ps audio bridge

Is there a Best Buy in your area? If so, go there and tell one of the sales reps (typically, they’re pretty knowledgeable) what you're trying to do…

1) Ask to look at Netgear routers, which are are pretty good and, for what you need, can be had for around $100.00.

2) There are a host of laptops available at Best Buy in the $400-450-range. You’ll want to have at least three-Gigs of RAM and a decent processor (talk to the sales rep)

3) You’ll need an external hard drive (maybe 1-2TB depending on the quantity of music you’ll be saving to files) - $100-range

4) Cat-6 (or Cat-7) cable (“Ethernet cable) from your router to the Bridge = “cheap” – say around $40

5) EAC (Exact Audio Copy) free software for ripping your CDs = Free download

So far, you’re in for less than $700! You can put more into the laptop if you prefer...

Kedoades:

I forgot to add something to the list. You'll need a control point (literally, something to control your Bridge-based music server with). With the money left over, you should purchase something like an iTouch (if you're going to dedicate it to your music server, you can very easily get by with only 8 Gigs - the least expensive - although, you can get a new one with 16 Gigs for around $200). Next, you can download the free controller software from PS Audio ("eLyric" - which is actually an app available via the iTunes App store).

Recap:

1) You need a router (WiFi) for your network.
2) you need a server (which is server software that you download on your new laptop - there are many, but PS Audio's EMM is free and sufficient for the time being ...visit the PS Audio forum to learn more).
3) You need a control point (which is the free controller app and the iTouch I spoke of above)
4) you need a renderer (which is the Bridge).

Connect the Bridge to the WiFi Router via Ethernet cable (Cat-6 or cat-7) / sink up the control point (your iTouch with the free eLyric app) to your WiFi network / load the server software to you lap top and point it to your external hard drive / rip your Cds via the free EAC software that you'll download from the internet onto your new laptop...

2chnlben, it is people like you that make audiogon a great place to learn and try new things, I thank you and everyone else so much for the help, and I will probably have more questions in the future, I can't wait to one day have all my disc (about 300 of them) ripped and easy to access, thanks again

No problem Kedoades...

Just about everyone who frequents this forum is happy to help out a fellow audiophile.

Remember that much of the necessary software is accessible free from the internet: "Ps Audio eLyric controller app" / "EAC software for ripping" / "PS Audio eLyric Music Manager (EMM)" for serving the files between the control point to the Bridge" / and even a free "FLAC frontend" for converting your CDs to FLAC files during the ripping process.

You'll ask questions...you'll get answers...you'll get a little frustrated, but at the same time, you'll have fun interacting with your system (consider it a big tweak)!

To be on the safe side I would stay away from EMM, and buy a copy of JRiver instead. Many users are having issues with EMM response times. You could be lucky and never have an issues, but it is not as robust as JRiver.