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Win M.

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  1. Hey all, I'm embarrassingly new and ignorant, so please bear with me. Until I set up a more sophisticated computer audio system, I'm going to plug a drive directly into the USB input on my OPPO BD-105 and use the player's DACs, which are pretty good. I'll be navigating content through the player's on-screen display. I'd appreciate a recommendation for an external drive that's not ridiculously expensive. I'll just be loading content onto it, then disconnecting it from my computer and moving it to the player. Not the most practical solution, but it'll have to do for the time being until I get a Mac mini that'll output to the player's DAC via USB. Thanks!
  2. Not a tough question, but I can't find a consensus on here. I need a HDD to connect to a Mini, but the Drobos are a bit pricey for me. Are all drives relatively equal, or are there other brands that are recommended? Thanks much!
  3. Where would one actually buy a HiFace2? And are they confirmed to support integer mode? The web site says 'no drivers needed.' (If that's a nonsensical question, give me a break, I'm new...)
  4. Right; I meant listening to the Krell's DACs from the Cambridge's digital out. The Cambridge's DACs were vastly superior. And yes, the Krell is a multichannel HT processor. I got it for a song around 2006, but the thing drives me crazy. It's fine for movies, but musically lacking. Room correction requires a professional, which is a pet peeve of mine. And there's that incredibly loud clicking when switching between sources. I'm thinking of going to Rotel's new pre/pro.
  5. Oh, the computer I have now is a piece of garbage. A three-year-old HP laptop that's been nothing but a nightmare since I purchased it. I also goes back and forth to work all the time and it sluggish as hell, so it's not going to be part of the equation. I'm not that cost sensitive for setting up a computer audio system; I'm willing to sink up to ~6-8k in, between the server, DAC, USB-to-S/PDIF if necessary, cables, etc. It's just pushing through my technical ignorance and figuring where the spend the money that's the hard part. I mean, yesterday I was all set to drive to the Apple store and buy the basic Mini, but now I'm reading that it might be worth buying a modded unit, or at least getting a unit with upgraded RAM and a SSD. Sigh...
  6. A couple things: I'm not a fan of the DACs in my pre/pro. It's a Krell unit, which is a great brand, but it's ~8 years old at the point, and it's always sounded a little bright to my ears. I tried feeding the digital stream from my Cambridge CD player to the Krell once, and the Cambridge sounded much, much better using its DACs. So by feeding the Mini directly to the ATV via ethernet, you're saying that it's just passing along files without using a player (iTunes, e.g.) as an intermediary? But then ATV won't output hi rez files in their full resolution? I think my goals are a little different than yours: I like the convenience aspect of things, but SQ is my #1 goal. If my CD player bested my computer, I'd say screw computer audio and just swap discs all day long. So I'm trying to do whatever optimizes my SQ, even if it's onerous/expensive.
  7. I'll bump this; I'm pretty new to this, and was planning on buying a Mini, attaching a couple external drives to it, feeding a W4S DAC2, and calling it a day. I've read a lot of references to integer mode, but can't find an explanation of what that is.
  8. Got it. So your opinion is that, from a purely audio standpoint, that's superior to a Mini with a USB-S/PDIF converter connected directly to a DAC? I've just always been a little reluctant to use optical connections. And the problem is that I don't want to use the DACs in my pre/pro, so I wouldn't be getting 5.1 out of the ATV if I fed it through an external DAC, right? I could be completely off-base, but external DACs don't handle 5.1 formats, do they?
  9. So what would the chain look like, in this case? The Mini would feel a digital stream to the ATV, which would pass the signal along to a DAC? My pre/pro is pre-HDMI, so I'm limited to digital inputs for 5.1. So tell me if this sounds off: Mini --> DAC --> pre/pro TWO CHANNEL ATV --> TV via HDMI & pre/pro via coax 5.1 In that case, the Mini and the ATV wouldn't really be related, but in different chains of content distribution.
