2. pc-audio
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Music Server vs. PC vs. Transport vs. ?

I don;t really want to add another rack in my living room. If I do, I may end up sleeping on one of the couches. Ideally, I would like to do the following:

1. Either use a pc or a server to store discs and have them accessable.
2. Have a way for the kids/wife to hook up their ipods
3. Have a way to get digital radio (xm, sirius or even computer streaming, doesn;t matter)
4. Do all of this WITHOUT degrading the sound quality ( i know, the ipod, by definition will do this)

My understanding of most high end DACs is that they do not have USB ports, but that is the ideal port to use to negate jitter. As I was researching this, I got the latest issue of the absolute sound, and they address some of this a bit. My feeling seems to be that one pays a HUGE premium for a server, that both their DACs and PCs DACs suck, and one has to get a USB to AES or other adapter, and still use an external DAC. It also seems that if one is willing to use a lossless system, that the universal opinion is that a hard drive rivals or beats any transports.

So my initial thought would be to get a pc with an ipod dock, run lossless, get an additional adapter say from Wavelength, and use the current dac. That adds at least two pieces, maybe three.

Help?????
Thanks,
Chris

Help??????

Thanks,
Chris
128x128mount_rose_music

Showing 3 responses by under1630

under1630
3 posts
 
You don't need a USB DAC! I have I think what most of you are looking for. I had a PC Alchemy in Carlsbad, CA who builds home theater PC's, build me a home audio PC. Basically it is a PC that sits in your audio rack with the same dimensions as your audio gear. The PC has a 7" touch screen in the front along with the DVD player/burner. The PC has an 80 GB hard drive for the operating system (Win XP) and 3 750 GB hard drives that is my music storage. That's 2.25 TB of storage for your audio.
The key to the system is the Card Deluxe audio card by Digital Audio Labs. I installed the card myself, and it has AES/EBU, RCA and optical outputs. I use the optical output to my DAC 1 by Benchmark Media. The DAC then sends the audio via Balanced interconnects to my preamp.
I have a 21" flat panel monitor on the end table next to the listening chair. I have a wireless keyboard and a remote control that I can control the pc with.
The system works flawlessly and I will put it up against any CD player/transport. I rip all the music off Cd's in FLAC with a compression of 4. That works out to about 300 MB per Cd. I use Media Monkey as my audio player, as it will play all types of audio and doesn't care if your name is Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, it will just play the freakin' file.
Not only does the system perform flawlessly and superbly, but it looks great in the rack also.
under1630
3 posts
 
Sure Ckorody, go ahead and use a generic sound card in your pc. My audio system is too important to me to use a generic sound card. If I were to do this, I might as well use zip cord for my speaker cables.
under1630
3 posts
 
Using the Card Deluxe is not about the outputs, it's about the quality of the sound card itself. It has received numerous accolades from the Audiophile media. These reviews can be easily found on Digital Audios website. That's why your post didn't make any sense to me. You said for $10 you could install a USB card and use the USB DAC of your choice. Sure, but then you're still using the Pc's generic sound card. I apologize for my quick and terse response, if you were offended, I was just pointing out the direction I have taken and provided company names of all the major components. If one wants to put down my venture, please research the components and the reviews they have received.
Once again, I'm sorry if I offended you. Peace and happy listening. (Nice preamp in your system)
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