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Music Servers-Why so few?

With the explosion of Dacs and discussions of computer audio one would think the server market would flourish as well. Where are all of the "big" names and their offerings? They can certainly produce Dacs. With the exception of Bryston, it seems the small companies are the only ones who offer something and then its a crapshoot as to who will be able to answer an email or have a decent website with useful information. Where are they?
stl114_nj
stl114_nj OP
94 posts
 
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.
bondmanp
1,832 posts
 
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.
kennythekey
593 posts
 
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.
stl114_nj OP
94 posts
 
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....
kennythekey
593 posts
 
The SBT plugs into your router directly or wirelessly. It then can find any drives connected to your router and play music from them. Right now, it plays music in my listening room from files that are stored in my Music folder of my computer in my office.

I will add a NAS and hang it off my router where I will store my audio files and redirect the SBT to play from there.

The SBT has a built-in DAC but I don't use it because its sound is not very good. However, the SBT has digital outputs that bypass its internal DAC to hook to your own DAC. I use the coax one.

Logitech now has Media Server for the SBT that is installed on a computer such as the one in my office. This means that the SBT only works if Media Server is running, so your computer must be turned on to play the SBT. There is an option, for installing a Squeezebox Server module directly on the NAS, so you do not need to have your computer turned on.
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