Looking to go digital, completely computer-audio illiterate. Please help!

tonyb wrote: »

Depends on how much you want to spend. Cheapest probably being Squeezebox/Sonos, but either of those options require a good dac to get the most from them. Separate music servers will need to be tied to the computer, most anyway, hard wired. Those can range from 1000 bucks to 5,000 and up. Other options are Apple, WD, for cheaper alternatives but also require a good dac.

As a side note, that Nad your using on the LSI 15's is a tad light in the power department. Feed those speakers some high quality current and they'll come alive.

GospelTruth wrote: »

I would build a NAS and connect it to your router. I did this myself for about $500 at the time using two 2TB drives and a Synology DS212J (you can get the newer model here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108139 for $199).

Then using a Western Digital TV Live player, I connect to the NAS and access my music, photos and movies. I don't have to have the computer on to play anything which I think is great. You will have to copy your music to the NAS, but once done, you can access it from any computer/device you want. The WD TV Live plays pretty much every format, including FLAC. You can hook that up to your receiver via HDMI or optical until you decide to get a better DAC and then you can connect it to that.

For the money, I think it's a great way to go.

Additionally, with the Synology DS213J, you can access your files from the web if you set up a web address for yourself. I've tried doing this and streaming music to my iPhone via the Synology Music App and it works great. Additionally, via a web address you can let others (family/friends) access your photos and what not via the web using this NAS.

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

OK, now that I have some perspective on budget I can offer more constructive advice...

If I had less than $100 and I wanted to stream only audio I'd go with an early model Apple Airport Express, but it's not a perfect solution. Those actually had a decent DAC in them and sound good on their own, way better than that WD device is gonna sound. It's also a great option because you can add a DAC later, so it's a scalable option as well. Doing what it does, playing redbook CD, the sound coming from the AEX into and using the Oppo 105 as a DAC sounds just as good as playing the files directly from the 105.

So it's an option that scales well, but there are some drawbacks:

1 - No hi-rez audio. It only does rebook CD, so if you have a lot of hi-rez content from HDtracks the AEX will downconvert to redbook CD resolution.
2 - It's audio only, so if you're looking to stream video as well you'll need something different.
3 - iTunes needs to be running, and obviously your music needs to be in a format that iTunes plays, so likely Apple Lossless.
4 - You need some way to control the AEX, as there's no video output to the TV. I use an iPad, you'd either need something like that or could control directly from the computer, but there is no 'interface' for the AEX. You don't need an Apple device, there is an Android app as well though I've not personally used it, gets good reviews though. If you're on Blackberry or Windows mobile you may be SOL, not sure.

I can't recommend any video streamer device in the cheaper price range for audio unfortunately. I've tried them all and all have marginal sound quality, even when using an external DAC. Most of these devices are built around the DD codec audio standards and as a result most of these boxes end up resampling incoming audio signals to that native 48khz (CD is 44), and every one I've heard does that with some detriment to sound quality. I have three Apple TVs in the house and use those for video streaming, and would LOVE to use that one box for everything audio and video, but they just don't sound great to me so I give up that convenience and use those for video only and use the AEX and/or Oppo 105 for audio. It's the same with every other streamer I've tried from WD, Netgear, Dune, etc...they all resample and sacrifice sound quality.

So, depending on what's most important to you, I'd recommend one of two paths:

- If the drawbacks above aren't a deal breaker and you want the absolute best sound quality you can get under $100 then the AEX is the way to go, there's nothing in that price range that would touch it for sound quality.
- If the drawbacks above are a deal breaker then there's not really a next best option under $100 for sound quality, they're all going to sound about the same, just have to pick the device that has the features and interface you like. I personally have tried tons of options and like the Apple TV, but #3 above would still apply. My next favorite device was the Netgear just because it had a better UI than the WD.