baumer

I don't have a lot to add since the iPad I'll be using is wrapped up under the tree for my wife! What I wanted to add was this; you can download the Kindle app for free and buy books off of Amazon for use on an iPad. There's no need to buy a Kindle separately. Doug

does have a fan. I have mine in the basement so noise isn't a problem. I can just barely hear it at approx. 10' away. I really like the UI for Netgear. It's easy to configure and use. It shows me how fast the fan is running, the status of the HDD's, etc... If there ever is a problem with anything, it can even be set up to send you an email so you can (hopefully) take care of the issue before it becomes a big problem. I've had mine for roughly three years and haven't had any issues, so I can't comment on their customer support. They do have a forum that addresses just about anything you can think of. If you want to check it out, you can find it at http://www.readynas.com/forum/. One of the main reasons I bought the NV+ was it's ability to have Squeezecenter preloaded onto it. This way I can stream music straight to my Duet. Please don't take this is as a sales pitch because there are many NAS products out there and you should take the time to get informed on many different models. Find out what will work for your situation. Hope this helps, Doug

I'm going to stick with my NV+ for now. It just does a great job in my situation. I am interested in getting a separate HDD, something like an Oyen Digital MiniPro, just for my music. I would then use my NV+ as a back for all my "stuff". I like the size of the MiniPro and the fact that it does FW800 is a bonus because I will be hooking up my Mac Mini to an external DAC via USB. I may wait a while when SSD's drop in price. I've heard that the speed factor with those is fantastic! Back to my NV+. Like I said before, It's been a great no hassle NAS for me and my computer audio needs. Hope this helps, Doug

Thanks for your nicely written, unbiased comments on the DAC2. You did leave me hanging with your last sentence though, "What's really interesting about the DAC2 is what happens when you remove the performance bottlenecks!" Care to elaborate? Doug

Mike, I love my NV+ and for the price you really can't beat it. They're much less expensive than the newer models. It works great for what I use it for. Primarily being back-ups and music streaming through my Squeezebox. If I were to upgrade, I would consider the Netgear Ultra 4. It runs on a 64-bit Intel processor and Netgear recently switched to a new platform which will allow back-ups, streaming video, etc... to run faster. I would imagine the firmware will be updated more regularly than the old platform as well. For me it would come down to the Ultra being more "future proof". Doug

Mike11, I have been using a Readynas NV+ for about three years now. I too was looking at the Drobo but went with Netgear because it came with Squeezecenter already installed. Since I use a Squeezebox Duet for my music it was the obvious choice for me. I have been very pleased with the NV+. I've heard some complaints about it not being very fast, but it works fine for my system. I really like the UI. It's very user friendly and easy to navigate. Mine came with 2X750GB HDD, but I will be adding a third drive soon because I'm running out of space. Netgear also has a very good community base so if you have a question or just want to learn more about it, the forum should have what you're looking for. I've been thinking about selling my NV+ to move up to one of their more current NAS systems, but love my NV+ so I'm still in the "thinking about it" stage. BTW, I use it with my Windows 7 system, but my son has been able to access it with his Mac as well. Doug

"He got kicks out of the fact that we briefly clipped the power surge protector of one of the amps, which clips at 8,000W..." I've lusted over McIntosh stuff for many years. Some day... To take a tour of the "mothership" would be a great experience.

I can't wait for your next installments! The dac's for these first two are only 16-bit. What would you recommend for 24/96? I've been looking at the PS Audio Digital Link III and the Wavelength Proton, but i'm sure there are many others out there that i haven't even heard of yet.<br /> <br /> Doug

Here's the one you want to check out. <br /> <br /> Musical Fidelity X-DACv8. <br /> <br /> Features Benefits:<br /> Four switchable digital inputs (one is USB).<br /> Tube/transitor output stage. <br /> Super low noise. <br /> Ultra low distortion. <br /> 24-bit 192K true upsampling.<br /> <br /> I saw one at my local dealer yesterday, but they didn't have it hooked up to anything! Nice huh? The only downfall i see is the $1599.00 price.<br /> <br /> Sorry, i don't know how to link to their website for you.<br /> <br /> Doug

Too much coffee this morning! Doug

I wonder if the neighborhood has brownouts when its movie night at the Messers! Maybe he's trying to push Al Gore out of first place for having the biggest energy bill. Doug

I've been trying to figure out how i want to go about setting up a music server myself. First i thought about doing the Mac Mini thing with using the itouch as a remote. The more i thought about it the more i realized that it would drive my wife completely nuts, (and me trying to show her how to run everything!). I have an old iMac that really needs to be updated, so like the OP, i think my best bet is to buy a Macbook. I can plug it into my pre-amp and let it rip! My wife knows how to launch iTunes and get music going so that part is taken care of. Plus i get a new computer out of the deal! Of course, the next thing i'll have to do is buy a nice new DAC for it as well, it just never stops does it? Question, i've heard Apple Lossless sounds just as good as AIFF without taking up as much space, is this true? Doug

... just as long as i don't have to watch him sing!!! One of my favorite artists is Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. A lot of people would say that's country too. If they only would have seen them on the Henry Rollins Show! Doug

It seems like some of the songs end just as they get going, (i.e. No Ceiling). Does that make sense? Doug

And I though my '73 DR was nice. If everything is original, you might want to get that thing serviced. I just picked up The Smiths first album (album, that's funny!) and the Eddie Vedder "into the Wild" CD.