music player ??

[wilejoe]

Hello all on this beautiful fall evening.
I am looking to slowly but surely upgrade my music system.
Strictly for playing music, was looking at the Bifrost and Schiit Vidar amp along with the Schiit SYS
I just wanted a simple hardwired "device" to use to get my flac files over to my DAC. I'm not looking for something expensive just simple .
Thanks in advance for any help

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

There is no shortage of MP3 players on the market that will play FLAC. I don’t know of their USB connectors will send a signal to an outboard DAC though, and it’s hard to tell from reviews.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[agarwalro]

Strictly for playing music, was looking at the Bifrost and Schiit Vidar amp along with the Schiit SYS

Why not an integrated stereo amp/DAC combo like this,
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/hifi_components/r-n803/index.html

I just wanted a simple hardwired "device" to use to get my flac files over to my DAC. I'm not looking for something expensive just simple .

Not sure I understand. Where are your files stored? You'll need a USB or Optical or Coax cable from wherever to the DAC's input. Or, are you looking for a NAS based media server?

 

[lovinthehd]

Hello all on this beautiful fall evening.
I am looking to slowly but surely upgrade my music system.
Strictly for playing music, was looking at the Bifrost and Schiit Vidar amp along with the Schiit SYS
I just wanted a simple hardwired "device" to use to get my flac files over to my DAC. I'm not looking for something expensive just simple .
Thanks in advance for any help

Lots of ways. What is the rest of your system? Or is this just for headphones?

 

[KenM10759]

Bluesound Node 2, $499. Digital inputs include combo TOSLINK/3.5mm, Ethernet, WiFi, or Bluetooth 4.1 aptX. Streams many good services (iTunes excepted) or NAS, outputs digital or analog RCA, headphones 3.5mm, subwoofer RCA, TOSLINK digital. Top quality Burr-Brown PCM5122 DAC chip, ARM-9.

And so much more.

 

[wilejoe]

My flac files are stored on my computer and on 2 external hard drives for backup
I'm looking for a device to store my files and be able to choose which songs I play.
Right now I have a Sony receiver,5 disc cd changer and Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers
Looking to upgrade everything

 

[lovinthehd]

My flac files are stored on my computer and on 2 external hard drives for backup
I'm looking for a device to store my files and be able to choose which songs I play.
Right now I have a Sony receiver,5 disc cd changer and Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers
Looking to upgrade everything

Why not simply use your computer and software to do so? You already have the storage it seems.

 

[wilejoe]

Why not simply use your computer and software to do so? You already have the storage it seems.

I just might end up doing that.

 

[lovinthehd]

Depends on your wifi/receiver situation, but I simply stream stuff from my pc using foobar2000 and/or bubbleupnp with or on my phone (and can do so via wifi or hdmi). Can't imagine needing a separate stand alone box for it.

 

[agarwalro]

My flac files are stored on my computer and on 2 external hard drives for backup
I'm looking for a device to store my files and be able to choose which songs I play.
Right now I have a Sony receiver,5 disc cd changer and Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers
Looking to upgrade everything

How are you connecting the computer to the Sony?

Recommended order of upgrading everything:
Speakers
CD changer (go fully FLAC, but, keep discs for backup)
Receiver

 

[KEW]

CD changer (go fully FLAC, but, keep discs for backup)

As cheap as hard drives currently are, I would use an external hard drive for my backup!
You can also keep the discs, if you want to be extra safe, but assuming you have a large collection of CD's, the time to feed them onto a new hard drive would easily justify buying an external hard drive which you could just copy in one step!
Whatever you use for backup, don't have them in the same location where fire or flood could destroy both.

 

[agarwalro]

As cheap as hard drives currently are, I would use an external hard drive for my backup!
You can also keep the discs, if you want to be extra safe, but assuming you have a large collection of CD's, the time to feed them onto a new hard drive would easily justify buying an external hard drive which you could just copy in one step!
Whatever you use for backup, don't have them in the same location where fire or flood could destroy both.

If yeah, I totally agree. Sorry if it seems like I'm saying ditch the HDD backup. Especially, with digital purchases being the "master" copy. I have 1 air gapped/ geo gapped copy for important stuff and 1 local air gapped copy for everything, that's over and above the scheduled system backup .

Plus, RIAA/MPAA will come for you, so you better have that physical disc somewhere .

