Simple Digital store and play?

[CJSF]

OK, digital music . . . I dont really have a clue??? I've just finished putting together my analog set up . . . thought, now what to do?

The idea that CD is dying set me thinking, and the fact that it is so easy to get down loads of reasonable quality, especially when the vinyl is not available. I'm a vinyl geek at heart but there is another world out there that one needs to get to grips with.

I dont want to involve TV, films etc although, my computer monitor is set up directly between the speakers, I see this as a complication, but we do occasionally watch programs missed, F1 motor racing for instance

So the Computer runs to the hifi via a simple, single USB in/out DAC, to a line stage input on my Croft integrated amplifier, this has 3 line inputs, one CD, one from the computer and one unused.

I visualise a box of tricks 'with remote' that will store down loaded music, via computer from the USB in/out DAC. Store it, presuming the computer will see the 'box of tricks' as an external hard drive. Then without having to turn the computer on, access the 'box of tricks' with the hand set, choose a track or tracks, and output through the line stage of my croft amplifier? is another DAC or different DAC required, would the box of tricks have its own DAC?

Thats my simplistic view . . . with out me having any preconceived ideas, I have an open mind, can this be achieved, simply, economically, or am I completely on the wrong track?

Keeping it simple . . . CJSF

 

[chebby]

This (and the links provided) may help get you started...

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/focus/listening-wirelessly

 

[tino]

There are some hifi one box solutions e.g. Olive, but these are expensive even if easy to use. Keeping it very simple, I think a home multimedia streamer with internal Hard Disk Drive (HDD) could work, so long as you use a DAC for the audio stream. Most are capable of acting as a USB hard drive or even wireless network drive to copy contents to the internal HDD. And so long as you use the SPDIF outputs to your DAC (some are limited to CD quality only, but some more), music quality should be good. Best of all these things cost around £100-£150. As an example I have a QNAP NMP1000 (was only £99) with 500GB drive which stores and plays FLACs. It is about the size of a couple of video cassettes stacked on top of each other. Through the normal analogue output the audio quality is naff, but through the coaxial digital output it's pretty good (but limited to CD quality). It also has a remote, and has a monitor output. It is not however uPnP compatible which means you can't use it as a music server for other DLNA devices.

PS The Squeezebox Touch I have will also work off a single USB hard drive, but the indexing of the hard drive is a bit slow for large music collections which is why it's better used in conjunction with a separate server. But that's a bit more complicated to set up.

 

[tino]

PS What DAC do you have?

 

[chebby]

PS What DAC do you have?

CJSF has the HRT Music Streamer II DAC (USB only but 24 bit 96khz asynchronous)

http://www.whathifi.com/review/hrt-music-streamer-ii

 

[tino]

Shame it's USB only .... coax or toslink would have been handy

 

[CJSF]

If changing the DAC is the key? . . . whats the suggestions . . . in simple terms, I struggle with all those model numbers and new technology in general?

Thanks for the link Chebby, saved in Favorites. I'll try getting my head around that in the week, bit late now, work in the morning . . . :wall:

Quick 'Horlicks half hour' then bed . . .

CJSF

 

[CJSF]

With the above in mind; #7 . . . any suggestions for a decent, 'simple' player/index store program, I have Nero, but it only seems to do 'burn to disc', there is no index/reference options?

CJSF

 

[CJSF]

OK, a little more digging, and a couple of phone calls . . . I think I have solved my problem. Have come across a local computer dealer/repair shop, one of the partners is also a hifi person, a nut? . . . he has 3500 vinyl LP's. You gotta be lucky sometimes, about time my luck chaged.

The way he thinks it will work is by 'remote access' . . . using the main PC as the down loader, store and as I do now, player via my in line DAC to the Croft amplifier line input stage. Connected the PC to a 'wifi hub' . . . a second laptop or notebook type computer also connected to the 'hub', set them up as a network. The laptop then becomes a 'handset' uses the PC as a slave to its commands? As I have both PC and laptop, minimum expense, for best possible quality via quality amplifier?

