Options to put CD's to sleep

SCompRacer

EndersShadow wrote: »

..backup via ESATA ....

I'm glad the 'putie' I built had Esata. Esata saves a bunch of time over USB and Firewire to my 1TB external music backup drive.

ddsski

Squeezebox tends to be the Computer wizards solution for sound.. Sonos tends to be the stereo guys method. This is what I see from this thread, from articles etc. We tend to look at things from a different perspective.
Computer guys focus from the CPU outward while stereo guys focus from their system back to the source.
As far as soulless CD's, this comes from a guy that used to have 1000+ albums and another ~1000 cassettes. Albums are great for first 10 plays then their soul gets in the way to me. Same with tapes that just had a shallow soul to begin with. I went CD in 1986 because a CD sounds the same whether its been played 1 time or 1000 times. It is always a solid B+/A-. The album is an A but degrades to a C on down over time. Mobile Fidelity masters were the A+ of their day, but, they too , degrade which was a real bummer and I was paranoid caring for them!! A decent DAC makes the CD a solid A/A- over time. That works for me! I'm told and will confirm that the AC in the Antem units is a real bargain considering its quality! I listen to enjoy, not take apart that to which I listen!! Then their is the convenience factor. We'll call that X. Can't enjoy it if you don't have it with you.

nspindel

That does make a certain amount of sense, although I challenge the notion that you need to be a computer wizard to get a basic Squeezebox setup running. I've turned friends onto Squeezebox who didn't understand what a router was, and they love it. Squeezebox does have a lot of tweaks and plugins and all that good stuff that we IT folks love. But you can get real far with just downloading the software, pointing it at your music, and connecting a Squeezebox to your network and then to your audio system.

By the way, have you done any listening the the Mobile Fidelity cd's? They have the Mobile Fidelity masters, but they don't degrade...

heiney9

ddsski wrote: »

Squeezebox tends to be the Computer wizards solution for sound.. Sonos tends to be the stereo guys method. This is what I see from this thread, from articles etc. We tend to look at things from a different perspective.

Not true at all. There is nothing any more complicated about setting up a SQ Box vs. Sonos. You still have to rip and manage your digital library, it's still wireless, etc. and if you choose to let i-Tunes do that for you then the Sonos is the Computer Wizards solution and the SQ Box is the audiophile soulution.

H9

ddsski

With all due respect, my Sonos setup will not be wireless. I intend to run Cat 5 from router to Sonos. DAC etc will be evaluated when I look at preamps, etc
I am not an expert on the topic, but the gent I spoke to at the store sells both. He said point blank Squeezebox is a fine product, just not quite as clean as Sonos and their solution. I saw both. I heard Sonos, I liked the interface. I bought one. Hell $349 to access 12000 songs thru my existing old Mac C504 preamp is priceless!! I will evaluate it carefully.
Squeezebox is a perfectly good solution, I just wasn't as impressed with the user friendliness.
I went in to look at the Marantz AV7005 and be introduced to Anthem products. Instead of trying to sell big bucks items up front, he wanted me to get my musid source issue squared away and have a solution that works regardless of Preamps etc. That makes the rest of my build more flexible.
I am definitely leaning towards the Anthem products as I haven't seen a bad word about them yet!

heiney9

ddsski wrote: »

I intend to run Cat 5 from router to Sono.

That would be unacceptable to me since neither are in close proximity to each other. I don't understand why people (in general) choose wired over wireless.

ddsski wrote: »

He wanted me to get my musid source issue squared away and have a solution that works regardless of Preamps etc. That makes the rest of my build more flexible.

Pre-amp has nothing to do with which system you use.

Anyway, glad you found something.

H9

sucks2beme

heiney9 wrote: »

That would be unacceptable to me since neither are in close proximity to each other. I don't understand why people (in general) choose wired over wireless.

