|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
71.141.244.49
I have been pretty firmly set in the analog audio camp but it seems that digital is starting to sound good enough that the convenience of a music server is starting to be enticing. I'm diy capable - have refurb'd amps, built pre-amps, phono amps, amps from kits. DIY or gracefully used seem to usually be the best bang for the buck choices.My primary goals in selecting equipment are
1) VERY Good quality sound on my tube based Mcintosh system ( refurb'd 240 and MX110) into either Cornwalls or Tannoy Reds. Preferably equal to a Rega Apollo at minimum but hopefully better.
2) Reliability.
3) Ease of use from ripping CDs to playing my music.I happen to have a g4 ibook w/ 10.4 installed that isn't seeing a lot of use these days and was thinking about using it as the basis for a music server.Is the g4 ibook a good choice, would it need modifications or should I start with a different platform?
I was thinking that I would want a minimum 400GB hard drive to attach to the G4 and that I would need an external DAC to connect to either the preamp or amps. Recommendations for a DAC and hard drive?
I figured that I would just colocate the computer and stereo and not use wifi. What's the best way to connect the computer and DAC - USB? or ethernet? or...?? Do I use iTunes or is there something better (please remember ease of use is important.)?
Follow Ups:
Howdy,I am using a G3 500 iBook with OS10.3 and iTunes 6. this works great, so you will have no problems with a G4. Battery life just running music with the screen off is about 7-8 hours.
For a hard dirve I got a Lacie Porsche Design firewire, see link below. It is small, fast, no fan and very quiet. I have to have my ear right next to it to hear anything.
After spending all the time to rip 800 cd's, I went out and bought the cheapest usb hard drive I could find, backed up all the music and put it in a safe place. I don't want to rip them all again.
Cheers,Lawrence
I have built the Hagerman Chime DAC, which was a very rewarding experience. It sounds fantastic, and has a USB input. PCM1704 converters, USB input, reclocking, synchronous oversampling, phase switch, many other design aspects that make it very appealing on paper. I find that it has a huge soundstage, great detail, and resolves timbre very well. It has a built in volume control, but it only outputs 1.2 volts maximum, so it would have to be carefully paired if it is to be used without a preamplifier. I could write more, but this isn't a review of the Chime, so check out Hagerman's website and see what you think.Another DAC I would recommend would be the Lavry DA10. A friend of mine recently bought one, and it sounds great in his system. No USB input, but it has excellent features. Includes a built in headphone amp, an resistor based attenuator, discrete output stage (I'm pretty sure there's no op amps, but not positive). I want to compare them in my system, but I haven't had the chance. When I have listened to the Lavry I have been impressed by detailed yet smooth the sound is, not very digital sounding at all. I have a similar impression of the Chime.
I use itunes and a USB cable with my Chime all the time. I'm listening to the Chime via G4 ibook w/itunes right now, in my bedroom setup with my AKG K1000 headphones. I've been thinking about getting a network attached storage device to store my music. Right now my files are on a portable external HD, but I'm running out of space.
A USB dac in a computer setup is cheaper to implement, since otherwise you'd have to get a Squeezebox and a good digital cable (Stereovox is an excellent choice), which adds $400-500. With USB you'd only need a USB cable, and even premium ones are only $30. No matter which way you decide to go, I recommend getting a lot of RAM for your laptop. That will make it sound better, and make ripping more effective as well.
Good luck with your music server project. No matter which way you go, you have the potential for great sound.
-Aaron.
I've looked at the Hagerman Chime and I'm definitely interested. I've built some of Hagerman's other kits and been happy. The latest was a frykleaner which is a small project but it's nice for burning in electronics and cables.I haven't heard different DACs and was wondering how this compared to other units? The only other high quality DIY DAC that I've seen besides the Chime is the AudioNote but them having a very complete kit costs a lot more money (stocking parts is expensive) and I'm not sure that there's more value there...although I don't know.
Did you upgrade your Chime at all? If so, what did you try/what worked?
I'm just looking at using a cable and not running a wifi network. I don't have a big house that I'm looking to pipe music all over and I don't want to have "drop-outs" from living in a noisy urban setting.
What kind of hard drive are you using/what do you recommend? I'd think that quiet operation would be important so minimizing fans might be a good thing.
G-man raises key point that is fundamental to your choices. If you already know this I am sorry etc....There are two good ways to get data off a hard drive and into your preamp (Mac or Win but you are so on the right track with Mac): they are USB and Ethernet.
Wavelength Audio - Gordon's Brick is the classic example of a USB device. Practically speaking this means that the play list/song selection must be controlled from the computer. In your model, you would do this using iTunes. Using Opticis fiber USB cable you can have the DAC a good way away (hundreds of feet) but there is a certain connection that gets lost if you are in the far location doing the listening and can't control the playlist.
The Slim Devices Squeezebox is the classic example of a network device. Meaning that it is hanging out there on a network - just like a printer, modem etc. The Squeezebox (SB) can be very effectively modded - Wayne at Bolder Cable is the leading luminary in the space. The unit can be set up to output via SPDIF to a DAC of your choosing then onto a pre etc; or can be set up as an analog source. The SB comes with a remote and can be controlled by any browser based PDA, tablet etc. Meaning that you can sit in the space with the SB and your playback devices.
