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Best standalone music server?

So I am considering dipping my toes into the full digital world and was wondering what people here may consider as the best standalone music server, and here I am going to be specific.
I do not want to consider a home pc or mac based type of system at all!
Looking at adding one of the standalone models like for example the Wyred4sound ms1 or cocktail audio.
High on my list is ability to rip my cds directly at the unit itself, access to internet radio and other music apps (Pandora etc). High quality built in dac would be nice but if not then high quality digital out to run to an external dac. I will not be needing to access music files stored on another pc as my home pc is pretty old but fully functional for my simple needs. The only music looking to access from it right now are ripped cds and internet available music in whatever form.
So if it worked out well, yes it may be a replacement even for a cd player completely

Thank you
uberwaltz
ncarv
983 posts
 
Not finding your network should be able to be solved, though I know it is not always easy.

I'm using Tidal for digital so much lately that I rarely use my cooked up server, neither of which sound as good as my CD transport, all running through the same DAC.
jayrossi13's avatar
jayrossi13
192 posts
 
I have the Antipodes DX; it automatically rips CDs to uncompressed FLAC, runs the Roon core natively and the sound is simply amazing.

If you can swing it from a budget perspective, you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve also had an Aurender N100H, for the money it was also a big upgrade--sin sound quality and ease of use-- over my previous Mac mini + NAS + Audirvana solution.

Both the Antipodes and Aurender have Tidal integrations and can be controlled by an iPad.
austinbob
235 posts
 
For sound quality the Aurrender and Antipodes are excellent. The Antipodes makes it easy with a CD ripper, the Aurrender doesn't. I also think Teac makes a player/streamer that uses Roon and doesn't require a separate computer for Roon. 
electroslacker
375 posts
 
I worked in computer hardware/software interfaces for most of my career and I think a good laptop, Windows or Apple, with JRiver set up correctly, feeding a USB DAC, is neither a bottleneck nor a compromise as a digital source, and should be superior or equal to any CD player. Plus, you have access to anything on the Internet to download or stream.  The only complexity is running the interface remotely.  I know the strawman arguments about laptop/operating system noise and chatter, but find those arguments spurious and ill-informed.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Part of my "requirements" is that it just fits in with the rest of my equipment sitting in the rack, hence the reasoning behind an all in one box, not a laptop or home pc based solution , even if that might give a much cheaper and possibly better audio experience.
Also I do not have the time or patience to troubleshoot any network or connectivity issues as I work very long hard hours and when i flop and want to listen to music, well that is ALL i want to do and not fiddle with anything
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