CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 09:44:40 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1] 2 3 4

Author Topic: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat  (Read 4964 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Stapsy

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +21/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 423
  • a real bastid
Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« on: January 15, 2014, 02:46:57 AM »
As usual I am sure this will be DaveBSC answering my dumb questions, but hopefully others will find this helpful as well.  Feel free to chat about any computer related audio stuff (optimizing sound quality for PCs, Laptops, etc.)

Copied from the Laptop and Audio thread:

Quote from: Stapsy on January 15, 2014, 02:46:57 AM
"Good question, I have been thinking about having some sort of dedicated music interface, probably a laptop, desktop, or music server.  Laptop seems like the easiest way to go for portability.  I know nothing about building computers, what are some things that you should look for?

I am thinking that reducing noise and secondary functions as much as possible is the goal here. SSD is one idea, are there any differences in USB ports for audio quality?  Also, is it better to use battery power, is there another way to regulate the power supply, or does it even matter?  I don't want to fret too much, I am just wondering how much of a difference these things will make.  I can't help but feel listening to music while having my laptop connected to wifi and surfing the internet isn't really the best sound quality I am going to get."


It has been a long time coming for me to improve on my laptop set up.  I am probably sacrificing sound quality playing straight out of my laptop and being tethered down by a USB cable is annoying me (and the mess of cables on my coffee table is annoying my girlfriend).

Dave mentioned the Auraliti PK90 as an easy solution.  When I looked at the Auraliti website they also have the PK100 model, which outputs via SPDIF instead of USB.  I am wondering if the SPDIF version would be better than USB?  Is the PK100 essentially using an SPDIF soundcard to output as if it were a mini computer (remember I am dumb, this is how I understand things)?  If that is the case then probably better off using USB.  The fact that the PK90 won't work with M2tech async USB is a bit of turn off if I want to get an OR5.  The other option is to try and make a dedicated PC or laptop.

One more thing, how does the software compare to something like Jriver, which is what I am currently using with my laptop.


« Last Edit: January 15, 2014, 03:27:39 AM by Stapsy »
Logged

Questhate

  • Stops to get gas, buys some stax.
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +83/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 916
  • Banned for putting ice cubes in fine Scotch
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2014, 05:28:43 AM »
Where are all of your music files stored now? Locally on your laptop or on a network storage?

Zerodeefex hipped me to RaspyFi some time ago, and it has squashed all plans of mine to build a dedicated HTPC for audio. RaspyFi has turned to Volumnio and supports a few more platforms now: http://volumio.org/devices/#PI

Supposedly there are still bugs to be worked out with the new build, so I haven't switched over from RaspyFi yet. Considering a RaspPi wasn't developed for hifi application, you'll likely lose some sonic performance to something like an Auraliti, but for $35 its too cheap to not try it out just to see if it'll do the trick. If it doesn't work out, you can always repurpose the RaspPi to do something else (mine was previously used for XBMC while on travel). It's doing the job splendidly, although I wish there were more options for creating and saving playlists.

Another option is the Squeezebox project using the Wandboard called Community Sqeeze: http://www.communitysqueeze.org/quick_start_guide.jsp
I haven't used it myself, so I can't compare it to RaspyFi one way or another.
Logged

firev1

  • Cynophobic Puss
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +52/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 490
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2014, 07:08:53 AM »
Gigabyte has this http://www.gigabyte.sg/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1232 so no need for that extra card unless you really want to take it all the way together of course, with building an LPS for the mobo.

RaspPi is easier to obtain an LPS obviously and really cheap, got a friend who powers his with Li-ion battery packs for music.
Logged
Time spent on enjoyment is not time wasted. - someone

Hands

  • Pizza the Hutt
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +331/-8
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1591
  • Master of Revelatory Bird Calls and Fine Art
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2014, 07:22:46 AM »
Nice find on that motherboard, assuming it holds up to its claims. If so, I think that would be an excellent choice for most PC builders, gamers, etc. that don't necessarily want a separate box for music. At least, for me, I think that would deliver performance below the threshold of my hearing abilities if coupled with a good USB converter or DAC with good USB input.
Logged
The other master and I invite you to visit our digital museum of fine art and revelatory bird calls: https://www.facebook.com/SchrodsonkMuseum

shipsupt

  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +160/-4
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1687
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2014, 09:10:04 AM »
For those not adverse to the Appleverse... I just picked up a used MacMini from eBay (read, cheap) and set up a music server at home.  It was dead easy.  I run it headless and can control it from any of my Macs, iPhone, or iPad. 

I'm currently keeping the bulk of the music library on the internal hard drive.  I've got two external hard drives on the fire wire bus, one for middle of they night back ups and the other holding another music library, primarily DSD stuff.  I may eventually move the library from the internal drive to the external.