H9

Throughput? Reliability? As long as it's within 300 ft, it's fine.
A wired network is always better.

nspindel

There's also the school of thought that says you don't want the radio interference of the wifi transmission inside the Squeezebox. They also say you should disable the display for the same reason. I have cat5e strung throughout my house and it's the greatest. I use wifi for a lot but all of my media extenders (Squeezebox and Sagetv) are wired.

nspindel

Reported.

pearsall001

ddsski wrote: »

With all due respect, my Sonos setup will not be wireless. I intend to run Cat 5 from router to Sonos. DAC etc will be evaluated when I look at preamps, etc
I am not an expert on the topic, but the gent I spoke to at the store sells both. He said point blank Squeezebox is a fine product, just not quite as clean as Sonos and their solution. I saw both. I heard Sonos, I liked the interface. I bought one. Hell $349 to access 12000 songs thru my existing old Mac C504 preamp is priceless!! I will evaluate it carefully.
Squeezebox is a perfectly good solution, I just wasn't as impressed with the user friendliness.
I went in to look at the Marantz AV7005 and be introduced to Anthem products. Instead of trying to sell big bucks items up front, he wanted me to get my musid source issue squared away and have a solution that works regardless of Preamps etc. That makes the rest of my build more flexible.
I am definitely leaning towards the Anthem products as I haven't seen a bad word about them yet!

Nice to see you picked up the Sonos...you'll be extremely happy with it!

heiney9 wrote: »

That would be unacceptable to me since neither are in close proximity to each other. I don't understand why people (in general) choose wired over wireless.


Pre-amp has nothing to do with which system you use.

Anyway, glad you found something.

H9

For your situation (or others) you only need the Sonos Zoneplayer to make the wired connection. Place it right next to the router, run a 6" cable & your done. Your entire Sonos system is now on the Sonos network. That's the beauty of the Sonos system...it's simplicity, it's it's own internal network, it talks to all other Sonos units throughout your home with the one simple connection. It now takes you longer to unpack a new Sonos piece than it does to have it playing music.

ddsski

What I meant by taking pre amp out of the equation is, for example, if I went the Marantz AV7005 route, I'd be looking at Airplay. I would have been letting my choice of music distribution limit the quality of my components, and it would have been the MOST important component that would no longer be top shelf. Sonos will work with any Preamp, receiver, etc. Hell, I'm starting off using my old MacIntosh C504 (production ran from 1980-1988) as my input. This way as I do my initial comparos with regarding compression. lossless, etc it will be with equipment my ears are very familiar with. Besides Mac was typically 10-20 yrs ahead of the generic component curve.
So far, I'm having a hard time NOT pulling the trigger on an Anthem MRX 500,700, or 900. The reviews are stellar and the ARC (Anthem room Correction) is off the charts quality formerly only found in the $7500 Anthem Statement preamp! Evidently this has become the bogey to beat in the audiophile business!!! esp for the price. Made in North America works for me also! The store I deal with is using Anthem on their 40,000+ systems:eek::eek: A receiver no less, not even the expensive preamps because the receivers know have all that technology as well minus a few bells and whistles. My ears are going to have fun with this one.

ddsski

UPDATE: The Saga continues!

So I bought the Sonos unit last week. In a word :SWEEEETTTTTT!! Except for a little snafu with the Apple App instaal. (have to shutoff UPn/Dn? on router), the unit is a sweetie. It has exceeded my expectations, but if you have a digital in on your receiver and that receiver has a quality DAC, I recommend it as I noticed an improved richness when Dig in to Anthem was used. Too bad the Anthem unit was a dud.

Now for rest of saga. Did my research, wanted to buy a Marantz AV7005, but not available and as an Anthem dealer, I was "steered" towards their product and its "wonderful" ARC. (BTW in my tone neutral room, it corrected very little!!) Bought an MRX500 and a BLX200. Did all the right stuff like rewire my Carver's to biamp my LSi15's (nice improvement in presence) buy great HDMI cables, wire up banana plugs, etc. Unfortunately, the Bluray player, when throwing in a CD likes to chop off first 1 to 3 seconds of all discs. This is unacceptabel. Strike 1. 3rd day I own receiver, trying to watch hockey playoffs and have to deal with static sound all night. Spent next 3-4 days trying to diagnose. Had damn near everything, phones, microwaves, central air etc shut off or unplugged. Sonos started having major static issues everytime digital signal went to zero. Bluray player gave static whenever dig signal (audio) went to zero. The long and short of it is the DSP in the Anthem is faulty. My diagnosis was confirmed by Sonos tech guy that I contacted thinking I was having a wireless interference issue. Strike 2. Handshakes when firing up Cable box--->Receiver---> TV were hit or miss at best. Strike 3. I returned all the Anthem equipment and cannot recommend the brand to any one. Will wait for the AV7005 to be back in stock.