Music servers...

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I would definitely go lossless with the main focus being quality. I like the idea of having all the music at the click of a remote--that's why I'm considering the music server approach; but don't want to sacrifice fidelity.

If you still have a lot of trepidation give it a try. Take some of your favorite songs use EAC to rip them to your hard drive as FLAC files.

Purchase a Squeezebox and set it up. If for some reason you don't like it you can always flip it with only minimal loss. Or purchase a slightly used SQB on e-bay, etc.

I don't think you will be unhappy. In fact you will be pleasantly surprised.

tryrrthg

if you've already got a wireless network at home then give the Squeezebox a try. They have a 30 day trial period. Nothing to lose. except maybe $269.

steveinaz

I may just do that...hmmmm......

steveinaz

heiney9 wrote: »

If you still have a lot of trepidation give it a try. Take some of your favorite songs use EAC to rip them to your hard drive as FLAC files.

Purchase a Squeezebox and set it up. If for some reason you don't like it you can always flip it with only minimal loss. Or purchase a slightly used SQB on e-bay, etc.

I don't think you will be unhappy. In fact you will be pleasantly surprised.

So you use EAC to rip CD's into *.wav's...then convert them w/the FLAC program? Sounds wicked.

fatchowmein

I have a Squeezebox. Love it because it allows me to mix technology.

Sami is correct. The SB is only a client. For the non-computer folks out there, that just means the SB depends on another unit. Off the top of my head, here's how it works.

1. You store music on a hard disk on a pc or an external hard disk attached on a pc.
2. You have to install a software called SlimServer, freeware, that comes with the SB or you can download the newest version off their website. Just tell SlimServer where your music is. For those with large music folders, SlimServer can also rescan the folder and update any changes you've made.
3. You connect your SB to your receiver/stereo/HT system and enter the network info. You can use the built in wireless or a network cable connection. I chose the later.
4. The SB will search for a pc running SlimServer. Once connected, the music data on the SlimServer is played over the network to the SB. The SB itself stores no music.
5. When playing music other than FLAC, either the SlimServer software or the SB converts (transcodes) the music file on the fly to FLAC (sorry, don't remember which does the converting). The original file is not altered. For example, all of my music is in Apple Lossless since we're an iPod family so the SB has to playback in FLAC. I have experienced zero hesitation but then I'm running a Pentium D with 2GB of memory on my file server if that's what's doing the converting. I'm guessing that the transcoding to FLAC is performed to avoid paying a license fee to Apple or Microsoft or any other proprietory format. Check out the SB website for more info.

We use iTunes exclusively and having the SlimServer's ability to import iTune's playlist is awesome. SlimServer can also create it's own playlist.

Sorry Steve. I haven't looked into standalone music systems that don't have a fileserver on the backend. I recall some units that looked like a CD player with built-in hard drives a few years back but they only played mp3's if I recall correctly.

Good luck

dkg999

This is all very interesting and informative. I have some interest in this, although no immediate motivation to implement. My really stupid question is ... If I had a PC with slimserver running and my music stored on the hard drive at my place in Illinois, could I access that over the internet with a SqueezeBox connected to my system at my farm in Iowa? (and assume I have a high enough bandwidth internet connection so we stay out of that discussion!)

Sami

steveinaz wrote: »

So you use EAC to rip CD's into *.wav's...then convert them w/the FLAC program? Sounds wicked.

EAC, CDEX, and a quite a few of the Linux rippers will convert to FLAC automatically if you set it up that way.

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

So you use EAC to rip CD's into *.wav's...then convert them w/the FLAC program? Sounds wicked.

You can convert from EAC on the fly directly to FLAC w/o having the extra *.wav step.

fatchowmein

dkg999 wrote: »

This is all very interesting and informative. I have some interest in this, although no immediate motivation to implement. My really stupid question is ... If I had a PC with slimserver running and my music stored on the hard drive at my place in Illinois, could I access that over the internet with a SqueezeBox connected to my system at my farm in Iowa? (and assume I have a high enough bandwidth internet connection so we stay out of that discussion!)

I imagine your farm in Iowa has a PC. You'll probably need to install SlimServer locally and map a network drive to your system in Illinois.

Or...

If the system in Illinois shows up on the local network in Iowa, the SB "should" be able to detect it.

steveinaz

heiney9 wrote: »

You can convert from EAC on the fly directly to FLAC w/o having the extra *.wav step.

So FLAC codecs are included with EAC?

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

So FLAC codecs are included with EAC?

Yes. And with EAC you are getting a bit perfect rip as well as coding to FLAC on the fly. FLAC works EXACTLY like WinZip does for data files. Absolutely no loss to the info, just about a 25-30% smaller file than *.wav.

