Music Servers-Why so few?

Koestner- Glad to hear the PK90 is working out. Its the one I have the most interest in. I did hear back from Auraliti, a very nice reply about 7 business days later. I asked some followup questions and am still waiting....

I think about $800 is the max a server should cost without the ripper which I do on my pc using DB Poweramp. I guess the most recent alternative to this server is using my laptop with Jplay which has emerged as a front runner in the PC software arena.

I dont really want the PC in my rack and like the simplicity and purpose of a dedicated server.

Kenneythekey- How much can be saved building yourself? The turnkey version is certainly no bargain cost wise. The downside is running windows IMO. I would rather have a rudimentary interface and have linux do the work in the background knowing that I dont have to optimize settings or check to see nothing has changed.

I have been very pleased with my VortexBox appliance, a dedicated Linux computer that rips, stores and plays FLAC files. It costs about $400, but if you have an old computer, and you know what you're doing, the software is free. There is excellent support via the VortexBox on line forums, which I have gone to for help and gotten it many times. I have mine networked onto my home router, and playback is through a Squeezebox Touch, and coaxial DAC. No USB issues to worry about. The biggest PITA is editing the tags, which are a problem on my many home-made CD-Rs. But I use MP3tag on a laptop, and type away while I listen to music. Not so bad. Perhaps formats will change again, but I will live only so long.

Stl114_nj - I think the built price is competitive with DIY costs. Some opt for DIY for the experience and later have no trouble with doing upgrades.

I also use a Squeezebox Touch as a player, and I'm in the process of adding a 2-bay NAS to store my audio files. I will then use any one of my existing computers to download and/or rip my files to the NAS for playback by SBT.

Down the road, I may add an external HDD that the NAS will backup to, and play the files from the HDD that's directly connected to a new music server. However, I'm liking the Touch and I use coax to my DAC.

Bondmanp= How does the Vortexbox integrate with the Squeezebox? I kind of dismissed the SB as I thought the resolution maxed at 24/96. I dont have much higher res stuff, mostly ripped CD's but still want to hear what the highest rez sounds like.

Kennythekey-so the SB will pull the music from the NAS? Just trying to picture what I need to go with the SB. I have a nice DAC with USB, coas and toslink. I need a computer running SB and does it stream wireless?

Guess I need to do some more research....