2. pc-audio
  3. 1422820604

Advice for streaming setup only

Hello there, wanted to get into streaming audio so I signed up for the new Classics Online HD streaming service, which promises 16/44 to 24/196 resolution. Mike Lavorgna wrote a quick thing on audio stream about it.

The quick takeaway after 3 days is that it's wonderful and indeed good sound quality - the bad part is I'm getting lots of dropouts and glitches, so I want to get something dedicated to streaming.

I think that the service is not quite ready for prime time but I'm hoping they'll get it squared away.

So my question is - with a budget of $400-800, what laptop should I get to use as a dedicated streaming device ? I'm running it via usb into the DAC of my Marantz SA8004. Classical/opera mostly. Dedicated room.

My current PC laptop is old and on its last legs.

Actually I'd love to use a something other than a laptop but my understanding is that every network streamer still requires a computer in addition to the streamer itself - if I'm wrong and there's a one-box streamer that would be great.

My requirements are- 16/44 and above sound- compatible with Classics HD (which requires downloading Orastream from Classics HD) -

I won't do much downloading so no need for backups or large storage. I will not be ripping any of my current CD collection.

I'm not computer savvy at all, so any creative solution would have to be pretty easy to set up and maintain.

Thanks everyone
eljack

Showing 2 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"I think Ayre has a lot of info on their web site, too."

The Ayre guide is very good. Dcs and Audioquest have good ones, as well.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Reading through your posts, I may have some ideas for you.

"My current PC laptop is old and on its last legs."

That usually means the software is more of a problem than the actual hardware. I know that you are not very good with computers, but if you have all the original CD's that came with your computer, its not too hard to just reinstall your OS. That will turn your computer back to the way it was when it was new. Windows OS gets slower and deteriorates with use over time. Doing a reinstall on an older computer makes a very big difference. I'm just guessing, but I would say 70-80% chance that will fix your problem. The cost would be 0.

Another simple and free option to try would be to download and run a light weight Linux distribution from a CD-R or a usb stick. Its very easy to do, and your time invested would be no more than an hour or so. You mentioned that your iphone works OK. Apple bases their OS's off software that's very similar in nature. If you're interested, just let me know and I'll tell you what to download and burn to a CD so you can try it.

If you end up needing a new PC, go to Best Buy's web site and look at the Asus Transformer Book T100TAF 10.1. Depending on options, the cost will be around $300-450. It runs a full version of Windows 8.1 and has a full size usb port. What's nice about this computer is that the screen comes off and it works like a regular 10 inch tablet. If you need it to be a PC for more functions, just plug it back into the base.
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