EAC set up properly yields EXACT bit perfect copies, period!

steveinaz

Check these out:

http://www.request.com/products/nseries.asp#

steveinaz

heiney9 wrote: »

Yes. And with EAC you are getting a bit perfect rip as well as coding to FLAC on the fly. FLAC works EXACTLY like WinZip does for data files. Absolutely no loss to the info, just about a 25-30% smaller file than *.wav.

EAC set up properly yields EXACT bit perfect copies, period!

Cool. I'll download that tonight.

tryrrthg

See this page for proper setup.

http://www.carltonbale.com/project/cd-audio-extraction/

I got that link from this thread:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57688

I think one of the coolest things about EAC is the accurate rip feature, which compares the data your ripped from you CD to the rips that other people got. if a large number of people ripped the same data as you then more than likely you know you got a bit perfect copy.

steveinaz

Great link...serious details. Thanks

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

Great link...serious details. Thanks

Have fun Steve . Media Monkey is a great program as mentioned in the link.

sucks2beme

Please keep in mind, you really don't need a squeezebox to store music or play it back.
You could use any of the free software programs out
there that can read the tags and play them back. You can also download
the SB server software and pc SB client free. This means you can set up the server,
and use your laptop anywhere to playback using the FREE SB
software just as if you had the real SB hardware, either using the pc
soundcard, or an external USB DAC.
This is my setup. It's a Antec MM pc case with a microATX motherboard,
1g ram, a 500gb hd. I'm using the onboard video. The DAC sitting on top is a
USB Monica II. I use EAC to rip everything to lossless FLAC, and FOOBAR
to playback. A lower end laptop would also work, just add a USB external drive
for extra storage. I use a bluetooth presentation remote to scroll through
the tunes. There is no keyboard, just a mouse and 15" flatscreen.
The fan noise in minimal

steveinaz

That your own build? Very cool....

heiney9

sucks2beme wrote: »

Please keep in mind, you really don't need a squeezebox to store music or play it back.
You could use any of the free software programs out
there that can read the tags and play them back. You can also download
the SB server software and pc SB client free. This means you can set up the server,
and use your laptop anywhere to playback using the FREE SB
software just as if you had the real SB hardware, either using the pc
soundcard, or an external USB DAC.
This is my setup. It's a Antec MM pc case with a microATX motherboard,
1g ram, a 500gb hd. I'm using the onboard video. The DAC sitting on top is a
USB Monica II. I use EAC to rip everything to lossless FLAC, and FOOBAR
to playback. A lower end laptop would also work, just add a USB external drive
for extra storage. I use a bluetooth presentation remote to scroll through
the tunes. There is no keyboard, just a mouse and 15" flatscreen.
The fan noise in minimal

True, but the Squeezebox gives a bit more flexibility as well as on-screen info, remote control. It's just a little less user intensive (for a cost I realize). But suckstobeme and his way will get the same result. The Squeezebox is an insanely nice little package that is very flexible.

H9

Gaara

Last I checked EAC does not come with FLAC, you have to download the plug in here, then setup EAC to automatically convert to FLAC.

sucks2beme

heiney9 wrote: »

True, but the Squeezebox gives a bit more flexibility as well as on-screen info, remote control. It's just a little less user intensive (for a cost I realize). But suckstobeme and his way will get the same result. The Squeezebox is an insanely nice little package that is very flexible.

H9

The real benefit is you can use an old pc sitting around to try out the concept without
killing the budget. And a 15" lcd monitor is a lot easier to see and use than the SB interface.
The downside is the noise. The Antec MM case is very quiet, but still makes a bit of noise,
mostly it's the proccessor fan.
It was your post about your brother's setup that got this idea bouncing
around in my head. And this is the result.

heiney9

sucks2beme wrote: »

The real benefit is you can use an old pc sitting around to try out the concept without
killing the budget. And a 15" lcd monitor is a lot easier to see and use than the SB interface.
The downside is the noise. The Antec MM case is very quiet, but still makes a bit of noise,
mostly it's the proccessor fan.
It was your post about your brother's setup that got this idea bouncing
around in my head. And this is the result.

Good idea for a trial run and who knows maybe a permanent set-up, if one has some old computer parts lying around

jmwest1970

Gaara wrote: »

Last I checked EAC does not come with FLAC, you have to download the plug in here, then setup EAC to automatically convert to FLAC.

The latest builds of EAC do include FLAC.

Also, there has been some discussion at AudioKarma regarding using a Squeezebox or Roku Soundbridge with a NAS device instead of a PC. I'm sure there is more discussion elsewhere as well. If you want to keep it all on the device it looks like the McIntosh MS300 or the Cambridge Audio 640H are out there along with the others mentioned previously.

markmarc

There are tons of possibilities out there.

You may want to checkout my DIY version of Sooloos Music Server in the December 2007 issue for another possibility.
www.affordableaudio.org/aa2007-12s.pdf