PC connection?

[UFObuster]

I have an old "work" laptop lying around and would like to experiment with it as a "music server" for my system. I have the RSP-1068 and supplied cable for PC to processor interconnect.

I just need a jump start on how this happens. User's manual suggests dealer support for software and "codes". Is this something I can just set-up myself?

Thanks for answers if you've done this.

Roger

[hifiguymi]

The computer cable that came with the RSP-1068 is for RS232 control or firmware updates. What you need if your going to use it for a music server is an audio cable to got from the computer to the RSP-1068. You can use the headphone output or a line output (perfered) if you have it. The best thing would be a digital cable if the PC had a digital output. Once you have the PC connected to the RSP-1068, just load your program of choice (ie iTunes) and some music and start playing.

Eric

[Redhawk]

There is a great item called Squeezebox that is about $300. It is a device that connects via ethernet to your computer and has either analog or optical outputs to attach to your receiver.

Combined with Music Jukebox Plus to rip cd's into FLAC files you can have your entire cd collection played from your computer without losing any quality.

MP3's are good but not on a decent stereo.

[dmcgowan]

UFO - what do you want it for? Background "noise" or an alternative to your CD player?

I have all of our CD collection ripped as (acceptable quality) 128kbps MP3s and this is fine for the iPod in the car and also for background music not critical listening. It is quick, easy and acceptable IMHO. The FLAC / lossless path no doubt gives you better quality but does appear to be more time consuming (I have only done a couple of CDs this way but sound is better for time invested). For MP3 background music I think a 3.5mm plug to 2RCA is fine, for FLAC / lossless then either the Squeezebox or any other digital solution is the way to go.

I am looking at Sonos for a multi-room system here and think a good first step is to look into how much effort it is to get the FLAC option "right first time". Seems like tagging and sorting can be a fair amount of work so best to know the best way first up.

If you just want to prove it works, all you need is a 3.5mm headphone to 2RCA cable, rip some CDs to MP3 and then use WM Player, WinAmp or anyone of the other players. Not that featured but you will then hear how it sounds.

[Redhawk]

For the uninitiated, the Jukebox Pro autonames cd's, it takes about 1 minute per cd. All you're doing is swapping them in and out of the tray. 350 cd's are about 200GB and take a few weeks to rip so plan accordingly. Worth it in the end to just do it right the first time.

[UFObuster]

Thanks so far for replies.
I know about using a simple audio cable out from the headphone jack and do so successfully for mp3. I was under the impression that it wouldn't do for an uncompressed audio file copy of a whole CD. That's my goal: putting a few dozen duplicate copies of CDs on the computer...then play back thru interconnect from PC to the RSP-1068. The 1068 comes with a cable with one end a RS232 (computer end) and the other an "ethernet" like connection which matches the I/O jack on the back of the 1068. The manual mentions using it for audio sources (with software...contact dealer, etc). There is a separate, covered input for software updates.

Back to original question: can this connector be used for playback of saved "whole" CDs for better quality sound....ie, using the 1068 to full advantage..not just mp3 playback (and not just using the disc player in the PC). I had the idea that music "servers" allowed for full-range lossless playback of CD copies. I should probably contact Rotel. Just thought someone on this board had already tried this.

Thanks again.

[dmcgowan]

Redhawk - thanks for the update - will have to look at Jukebox pro as all of the forums here re Sonos / Squeezebox seem to be dedicated to getting FLAC/lossless right first time? Either way we agree - better to find the right solution first than face redoing all of your CDs in a month when you realise the tagging was wrong!

[Redhawk]

Thanks so far for replies.
I know about using a simple audio cable out from the headphone jack and do so successfully for mp3. I was under the impression that it wouldn't do for an uncompressed audio file copy of a whole CD. That's my goal: putting a few dozen duplicate copies of CDs on the computer...then play back thru interconnect from PC to the RSP-1068. The 1068 comes with a cable with one end a RS232 (computer end) and the other an "ethernet" like connection which matches the I/O jack on the back of the 1068. The manual mentions using it for audio sources (with software...contact dealer, etc). There is a separate, covered input for software updates.

Back to original question: can this connector be used for playback of saved "whole" CDs for better quality sound....ie, using the 1068 to full advantage..not just mp3 playback (and not just using the disc player in the PC). I had the idea that music "servers" allowed for full-range lossless playback of CD copies. I should probably contact Rotel. Just thought someone on this board had already tried this.

Thanks again.

You will have to check with Rotel to find out if audio output can be sent through that cable. If there is a way definitely let us know but I'm under the impression that you cannot, that that cable is only for updating the reciever. You can play FLAC files using Winamp on the laptop and the headphone out to the RCA inputs on the receiver with a $5 radioshack cable.

[Kevin D]

Thanks so far for replies.
interconnect from PC to the RSP-1068. The 1068 comes with a cable with one end a RS232 (computer end) and the other an "ethernet" like connection which matches the I/O jack on the back of the 1068. The manual mentions using it for audio sources (with software...contact dealer, etc). There is a separate, covered input for software updates.

The covered input is just for the switches used in turning the input into the firmware update port.

It is strictly a control/program port, you will never get any music through it. Even though it's an ethernet style connector, only 3 pins are actually used.

The RSP-1068 can be operated from a computer
with audio system control software from
third-party developers.

Audio system control software being AMX, Crestron, Girder, etc.. It's even used with the RVE-1060 scaler, the scaler will turn on/off and switch inputs just from reading the ASCII feedback from the port.

