My move to Apple TV.

[jaxwired]

I'm officially in the 21st century now. CDP is probably ready for retirement. The new apple TV is now feeding my music addiction.

Inital Setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZMVxbCNa3U

Basically just 15 minutes of my system playing in this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M3ff7R84w8

 

[John Duncan]

Yay!

Have you hacked it yet?

 

[carter]

nice set up jax.can you confirm if thats a usb port on the back of the new(tiny) apple tv

 

[Tonestar1]

Great video mate. Cheers for posting.

 

[jaxwired]

nodnarb4444:nice set up jax.can you confirm if thats a usb port on the back of the new(tiny) apple tv

It's a micro USB port, but the manual states it's just for service and diagnostics.

 

[carter]

cheers jax

 

[Anonymous]

The National sounds great, you should definitely get the Grinderman albums!

 

[Messiah]

Nice video Jax

 

[nads]

cheers, just confirmed that it is not the product for me. Interesting though.

 

[simon3102000]

Looks pretty cool but looks like it would only be good for background music, serious listening you need to get a turntable, but for £100 it looks like an absolute bargain, i can imagine it will be great with friends other as they can just choose what music to put etc. Right weres the bank card lol.

 

[JamesOK]

First video pretty interesting, thanks for that. Not sure why we have 15 mins of youtube video quality music on the second one though!

I really like the apple TV, although I fear with my slow broadband speed it would be a waste of money.

 

[jaxwired]

JamesOK: Not sure why we have 15 mins of youtube video quality music on the second one though!

Guilty as charged

I guess I thought people might be curious what my system sounds like. Yes, youtube video is a poor translation of sound quality, but it's better than still pics and it does give you a sense of what it sounds like. I'd love it if other forum members would video their systems. Love to see/hear them in action just for curiosity sake, even with the youtube limitations.

 

[JamesOK]

jaxwired:
JamesOK: Not sure why we have 15 mins of youtube video quality music on the second one though!

Guilty as charged

I guess I thought people might be curious what my system sounds like. Yes, youtube video is a poor translation of sound quality, but it's better than still pics and it does give you a sense of what it sounds like. I'd love it if other forum members would video their systems. Love to see/hear them in action just for curiosity sake, even with the youtube limitations.

I have to admit Jax, despite the bad quality of the Youtube sound, it does still give you an idea of how your system delivers the sound (in my opinion) which is still useful. So are you done with CD player now then? I have very recently gone to digital music via my Mac and whilst its not as good as a CD player, its still very good. I also don't have the money for a new CD player at the moment, but that's another story altogether.

 

[chebby]

Purely in terms of music replay... what does it add?

You have it talking to a laptop wirelessly, but it still brings 3 extra cables, and another box, and another screen to the party.

How is this better than just plugging the laptop into your DAC? (One cable, no extra screen.)

 

[bluebrazil]

i think its connected to a desktop in another room chebby. one advantage i could see/hear would be no fan noise in the room. another is theres no chance to get distracted as his room looks like its purely for listening. btw thanks jax for introducing me to susan tedeschi's music, now listening to her on spotify and enjoying.

 

[jaxwired]

JamesOK:

I have to admit Jax, despite the bad quality of the Youtube sound, it does still give you an idea of how your system delivers the sound (in my opinion) which is still useful. So are you done with CD player now then? I have very recently gone to digital music via my Mac and whilst its not as good as a CD player, its still very good. I also don't have the money for a new CD player at the moment, but that's another story altogether.

I'm on the fence about selling my CDP altogether. I do think my CDP still sounds better, but it's an extremely subtle difference and it could easily be my imagination. Ultimately I do think I can give up the CDP and be happy with streaming going forward. The sound is that good.

 

[chebby]

jaxwired:Ultimately I do think I can give up the CDP and be happy with streaming going forward. The sound is that good.

Hopefully Joel isn't reading this.

 

[jaxwired]

bluebrazil:i think its connected to a desktop in another room chebby. one advantage i could see/hear would be no fan noise in the room. another is theres no chance to get distracted as his room looks like its purely for listening. btw thanks jax for introducing me to susan tedeschi's music, now listening to her on spotify and enjoying.

Right on bb. I'm using a desktop that is not even in the room and yes my room is just for listening (it's a spare bedroom). Glad you enjoyed the music selection.

Regarding Chebby's comment I won't debate the various music server alternatives as I think they all have pros and cons, but I can tell you what I wanted which influenced my decision to go with apple tv. My wish list was:

1. Major company makes the equipment. Apple's not going anywhere and it will just keep getting better with new releases of iTunes and Apple TV.

