Borisgoodenough

Thanks. I suspected there wasn't a way to attach the mini back plate to the Wesena case, but as long as it's held snugly in place... You can check CPU temperature by rebooting (when the system is warm) and going into BIOS. Alternatively, Speedfan will give you the temp plus a lot more information about your system: SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer

It's also flagged for me. I've learned to take some WOT warnings with grains of salt, because they only reflect member ratings, not any actual site testing. As such, negative warnings can represent a few angry customers, or even organized action by competitors.

Thanks, Sam. I'm planning on a 12V AC power supply, so that should work. Have you checked the CPU temp? With the Lagoon build, are you using the mini's back plate with the slot for the add-in card? If so, any problems with fit in that case?

Love the beach photo, though I'm usually in that part of the state for wine-related reasons. Thanks for your thougts about the case. The utilitarian look doesn't bother me (gear sits in a closet behind the listening room) though I have to admit the Wesena looks way cooler. The LGX seems the odd case out so far -- wonder what in particular attracted Chris to it, over the M350 What you say about installing the optional backplate for future expandability makes a lot of sense.

Krikor, as your Michigan neighbor I'm going to borrow the "Boekeloo" name for the server I'm building. Just ordered a Samsung 840Pro 128GB yesterday (Newegg ran a one-day special for $112) and a 2800 mobo. Believe it or not, the toughest choice so far is the case. I'm looking at the M350, the Logic Supply MC500 Chris used for Topanga and Lagoon, or a slight splurge (and more interior space) for a Wesena ITX-4. Would appreciate your thoughts -- or anyone who's looked at the same choice, or has another case they prefer in a similar price / size range. In particular, is anyone familiar with the Wesena's air flow; if I want to keep the server fanless, the pictures make it look as if there's not a lot of venting. Related question: have you had a chance to do any listening to the SIIG USB 3.0 card versus the 2800's USB 2.0 outputs? I'm unlikely to spring for the Lagoon's SOtM card, but need to decide whether it's worth getting the optional back plate / riser for possible use with another output card down the line. Joel

I'd previously used a Grace internet tuner, which looks to be a similar product to your D-Link, minus the video features. Fine for streaming internet radio stations at indifferent SQ, but major limitations as a media organizer / streamer led to one frustration after another until I decided it was a dead end that wasn't worth any more time. The D-Link's specs don't indicate that it streams FLAC (or ALAC) lossless, which would be a dealbreaker for me. Its built-in streaming networks don't list Pandora or MOG, which might be a dealbreaker for you. One thing I'm trying for is to design an equipment and software setup that offers maximum flexibility and logical upgrade paths as your demands change or your budget allows, rather than spend the same amount of time and money trying to jerry-rig low-end gear to perform at or beyond what it's designed to do, and run into constant frustrations as you hit its limitations.

Neil, after also being a long-time lurker, I've probably got about a three month head start on just what you're doing -- and trying not to waste a lot of money along the way -- so let me offer a couple of thoughts. First off, what Paul suggests. Instead of a Mini, I repurposed an old Win7 netbook that was lying around. Because I have older separates, not an AVR, I sprung for a used Cambridge DacMagic 100 on ebay -- not necessarily my ideal DAC, but I needed somewhere to start, and figured I might as well get something that would let me plug in the CD player's toslink as well as the netbook's USB output. After confirming just how much difference the dedicated DAC made by A/B'ing the CD player's analog out versus putting digital through the DacMagic, it was time to play with the computer. Like you, I had a distance issue -- main PC and router are a floor (though only about 15 feet) away from the audio equipment. Which I've dealt with, at least for now, by plugging a spare external HD into the router's USB port and turning it into a NAS-lite, streaming via wi-fi (again, for now -- though it is five bars) to the netbook. Right now, I'm at the "playing around with players" stage. I've mapped the external drive to both the netbook and desktop PC, learned to use EAC and am ripping CDs to the NAS, with Foobar on both the netbok and PC. (Also put FoobarCon app on the tablet for when I'm not at the PC and too lazy to walk over to the equipment.) Although I like Foobar - especially now that I've finally learned how to use it - a swirl around the floor with JRiver is probably in the offing soon. I've also played around with some higher-res downloads, though nothing past 24/96 yet. What I can say is that the system has never sounded so good (largely DAC-related) or been so versatile (mostly computer-related). Next steps: (1) Build something dedicated like a headless CAPS Topanga in order to get that nasty netbook out of the chain. (2) Do some serious DAC-auditioning. No sense playing with that until the computer is set. (3) Ethernet in place of the wi-fi. (4) Enjoy the music. Joel