Thinking of taking the leap
Posted by: neilo7 on 16 August 2010
Over the last few months I've been thinking of moving from CD player to Hard drive. I must admit my knowledge is limited and I'm not really sure what to do. I need to know what equipment I will need eg DAC, Hard drive etc.? I am thinking squeezebox touch. I was wondering if I need a seperate DAC for this. the 72/140 will not be leaving as I'm planning a whole room remake. So would I be right in saying I need a hard drive then a squeezebox to a DAC into the 72. Please bear in mind the Naim DAC is well out of budget.
Posted on: 17 August 2010 by Rosewind
My streaming set-up is the following:
Synology 209+ Nas server with SqueezeServer installed wired to a Netgear WNR854T Wireless Gigabit Router which streams wirelessly to:
(a) SB Classic (SB3) anologue out into small active Logitech speakers in kitchen
(b) SB Touch digital (coax) out into a cheap Aune DAC into Nac 252 in my livingroom. I have not compared the SB Touch DAC directly with the Aune yet. I plan to wire this connection. Not because I have any problems streaming wirelessly, however.
and which also streams wired to:
(c) my Shuttle computer into a Nac 62S in my study
There are many other options for you. Try to use search or browse the "Distributed Audio" section. I suggest simply using the SB Touch DAC for now until you have looked around for an external DAC (or have saved up for the NDAC ...).
Best wishes,
Peter
Synology 209+ Nas server with SqueezeServer installed wired to a Netgear WNR854T Wireless Gigabit Router which streams wirelessly to:
(a) SB Classic (SB3) anologue out into small active Logitech speakers in kitchen
(b) SB Touch digital (coax) out into a cheap Aune DAC into Nac 252 in my livingroom. I have not compared the SB Touch DAC directly with the Aune yet. I plan to wire this connection. Not because I have any problems streaming wirelessly, however.
and which also streams wired to:
(c) my Shuttle computer into a Nac 62S in my study
There are many other options for you. Try to use search or browse the "Distributed Audio" section. I suggest simply using the SB Touch DAC for now until you have looked around for an external DAC (or have saved up for the NDAC ...).
Best wishes,
Peter
Posted on: 17 August 2010 by Geoff P
Neil
IIRC the Squeezebox touch has it's own DAC which is a basic way to get going. It also allows you to take a digital out and put it into another DAC, possibly more sophisticated but also more expensive of course.
Going in the other direction it is networkable either on a wire or wireless so it can find music on a computer ( i-tunes for example). If you want to start out easy then rip music to your computer. If you are planning to convert a larger CD collection then longer term you should think about a NAS ( Network Attached Storage) box which can supply music from onboard media sharing softwareacross your home network.
This assumes that you go the Suqeezebox route. If you are planning to go with Naim boxes then you have a lot of choices, some of which have a rip drive onboard and some of which are expecting to receive digital music via a coax or optical in ( also available on the squeezebox touch ) but use a dedicated Naim based ripping strategy.
just the tip of an iceberg I am afraid.
regards
Geoff
IIRC the Squeezebox touch has it's own DAC which is a basic way to get going. It also allows you to take a digital out and put it into another DAC, possibly more sophisticated but also more expensive of course.
Going in the other direction it is networkable either on a wire or wireless so it can find music on a computer ( i-tunes for example). If you want to start out easy then rip music to your computer. If you are planning to convert a larger CD collection then longer term you should think about a NAS ( Network Attached Storage) box which can supply music from onboard media sharing softwareacross your home network.
This assumes that you go the Suqeezebox route. If you are planning to go with Naim boxes then you have a lot of choices, some of which have a rip drive onboard and some of which are expecting to receive digital music via a coax or optical in ( also available on the squeezebox touch ) but use a dedicated Naim based ripping strategy.
just the tip of an iceberg I am afraid.
regards
Geoff
Posted on: 17 August 2010 by DaveBk
SB Touch should be a great intro to distributed audio - I use a Transporter in my main setup and a SB Boom in the living room. You will need to install the Squeeze Centre server software on a PC which is used to store and stream the music. I use dBpoweramp to rip. For added security a RAID NAS external storage unit will give some protection to your valuable music rips, but you still need to take backups.
Best of luck!, but beware you'll end up with a Naim DAC before long!
Best of luck!, but beware you'll end up with a Naim DAC before long!
Posted on: 18 August 2010 by manticore
My set up is as follows my Squeezebox duet is connected to my Xifi soundcard via Optical lead
I just use my hard drive to store my music and use the I Tunes software to accses my music.
My duet is also connected to my Linn amp via a digital cable and both set ups sound great and the set up for squeeze box is easy you just rip your CDS using I tunes or whatever you choose then load the cd you get with Sqeezebox onto your computer follow onscreen instructions use the squeezebox scans the I tunes library as default
so everytime you rip a cd the squeeze box updates your squeezebox server controller thats where you play your tunes from.
As for your question about a DAC well my soundcard has a built in DAC but a is it as good as a 1,000 pound DAC well truth is I don't know I,m tempted to go for the Cyrus DAC I would like to try before I paid my money.
But take the plunge you will not be dissapointed and of course it is an option for streaming music to another room
I just use my hard drive to store my music and use the I Tunes software to accses my music.
My duet is also connected to my Linn amp via a digital cable and both set ups sound great and the set up for squeeze box is easy you just rip your CDS using I tunes or whatever you choose then load the cd you get with Sqeezebox onto your computer follow onscreen instructions use the squeezebox scans the I tunes library as default
so everytime you rip a cd the squeeze box updates your squeezebox server controller thats where you play your tunes from.
As for your question about a DAC well my soundcard has a built in DAC but a is it as good as a 1,000 pound DAC well truth is I don't know I,m tempted to go for the Cyrus DAC I would like to try before I paid my money.
But take the plunge you will not be dissapointed and of course it is an option for streaming music to another room
Posted on: 18 August 2010 by James L
Personally, a MacBook and DAC (eg Musical Fidelity) is a simple and cost effective way to go and it allows for upgrade options.
Posted on: 19 August 2010 by pcstockton
Get the Naim DAC. emphasis on the "."