What do I need to set up digital music server?

"Audioengr, If one buys a real good, high quality player/server will one still need the reclocker? "

I'm afraid so, if you want it to be as good or better than your CD transport.

"Where is the reclocker located in the system?"

If you are using USB, then its a USB converter like the Off-Ramp 5, located between the computer USB output and the DAC coax input.

If you are using Sonos, Squeezebox, Apple TV or a digital docking station, then its a reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh, located between this source device coax output and the DAC coax input.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Steve, do you recommend use of a reclocker between disk player used as transport and DAC?

Yes. Unless you have a megabuck transport, the Synchro-Mesh reclocker will improve things. Particularly if you use the Dynamo power supply and my BNC cable.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

The Dell T5400 works pretty well as a server .($250.00on
Ebay) I am running JRivermedia. This 5400 has two dual core
2.66 gighz cpus. It will hold 8 gig of ram , but you need
to use windows 7 for it to recognize that much ram. My T5400
came with two 500 GIG SATA drives. It has a 970 watt
power supply. It will also run raid o,1,or 5 . Mine also
came with a ati 9250(I think ) with Vga out and S-video out
. I have it hooked to my Sony 55 inch TV. Theater mode works
great for large tvs on JRiver. I also downloaded and use the
Black on Black skin. Much easier on the eyes
Also i am using the Musical fidelity V-Link-2(a Usb to spdif
converter), which is not the best out there , but it isn't
the worst either. If you want good sound, you must use one
of these if your DAC does not offer Asynchronous USB input
I am running optical out of the V-Link to the optical input
of My Musical Fidelity M1 clic, then analog out to my pre.
It sounds pretty darn good. It has a lot more detail than my
Sony CDP-M555ES .Can be a little sharp if cranked up , but
it has pretty darn good bass , It could be better , but it
isn't bad. It just could be a little more prominent. It is
Taut and not at all Flabby.
I was able to get the M1 clic at a great price at Music
Direct (75 percent of off MSRP)
I would like to try the Arcam iRDAC.
Has anyone tried this DAC yet ?
Also curious to know if anyone uses the Digital Coaxial out
of the V-link instead of the optical out , and which you
like better.

"I don't have any HD files like that yet, but I would like to move in that direction. I'm stuck with iTunes compatibility"

You can still use iTunes as long as its on a Mac. Just combine with Amarra or Audirvana and you will have a great sounding player. Use XLD to rip to .wav for best results.

For PC, avoid iTunes at all cost for music playback. Get Jriver instead and maybe improve it by adding JPLAY. Rip CDs with dbpoweramp to .wav format for best results.

The MOST IMOPORTANT thing with digital audio is to minimize jitter from the digital source. The best way to do this is to reclock the datastream or use a good quality stand-alone Async USB converter like the Off-Ramp 5.

More tips:

www.empiricalaudio

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Thanks, but it went over my head especially the stuff on your web page. Ouch I feel even less smart now.

I think I just stick with what I have for now. I really don't want to buy a stand alone DAC when I have pretty decent DACs in the Marantz AV8801 and the Oppo BDP-95. I'll just copy files to a USB drive and plug and play when I want to do critical listening. I'm not going to set up a music server at this time, mainly due to the cost of a DAC but also due to my ineptitude in this sort of thing.

Also, is it just me or does HDtracks not sell any singles (or very few)? Seems to be albums only. I'm not really interested in buying all my CDs again...