a Musical Fidelity X-DAC Vol. 3. However, I have used less expensive DACs and they have worked fine.

You don't really need any PC power for lossless playback. Where it helps to have a fast PC is the encoding of the WAV files to whatever lossless format you use. The ripping of the CD is more CD-ROM based and the encoding to lossless speed depends on the PC processor.

John

Thanks for your input. What program do you use to actually list and select the titles you have stored on the PC for playback?
 
Software Side of Things

I am currently building a music server and am pretty well along on the software side of things. I am using my old (circa 1999?) Sony Vaio as a platform. It is a Pentium 4, 1.40 Ghz, w/ 128 Mb of Ram, now running Windows XP and I have installed a 200 Gb harddrive to replace the 60 Gb drive that had crashed some time ago. I have been going slower on this project than I intended, but my time is currently at a premium and I wanted to look at a lot of the media players out there before I committed to one, so I could make an intelligent choice. After all that looking and trying, I ended up going with the no-brainer, Windows Media Player 11. I also have Real Player 10 loaded-up as well and can use either to run my library. In the end, the final decision maker was convenience. I have alot of CDs, LPs, and some Cassettes and originally intended on loading them all into the system. I currently have about 550 CDs loaded into the system and have been very pleased with how it has gone so far. One thing I was very pleased to see was that Windows had significenty improved the music indexing in MP11 over the earlier versions. :thmbsp: That is very definitely an important feature when you have alot of material. Loading CDs is usually a snap when you are linked to the Internet because MP11 looks up the disc information, loads the track listing, artist, and cover art into its library and then rips the disc to the harddrive. My Sony has two CD drives so I've been ripping two disks at a time. Of course you occassionally run into the odd disc that the system can't find or all the loaded track listings are wrong and that requires the very time consuming task of keying everything into the system. So, that can be a pain, but on the whole everything has gone well!

In addition, I have recently purchased a copy of Roxio and will be experimenting with it as a tool to digitize my LPs and cassettes. At the present time my server is hooked into my hifi system by connecting it to a tape loop in the preamp via the headphone and microphone mini-plugs on the PC. Using this simple no-brainer has resulted in surprisingly good sound although my next step is to improve the hardware by purchasing and installing a soundcard or other device. I am currently researching these in my spare time. Now that I have a large quantity of my CDs readily available in the server, I would like to make this library available to my other hifi systems as well. So my original project scope is expanding which has also expanded my system requirements for the new hardware component.
 
Now that I have a large quantity of my CDs readily available in the server, I would like to make this library available to my other hifi systems as well.

You may want to look at a Squeezebox. I recently bought one and I have found it to be a great device. I have stored a good portion of my CDs on a hard drive and use the squeezebox for playback.
 
Actually Squeezebox is my current favorite of all the devices I've researched, but since I've been able to use the server a bit and have really become hooked on it as a source component, my project scope has expanded. Now my project goal is to make my music server library available to all three of my music systems. Ideally, I'd like each system to be able to use the server simultaneously and, if possible, independent of each other. I know that is a real tall order and may not be possible, but it is a real intriguing idea. I'm not adverse to running wire, so one thought I had was to make the server available via a LAN network and then move the data digitally to a local D/A converter at each music system. Unfortunately, data control would probably require locating a computer at each system running MP11 and that is unacceptable for a variety of reasons. So, that brings me back to Squeezebox and the possibility of using multiple units to access the same system library simultaneously. Anybody here on AK ever do that?
 
^ you can do that ^

I want to buy another pair of squeezeboxes so I can have one on all my systems. I really like that unit.

I highly reccomend an outboard D/A converter. It really made mine sound better.

Evan
 
Yes, I'm doing that now. Storage in this case is a Netword Attached Storage drive tied to the house router that feeds my computers. All my computers are wireless right now and the SB was also wireless. So what I do is to rip CDs to the LAN-based drive and then point my playback systems to it.

I've used a Squeezebox with this arrangement, too. The key is to understand that you'll be dealing with some file format issues mainly due to the competition for media control (Real vs Apple vs Microsoft vs MP3 vs FLAC, etc). I'm seeing the same issues with internet radio streaming, too, where you've got many choices for how it gets streamed to your PC.

As for outboard DACs, I've started with M-Audio's Audiophile USB years ago and was quite happy with it. Later, I added the SB2 when it hit the streets. I've also used an M-Audio Firewire-based DAC - can't remember the model, though, to do some in-house recording. It was nice but the drivers weren't that stable. As I gained experiences in this area, I moved up to a Presonus Firepod mainly because I started doing on-location recordings with the laptop of my band. Its turned out to be a great playback DAC, too. Right now, I run the Presonus with my laptop and can stream iTunes or Foobar or Winamp-driven data anywhere in the house on different PCs through different systems.

