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Music Server VS Laptop

I'm asking this question because I have no idea. Is there a benefit to buying a music server over just using a laptop? Today is my second day of streaming from a Western Digital 2 TB network drive with my laptop using Foobar 2000. Laptop is connected to my Audiolab 8200CDQ with a USB type A - type B cable. I'm able to play 24bit/96khz and I think it sounds great, but I have no idea if I'm somehow comprimising my listening experience with this set up. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
donjr
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,373 posts
 
Laptop is perfectly fine as a music server. The connection to the DAC is what matters in terms of sound. I like to use a wireless connection to a network player like Squeezebox and then run to DAC from there if desired. This helps isolate the devices making the music from the computer which is a good insurance policy.

donjr OP
1,335 posts
 
Thanks for the great answers. I've been using flac format. Not sure if that's what I should be using but it seems to be working fine.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,373 posts
 
FLAC is a good choice.
donjr OP
1,335 posts
 
Thanks Mapman. That's good news. I'm using Exact Audio Copy to rip CD's to my network drive. It seems to work very well.
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highend64
277 posts
 
Donjr, where can I download Exact Audio Copy?
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