Music servers

[photoman]

Love to get a high quality digital music server incorporated into my Classe system. I've currently got a Mac Mini via an optical cable into my gear and while it's ok (it sucks really) I'd like to get a decent sounding unit. Any of you folks have any experience with the various makes and models?

Thanks

[hifiguymi]

Most of it comes down to the compression rate that is used for the music that is stored. I sell both Escient and ReQuest and if you use the lossless compression they sound very good. At 320kbps MP3 they are quite good as well. Most computer programs like iTunes or Windows Media default at a lower bit rate for encoding so people can get more songs on their hard drive.

The biggest thing I would focus on is the user interface. I like the Escient user interface myself, but try a couple out and see what you think.

Eric

[audioqueso]

I'm not sure what would work with a Mac. I use Chaintech AV710 (same hardware as Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1) since it can output optical/coax without resampling using ASIO. I have all my CDs ripped lossless (Monkey or FLAC). So once it hits my processor, it's a bit-by-bit copy of my CD. I've compared my media server to my Pioneer Elite with the actual CD. With both using the optical connection, I can not here any difference at all.

Just FYI, I've tested out different compressions (Windows Lossless, Monkey, Lame, etc) in my setup. Biggest difference has not been between codecs, but the biggest difference has been Lossless vs Non-Lossless. Even at 320kbps, you can hear a big difference between lossless and non on a high end system. If you can, rip your music using Lossless. For casual around the house listening, you can't really tell THAT much. But if you're sitting down and listening to music, you will hear that compressed takes away from the soundstage of the music. That's the biggest difference for me. Second would be bass. Non-lossless seems to take out on some strange freqs in the lower bass.

[yannparis]

My solution is to use Sonos products.

To build a system, you need a least:
> a NAS ( HDD + network) or a PC
> a small Sonos zone player ZP80 (up to 32)
> a bi directional Sonos remote control
> It is wireless. You do not need to have a noisy HDD in your room.

Sonos zone player has an internal low-cost converter, so you must use a SSP-600 or a separate converter (Benchmark DAC1 is a great one, thanks to exceptional jitter rejection).
I do not consider that Classe’s current DAC generation (I own a SSP-600) are in line with the top DACs available on the market. I would like to have better resolution, ‘lights’ and micro-dynamics on the SSP-800

Sonos offers an iPod like interface. The remote control displays all the information including graphics. Your record library is structured (artist, etc…). It is easier to use Sonos than a CD player!
You have two bonus: you can easily listen to podcast and or radio.

Regards

Yann

[skuzzyb]

I would suggest this unit www.olive.us. Or alternatively, build a NAs and use a slim device product, specifically, the transporter. www.slimdevices.com

[luvdozer]

I would suggest this unit www.olive.us. Or alternatively, build a NAs and use a slim device product, specifically, the transporter. www.slimdevices.com

i read a review of the Olive with some interest, my only concern with music servers in general is that all hard drives will fail eventually. When the hard drive on an Olive Opus fails, can they swap it out like they do on my lap top or do I have to purchase a whole new unit?

[OttoMatic]

I would imagine that a hard drive swap would depend on the warranty of the drive and/or the warranty of the Olive device.

For that reason (drive failure), I use a RAID 1 for my photos and music in a simple server in my basement.

If you drive fails irreparibly, then neither Olive nor the drive manufacturer will be able to retrieve your data.

You can also back up as needed to ensure data integrity.

[eddiespaghetti]

Something to consider is expandability. I looked into music servers a few months ago and some of the models were not expandable, or you had to buy the hard drive from the manufacturer. I have stopped looking at dedicated servers, and will either use networked storage or a dedicated PC (which I can expand as I need), and use one of the offerings from Slim Devices or Roku as the interface.

[Blindamood]

i read a review of the Olive with some interest, my only concern with music servers in general is that all hard drives will fail eventually. When the hard drive on an Olive Opus fails, can they swap it out like they do on my lap top or do I have to purchase a whole new unit?

The Olive units (Opus, Musica, and Symphony) now support the use of any external hard disk for backup purposes (used to be they supported proprietary drives only, but not anymore). I currently have the Musica and love it. I have a 200GB drive that I leave permantently connect via a USB port on the back of the Musica, and I perform manual backups every so often, especially after I've loaded a number of new CDs.

I would imagine (hope?) that Olive could easily swap out the internal drive in the case of failure, and then I could easily reload my tunes from the external drive.

[skuzzyb]

I do agree that expandability is limited when you get such a device, hence the option of using something like the transporter with a NAS. How many individuals realistically have more that 400GB of music? Although saying that, if you rip everything lossless, which I would highly recommend, it does chew through space very quickly. If you have a multiroom music system such as the Speakercraft MZCxx or similar (Niles, Russound, etc) then you should look at one such as the Speakercraft MODE jukebox. The drives on the new olives are still PATA (IDE) drives(I think), which are still quite available, albeit less so than the SATA drives. Given the option that you can create backups from the unit, it minimizes the risk of you losing all your data as long as you have a regular back up schedule.

Good luck with your choices.

[photoman]

Really good information guys. Thank you