The DAC is the only thing using the USB bus.

I honestly do not notice a difference in the SQ between my old set up and this dedicated server, but I like knowing it's set up properly to do it's job as good as it can.

There are a bunch of little things I can do to tweak this set up even more, and I likely will do a few things down the road.  In the mean time I'm really happy that I get it set up as I find having a dedicated server a really nice luxury.







Logged
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

DaveBSC

  • Best Korean Sympathizer
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +222/-50
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2092
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2014, 03:30:57 PM »
Quote from: Stapsy on January 15, 2014, 02:46:57 AM
As usual I am sure this will be DaveBSC answering my dumb questions, but hopefully others will find this helpful as well.  Feel free to chat about any computer related audio stuff (optimizing sound quality for PCs, Laptops, etc.)

Copied from the Laptop and Audio thread:

Quote from: Stapsy on January 15, 2014, 02:46:57 AM
"Good question, I have been thinking about having some sort of dedicated music interface, probably a laptop, desktop, or music server.  Laptop seems like the easiest way to go for portability.  I know nothing about building computers, what are some things that you should look for?

I am thinking that reducing noise and secondary functions as much as possible is the goal here. SSD is one idea, are there any differences in USB ports for audio quality?  Also, is it better to use battery power, is there another way to regulate the power supply, or does it even matter?  I don't want to fret too much, I am just wondering how much of a difference these things will make.  I can't help but feel listening to music while having my laptop connected to wifi and surfing the internet isn't really the best sound quality I am going to get."

Dave mentioned the Auraliti PK90 as an easy solution.  When I looked at the Auraliti website they also have the PK100 model, which outputs via SPDIF instead of USB.  I am wondering if the SPDIF version would be better than USB?  Is the PK100 essentially using an SPDIF soundcard to output as if it were a mini computer (remember I am dumb, this is how I understand things)?  If that is the case then probably better off using USB.  The fact that the PK90 won't work with M2tech async USB is a bit of turn off if I want to get an OR5.  The other option is to try and make a dedicated PC or laptop.

One more thing, how does the software compare to something like Jriver, which is what I am currently using with my laptop.

Yes, the PK100 has a soundcard output. It will probably outperform most of the cheaper USB to S/Pdif converters, but will ultimately be a limiting factor. Unless I'm mistaken, the Auraliti boxes use MPD for playback. There's no monitor or keyboard/mouse input, you just hook it up to your stereo and turn it on. Since it doesn't have a large internal drive, you won't need to copy everything on to it via your network like you would with a VortexBox DIY server. You just plug in whatever hard drive has your music on it.

Assuming it is MPD, you control it via the network using an app like mPod for iOS or MPDroid for Android. They work basically the same way JRemote does. If you don't have an ethernet connection, you can just hook up a wireless ethernet bridge which will provide one.
Logged

zerodeefex

  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +123/-4
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1060
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2014, 04:30:52 PM »
Anyone looking for a good quality, cheap ITX case for your own music playback system:

http://www.directron.com/sstsg05bblite.html

The SG-05 is definitely not the greatest case in the world, but with a little modding can be made near silent and is a great deal at $36. I'd recommend gutting the SFX PSU and replacing it with a picoPSU.

Here's a review from SPCR:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silverstone_SG05_SG06

To my knowledge, even though the review was written in 2009, Mike already had his anechoic chamber up and running so the measurements should be accurate and comparable to the other reviews found on SPCR if you're looking for noise reference points.
Logged

funkmeister

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +15/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 286
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2014, 07:04:56 PM »
I'm definitely in a different tier with my IT nerd setup, but it checks all the boxes. I just use an headless HP MicroServer running Windows Home Server 2011 and iTunes with shared library. It can serve up anything to everything, but I want even more features so I'm considering upgrading it to WS12R2.
Logged

DaveBSC

  • Best Korean Sympathizer
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +222/-50
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2092
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2014, 08:01:51 PM »
If you run Linux, there's really no need for any sort of active cooling because an Atom is plenty. This little guy works very well and you can pick one up for around $90.

Logged

Stapsy

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +21/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 423
  • a real bastid
Re: Dedicated Audio PC and Music Server Chat
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2014, 01:26:25 AM »
Lots of good ideas here.  I am a little torn between SQ and convenience.  If you were to use something like RaspyFi or the Auraliti how would you get music onto them.  I understand you have to use an external hard drive, but is there a way to rip CDs onto the hard drive without moving the drive back and forth from your computer to the server.  I am also a bit concerned about the playback software as I really like Jriver.

Any idea how close I could get to the above if I removed unnecessary functions from my laptop and had it set up entirely for music playback?  My dad has a Surface Pro that he doesn't use so I might be able to ninja that from hi for a bit to test out my Win8Tablet and laptop idea.
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3 4
« previous next »