Saturday afternoon we will see, he is booked to come round, see what we can do?

CJSF

 

[tino]

I think the solution you are arriving at is overly complex.
A couple or three questions:
1. What music player software do you have already on your PC and would you consider changing it?
2. Do you consider your existing player too noisy e.g fan noise to be used as a music source?
3. Have you got a smartphone?

 

[John Duncan]

You beat me to it tino. The phone is the key - and whether there's an iTunes remote app for it...

 

[CJSF]

I think the solution you are arriving at is overly complex. A couple or three questions: 1. What music player software do you have already on your PC and would you consider changing it? 2. Do you consider your existing player too noisy e.g fan noise to be used as a music source? 3. Have you got a smartphone?

Thanks for the prompt reply gents;

No music player other than the mentioned Nero, will change if required.

There is a little fan noise, but I dont find it a problem.

No I dont have a smart phone . . . but would the acquisition of one help, and how? I'm old and very behind the times on phones and aps etc . . . :?

CJSF

 

[tino]

Hi CJSF

I think I may have been confused a little by your initial description. My understanding is that you already have a DAC (as mentioned by chebby above) and that you have a PC on which you envisage downloading some music in the future, but at the moment you don't.

If that is the starting point then and you want to use your existing computer as the storage for your music and also as the music player (fan noise permitting), then my solution would be:

1. A free software music player such as Boxee, iTunes, SongBird, Foobar2000 with something called a uPnP* plugin (more software) to allow the computer to act as a music server and a player at the same time.

2. A simple tablet computer which can be had for about £100 e.g iPod Touch or Creative Ziio with a big 7" screen. This will be your "super" remote control.

3. Some free uPnP* control software which is installed on your tablet/phone and reads and displays the music directory from your PC (all via the wireless network), and which tells your computer which track you have selected to then play.

4. A plug-in hard USB hard drive (about £50) to backup your music occasionally in case the computer goes kaput

* The terminology I have used ("uPnP") is available on Apple devices (albeit the technology and protocols are slightly different but effectively equivalent) so the solution would work if you decided to go with all Apple sofware and handheld remote.

PS You can of course dispense with the remote control and just get up off the sofa and select your tracks to play using the computer mouse. Just like changing over an LP

PPS An even cheaper option may be to buy a PC infra red remote control which you can use to navigate your PC media player. But you would need to have your monitor switched on as well in order to see what you were doing and you might have to squint across the room

 

[CJSF]

Thanks Tino . . . you have it about right on my first post, PC, DAC etc. The large 7" notebook I may buy, but I have a small Toshiba laptop that is rarely used, runs XP the same as the PC, so will fit the bill for now. I'm sure Windows 7 would be a better option, but, that means dumping both computers and starting again, a very expensive option to dip my toe into the world of computer stored, digital music. I can put what I have to good use for the time being I think?

The other stuff you mentioned, I will show to my computer/hifi man . . . I really dont understand this new talk?? Sorry, I do try, and I do get there in the end, but the brain does not work to well sometimes, I get so frustrate?????

However, the way it appears to me, we are talking along the same lines, which is encouraging . . . but you understand the finer points . . .

CJSF

 

[CJSF]

Hi CJSF

4. A plug-in hard USB hard drive (about £50) to backup your music occasionally in case the computer goes kaput

PS You can of course dispense with the remote control and just get up off the sofa and select your tracks to play using the computer mouse. Just like changing over an LP

PPS An even cheaper option may be to buy a PC infra red remote control which you can use to navigate your PC media player. But you would need to have your monitor switched on as well in order to see what you were doing and you might have to squint across the room

I have the plug-in hard drive, Matrox.

True, getting up off the my fat a**e would be an option, but at my age, once down, I like to stay down . . . :rofl:

I think the laptop, is a good, economic starting point, small table by my sofa, see how it goes and work from there?

