Where to start in the music bank route?


Hi-

I am thinking of including a Music bank in my system, I will still keep my Accuphase CDP as the main digital source, but since it has a digital IN option, I can fairly easy start exploring the music bank world.

I am asking for your help regarding options to consider, PC based (eg: Squezze box) vs Dedictaed (eg: Olive Music server) and whatever falls in between in the $3K range.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge here

Fernando
128x128flg2001
Thanks Bob - What do you (all) think of the Olive server as transport only?, There is also a nice unit from Cambridge Audio which has no reviews so far.
The Infrant ReadyNAS NV+ / 2 Squeezeboxes Bundle ($1500) is a heck of a deal, especially if you have an external DAC to use with the Squeezebox. I have basically the same setup (although I bought my ReadyNAS from NewEgg rather than Slim Devices), and am very happy with it. Using a RAID 5 configuration with the ReadyNAS will give you something like 700KB of storage with safety if a HD goes bad, enough for about 2000 CDs using FLAC lossless compression storage. The sound should be more or less the same as your Accuphase if you use it as the DAC for the Squeezebox. Setup and operation is pretty straightforward, and with the ReadyNAS you don't need to have a computer on to listen to your library (you do need it for setup and for storing CDs).

You could always go with the higher end Transporter plus a ReadyNAS, which should be right around $3K. But the performance differences between the Squeezebox and the Transporter are supposed to pretty much all be in the DAC and analog sections, so the upgrade would probably be a waste if you're going to use your existing DAC.