BTW, I've got a G-level Wireless node that handles all this just fine. The key is having good buffering set up for the playback.

Cheers,

David

Actually Squeezebox is my current favorite of all the devices I've researched, but since I've been able to use the server a bit and have really become hooked on it as a source component, my project scope has expanded. Now my project goal is to make my music server library available to all three of my music systems. Ideally, I'd like each system to be able to use the server simultaneously and, if possible, independent of each other. I know that is a real tall order and may not be possible, but it is a real intriguing idea. I'm not adverse to running wire, so one thought I had was to make the server available via a LAN network and then move the data digitally to a local D/A converter at each music system. Unfortunately, data control would probably require locating a computer at each system running MP11 and that is unacceptable for a variety of reasons. So, that brings me back to Squeezebox and the possibility of using multiple units to access the same system library simultaneously. Anybody here on AK ever do that?
 
About a month ago, I bought a Soundbridge. Before it arrived, I bought a Sonos system. The Soundbridge sounds great, but I don't like the small screen and the remote. I like the Sonos remote because it has a screen, which means I don't have to get up and walk over to my system to see what's playing, etc.

I am using the only desk top pc I have. It's a 6 year old Dell 2.4GHz Pentium. I recently purchased a 1TB Maxtor NAS to use only for backup. All of my music is mp3 format. I don't have that descerning of an ear. So, I won't concern myself with other formats.
 
You have a lot of choices for what you want to do. The Sqeezebox has a deal with Pandora, so I think it will work well once you get a computer with a large hard drive for your files and get a network setup.

I have a Roku Soundbridge connected to a DAC in the bedroom, a Roku Sounbridge connected to a T-amp in the kitchen, computers (with DACs) with access to the network in two rooms, a laptop, a PS3, a networked DVD player, a cell phone, a PSP, an Xbox, etc... that can all get on the internet or my network and play music files.... I have not tested most of them with Pandora, so other than the computers, they might not work with it.

In other words, there are many ways to do what you want. The key is setting up a network and making sure that the file format you choose for your music is compatible with the source you use for listening to music. Programs like Tversity make it easy if you have a computer on all the time because it can transode formats on the fly (for example, FLAC to WAV ) to play on the hardware.

If you do not want a computer on all the time, it can be more complicated because you have to use a NAS and you may need to install a program on it to get it to work with your player.
 
Good sound cards

Take a very good look at Digital Audio Labs (look on Ebay for a better deal as these things are $400 list.) I have one and I love it. I am going to build a low power silent PC around this card to make music. It sounds very, VERY good out of the analog outputs and will output bit perfect digital.
Steve

I'm curious. I've got PC's lying around, and have been using a pretty good one to convert some vinyl to MP3 format (320 kbs). The sound is pretty good, much better than the same tracks taken off CD.

My question is, are there 'Hifi' quality sound cards I could/should be using? I'm pretty sure the rest of the system is fine, fast processor, plenty of memory, fast hard disk.

Second, what are you guys using to distribute media from the server? Right now, I've got the outputs of the server connected to the aux in on a preamp, but I'd like to access the music and videos on the server from any place in the house.

bs
 
I have a Buffalo 1TB NAS and it comes with a program installed that will work with some network players. For instance, I have an IO Data Network DVD player that works with the Buffalo software.

I should mention that for one of my computers, I have a M-Audio Transit (USB to optical output). I use this with a Beresford DAC and it sounds great. I would probably look into the Emu 0404 USB outboard cards if I was in the market now.
 
I am not sure if this is off-topic or not, but is it easy to use a PC to carry both uncompressed music and movies as well...provided you have the storage capacity and the appropriate a/v outputs?

Regarding uncompressed music, now iTrax is offering DVD-A quality music on-line at 24bit/96kHz. I wonder how much space is required for that?
 
I am not sure if this is off-topic or not, but is it easy to use a PC to carry both uncompressed music and movies as well...provided you have the storage capacity and the appropriate a/v outputs??
Unless you have a really old computer, it should be able to handle "uncompressed" music and video. You just need a way to get it to the display of your choice. The qualifications for playback of HDTV are a little more rigourous, so that will play a part if you plan on buying a high def tuner. Luckily, the tuners that you can buy tell you what you need (RAM) in the computer for them to work properly.

Also, there are DVD Network players (like the IO Data Linkplayer) that will pull movies off of the network and play them back in an upscaled format.
 
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