Need some advice.

MannyE

Exterminate!
I want to incorporate some audio streaming / digital file playback into my system. A while ago I set up a Dell mini 10 I had laying around as a music server but I've since needed to load windows back onto it and put it back into the rotation as a regular PC, so that's out.

I can either build something new or buy something but I'm not sure what would be best. At the moment I have the following sitting "on deck" as it were:

XBOX 360

An older mobo with a first gen i7 920 sitting in it and 4 gig of ram. I think it's an Asus PT6...I would need to get everything else but the resulting PC would be large. This is a last resort.

I have several (3) Passport Ultra external 1T USB drives.

A B&K Reference 30 A/V preamp. I don't know if this is relevant, but my current two-channel system is using my B&K Ref 50 A/V preamp and Outlaw 750 amp. I just wanted to list anything I thought might be useful.

Can I use any of this stuff without too much fiddling or is it easier to just buy a commercial solution? I have hooked up the iPhone to the Reference 50 just to see how it would sound and I really didn't like it. Movies and music when I played them through the 360 sounded much better, but not as good as a high-ish end CD player (NAD or Onkyo)
 
I would think that something like a "netbook" would work well, with a decent USB DAC, or USB to SPDIF converter. You should be able to use the external drives for storage.
 
Thanks! I was using a netbook as a "headless" server for FLAC files and it was working well. It's just a little too fiddly for the rest of the family to use.

I'm completely unfamiliar with the new role DAC units are playing in this area.

Am I correct in assuming the setup is PLAYER-DAC-PREAMP-AMP, where the player is whatever holds the files (computer, for example) then the rest of the chain?

Does a one-box solution exist with a minimal display and integrated DAC that would be better than an iPhone and feel more like a traditional audio component?
 
You are correct about DAC placement above.

As far as headless being too complicated for family, just install a remote on their smart phone, tablet, etc ... and it couldn't be easier.

There are basically three options from easiest to use but also most expensive ... to hardest to setup but cheapest.

(1) prefab commerical unit like Sonos

(2) headless home threatre silent type pc OR laptop/netbook

(3) plug type computer -- i.e. pogoplug, sheevaplug, beagleboard, raspberry pi, cubox, cubieboard, etc...

I have written a how to for the pogoplug and badassbob wrote one for the Pi.
 
KOWHeigel beat me to it ^^^^^^

My system is SERVER (holds the files)-PLAYER-USB DAC-PREAMP-AMP. The player receives FLAC files over a wireless network. Remote control is via phone or tablet.

At one point I was using an old laptop as the server and player connected to a USB DAC which connected to the stereo and it worked very well. This laptop was using Linux as its operating system. You could use windows as well. Or Mac.

There are one box solutions out there though I am only really familiar with Sonos. It doesn't have a display though. I think it can be controlled via a phone which gives you a display and keeps costs down.
 
You could buy a cheap used laptop. Don't need a lot of computer power to run a music server. Get a usb sound card feed into the DAC with it.
 
I originally had netbook. Fan is issue. Fan is buried in netbook and you have to take it completely apart to get to it. I screwed up and can't get it back together. Replaced with laptop. Laptop has door to get to fan. Advice - if buying check how to get to fan. Laptop works great.
 
I originally had netbook. Fan is issue. Fan is buried in netbook and you have to take it completely apart to get to it. I screwed up and can't get it back together. Replaced with laptop. Laptop has door to get to fan. Advice - if buying check how to get to fan. Laptop works great.
One reason why to separate the server from the player.
 
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I'd go with a used ThinkPad X200/201 unless you need an optical drive, in that case I'd go for a T400/410(s) or ideally an X300/301.
 
The key is to get files to your USB DAC and then have your DAC near an aux input of your preamp or integrated amp.

Sounds simple enough but in my opinion most solutions are more complicated than they need to be until very recently. There are products out now called mini servers that are specifically designed to connect to a network directly with an ethernet cable and then have USB outputs to the DAC. This is all they do and this is all you need them to do. No operating system etc. With these little servers specifically designed for audio, then you can use most any music storage and music management system you want that resides on the same network. These are really cool devices that carry no baggage and can sit right next to your stereo system. They make no noise, and are designed for excellent fidelity. All you need is to connect them directly to a wireless router and you are ready.

This is one of the better ones I know of. http://www.sotm.sonore.us/SOtM1.html

Right now I am using a dedicated NET PC (ASUS eePc) running win 7 and JRiver near my DAC connected with USB but would like to change to this mini server approach. My NET PC acts as a wireless server for my music files that reside on another computer on the network. I control this NET PC remotely with a iPad running with JRemote using WiFi. This actually works quite well and these NET PCs are quiet and inexpensive. However the mini server would perform even better.

