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Another reason why I like my music server

A music server makes it easier and more cost effective for an audiophile to experiment with multiple concurrent systems.

That is what I have found.

I use a single music server with a Squeezebox Touch on each of my two systems. The touch is used to stream digital only. I use external DACs to match the sound to each system better.

The cost to enable any new system you set up with a squeezebox Touch is less than $300. That enables you to play all your music on the server using the same source device (Touch) on each system and tweak the sound of each from there.

Very practical. My thought is that maybe more audiophiles might be interested in being able to experiment with multiple systems if the cost of a high performance source device on each can be kept to a minimum. I'd say this is a very practical way of applying relatively new technology (music servers and wireless networked music players) to do so.

It is also easily extended to dedicated headphone only systems as well using software versions of the players for home PCs and even mobile tablets.
128x128mapman
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mapman's avatar
mapman OP
22,198 posts
 
Kijanki,

I am with you on all points.

Keeping computer as isolated as possible from the audio gear is the best place to be.

Also with wireless no physical connection between the potentially noisy computer and audio source. Not sure how much that matters in practice overall these days but it certainly cannot hurt. AN insurance policy against computer sourced noise in essence.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Mapman, I enjoy my system with Airport Express and Benchmark DAC1.

Advantage of such setup is huge - timing on computer side of wireless doesn't count since data comes without timing compressed in packets. Type of computer, speed, OS, amount of memory, programs running in the background, playback program, HD type, HD interface, computer power supply noise etc. don't count. The only thing that counts is for transmission to be bit perfect.

Instead of fighting jitter everywhere wireless "splitting" limits jitter significance only to receiver and DAC. If receiver recreated clock is jittery than reclocker or DAC containing reclocker (like Benchmark DAC1) will help.

In addition to all this I enjoy using the same computer, sitting across the room, for other tasks including Internet.
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