  10. Thanks for the welcome! Here's the sort of configuration I'm looking for: my place is relatively small, so I'm not looking for a system that's distributing content wirelessly to different zones; I really just want to feed my HT system. But you addressed my big question: controlling the computer. My system is in my living room, and I've got a nice, elegant HT credenza that hides all of my equipment. There really isn't a place to put a computer monitor. So that begs the question of how I'm going to control the Mini (or whatever I end up using). I could plug it into my TV via an HDMI cable and use a wireless keyboard and mouse, which will be fine when I'm ripping and cataloging music. But for everyday listening, I think it would be a pain to switch on the TV, whip out the keyboard, etc. Is there a way I can control playback via an app on my iTouch? I think there's a control app for iTunes, but I'm not sure if there's one for A+, which looks like the software I'd want to use. And another really simple question: obviously, you feed the DAC with a USB cable, perhaps with a USB-SPDIF converter. Does the USB port simply output all the computer's audio, or do you actually have to set up a configuration that pumps out the files you're playing back? Also: has anyone had experience with Mapleshade's USB-SPDIF converter? USB-to-SPDIF Reclocking Adapter-Mapleshade I've really enjoyed their products in the past, but I haven't seen this one discussed on this site.
  11. Thanks! Do you have any thoughts on this: Computer Audiophile - Computer Audiophile Pocket Server - C.A.P.S. v2.0 If it's a better option than the Mac Mini, I'm more than willing to pay the increased cost. Also has the benefit of having an internal disc drive, and it sounds like it's designed to use JRiver.
  12. I apologize in advice for asking a bunch of questions that are probably pretty fundamental; I'm sure that lots of them have been asked here before, but it's pretty tough to sift through the wealth of info on the forums. I'm trying to integrate a computer audio system into my music/HT system. My plan is to buy a Mac mini, feed it to a DAC Magic Plus using a USB cable, and send that to my Krell pre/pro. But I see lots of talk about customized servers, etc., so I'm wondering if I'm sacrificing quality by simply plugging a Mac mini into a DAC, which is obviously a pretty straight-forward route. So my questions: 1. Is this simple setup ideal, or should I consider other options? 2. Is the USB connection between the computer and DAC the best option? 3. What software should be used for playback and ripping? Should it be the same software? I've heard about Decibel, Amarra, and a couple others; I'm guessing iTunes isn't the best option. 4. For ripping, the Mac Mini doesn't have a disc drive; does it matter which external disc drive I used, or is that pretty irrelevant? Any other advice would be really welcome; please assume a relatively low level of technical knowledge on my part. Can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Thanks!
  13. Bob, thanks for the input. I thought the Sonos was in line with the Duet, price-wise; isn't the Zone Player $349?
  14. First of all, much thanks in advance for any input. I'm NOT technologically inclined, so feedback will save me lots of time and frustration. I have a pretty decent system (Primare amp, Krell prepro, B&W 8-series speakers) that have never been fed computer audio, and I'm trying to make that leap, and I'm finding the learning curve pretty steep. Currently, I have a HP laptop running iTunes. My music library is ripped lossless onto an external 1TB hard drive. I just listen through my computer speakers while I study (I'm a law student). I would obviously like to listen through my stereo, which is a tad superior to laptop speakers. The problem is that my desk/office is in a different part of the house than my computer, so I was contemplating getting either a Sonos or Squeezebox-based wireless system and running that into Cambridge Audio's DAC at my stereo. I haven't heard much from an audiophile perspective about the wireless approach; it seems like most people here run USB directly into a DAC, which sadly isn't an option for me. I'd also welcome advice about ripping, etc. I just rip using my laptop's built-in CD drive, through iTunes' interface. Is there a better way to do this? I'm running Vista Home (I know, I know...). Getting a new/additional computer is not something I'm interested in, though switching to Windows 7 is fine if I need to. Many thanks, and all thoughts are welcome.
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