The mini server would replace this NET PC and I would simply use the JRiver music manager on another computer in the network. I would still use the iPad for remote control.

Although this sounds a little complicated, the mini server is actually the simplest solution to date and I believe will be the basis of all future solutions for connecting digital files to an audio system.
 
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the "SOtM sMS-100 Mini Server" looks pretty cool ... I like the ability to choose 4 different ways to play music.

At $450 though its a pretty good chunk of change. The hardware is probably on par with with a higher end plug computer ... so you are paying $300++ for the software implementation and ease of use. For some this price is probably more than fair.
 
How about using a Roku as a network player with your harddrives full of music installed in a NAS box?
 
Fascinating stuff. It seems that even the more expensive solutions like Sonos and SOtM still aren't "contained." What I mean is storage, server software and DAC all in one. Like a 21st century version of a CD carousel.

I think that's the perfect description of what I'm looking for, the present version of the 300 CD carousel. Which I just plug into my rack.

Unless I'm not understanding the literature (very possible) it seems like the Sonos wants me to subscribe to a cloud service and the SOtM still needs some kind of headless Vortexbox situation in addition to itself.

And not for nuthin' but $400 bucks for a DC power supply in addition to $450 for the box itself is a little steep! (SOtM)

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Fascinating stuff. It seems that even the more expensive solutions like Sonos and SOtM still aren't "contained." What I mean is storage, server software and DAC all in one. Like a 21st century version of a CD carousel.

I think that's the perfect description of what I'm looking for, the present version of the 300 CD carousel. Which I just plug into my rack.

Unless I'm not understanding the literature (very possible) it seems like the Sonos wants me to subscribe to a cloud service and the SOtM still needs some kind of headless Vortexbox situation in addition to itself.

And not for nuthin' but $400 bucks for a DC power supply in addition to $450 for the box itself is a little steep! (SOtM)

Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Most of the all in one solutions are expensive or have archaic file structures that require you to pull up folders to get to albums.

Since you have an iPhone and a computer, I would suggest running iTunes or JRiver on the computer and use the iPhone to control what is playing. If you can't directly connect the computer to a DAC, get an Airport Express and use Airplay. I can't remember if JRiver has Airplay built in as an option, but you can add Airfoil for $25 if it doesn't.

Another option is to go back to the iPhone solution you mentioned and use the bottom connector to send out a digital signal to a powered USB DAC. You need a Camera Connection Kit for it to work, but it can handle 24/96 files via Homesharing (iTunes).

If it is an older phone with a 30 pin connector, you could get a Pure i20 Dock that will pull the digital signal and send it through its own DAC. It also has the option to add an outboard DAC thanks to its digital outputs, if you want to go that route later.

Another option is a Synology NAS that you can move your files to or connect them to (via USB). Many of the Synology units have USB digital outputs, so you can hook it directly to a DAC. Also, many of them have Airplay built in that will allow you to stream to Airplay devices while using your iPhone to control where that signal is played.
 
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How about using a Roku as a network player with your harddrives full of music installed in a NAS box?

The problem with a Roku is going to be the sound quality. It probably will only play lossless files and more than likely use a cheap mixer device for resampling. The internal DAC will be junk. No USB dac option. It's fine for Pandora and the like but is not a squeezebox type replacement.

I should note that I do own a Roku but haven't messed around with hacking it because other devices are simply easier and better suited for it.

EDIT: I guess you can use Plex with Roku but this device still doesn't seem ideally suited for home audio. It's a great little Netflix box though.
 
The problem with a Roku is going to be the sound quality. It probably will only play lossless files and more than likely use a cheap mixer device for resampling. The internal DAC will be junk. No USB dac option. It's fine for Pandora and the like but is not a squeezebox type replacement.

I should note that I do own a Roku but haven't messed around with hacking it because other devices are simply easier and better suited for it.

EDIT: I guess you can use Plex with Roku but this device still doesn't seem ideally suited for home audio. It's a great little Netflix box though.
The main issue with Roku is that you need a display on to control it (unless you are streaming to it from an iPhone, like Youtube's app with built in Roku streaming...FYI The apps with Roku streaming are few and far between).
 
Thanks everyone. I guess the bottom line is that it's still a little DIY-ish.

I guess if I can finagle some iphone controlled solution it will work.

Nothing for the Xbox 360? I am going to do a little research to see if I can use it to play back or stream FLAC via the optical out. Maybe using that and the kinect I can set up a cloud based player using the DAC in the B&K.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.
 
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