Lincolnbaggie Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Right chaps; I'm old school - turntable/amp/CD for music and 7.1 HD system for movies already acquired at great expense over the last 20 years all of which I'm keeping, but...... I've got 1000s of CDs all clogging up my space which I want to put into storage and now that HD music downloads are available I'm thinking of entering the 21st century in the way of digital music. I can rip all my CDs (it will take a while but it's possible), but I'm getting confused with what else I need. Sound quality is the most important thing for me. I want to listen through my existing two channel amp/stereo speaker set-up (as it cost a small fortune and so I can continue with the turntable) and only in one room and only one thing at a time, so no need for a Sonos sytem etc. Also, I only have wireless internet at the moment (no ethernet ports as I'm on a dongle in Portugal) so a NAS is probably out as is streaming from the computer as that is only used for work and switched off at 6pm every day. I'm guessing I need a dedicated stand-alone music server (rather than a streamer) with a decent amount of hard disk space and a decent DAC to sit between that and the amp? Anyone with any expertise in this area can give me any pointers? I've no idea what does what these days on the digital side of things or what equipment there is out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatooandy67 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Have you thought about maybe ripping your cd collection on to a pc then transferring the files on to an iPod/MP3 player which you could then plug into your amp Edited November 28, 2014 by tatooandy67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincolnbaggie Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 Have you thought about maybe ripping your cd collection on to a pc then transferring the files on to an iPod/MP3 player which you could then plug into your amp Not sure you can get mp3 players with the kind of storage space I'd need; plus I want to use the highest quality files (HD downloads) I can and I'm not sure the DACs in most mp3 players are any good? I want my CDs to sound as good as they currently do through my Creek CD player, and any downloads I make to be even better...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Right chaps; I'm old school - turntable/amp/CD for music and 7.1 HD system for movies already acquired at great expense over the last 20 years all of which I'm keeping, but...... I've got 1000s of CDs all clogging up my space which I want to put into storage and now that HD music downloads are available I'm thinking of entering the 21st century in the way of digital music. I can rip all my CDs (it will take a while but it's possible), but I'm getting confused with what else I need. Sound quality is the most important thing for me. I want to listen through my existing two channel amp/stereo speaker set-up (as it cost a small fortune and so I can continue with the turntable) and only in one room and only one thing at a time, so no need for a Sonos sytem etc. Also, I only have wireless internet at the moment (no ethernet ports as I'm on a dongle in Portugal) so a NAS is probably out as is streaming from the computer as that is only used for work and switched off at 6pm every day. I'm guessing I need a dedicated stand-alone music server (rather than a streamer) with a decent amount of hard disk space and a decent DAC to sit between that and the amp? Anyone with any expertise in this area can give me any pointers? I've no idea what does what these days on the digital side of things or what equipment there is out there. Neil, PM SMD, he's really into HD etc, he'll give you all the advice and help you need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllyB Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 This is funny, I just bought an arcam miniblink for my missus for Xmas, have a look they get good reviews but you will need a Bluetooth device to store the music on, eg tablet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllyB Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I've not really embraced the digital streaming age so this was a compromise so she can listen to music through the main house system, I'll be interested to see what the sound quality will be like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I am presuming that the two channel amp you want to use has no network connection capability? the trouble is when you start to rip you CD collection depending on the format it can take a lot of space...so big hard drives are needed for large connections, ideally you need something that can have a HD plugged in via USB or LAN, Most modern AV receivers are capable of this, and some use wifi as well, but not all are so good at music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comrade Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I'm guessing I need a dedicated stand-alone music server (rather than a streamer) with a decent amount of hard disk space and a decent DAC to sit between that and the amp? Looks like this is exactly what you need. You can build a small PC for around £250, that will meet your needs. You can get a mini-itx case that will accommodate a dedicated sound card and HDD's. Something like this http://www.ebuyer.com/392377-coolermaster-elite-120-advanced-mini-itx-case-rc-120a-kkn1 with this motherboard http://www.ebuyer.com/630832-gigabyte-ga-j1800n-d2h-intel-celeron-j1800-2-41ghz-vga-hdmi-hd-audio-mini-itx-motherboard-ga-j1800n-d2h +PSU, RAM, HDD's and sound card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllyB Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Or nirvana... https://www.naimaudio.com/streaming-and-multiroom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincolnbaggie Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 I am presuming that the two channel amp you want to use has no network connection capability? the trouble is when you start to rip you CD collection depending on the format it can take a lot of space...so big hard drives are needed for large connections, ideally you need something that can have a HD plugged in via USB or LAN, Most modern AV receivers are capable of this, and some use wifi as well, but not all are so good at music. Yep, current amp has no network connection (or digital inputs). I have a separate AV amp, but it's not good enough for stereo music. Storage wise I'm looking at at least 2 Terabytes at the bitrate I want... I'm guessing I need a dedicated stand-alone music server (rather than a streamer) with a decent amount of hard disk space and a decent DAC to sit between that and the amp? Looks like this is exactly what you need. You can build a small PC for around £250, that will meet your needs. You can get a mini-itx case that will accommodate a dedicated sound card and HDD's. Something like this http://www.ebuyer.co...se-rc-120a-kkn1 with this motherboard http://www.ebuyer.co...d-ga-j1800n-d2h +PSU, RAM, HDD's and sound card. Not sure about a separate PC; it would need to boot up in milliseconds and I'd have no display to see any of the library? Or nirvana... https://www.naimaudi...g-and-multiroom Exactly the kind of thing I'm looking at, but that is a streamer and I need storage, plus that has it's own amp built in and I want to use my existing amplification. The Olive 6 looks like the kind of thing I need http://www.digitaltr...ve-06hd-review/ but it is rather expensive..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Good to see you on the forum Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincolnbaggie Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 Good to see you on the forum Neil Hi Ken How you keeping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllyB Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I am presuming that the two channel amp you want to use has no network connection capability? the trouble is when you start to rip you CD collection depending on the format it can take a lot of space...so big hard drives are needed for large connections, ideally you need something that can have a HD plugged in via USB or LAN, Most modern AV receivers are capable of this, and some use wifi as well, but not all are so good at music. Yep, current amp has no network connection (or digital inputs). I have a separate AV amp, but it's not good enough for stereo music. Storage wise I'm looking at at least 2 Terabytes at the bitrate I want... I'm guessing I need a dedicated stand-alone music server (rather than a streamer) with a decent amount of hard disk space and a decent DAC to sit between that and the amp? Looks like this is exactly what you need. You can build a small PC for around £250, that will meet your needs. You can get a mini-itx case that will accommodate a dedicated sound card and HDD's. Something like this http://www.ebuyer.co...se-rc-120a-kkn1 with this motherboard http://www.ebuyer.co...d-ga-j1800n-d2h +PSU, RAM, HDD's and sound card. Not sure about a separate PC; it would need to boot up in milliseconds and I'd have no display to see any of the library? Or nirvana... https://www.naimaudi...g-and-multiroom Exactly the kind of thing I'm looking at, but that is a streamer and I need storage, plus that has it's own amp built in and I want to use my existing amplification. The Olive 6 looks like the kind of thing I need http://www.digitaltr...ve-06hd-review/ but it is rather expensive..... Scroll down the page a bit, the naim media servers are very good, they also have on-board CD drive to help with the ripping and 2tb of storage, but they are a big investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren-B Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 As papa said, speak to SMD or Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Is there not a service you can use to send CDs away and to be put onto a hard drive? I'm lazy and the thought of ripping 1000s of CDs sounds terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.