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How do you get from Server to Stereo?

post #1 of 28
9/26/09 at 10:43pm
Thread Starter 
So you've got a PC and all your files are on it. You don't put it in your listening room and plug it straight into your stereo. Too noisy. Too big.

So you put a wireless router on it.

Now, you have SOMETHING sitting next to your stereo that connects to that wireless network and lets you play your files.

What's the SOMETHING?

Another PC? Like a laptop?

Or are their dedicated devices for this? What are they called? I was just reading about something like this, they kept calling it a SERVER. But it obviously wasn't, the files reside on and are SERVED BY the PC.

Obviously, another beginner question here. I'm suprised I can't find more articles/posts about this end of the 'streaming music system'.
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post #2 of 28
9/26/09 at 10:52pm
Logitech Squeezebox Product Overview

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post #3 of 28
9/26/09 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule View Post
me too
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post #4 of 28
9/26/09 at 11:08pm
Thread Starter 
So it's called a Squeezebox? No, that's like a kleenix. What's the GENERIC name for this thing? Like, 'preamplifier'.

It doesn't appear there is one.

But back to this Squeezebox thing. Looks like we're looking at a Squeezebox classic AND a controller (I love it when you buy a piece of hi-fi gear and the CHARGE YOU for the remote control). My first google shows $300 for the Squeezbox and $200 (LET ME REPEAT - TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A REMOTE CONTROL).

Five hundred bucks buys you a nice little laptop.

I can see this is going to be complicated.

I'd still like to know what the generic name for these things is.

THIS looks interesting:

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000F8H...KC9QHMHQ9QTDR2



Thanks for the replies. Figuring out how to rip things is a little complicated. But this...this is going to be a PITA.
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post #5 of 28
9/26/09 at 11:17pm
The squeezebox classic comes with a remote control included. $300 total is all you need to spend (may be cheaper now - I bought mine a few years ago). It is an awesome device. I use mine mainly for streaming audio from the internet (Pandora and Rhapsody), not files on my computer. Excellent sound quality, especially if you use the digital output to drive an external DAC. But the internal DAC is pretty decent also.
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post #6 of 28
9/27/09 at 1:08am
What about something like the Audioengine W1 ... $149 at Amazon.

Audioengine - Upgrade your music
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post #7 of 28
9/27/09 at 3:31am
Apple's Airport Express works well too. It will do analogue or digital output too, which is a bonus if you have a nice DAC.
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post #8 of 28
9/27/09 at 4:31am
Apple - AirPort Express
Paired up with an external DAC (optional) it makes quite a nice wireless audio source.
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post #9 of 28
9/27/09 at 4:35am
You "generic" name is a Media Streamer.

The squeezebox is probably the way to go, here. Sure, $500 buys you a nice laptop, or a phenomenal pair of shoes, but the laptop output is just as noisy as the computer you put in the other room, and you have to get up to change the song every time.

A media streamer with a good remote lets you access thousands of files from your chair, or the next room, or anywhere you please. The squeezebox "remote" also shows album art, playlists, etc. If you don't want this, why not just use a cd player?
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post #10 of 28
9/27/09 at 5:56am
But I wanted a real computer in the listening room, not just a streamer. So I can surf, etc. The answer was a totally silent PC: no fan, and a RAM drive.

Absolutely no noise, and you just mount (over your home network) your big music server located in another room. 'Cause the RAM drive is only 32GB, and you want access to the .5 TB drive on the big guy.

This was not my idea -- it was the first thing I learned from some nice poster here on head-fi in 2008.

Many fine brands of totally silent PCs -- Hush, Stealth, etc. But I strongly recommend these guys:

cappuccinopc.com : we design, integrate and manufacture small form factor PCs . Our feature products are mini pc, small pc, book pc and cube pc that fit into all environment and applications like kiosk, POS, vehicle , medical and more…. Some a

You pay more, but you get a lot more. Your choice of music player, etc. And the output on whatever beautiful LCD screen you have in your listening room -- I use a Samsung that is the same device I watch concert DVDs on (it has a handy built in video source selector -- HDMI vs VGA vs DVI vs Composite vs Component vs S-video, as most of these do).
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post #11 of 28
9/27/09 at 6:18am
The Mac Mini is fanless as well. And with an SSD it's completely silent. It may even be cheaper than the Hush or Cappuccino.

As others mentioned, the Airport Express works as a wireless music playback device, and will sync with the playback from iTunes. So you can have a PC in one room, and the Airport Express in another, and they will play synchronized music. (And you can remote control the whole thing from an iPhone.)

(I feel like an Apple zealot. I'm really not. It's just a good solution for this particular problem.)

Also, the Dell Mini 9 netbook is completely silent. I just ordered one for that exact reason.
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post #12 of 28
9/27/09 at 6:41am
MacMini is quiet but not fan-less. With the music hard disks in another room it is barely audible.
If you already have an ipod Touch / iPhone then I think the Airport Express is the cheapest way to noiseless streaming music.
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post #13 of 28
9/27/09 at 7:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by barleyguy View Post
The Mac Mini is fanless as well. And with an SSD it's completely silent. It may even be cheaper than the Hush or Cappuccino.
Wrong! The Mac mini sure have a fan...
That said the Mac mini is very quiet though.

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post #14 of 28
9/27/09 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherwood View Post
You "generic" name is a Media Streamer.

The squeezebox is probably the way to go, here. Sure, $500 buys you a nice laptop, or a phenomenal pair of shoes, but the laptop output is just as noisy as the computer you put in the other room, and you have to get up to change the song every time.
The Squeezebox is NOT $500. $300 for the classic that comes with a standard IR remote. You can even use an ipod touch or iphone with 3rd party software as a fancier remote that is equal to the SB Controller.

The Sonos that the OP points to does REQUIRE an expensive remote to use it, this is not true for the SB. However the Sonos is probably a simplier solution for the less techy, the SB does require some thought and reading to work properly for you.
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post #15 of 28
9/27/09 at 12:54pm
That's assuming you have an ipod touch or an iphone already. If not, it comes out to the same price.

In any case, I can surmise that the OP is looking for something significantly less expensive than even $300, which is why I was trying to illustrate the value.
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