Music Alchemist
Pokémon trainer of headphones
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2013
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Well, I guess the real question comes down to if you'd prefer the sound and features offered by the proprietary hardware, or if a regular computer with an off-the-shelf DAC/amp combo is preferable for you. I'm afraid I can't answer that question, only you can. If you prefer the latter, THEN I can be useful to you.
Sound and price being equal, I'd choose the music server; but most of those servers are crazy expensive, so a desktop PC is a more viable option for the time being.
Yeah, but it WILL cost more to do it that way, and you have to limit yourself to one site to do that. The advantage of PCPartpicker is it lets you buy from a variety of e-tailers to get the best value on each product in the configuration. It factors in shipping and rebates, too. But to take advantage of this feature, you need to buy from a patchwork cluster of stores, and that means assembling it yourself. You COULD limit yourself to one store, but expect both a fee for assembly and a price hike over if you take the DIY route instead. Preference. Value, or convenience?
This would be more of an issue if I wasn't pursuing the cheapest, most stripped-down computer possible that would do the job of storing and playing music just as well as an expensive computer. My only other requirement would be that it has a sufficient cooling system so as to prevent overheating. Any recommendations are appreciated!
P.S.: As an all-around PC builder, I feel inclined to point out that sound quality and features to one side, a regular computer can be used for other things, too, in a pinch. (Ex.: The laptop's heating issue finally does it in.) Web browsing, PC gaming if you ever get into it, graphic design, editing your audio, etc. I know that's not what you're getting this for, but it's something you might want to factor into your decision. Whatever the device is, you're gonna be throwing at least a fair amount of cash into it. A well-rounded purchase might just prove a better investment, long-term. Like, what sold me on the FiiO X5 wasn't just its amazingly good sound quality, it was its rich featureset. Tons of potential storage, a durable, tactile mechanical clickwheel which I REALLY liked, flexibility with regards to file formats, high durability, and it came bundled with a ton of extra stuff. If it was about a hundred bucks cheaper and had standard-quality audio, I'd probably have still been happy with it.
True, but since I'm going for the most affordable available solution, I can just get a high-end custom PC when the time comes.
(Plus I have plenty of other computers for backup anyway.)