Wireless Music Bridge, Soundbridge, etc.


I know there's some threads on this, but I'm considering a wireless DAC interface between my PC and Pre-amp. Been reading some horror stories about Linksys Music Bridge as well as the Roku and even Logitech Squeeze Box. Some people like them others say "no way". Difficult to get working, clips, quits, sounds bad.....

Logitech also has the Transporter but don't think I'm ready for a $2000 gamble.

Just trying to use a better audio out from my PC, possibly better external soundcard and get rid of some cables. Any reasonable recommendations?
jamesk58
As for the Squeeze box (I use the III), it is mindlessly simple to set up. Any wireless music system CAN be subject to drop outs, and it will depend on your networks strength at it's location, and concurrent usage.
Kennyt, so how do you feel about the sound quality? Do you get sound comparable to your other sources?

I am looking to bypass the soundcard in my PC as the CD version of the same file sounds superior to playing the original source through my PC in Winamp, whether it's flac, shn,wma, or mp3.

I've been doing A/B comparisons of the original files I downloaded and then copied onto CD. The CD's have much more of everything and I feel I need to send the signal directly to the Pre-amp and not use the PC soundcard.
Jim, I think we've conversed on this subject before. The only real trick to setting up the MusicBridge is to use a hardwire connection (Ethernet cable) when you do the intial setup. After that it's pretty much a doddle.

I never get any dropouts from mine, but my MB is only about 25 ft. away from my router. If you do experience consistent dropouts, you could always run an Ethernet cable to it and be done with it.

Before jumping into one of the (much) more expensive solutions, give the MB a try. You're only risking $80. Just buy it from a place with a reasonable return policy. Buy.com has them in stock with free shipping:

http://www.buy.com/prod/linksys-wireless-g-music-bridge-1-x-10-100base-tx-ieee-802-11b-g/q/loc/111/202191046.html

-RW-
Thanks Richard. I'm just a little gunshy because I read reviews that were all over the map. Many liked MB and many did not. Some said they never got it to work after countless hours, and others said it was a snap.

I also looked into the D-Link/HD Link which plays video and will put pix on TV, but same thing. Some love it, others can't get it to work.

Just trying to get other's experiences and Best Buy said they'd take it back anything up to 30 days.
I use a Slim Devices and it works wonderfully. I ripped all my music to Flac for lossless compression. I did the same as you were doing, reading mixed reviews. But what I seem to see it people trying to do something out of the ordinary, i.e. Setting it up with different drivers, trying to play formats it wasn;t intended for, or basically trying to do too much. I use it wired it it has been flawless. The only issue I have ever heard about having any credence to it is when trying to stream 24/96 uncompressed files wirelessly while your network is also doing something else. Other than that its been great!