Computer based music collection ??

Btstrg:

I have been looking into this, over the past year.

I actually purhased an Olive Opus when they were first released. I ended up selling it, as I was disappointed in its playback via analog outputs. However, in all fairness, I was comparing a $3K unit that was a one-box 500gb storage and cd player/burner against my reference $5.5K cdp.

In the little time that I spent with the Opus, my interest really grew with having my music accessable throughout my home via hd storage on a network. This technology rocks!

In talking to a local dealer and expressing interest in Sonos, he did some research and recently became a Sonos dealer. In the short amount of time that he has been getting familiar with the Sonos system, he is reporting very impressive feedback. I should also state that my dealer sells really nice gear and has good ears

I am going to demo the Sonos tomorrow and will report back.

I intend to use an external DAC from the Sonos in my 2-channel listening room (this is how the dealer has been demo-ing, as well.) The other smaller systems in my home will be fed via the Sonos' analog RCA outputs.

...details to follow.

Down the rabbit hole you go...

As Vegasears points out, there has been a tremendous amount written on this both here and on Asylum.

Search on SLIM Devices and Squeezebox - one of the most successful products.

Empirical Audio and Wavelength Audio. The two smartest engineers and equipment designers. They are both active posters, especially on Asylum

Search on my name here because I have written about this a lot.

Hopefully you are computer literate and comfortable. If so, pass go, collect 200 dollars and work on getting the key concepts into your head before you get embroiled in the geek minutiae - especially on the PC side (as opposed to the Mac side) of making this work.

The big idea is this: Imagine you had a perfect (ok near-perfect) source. That jitter and all the rest were no longer an issue. This is the immediate virtually certain benefit you will enjoy using a PC as a transport.

Now build your system accordingly. DAC. Pre. Amp. Speakers. Electrical. Cables. Room tuning etc

That's it.

Read these:

http://musicserver.blogspot.com/

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/pcaudio/messages/4564.html

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/harddrive/harddrive.html

http://www.wavelengthaudio.com/usbdac.html

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue22/nugent.htm

I have a 500 gig external hard drive connected to my laptop which is located on a table next to my listening chair feeding a ps audio digital link iii upsampling dac via usb interface. I can create playlists or use different softwares to manipulate the data before they go to the dac.

Hi Brian:

Do you remember the increased convenience factor when you first made the transition from LP to CD? It was a magical moment for me. Maybe you are not old enough to have lived in that period of history. I never did miss the ritual of prepping a LP and getting up every twenty minutes. (That is just my opinion).

Well the convenience of songs and playlists instantly accessible is a key feature for myself. It is a huge step up in convenience. My computers play at a quality that is equal to or succeeds my CDP setup. These are the best features of a good computer setup in my opinion.

I have Martin Logans and I love the Sosna Emotions xlr too. I have computers setup for playing lossless music files. Each computer is made in one of 3 different ways hooked up to a storage file server. One of them plays through the main system and it is awesome. The others might be just as good, but I never got that far on setup. I can hook one of the others into my main stereo setup and end up with two different setups playing in the main system, but I never made the time. You have the choice to use your system DAC, outboard DAC, or soundcard DAC.

I have managed to get a modified internal soundcard that is equal to the USB solution many implement. Don’t flame me for saying that, but it is possible.

Hey Btstrg,

Yes, this is where music is going, but the hardware and software are still maturing. You can set up a purely computer-based system--I have--but it will be a lot easier in a couple years. If you're reasonably happy with the component system you have, don't be in a big rush, unless you want a technical project.

Assuming you already have the computer, start messing around with some of the free commercial programs, like Windows Media Player, Winamp and iTunes, to get an idea of sources, formats and all that. Send the audio through the best quality DAC you have, even if it's the one on the sound card. Once you have the general feel for what's possible and what the general hardware and software components are, then you can upgrade your weak links.

Pretty soon we should see some comprehensive, intuitive and stable software that handles all your audiovisual needs, running on a Mac, PC or a dedicated Linux machine. That will feed digital inputs on the power amp--which may be integrated into the speakers--and to the TV monitor. It's all coming, but at this point it's likely to be some combination of techie, limited, unstable and expensive.

Have fun,
Drew