 

[KenM10759]

My flac files are stored on my computer and on 2 external hard drives for backup
I'm looking for a device to store my files and be able to choose which songs I play.
Right now I have a Sony receiver,5 disc cd changer and Bose Acoustimass 5 speakers
Looking to upgrade everything

I'll share my thoughts and method if you care. I wanted a solution that allows me to play all my digital music (over 500gb of FLAC & WAV files) without being hooked up to a PC because the PC is in my office and my system is in the living room. Plus I don't want the noise of a PC when I'm doing more than "casual" listening.

I got a Bluesound Vault, later upgraded to a Vault 2. You already have hard drives with the files on them. Those can be accessed by a Bluesound Node 2 via Ethernet or wireless as long as both are on the same network. I have found several of the original Node (N100) on eBay for close to $200 and given to family members. I did by two new ones (sealed, shrink wrapped with full warranty) from my dealer for $299 each, they have 4 left as of yesterday. Any of the Bluesound products, if connected to the internet, can stream a multiple of music services, TuneIn radio and any internet broadcasting radio station. They also do full unfold of MQA files, have analog and digital outputs, and controlled by any iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, or desktop app. The file management is outstanding, the sound quality superb.

Worth a look.

 

[lovinthehd]

I'll share my thoughts and method if you care. I wanted a solution that allows me to play all my digital music (over 500gb of FLAC & WAV files) without being hooked up to a PC because the PC is in my office and my system is in the living room. Plus I don't want the noise of a PC when I'm doing more than "casual" listening.

I got a Bluesound Vault, later upgraded to a Vault 2. You already have hard drives with the files on them. Those can be accessed by a Bluesound Node 2 via Ethernet or wireless as long as both are on the same network. I have found several of the original Node (N100) on eBay for close to $200 and given to family members. I did by two new ones (sealed, shrink wrapped with full warranty) from my dealer for $299 each, they have 4 left as of yesterday. Any of the Bluesound products, if connected to the internet, can stream a multiple of music services, TuneIn radio and any internet broadcasting radio station. They also do full unfold of MQA files, have analog and digital outputs, and controlled by any iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, or desktop app. The file management is outstanding, the sound quality superb.

Worth a look.

Just curious, why not just stream it from pc to your system, which would both allow the pc to be noisy in another room but allow convenience of choice of what and where to listen to it with the use of a simple app? (or is your system not wifi/network enabled?)

 

[KenM10759]

I like to have my PC OFF! So do some of my relatives. I have also given 2 of them a Western Digital MyCloud 2TB drive for their music so they can plug it into the Node and play even if their network were to go down.

My home network is both Ethernet and wireless everywhere, and when I first got the receiver it was not network capable. It is now that I added the BlueOS kit to it after upgrading the video to the 4k module. I got the BlueOS kit for free.

 

[lovinthehd]

I like to have my PC OFF! So do some of my relatives. I have also given 2 of them a Western Digital MyCloud 2TB drive for their music so they can plug it into the Node and play even if their network were to go down.

My home network is both Ethernet and wireless everywhere, and when I first got the receiver it was not network capable. It is now that I added the BlueOS kit to it after upgrading the video to the 4k module. I got the BlueOS kit for free.

Thanks but seems to me like the tree falling in the forest if it's in another room and you don't really know if its on or off....DSFDF. I usually have mine on, but it's just a laptop at my seat, and whether I'm listening to music or watching something (or using it to enable content via wifi or even hdmi)....and it adds little noise.

 

[KenM10759]

Electricity use is a bigger issue for me. I can't be using my PC while I'm in the other room listening to music, so it might as well be off. Both use a good bit of juice.

 

[lovinthehd]

Electricity use is a bigger issue for me. I can't be using my PC while I'm in the other room listening to music, so it might as well be off. Both use a good bit of juice.

LOL thought I was cheap....err, thrifty If you're using the pc to source music, you're using it . Or your utilities are way higher than mine!

 

[KenM10759]

Nah, I'm not cheap nor very thrifty. Just don't like to waste.

And to be clear: No, I'm not using the computer to access music. It's all through the Bluesound system and that only requires my cable modem and router to be on so my network (wireless and Ethernet) is live.

 

[agarwalro]

How does the Vault provide fault tolerance/ backup in case the internal drive dies?