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Hi
Well its about time I start considering my first computer for home.Im not really asking about computers themselves but what to consider for connecting what I can get from it to the main sound system.
My basic thought is to have more access to music. Not sure how much use I would give an ipod but not ruling it out yet either. I understand there are some nice docking stations or dacs for improved sound possibilities along with its portability incentive.
Im aware of lossless or wave files vs compressed mp3 but know little about the differances in software or formats except that all my experiance is with windows based operating systems.
I have a nice (to me) 2 channel system and am comfortable with that gear but get lost in all the digital tech stuff. Ive done some searchs here but need a bit more guidance for what to be looking for or avoiding.
My goals are to keep it simple but get access to music with the ability to play it back through my main system without the big upgrade journey I went through putting that system together.
Thanks in advance for your help and advise in this new (to me) world.
Follow Ups:
...then get a Squeezebox. Install the software on the PC, pointing to the directory where you have ripped your CDs. Go back to the living room, with the Squeezebox connected to your audio system. Now you can browse/play all the music from your computer on your audio system, through the Squeezebox. Even if the computer is not on, you can play all internet radio stations.
Hi Chris,When you say "keep it simple but get access to music" do you mean that you would like access to NEW music? Like internet radio access to music? If that's the case, then the sound quality doesn't really matter too much. Because just like XM radio, it will sound bad compared to your CD player. But! - the good part is that you do get access to new music. If that's what you're after then I would say just jump right in and figure it out as you go. Hearing all of that new music will keep you happy, and having access to radio will keep you company. Just don't expect it to sound as good as your CD player and you'll be fine.
On the other hand, if you mean rip all of your CDs and vinyl to the computer and "keep it simple but get access to music" , then . . . uhhhh, well . . . . . hmmmmm. I honestly don't think so. I could never get past ripping a dozen CDs before I realized that all I was doing was duplicating my software.
If you really want to keep it simple then why would you complicate it with a computer?
Thanks - its really the access to music from the web. Ive become more aware of the vast amount of stuff avialable and since the music Im finding interest in will be sourced from the web I will need something to store it on and then play back somehow.
Buy a USB Dac. You only need one usb cable. This is as simple as it gets.
I bought a Crane fm transmitter and plugged it into the headphone socket on my PC. I now have music thru out my house. There seems to be a slight loss of fidelity but not as much as from my sons MP3 player. The sound card I have is the stock one supplied with the PC. A better sound card is my next purchase.
http://www.ccrane.com/radios/fm-transmitters/index.aspx
Check out the PC audio forum.It is 2 links below this forum on the main page.
A good recommendation IMHO is to use the computer only for music and put in a pro level sound card like the Lynx l22 or the Emu products.
Just run the analog outs in to your pre amp, or run directly to your amps and skip the pre.
If those ATCs of yours can accept a crossed over signal, than you may want to thing about using the PC as a digital crossover and buy the Lynx 2b (www.lynxstudio.com) that has 3 balanced outs and get the crossover program at www.thuneau.com.
THis is a simple set up that sounds fantastic and it smoked my trans dac combo.
FOr control, you can use a pda or a wireless or wired touch screen, even an RF remote for Volume and mute, etc.
FOr players, Foobar and Winamp seem to be prefered, and you HAVE to use the ASIO plug ins that are available.
Make sure you are using lossless of some sort. Flac is probably the most prefered, but some like me are just using cue sheets and .wavs.
ANother approach may be to just get a USB dac and connect it to the PC. Or get a device that will do USB to SPdif (or I2s) to a regular hifi dac. For me, this just seemed a bit complicated and took up another shelf, and it is very expensive to do tri-amping this way.
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