@david_ten
yes, absolutely; the SGM Extreme is the perfect streaming server. but it’s also the perfect server for local internal PCIe files, and the perfect server for using an outboard NAS. and i’ve used it all three ways.
over the last 9 months with the Extreme 2 significant things have happened. (1) my ratio of files to streaming listening has gone from 75%/25% to 20%/80%. and (2) my file purchasing has gone from 5-10 a month to zero.....or maybe 1 every couple months. streaming simply delivers on so many levels it checks all my boxes. this direction had not been happening previously with me.....i had been pursuing buying files vigorously. and what i had was not chopped liver, the 2015 SGM server, one of the top choices besides the Extreme.
i don’t want to hold myself up as any expert on DIY computer audio or techie computer stuff. so i all i can do to make my technical case is to encourage anyone to read the reviews and Romaz posts referenced earlier in the thread for those points to be made. what they say is that digital audio is about extreme computing headroom, separating processing needs appropriately, and dealing with EMI/RFI and cooling needs to keep things operating in the proper design envelope. it why the damn thing weighs 90 pounds.
i’ve found that the same bump in performance listening to my files was found at least as much in my streaming. all digital processing makes the same multi-pronged demands of the CPU. the uncompromising design of the Extreme delivers.
what i can speak about with authority is the astonishing sonic performance when i switch from local files to streaming, then to my vinyl or tape and back to digital......the digital holds up completely.
i still like my files; and have favorites i’ll always return to, but the excitement of streaming daily is a huge deal, and the Extreme makes it so inviting.
yes, absolutely; the SGM Extreme is the perfect streaming server. but it’s also the perfect server for local internal PCIe files, and the perfect server for using an outboard NAS. and i’ve used it all three ways.
over the last 9 months with the Extreme 2 significant things have happened. (1) my ratio of files to streaming listening has gone from 75%/25% to 20%/80%. and (2) my file purchasing has gone from 5-10 a month to zero.....or maybe 1 every couple months. streaming simply delivers on so many levels it checks all my boxes. this direction had not been happening previously with me.....i had been pursuing buying files vigorously. and what i had was not chopped liver, the 2015 SGM server, one of the top choices besides the Extreme.
i don’t want to hold myself up as any expert on DIY computer audio or techie computer stuff. so i all i can do to make my technical case is to encourage anyone to read the reviews and Romaz posts referenced earlier in the thread for those points to be made. what they say is that digital audio is about extreme computing headroom, separating processing needs appropriately, and dealing with EMI/RFI and cooling needs to keep things operating in the proper design envelope. it why the damn thing weighs 90 pounds.
i’ve found that the same bump in performance listening to my files was found at least as much in my streaming. all digital processing makes the same multi-pronged demands of the CPU. the uncompromising design of the Extreme delivers.
what i can speak about with authority is the astonishing sonic performance when i switch from local files to streaming, then to my vinyl or tape and back to digital......the digital holds up completely.
i still like my files; and have favorites i’ll always return to, but the excitement of streaming daily is a huge deal, and the Extreme makes it so inviting.