Now the really great news here is that a single iTunes Library (the name of the folder where the ripped music lives) supports both USB and SB simultaneously and of course will also support your iPod, iPhone etc. So it is not a committing move...
If you have a big house and/or plenty o' bux you might want to look into a NAS (Network area storage) unit to store everything. Otherwise you are correct, a 3-500Gb external drive is the way to go. I have no idea what it means but I have about 15,000 unique songs (cuts) on 325Gb of a 400Gb drive using Apple Lossless - about 1,150-1,200 CDs. My preference is SATA which cannot be implemented on your G4 - either USB or FW drives will work - just do yourself a favor and get a case with a fan from someone like Granite. Get a enterprise level unit from any of the majors and be sure to budget for a back-up drive - need not be on except when its being used.
In case there is any doubt, while the Win camp can make an argument for EAC/FLAC etc, it is simply impossible to beat iTunes for quality + integration of all the aspects of ripping, playing and organizing digital music + sonic quality + plus the support of one of the great computer companies in history.
I looked at the Granite site and it seems that they build a lot of RAID hotswap stacks. I can see where a business needs that but I was thinking that I'd just connect up a second hard drive and turn it on when I ripped a bunch of new tunes and click/drag to copy to the hard drive, then remove from system, wrap it up and put it away until the next time or when it was needed.I was thinking that since the hard drive will live with the computer at the stereo that quiet and thus NO fans would be a good thing.
I am interested in recommendations for hard drives as I don't know who is making a quiet, reliable, external hard drive of about 400 MB or so.
Hi - Granite makes a nice firewire enclosure. The hot swap feature is actually a cost savings since it enables you to avoid buying multiple enclosures.Anyhow, two things are essential to a long lived hard drive.
1) a solid power supply - a lot of the consumer cases look good but don't pack much punch, especially not for a 300Gb+ drive
2) cooling - no matter how you slice it, heat is the enemy of hard drives. again the better case manufacturers use better fans - as a DIY guy this is something you could probably play with
Finally, whiole it has matured, the selection of chip for the implementation of the FW or USB connection can effect performance.
The drives themselves - and I am speaking specifically of what are called enterprise level drives (they have a longer warranty) from WD, Seagate, Maxtor and Hitachi don't make much noise - certainly not enough to be an issue. Newegg.com is a very good source.
In fact, because I also work in this room, I have 1.5Tb of drives running all the time and while they definitely add to the room ambience, I don't hear them at normal listening levels. YMMV
The g4 ibook with iTunes will meet all your requirements - ease, reliability, and great sound. You can rip right on the ibook, using iTunes (with error correction on into Apple Lossless) and then hook right into usb dac, without having to mess with any kmixer or any deep system settings. If you're also hooked to the internet, you can also access internet radio from straight within iTunes. Also, the latest version of iTunes will also fetch all your cover art (though with a few errors). It's an all-in-one solution that is very simple.I am using a g3 ibook into the Nixon usbchibi into tubed preamps and amps. It sounds detailed and immediate without being fatiguing. If you like nonos dacs, I recommend the Nixon usbchibi. Since you already have tubed amplification, don't get Nixon's usbtd (the tubed version of the dac) that everyone raves about, because the chibi is half the price and exactly the same circuit, minus the tubed gain stage (it has no gain stage - very pure).
What software are you running on your G3? I have an old Lombard that's acting as a doorstop but it won't run OSX so wasn't sure if there was anything available software wise to manage the tunes.
I'm running OS X.4.8. It's a 500mkz g3 white ibook from 2001. It barely runs OSX, but it runs it. As long as I'm only running iTunes and maybe one other app, it's plenty fast enough.
Unfortunately, this is a pretty early g3 and won't run OSX hence it becoming a doorstop. Luckily, the g4 ibook sounds like it would work well.
The G4 iBook is what I have used with great success. It is quiet enough to use in your room without having to worry about noise.
I would recommend reading Gordon Rankin's primer at his website (wavelengthaudio.com)
I use 3 laptop drives in MacAlly cases. (per Gordon) They are quiet enough that they can sit behind the laptop and not be heard. Then for backup I use a large drive that is switched off when not in use.I use USB to connect to my dac but there are options here. First is to decide what type of dac you like..nonos or upsampling for example.
Steve
I have an XP machine running Slimserver feeding a Squeezebox 2 via ethernet which in turn feeds a flavor-of -the-day dac, and an iMac running iTunes feeding a Hagerman USB-SPDIF converter which then feeds the dac du jour. I prefer the latter setup, and am currently considering trying the iMac connected to a USB dac (maybe a Wavelength Brick or Cosecant).Lots of options.
I think the iBook would be excellent. I have a newer MacBook, and it is fabulous. I have gone through a number of different control options, and the MacBook is the easiest, nicest to use. I wish I started with it 2 years ago, it would have saved me money in the end!I think for Mac iTunes is the way to go. Ease of use is right up there, and there isnīt the dreaded k-mixer problem as with Windows.
I would be a bit careful in adding external storage. The iBook should be pretty quiet...not sure if all 400GB externals are as quiet. I personally have my MacBook discretely wired to my home-network, accessing a file server. One of the advantages is that the Ethernet cable can be quite long, unlike usb or firewire cables hooking up external drives. So I donīt worry about how loud the fileserver is when it is in a storage room. You can do the same with a NAS drive.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: