PC vs MAC laptop as music server

I would go with a PC.

Why?
1 - You can build it yourself to your specifications. Better power supplies for a music server make all the difference in the world.
2 - You can select your case and motherboard. With a PC, you have have insane expansion.
3 - I am not sure Exact Audio Copy (EAC) is MAC compatible. EAC is the best way to rip music from a CD.
4 - Foobar2000 - I am not sure if it is MAC compatible as well. Foobar2000 is the best way to play music on a computer. It even has an Apple Lossless plugin to play these (Apple Lossless) files.
5 - Empirical Audio's Offramp Turbo2 or 3 device for exporting the digital data off your computer - I do not think this is MAC compatible either.
6 - PC will most likely be less expensive

I have over 7 years of experience in computer music server playback. I will confess that I have never used a MAC for it. But because of the above reasons, I'd go with a PC.

Keith

Ripping with iTunes does not compete with ripping with EAC.
Playback with iTunes does not compete with playback with Foobar2000.

Keith

Fair enough Danlib, I guess I need some explanation.

The software iTunes is pretty similar for both the PC and MAC.
I know for a fact that the Mac version of iTunes does not have the error correction that EAC has.
I do have a lot of experience with iTunes for the PC.
On a PC, I do know that playback through Foobar2000 is superior to iTunes on the PC.

Now on a Mac, I will admit that I have not compared iTunes playback vs. a PC's Foobar2000 playback. This comparison is difficult (at best) to make. Because you would be playing back music on two entirely different machines. This adds too many variables into the mix. However, because one can easily build a PC to their specifications (esp. power supply makes a big difference), the PC should sound better.

This being said, I would goto Empirical Audio's website and read their white papers on computer digital. They agree that foobar2000 is the best player. They also agree that EAC is the best ripper. My findings were independent of their's.

One thing about foobar2000: The guys who have developed it have been working on it for 8+ years. Their sole intent is to develop the best player possible. This is not the case with iTunes. If you think iTunes was coded for the best playback possible, think again. It is a mass market program that is more geared to manage music and to make Apple money. Foobar2000 was coded by audiophiles who have a passion for computer playback. Who would you trust more?

The main questions you need to ask yourself when deciding on a PC or MAC for music playback:
- Do I want to be locked into one box? (MAC)
- Do I want to be able to build my own machine to my own specifications? (PC)
- Do I want to run EAC (the best ripper available)? (PC)
- Do I want to be able to run foobar2000
- Do you want to pay a premium for your computer? (MAC)

I know people (MAC people and PC people alike)complain about Microsoft operating systems; however, if you are just using a computer as a music server, operationally a PC even running Vista is very stable.

This and $4 will get you an overpriced large coffee at Starbucks. But I have been into computer audio 2 channel playback for going on 8 years. I have built 8 music servers (even a few Linux based machines) in that time and tried all sorts of different music players and rippers. Until someone I respect out there (a computer digital playback expert) who definitively says that there is playback software for the MAC that bests foobar2000 and ripping software for the MAC that bests EAC, I'll keep using Windows based PCs for music servers.

Keith

Steve Nugent has 26 years of digital experience. He has forgotten more about digital than I could probably hope to ever learn.

Assembling a computer is not that hard.
First one would take a weekend or so.
There are also so many options for PCs to make them quiet. Now that is a hobby unto itself: building a quiet PC. I used to be obsessed with it. No longer though because I have my music server in another room and run all the cables through the wall and use a blue tooth keyboard with integrated touchpad (Logitech).

Keith

Rbstehno, you almost had me until you recommended toslink to hook a computer up to a DAC.

I have been into computer for quite some time, and toslink sucks for transporting data from a computer to a DAC. I have tried it, and the current way I am doing it (with Empirical Audio's Offramp Turbo2 via USB port) is so superior, it is not even funny.

Microsoft has little to do with my ripping and playback per se. Foobar2000, my playback program, was developed by a 3rd party and is very stable (in it's current version). Exact Audio Copy was also developed by a 3rd party, and is ultimately stable as well. These programs have been developed over 8+ years by people who are extremely dedicated to both. I have never gotten a blue screen running either EAC or foobar2000.

"there are many other ripping programs that run on a mac so that is a non issue, and if you wait, there will be a new 1 tomorrow" - 1,000,000 bad rippers do not equal 1 excellent ripper. Please name a ripper on the Mac that has over 8 years of development behind it. Ripping programs for the PC are a dime a dozen as well, but I freely admit, most of them are not that good or just average. I have tried quite a few for comparison.

Also, do you realize how much of a difference a great aftermarket power supply makes for a music server for playback? Unless you have disassembled your Mac and changed out the power supply (I imagine it voids the warranty like most other Apple products if you take them apart), you have no idea.

Interestingly, I do like Macs. And if someone demonstrated to me on a Mac a playback program as good as foobar20000 and a ripper as good as EAC, I'd consider switching to a Mac. I would still want to change out the power supply.

Heck, if I could get better playback and ripping using LINUX, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Last I checked, there are quite a few rippers and players for LINUX. Still, none as good as the ones I mention above.

I change out the entire supply for another.
I have found going with larger power supplies is better (800 watt+). The last one I installed in my music server was an 850 watt Thermalake Black Widow (~$185). It sounds better than the 650 watt Corsair I had in there before. I just upgraded graphics cards so I could display 1080p on a front projector, and I was pushing the Corsair too hard.

PC power supplies are pretty complex devices (it is amazing how inexpensive they can be), and I do not recommend modifying them unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing (e.g. you are a highly skilled electrical engineer, and power supplies are your life's work).

I do believe you that power does make a difference sonically with a computer. However, I would only recommend plugging a computer into passive power filtration (as opposed something like PS Audio's regenerators) without consulting the maker of the regenerator.

Keith

Keith