CJSF

 

[tino]

No worries ... if you have an old laptop going spare then you can use that as a "remote" ... you can use what's called Remote Desktop Access to effectively remotely log into your fixed PC and control you music player software. Depending on the music player software you might be even to access it via a web browser on your laptop. I imagine this might be a bit of a faff after a while depending on how lightweight the laptop is and how long the batteries last.

By the way if you have a laptop going spare ... if I were you I would buy a Squeezebox Touch plugged into your hifi and use your laptop as the music storage and server for your Squeezebox. And best of all it has a display and a remote

 

[tino]

By the way I just remembered ... you can get some free "hifi software" called Linn Kinsky desktop which can run on your laptop and control the media player on your PC all via wireless. I have also tried this combination and it works quite well. And you can tell people you have a Linn digital setup

Link ... http://oss.linn.co.uk/trac/wiki/Kinsky

 

[CJSF]

By the way I just remembered ... you can get some free "hifi software" called Linn Kinsky desktop which can run on your laptop and control the media player on your PC all via wireless. I have also tried this combination and it works quite well. And you can tell people you have a Linn digital setup

Link ... http://oss.linn.co.uk/trac/wiki/Kinsky

That actually looks like worth a bit more investigation tino, thank you . . . once Saturday is over and the two computers have been health checked, get rid of the years of dross and equalised to run as one? Then I can have a play, a computer guru at my shoulder . . . hopefully things will work out . . . ?

CJSF

 

[John Duncan]

Why not just use the laptop as the music server and plug it in via USB? No remote control required...

 

[CJSF]

Why not just use the laptop as the music server and plug it in via USB? No remote control required...

Was/is a possibility John, however, it has a small (by digital music standards) hard drive, so would require an external HD, thats two lots of wire connection including the DAC, a problem in the middle of the room?

I dont want to get to committed financially, I dont know how much down loading I'm going to do? I have no use for iPods and things? So the reasoning is simply music for the collection that is not of major importance or is not available on vinyl. I may simply create play lists on Spotify, which is the cheapest option not down loading at all, no paymen if I'm prepared to put up with the adverts:wall:

CJSF :?

 

[tino]

You can also go down the cheap and chearful apt-x bluetooth route ... £60 for a QED uPlay puck (plugs into your amp line input) and £30 for an apt-x USB dongle for the laptop. Sound quality is very good and much better than conventional non apt-x bluetooth. I've used this combination before for internet radio, and everyday listening of my music collection and it's more than satisfactory.

 

[CJSF]

Thanks for the suggestions . . . all food for thought:? I will discus it with my computer/music man on Saturday. First job, get the main PC running properly, not been cleaned or checked out for 3 years, then do the same with the Laptop, probably 8 years since it was switched on last! I switched it on Tuesday, after a good dust off . . . it fired up, charged up and is now telling me how everything is out of date and it needs a link to the Internet . . . desperately, gasp lol . . . 8)

CJSF

 

[Anonymous]

I've got a simple setup for when the fancy takes me. All music stored in WMA format in Windows Media Player. Play via that on the PC, audio out is via the coax digital output to the DAC. No remote of course, a little fan noise and probably not the best digital "transport" setup, but it works just fine for occasional listening. And if you already have a PC and DAC, its free

 

[noogle]

+1 for the PC. It gives you a ton of flexibilty about playback formats. I have a fanless (silent) PC with infrared remote. I use the TV (sat between the speakers) as a monitor via HDMI. Toslink out to optoisolate the DAC. My media player is the excellent (free) JRiver Media Jukebox 14. I listen to a lot of Radio 3 via the brilliant 320k HD internet stream.

 

[CJSF]

I've got a simple setup for when the fancy takes me. All music stored in WMA format in Windows Media Player. Play via that on the PC, audio out is via the coax digital output to the DAC. No remote of course, a little fan noise and probably not the best digital "transport" setup, but it works just fine for occasional listening. And if you already have a PC and DAC, its free

Thats about how I do it now Dr Lodge, if I use the PC, the only difference, I use a USB to the DAC and Phono from DAC to amp. It works fine, but I want the 'sitting on the sofa control' over what I play from the computer. Hence the possible complication as above?

CJSF