2. Not super expensive since music server technology is rapidly changing and a $2k appliance today will be worth 1/10th of that in 2 years.

3. Navigation of music libary from my chair 10 feet away from system.

4. Viewing of album artwork while playing. Not mandatory, but sexy and nice to have.

5. CD quality resolution.

6. Digital output to take into my existing DAC.

7. The ability to browse my music library in a better way than looking at the spines of actual CDs on a physical rack.

Just off the top of my head, this is the bulk of what I was looking for and got...

 

[Anonymous]

i was going to ask you why this wasnt posted in the tv section jax, till i seen the vid, all is clear now

 

[chebby]

jaxwired:2. Not super expensive since music server technology is rapidly changing and a $2k appliance today will be worth 1/10th of that in 2 years.

I don't know what you paid in total for the ATV and the screen but a cable directly to your laptop would cost a new dollars and even an Aiport Express would be a lot cheaper and invisible and would not require a screen of its own.

jaxwired:3. Navigation of music libary from my chair 10 feet away from system.

Yes. I can do that without extra screens or boxes using my iPhone as a remote to iTunes on my iMac or laptop (and it shows the artwork on the phone.)

jaxwired:4. Viewing of album artwork while playing. Not mandatory, but sexy and nice to have.

As above. Either on laptop or iPhone/iTouch remote app.

jaxwired:5. CD quality resolution.

Apple Lossless and your Benchmark do that already. The ATV does not bring CD quality with it as something extra.

jaxwired:6. Digital output to take into my existing DAC.

What was it before the ATV arrived?

jaxwired:7. The ability to browse my music library in a better way than looking at the spines of actual CDs on a physical rack.

Again, that is an iTunes thing and will look the same on your laptop or an iPhone/iTouch. ATV just happens to have it as well, but it needs a dedicated TV screen of it's own.

I think you are ascribing qualities to the Apple TV that were already there with an optical (or USB) connection direct to your laptop.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi jaxwired,

This sounds like a great setup, but, looking at it from my perspective, as someone who is planning to get an Airport Express to stream from iTunes and Spotify via Airfoil, what is the advantage of the ATV over the AE? Worth noting, though, that it is only a few quid more and has a lot of other features if you were to use it for TV, too...

NB Well, I guess if you had a NAS, you could stream from there, right?

Hedgehog

 

[jaxwired]

chebby: I think you are ascribing qualities to the Apple TV that were already there with an optical (or USB) connection direct to your laptop.

True, but I don't own a laptop music server. So I would have had to buy one and that would have been more expensive. Also, I think the TV screen once it is mounted on the wall will look a bit nicer than an open laptop sitting on my hifi rack. I already owned a desktop computer and the DAC. My total outlay was only $99 for the atv and $200 for the new TV. Plus...it is a TV....

I think you are saying a laptop is better than the solution I selected. Why? Or maybe you are just saying that a laptop does everything I wanted...but then I would have to buy a laptop...I'm confused...

 

[jaxwired]

Hedgehog:

This sounds like a great setup, but, looking at it from my perspective, as someone who is planning to get an Airport Express to stream from iTunes and Spotify via Airfoil, what is the advantage of the ATV over the AE? Worth noting, though, that it is only a few quid more and has a lot of other features if you were to use it for TV, too...

NB Well, I guess if you had a NAS, you could stream from there, right?

Hedgehog

Airport express is a great solution and one I considered, as long as the iTouch remote control is used. But, since I would have had to buy an iTouch, I felt that ATV was the better fit for me. Plus, I really like having the navigation and artwork on a big 19" tv. For me, it's better than an iPod touch interface. But I do agree that is a good approach and I understand why someone might prefer it.

But as you say, the ATV is dirt cheap and if you want any of the video features, it's well worth it.

 

[chebby]

jaxwired:I think you are saying a laptop is better than the solution I selected. Why?

A laptop feeding your DAC directly should be exactly the same quality.

The ATV is merely a 'conduit' (with a user interface) in your application. It is another 'box' added into the chain, but - hopefully - should pass the 'bits' with the same integity as a direct cable.

It is certainly not going to 'add' anything to make it all sound better. (Even the USB on your Benchmark is capable of higher than CD quality resolution - and therefore potentially higher quality than the Apple TV and iTunes - if you ever chose to use 24 bit/96khz downloads.)

 

[chebby]

jaxwired:True, but I don't own a laptop music server. So I would have had to buy one.

Eh?

iTunes on the laptop is your 'music server'. It's free.