audiophile music servers the latest products, info

how can anybody spend $6k to $20k for a music server that doesn't sound any better than a pc based server at 1/3 to 1/10 the cost? i have had a few people go the route that i have gone instead of purchasing the qsonix and sooloos systems. the only thing you get with the sooloos system is a touch screen. big deal. the interface is the same as itunes 8 and itunes gives you more flexibilty. also, these 2 systems do not allow you to surf the web or do other multi-tasking tasks while playing music. either of these systems by themselves sound terrible without using an external dac, same with using a computer. if all you want is a touchscreen, by all means, spend the $$$, but you wil not increase the quality of your music unless you spend $$$$ on a good external dac (and jitter device).

i read the stereophile review about the sooloos system and i thought it was a joke. the reviewer complained about pc's/macs being to complicated to setup and the interface of the sooloos allows him to sit on the couch and enjoy the music. isn't this the same magazine that swears by vinyl and isn't setting up a turntable correctly more involved than hooking up a simple mac mini? and doesn't it take more effort to playback vinyl than anything else? either this reviewer was under the age of 7 or over the age of 80. go to any apple store and watch the kids under 10 years old operate a macintosh and play with itunes.

Rbstehno, there is enormous convenience to some music servers, but it comes at a cost, as you say, in money but also in realism. I first heard a VRS server about seven years ago and it was awful, but about three years later it was very much improved and its convenience was evident.

Since then I have used my Macs with and without external dacs, typically USB connected. I have heard six different specifically music directed music servers RCA connection. Furthermore they minimize the processing within the processor. My only real complaint is that I still want to play sacds.

You paint with too broad a brush. There are music servers that are clearly better than computer based systems, but not all of them are.

You might want to try the wadia i170 its great. I had it modded by greatnorthern sound co. I have it hooked up to my ensemble hi dac, the wadia replaced my bel canto cd-2 and it sound just as good.

I just posted this in another response, but feel it is just as pertinent here.
I have been using a Memory Player for the last two years. About six months ago the Build 7 upgrade was implemented which takes the performance to an even higher level. I have yet to find a mechanical transport that will outperform the MP.
Read what www.stereotimes.com and www.positive-feedback.com
have to say.
Mark Porzilli, the designer, uses techniques that are unique in a high-end consumer product.
First, he has implemented RUR, Read-Until-Right, a technique that the pros use for certain applications. RUR re-reads the CD many times until it gets the data contained on the CD right. Second, the Error Correction Code is eliminated because Mark believes the Reed- Solomon ECC corrupts the audio related digital data. Third, the playback takes place from a solid-state or "flash" memory.
And that is what he is willing to reveal about the design of the MP. My guess would be that there are a few other tricks of his that he will not discuss in order to maintain his competitive edge. Since the MP is his invention, why reveal everything.
The MP is a very special product unlike anything - mechanical transport or CD player - that is out there today. All Music Servers provide access and selection features that outdo the MP in the area of ease of use, but none, to my knowlege, are likely to approach the MP sonically.
You should also read the response of Rcprince to "Any updates on the Nova Memory Player (10-29-08)" in another Memory Player inquiry. He is an actual owner of an MP and has done very careful comparisons to CD transports and players.

Boulder has a product similar to the Memory Player called the 1021 but it does not store music. The key is playback from solid-state or "flash" memory and DSP/Upsampling in the software domain.

The advantage of these types of devices over a Squeezebox as a transport setup is, I would imagine, audiophile build quality and power supplies. Discrete power circuity and a better power supply, audiophile grade wiring and digital outputs are what will distinguish really good server transports from true audiophile grade devices.

Theoretically you could build your own "server" using a home theater PC chasis. You could build a music server PC in a home theater profile for under $1000. But, the problem is, you have cooling fans, 7200RPM hard drives spinning, powerful multicore processors and graphics processing units, and a whole host of motherboard chipset devices humming away in the same chasis as your digital outputs. The potential for interference and noise is horrifying.

In my view, the ideal device is a very simple Squeezebox type device with no onboard DAC that can handle 96khz files, accepts an external word clock and has the component build quality of an audiophile CD transport. The Transporter does not quite fit the bill although it is very close.