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A Mini Guide (Long)

The objective of the following discussion is to bring music from a computer to a regular sound system. Essentially, the computer and associate equipments take the place of a CD player, turntable, tape deck or tuner.


1. Source - the physical form of music files.

Storage: computer hard disk, remote server (especially in the case of Internet radio)

Format: WAV, lossless compression (e.g. FLAC), lossy compression (e.g. MP3)

Tools: CD ripping software (e.g. EAC with FLAC or LAME, iTunes, etc.); digital recording software and good ADC hardware for LP ripping.

Consideration: use WAV or lossless compression for the best playback quality.


2. Playback Interface - How a user controls playback.

Control from the server: direct interaction with media players such as Foobar2000, iTunes.

Remote control: (1) remote controlling the computer (e.g. wired or wireless keyboard/mouse with or without remote display - TV or monitor); (2) use a dedicated remote player such as Squeezebox or Roku Soundbridge that has built-in display and remote control.

Tools: media players of your choice or software required by the remote player (e.g. SlimServer for Squeezebox).

Consideration: how much control is required; how far the server computer is from the listening position; which formats the chosen media player supports; how well the media player manages playlists.


3. Playback Method - How a digital file is converted to analog sound.

External DAC: accepts SPDIF and/or USB digital signal and converts it to analog signal for the sound system.

Digital Receiver: built-in DAC. Also supports Dolby Digital (and possibly DTS) in addition to SPDIF. USB input may also be available.

Soundcard: built-in DAC on the motherboard, internal or external soundcard. All soundcards offer analog output; some soundcards also offer digital SPDIF output.

Remote Player: e.g. Squeezebox, Soundbridge. Both analog out (from the built-in DAC) and digital out (for use with an external DAC) are available.

Additional Tools: depending on the equipments involved. Most often required component is a USB to SPDIF converter (e.g. M-Audio Transit) for DACs that don't have USB input.

Consideration: an external audiophile DAC usually offers the most flexibility in terms of system building, and the best sound quality. Digital receiver can also be used for gaming and multi-channel sound.


4. Delivery Platform - How music travels the distance from the computer to the sound system. (This obviously depends on the playback method and the interface options available on the chosen components.)

Transport Mechanism: (1) Wired: digital or analog cable; (2) Wireless: WIFI; (3) Miscellaneous: e.g. infrared for wireless speakers/headphones.

Transport Format: (1) digital: 1.a. SPDIF - into a DAC or digital receiver; 1.b. USB/Firewire - digital format according to the device driver; 1.c. Ethernet - for remote players such as Squeezebox and Soundbridge, the content may be in WAV or compressed formats; (2) analog: common analog sound signal.

Tools: coaxial, Toslink, analog, USB, firewire or Ethernet cable; network router (plus network connection in the remote player); format converter (e.g. USB to SPDIF).

Consideration: for a long distance, consider WIFI (connection quality may limit the transport format to lossy compression to fit available bandwidth) or wired Ethernet; for the best quality, use WAV, or lossless compression if supported by the playback device; use analog connection if cost is a concern (e.g. use soundcard analog output), for a short distance and with a good soundcard, the result can be very good.


5. Putting It Together

Choices of components in a system are interdependent. For example, with Squeezebox or Soundbridge, the DAC is optional and the choice of delivery platform is between wired Ethernet or WIFI.

Anyway, it’s your choice of Source, Playback Interface, Playback Method and Delivery Platform. Make your choices based on your preference for sound quality, convenience and cost, then check if the interfaces match up. Change one or more of your choices if necessary.

If sound quality is the priority, start from the playback method (the DAC) and work back to the source (WAV or lossless compression).

For convenience, it is hard to beat Soundbridge or Squeezebox. Adding an external DAC to the mix will give you the best of both worlds.


6. Other Considerations

Bit-Transparency
Some playback software offers optional DSP processing and changes the digital signal in ways chosen by the user. Some software just changes the digital signal "inadvertently" (e.g. routing through kmixer in Windows and upsampling everything to 48khz). This bit manipulation may or may not be a concern, depending on the user's preference. To preserve the original bits from a CD, ASIO driver may be required.

Digital Jitters
To obtain pristine sound, digital jitter should be minimized with: "jitter resistant" DAC, appropriate digital cable (e.g. good coaxial, glass Toslink), dejitter box (e.g. Monarchy Audio DIP), and quality USB to SPDIF converter.

Volume control
Digital volume control losses bits. Always bypass digital volume control or set it to the max and use analog volume control only.

Internet Radio
Different media players support different streaming formats. If the format is supported, an Internet radio station can be listened to just as another sound file in a playlist. Authentication or special software may be required for some stations. Some formats may be directly supported by a remote player such as Squeezebox and Soundbridge. For radio stations broadcasting in these formats, the remote player may play them even without the computer server.


7. Sample Systems

System 1 - Wired for sound
Source: hard drive in a Windows PC, ripped to FLAC with EAC
Playback Interface: Foobar2000, ATI Remote Wonder for basic remote control
Playback method: external DAC (Benchmark DAC1)
Delivery platform: USB cable to M-Audio Transit; then, glass Toslink to DAC1
Comment: superb sound at reasonable cost.

System 2 - Wireless freedom
Source: hard drive in a Windows PC, ripped/converted to MP3
Playback Interface: Roku Soundbridge M500 with iTunes running on the PC
Playback Method: Roku Soundbridge analog out (using the built-in DAC)
Delivery platform: WIFI
Comment: Full remote control convenience away from the PC. Limited to MP3 due to poor WIFI connection quality.

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