Squeze Box Question

This is exactly why I want to go this route: Have all my music in one place, not worry about the type of computer or the sound card, and be able to have music anywhere I want in the house! Thanks for everyone's responses. PS, have not decided to go Mac or PC yet, but I can get a PC with screaming processing speed for a fraction of what an equivalent Mac would cost. I believe I'd have to go MacPro and spend about 4K to process AVCHD files. Not really in the budget! I know PCs are far from elegant, and I love Mac products. I'd rather spend my money on the stereo!!

Swanny,

Toshiba Satellite Vista laptop with Windows Media Player as the server program and 300 Gb disk or larger and 3 Gb memory like mine costs about $800 and works well. My family uses it for other things while it is serving up music over the wireless connection to the ROku. Very cost effective!

I'm sure a Mac could work as well or even better perhaps but they are pricier.

One note of caution: A music server has the potential to really impact an already obsessive personality (i.e.: audiophiles). You WILL obsessively spend, or want to spend, time on setting up your system.

MapMan(or anybody who wants to pitch in), I don't know what you mean by what computers may sound good ? If I am using a PC, to a good USB DAC like Benchmark or similar,the hard drive based music files, thru a program like ITunes or similar should sound, well great no ?
I understand the extra features from something like the squeezebox, but I also wonder about another compotent in the chain and the wireless part, if that will/could have any negative impact on sound ?

I also see there are more then one version of the squeezebox, and just now see it is a logitech product ? I thought it was slim devices ?

Thanks again, Wayne

"If I am using a PC, to a good USB DAC like Benchmark or similar,the hard drive based music files, thru a program like ITunes or similar should sound, well great no ?"

I think the answer is maybe, depending on exact computer configuration. My understanding is that not all computer USB setups are equivalent in terms of sound quality for various reasons. Variability with USB connections is a key problem area as I understand it from others.

"I understand the extra features from something like the squeezebox, but I also wonder about another compotent in the chain and the wireless part, if that will/could have any negative impact on sound ?"

No impact. Only the Squeezebox (for the clock) and DAC are involved in producing sound, similar to a transport and DAC. The computer is just a file server serving up bits to the Squeezebox and has no impact on sound quality. You just need a wireless or other network connection that is strong enough to get the bits to the Squeezebox in time prior to conversion otherwise re-buffering will occur and the sound will drop out until the needed bits are re-buffered in computer memory on the Squuezebox.

Two reasons why this particular configuration is a particularly reliable one for good sound:

1) the computer is not part of the process that creates the sound and

2) the bits needed are retrieved from physical memory on the Squeezebox or Soundbridge, which is faster and a more reliable process than reading from optical drive as in a CD transport.