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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
128x128uberwaltz
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Well had this vault2 for about 4 days now and have 3500 songs loaded and out of those just 15 got dumped into unknown due to bad metadata, and nearly all of those were really old obscure tracks so a great job as far as i am concerned. Quickly fixed with mp3tag on the pc manualy entering the id3 tags.
Sound quality? Soundstage and vocals are excellent, bass is a little overblown tbh compared to the same track played on the esoteric but not something that makes me want to run screaming from the room!
All in all I would say I got exactly what i paid for and wanted!
jond's avatar
jond
5,845 posts
 
@uberwaltz just curious are you ripping your cd's as flac or mp3s?
david12
1,454 posts
 
I agree about the non demise of CDs. They have to be the cheapest way to get new music. Second hand CDs in charity shops or on Amazon, can be had for almost nothing.

 I don't agree that Tidal or Q bus subscriptions are cheap either, particularly when they are 20, pounds, euros or dollars. That makes a UK sub about 20 percent higher than a UK one, rip off.

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
@jond 
All cd,s have been ripped as flac, that is the default setting for the vault although you can change it in the menu of the bluos app if you wanted too.
existing music i downloaded to it had been ripped as wma files on my pc.
the beauty of the vault to me is it DOES NOT CARE what file format, flac, wma, mp3 etc. it takes them all and plays them all with zero errors.
And DAVID12, agreed that I am never going to pay for an overpriced subscription, the only online stuff i use now and again is spotify and pandora and all the internet radio stations. I buy most of my cd,s on ebay or amazon at around $3.29 to $3.99 free shipping or scour the flea markets when in the mood at $1 to $2 a pop.
Not ready to embrace the idea of "buying" music that I cannot actually hold in my hands just yet.......
jond's avatar
jond
5,845 posts
 
Sorry but you guys are wrong about Tidal its the total opposite of a rip off. Think of it this way how much do you spend a month on cds? In my heyday of buying cds I would easily spend $100 a month. Now for $20 I have essentially 250,000 or however many titles are on Tidal, probably more for the price of two $10 cds. I see that as a bargain as do most who've tried it and its cd quality and now some hi-rez stuff as well.
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