Super-Gonzo
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Posts
- 137
- Likes
- 10
Hi guys and gals, long time reader, first time poster.
Early warning: this is a long post. I can't help it, I love talking about this stuff too much!
So, on to the topic of discussion: I'd really like some feedback from people who have taken the plunge, and ditched their cd players. Permanently.
There has been a lot of discussion here around this topic, but I'd like to consider it from a different perspective: instead of using a computer as the source, what about a dedicated, networked device (like the product from Roku, mentioned below.)
First some background:
I've been using compressed audio formats (mp3, mpc, wm9) for some time now, mostly for portable and work listening. The convenience of compressed audio is hard to deny. Playlists, random selection, having all my music available instantly, among many other traits, make it a very attractive medium.
Unfortunately, when it comes to serious listening, the quality has always been lacking. In 2 areas really:
1. lossy formats: I've gotten quite good at getting decent sound from mp3's using EAC and LAME, but there is still a perceived difference between the compressed audio and the original. If there is more music detail available to me, I loathe to give it up.
2. hardware: I know some of you have seen good results using a high grade sound card or using digital output through an external DAC, but for me, the sound of a computer in the same room is simply too distracting to make these solutions work. With open ear headphones like hd600's, this absolutely ruins the detail of quiet passages.
Fast forward to current day:
So what to do? I want the convenience of having a central library for all my music, without giving up the quality associated with the original cd, and dedicated listening equipment.
Recently, I've become aware of products like the roku soundbridge. (Its a long list, as this seems to be a popular type of product right now... the squeezebox, turtlebeach audiotron, etc.)
www.rokulabs.com/products/soundbridge
www.slimp3.com
www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/audiotron
The Roku unit in particular seems very attractive to me:
- It can play lossless formats (FLAC, WAV) among others, streamed over a network from a server.
- It has digital outs (coax and optical)
- It can be controlled via a web page or with a remote, and has a really nice screen (a good interface is a must when sorting through one's entire music collection)
- It can be configured to work on a wifi or wired network
So I've been thinking, why not rip my entire collection to a large hard drive, in a loss-less format like FLAC, and stream all the music to a remote device like the roku? I could then hook it up to my DAC via the digital out. I'd keep the server in a completely different room, so my listening environment should be supremely quiet. (I wouldn't even have to listen to the CD spin up any more!)
Of course, there are always concerns about the quality of the digital signal. But, it occurs to me that a solution like this would be at an advantage over a traditional cd player, as the data is buffered on the local device (the roku has 16mb's of memory) and the error correction reading from the original physical storage medium (the cd) has already been done. If using appropriate software (like EAC) to rip the CD, this error correction has most likely been done to a much greater extent than a typical cd player would ever be able to perform.
These traits would seem to lower the jitter normally associated with reading a cd. In reality this is probably more dependent on the implementation of the actual circuitry, but at a cursory glance, it seems to have an advantage.
Mostly, this idea excites me, because it allows me to use a really good external DAC, which is (in my opinion) the most important factor in determining the sound quality from a given source, given an equal medium.
For those of you that are curious, my current setup looks like this:
Rotel 85? CDP -> MSB Link III DAC -> PPA -> HD600
So, who else has considered doing something like this?
Are there any hidden gotchas that I'm not thinking of?
Has anyone used any of the products mentioned above? (I don't think Roku's unit will be out until the end of Feb., but the turtle beach audiotron has been around for a while.)
and the MOST important question: Will the resulting sound be as good as or better than it would be from a good CDP?
Early warning: this is a long post. I can't help it, I love talking about this stuff too much!
So, on to the topic of discussion: I'd really like some feedback from people who have taken the plunge, and ditched their cd players. Permanently.
There has been a lot of discussion here around this topic, but I'd like to consider it from a different perspective: instead of using a computer as the source, what about a dedicated, networked device (like the product from Roku, mentioned below.)
First some background:
I've been using compressed audio formats (mp3, mpc, wm9) for some time now, mostly for portable and work listening. The convenience of compressed audio is hard to deny. Playlists, random selection, having all my music available instantly, among many other traits, make it a very attractive medium.
Unfortunately, when it comes to serious listening, the quality has always been lacking. In 2 areas really:
1. lossy formats: I've gotten quite good at getting decent sound from mp3's using EAC and LAME, but there is still a perceived difference between the compressed audio and the original. If there is more music detail available to me, I loathe to give it up.
2. hardware: I know some of you have seen good results using a high grade sound card or using digital output through an external DAC, but for me, the sound of a computer in the same room is simply too distracting to make these solutions work. With open ear headphones like hd600's, this absolutely ruins the detail of quiet passages.
Fast forward to current day:
So what to do? I want the convenience of having a central library for all my music, without giving up the quality associated with the original cd, and dedicated listening equipment.
Recently, I've become aware of products like the roku soundbridge. (Its a long list, as this seems to be a popular type of product right now... the squeezebox, turtlebeach audiotron, etc.)
www.rokulabs.com/products/soundbridge
www.slimp3.com
www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/audiotron
The Roku unit in particular seems very attractive to me:
- It can play lossless formats (FLAC, WAV) among others, streamed over a network from a server.
- It has digital outs (coax and optical)
- It can be controlled via a web page or with a remote, and has a really nice screen (a good interface is a must when sorting through one's entire music collection)
- It can be configured to work on a wifi or wired network
So I've been thinking, why not rip my entire collection to a large hard drive, in a loss-less format like FLAC, and stream all the music to a remote device like the roku? I could then hook it up to my DAC via the digital out. I'd keep the server in a completely different room, so my listening environment should be supremely quiet. (I wouldn't even have to listen to the CD spin up any more!)
Of course, there are always concerns about the quality of the digital signal. But, it occurs to me that a solution like this would be at an advantage over a traditional cd player, as the data is buffered on the local device (the roku has 16mb's of memory) and the error correction reading from the original physical storage medium (the cd) has already been done. If using appropriate software (like EAC) to rip the CD, this error correction has most likely been done to a much greater extent than a typical cd player would ever be able to perform.
These traits would seem to lower the jitter normally associated with reading a cd. In reality this is probably more dependent on the implementation of the actual circuitry, but at a cursory glance, it seems to have an advantage.
Mostly, this idea excites me, because it allows me to use a really good external DAC, which is (in my opinion) the most important factor in determining the sound quality from a given source, given an equal medium.
For those of you that are curious, my current setup looks like this:
Rotel 85? CDP -> MSB Link III DAC -> PPA -> HD600
So, who else has considered doing something like this?
Are there any hidden gotchas that I'm not thinking of?
Has anyone used any of the products mentioned above? (I don't think Roku's unit will be out until the end of Feb., but the turtle beach audiotron has been around for a while.)
and the MOST important question: Will the resulting sound be as good as or better than it would be from a good CDP?