\PC). I had the idea that music "servers" allowed for full-range lossless playback of CD copies. I should probably contact Rotel. Just thought someone on this board had already tried this.

Thanks again.

They do, but you still have to get the output to the 1068 in a conventional way, either analog or digital. Since you are going to use a old 'work' laptop, I'm guessing we can assume it's not going to have the greatest soundcard on it. I would highly suggest getting a decent USB soundcard that has an optical or coaxial output.

I believe the 1068 will do some form of bitstream decoding of MP3's only, but it still needs a digital connection from a sound card. Basically decoding 1/0's as a MP3 file rather then 1/0's of PCM sound signal.

Kevin D.

[Raptor550]

Check out LAME encodeing, I believe most programs can use it and auto tag. Also monkeys audio (.APE) I have been impressed with. Both should be lossless.

ps. 128 is not acceptable. If you paid more than $100 for a set of speakers you are cheating yourself out of a TON of quality. High grade rips are the absolute cheapest thing you can do to immediately improve your setup. My ears are not bad but not brag-worthy, but on music that has been mastered well I notice the difference between 196k and 320k. All orchestral music, blues, big band, etc should be at no less than 320, most live recordings should be no less then 196k IMO.

[Bostonears]

If you only have a few dozen CDs, you don't need to bother with any compressed formats. Just rip the CDs to WAV files, which are bit-for-bit identical to what's on the CD.

I also second the endorsement for Squeezebox. The configuration would be:
PC -> Ethernet cable -> Squeezebox -> Optical or Coaxial digital cable -> RSP-1068. The sound quality will be equal to using the digital output directly from a high end audio CD player, and you can operate everything by remote control (no need to use the PC keyboard).

[pinchofsalt]

An AppleTV is an alternative to a Squeezebox. It's about the same price and works with iTunes running on any PC on your home network. Rip your CDs using Apple lossless encoding, and there you go! Like the Squeezebox, it has a remote control; in addition to listening to music, you can watch videos, downloaded tv shows, and so on. AppleTV connects to one of the optical ports on your RSP-1068.

Enjoy!

[dmcgowan]

Just interested in the rationale for Sonos vs. Squeezebox? Is it just that Squeezebox is cheaper or more to it?

Thanks

[UFObuster]

Thanks again for comments.
Regarding Squeezebox or other similar devices: Do you need to "hard-wire" these devices by Ethernet cable to the PC (and then optical or coax to the processor) or will its wireless capability work as well? IE, is there sound quality loss when these devices are used in a wireless network with the PC? And I don't mean for mp3. What about FLAC or WAV full-size files for playback. I'm changing strategies and have decided to rip my better CDs to my big office hard-drive (room for it) into some "lossless" format if I'm not burdened with running wires thru walls to get to my 1068 processor (via Sqeezebox or similar).
The wireless option is very appealing but will it work as well?

[hifiguymi]

Wireless should be fine. The only thing you might have problems with would be buffering. The bigger the file, the more potential for buffering problems. It's the same with wired networks, but I've seen that happen more with wireless. It doesn't happen a lot however.

Eric

[PewterTA]

You shouldn't have a buffering problem at all with wireless unless you have too many things that would interfere with the signal (like potentially a microwave in between the two devices) or the device is too far away from the router/access point...but there should never be a buffering problem otherwise... at least not for lossless audio that is.

[BassThatHz]

Looks like you already have most of the equipment you need... another techno-geek alternative would be to:
1. Put Vista OS on the Work laptop
2. Install a good USB soundcard with lossless Digital Output
3. Hook the video ouput to your TV or Projector
4. Buy a good omnidirectional microphone and train the speech recognition software from your chair
5. Install a wireless Linksys network from your office box to the laptop
6. Map a network drive to your shared music folder
:stupidpc:

Once it's all set up and then just voice dictate to the media player of your choice to add whatever playlist files you want (music, video etc); never move a finger again. :tv:

You could even go as far as setting up user/group permissions to restrict content as needed.

I am not sure what kind of wireless transmissions those other devices are using, but PC connections typically use TCP/IP protocols which have packet and bit checking algorithms to prevent data loss. 802.11g usually has enough bandwidth to stream anything but HD video, for that you will need atleast 802.11n or gigabit wired.

I was able to stream a 1 gb vob dvd file 40ft from the office pc upstairs to the HTPC downstairs running PowerDVD using this method above (Dolby Digital and everything) and it works without any lag, if it can do that, it can handle audio no problem. :T

[pinchofsalt]

Two comments here. One about PCs and noise, the other about wireless reception.

I mentioned AppleTV earlier... That's how I access my CDs (ripped using Apple lossless encoding to my fileserver in my study. Before I did it that way, I had connected a PC in my living room directly to my old receiver (now replaced with an RSP-1068).

The PC is very very quiet as PCs go. In normal circumstances, most people wouldn't notice it as a sound source. But it is not completely silent - it does have fans running. If you listen carefully you can tell it is there. And knowing that bothered me during very quiet musical passages. (I mostly listen to classical recordings.) So I switched over to using AppleTV in my living room and either turning off my living room PC or putting it into sleep mode whenever I listen to music. The AppleTV has no fan, so it makes no noise. That may well be true for Squeezebox or other alternatives, but I don't know.

About wireless reception, the speed you get over a home network can depend on a number of factors other than distance. How many walls or floors/ceilings have to be traversed, what they are made of, even other RF sources can be factors. When I was using my livingroom PC to grab music from my fileserver and feed it to my old receiver, I had to fiddle with the iTunes buffer size to avoid gaps in playback. YMMV.

Good luck!