Music server - set me up!

[KEW]

OK! I have about 600 CD's which I want to put into a loss-less format.

I'm thinking external hard drives with eSATA would be the way to go.

Let's start at ground level - is a PC the best way to serve music?

What hardware is recommended (both the basic box and sound card)? If the hardware ends up about the same, please recommend based on reliability.

What about software?

Thanks!

 

[Warpdrv]

Budget....?

If you already have a computer and can stream music to your receiver some way.... why not go with an external HD or NAS device...?

Something like this works fo relatively cheaply and you can slide drives right in... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2443662&CatId=2670
Then you can use a streaming device at your receiver for playback.
I'm not saying its the best solution, but they do work for many people...

 

[oppman99]

I don't know about being the best, but a computer based setup would definately be less expensive than a dedicated music server like the sooloos. I currently have a 1 TB HD in my computer and an external DAC and it works very well for what I want it to do. I think I have about 400 CD's in WAV and the HD is about 3/4 full. Kind of depends on how you plan to interface and if you want a remote control. I'm looking forward to a DAC that will output hirez music without downsampling. Definately a relatively economical solution. I don't have much experience with many of the software options. I use winamp and it does the job to my satisfaction for now. Other free options would be foobar and mediamonkey. I'm sure there are others that perform well.

 

[KEW]

Budget....?

If you already have a computer and can stream music to your receiver some way.... why not go with an external HD or NAS device...?

Something like this works fo relatively cheaply and you can slide drives right in... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2443662&CatId=2670
Then you can use a streaming device at your receiver for playback.
I'm not saying its the best solution, but they do work for many people...

My regular computer just died (motherboard failure on Dell - Proprietary replacement costs $300).

I'd like to keep the budget around $600 to $1000 (including PC if a PC is the way to go).

I'm not familiar with NAS. Is it much different from a simple external eSATA drive??

I was thinking/assuming that I would route the PC output into a receiver, Integrated Amp or at least a Separate Power Amp.

Thanks!

 

[bandphan]

Within your budget you could do a nice build. Storage per byte is cheap and imo, externals would be a waste of money. As mentioned with the right setup compression isnt necessary (unless you need to for portables) Do you want to build your own? Quad core processor and mobo cost around 160 (amd phenom) storage is 80 per 1 TB. Case, fans, opticals drives, sound card, PS = Few hundred, not to mention anything that can be salvaged from the dell.

 

[highfigh]

My regular computer just died (motherboard failure on Dell - Proprietary replacement costs $300).

I'd like to keep the budget around $600 to $1000 (including PC if a PC is the way to go).

I'm not familiar with NAS. Is it much different from a simple external eSATA drive??

I was thinking/assuming that I would route the PC output into a receiver, Integrated Amp or at least a Separate Power Amp.

Thanks!

If you use a NAS, you would be able to access the songs using a network-enabled receiver, like a Denon.

 

[bandphan]

With the left over money from his diy build he could build a small server and set up a gigabyte network all all would be grand

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, about 6 months ago, I've never even installed a graphics card in my life. Now I'm building my 4th HTPC.

I think it is really fun building your own PC because you know exactly what you are getting and no one is ripping you off.

And I have about 500CDs in my HTPC in WAV format.

 

[Nemo128]

A lossless music server can be done dirt cheap, and you could most likely repurpose things you either currently have or could get your hands on.

I suggest, however, you carefully consider future capabilities. Don't put a bandaid on a broken limb. Decide if you would want greater file sharing capabilities in the future, and plan from there.

Me, if a server is for audio and video, I'd focus on storage arrays and network infrastructure with jumbo frame support throughout. If you're using it as a content rendering machine (HTPC for example), that's when you need to worry about processing power and graphic capabilities.

 

[KEW]

Within your budget you could do a nice build. Storage per byte is cheap and imo, externals would be a waste of money. As mentioned with the right setup compression isnt necessary (unless you need to for portables) Do you want to build your own? Quad core processor and mobo cost around 160 (amd phenom) storage is 80 per 1 TB. Case, fans, opticals drives, sound card, PS = Few hundred, not to mention anything that can be salvaged from the dell.

No problem building my own. My problem is knowing which components to assemble.

This is probably a brain fart on my part, but I was thinking in terms of having an external eSATA drive and maintaining a second identical drive as backup. This way if one got corrupted, I could just plug in the second and replace the first. Would this work or is it just as easy with internal drives?

 

[bandphan]

what do you need out of a PC. gaming, encoding ect...

 

[KEW]

A lossless music server can be done dirt cheap, and you could most likely repurpose things you either currently have or could get your hands on.

I suggest, however, you carefully consider future capabilities. Don't put a bandaid on a broken limb. Decide if you would want greater file sharing capabilities in the future, and plan from there.

Me, if a server is for audio and video, I'd focus on storage arrays and network infrastructure with jumbo frame support throughout. If you're using it as a content rendering machine (HTPC for example), that's when you need to worry about processing power and graphic capabilities.

I do want room to grow. I'm more worried about reliability than cost (within reason). I do have a couple of relatively new ~640GB hard drives that are supposed to be good (WD Black, IIRC). Can I run music from two drives easily? Or is it better to just get a new large one?

I'm just after a juke box that lets me develop playlists. No plan to use for HTPC or anything which requires real processing.

I will do some basic CAD/CAM, but I've found that modern hardware doesn't have much trouble with this (as long as the graphics card is decent - nVidea GeForce has done fine in the past).

 

[KEW]

what do you need out of a PC. gaming, encoding ect...

No gaming. I don't know what encoding is, so I'll say no.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

No problem building my own. My problem is knowing which components to assemble.

This is probably a brain fart on my part, but I was thinking in terms of having an external eSATA drive and maintaining a second identical drive as backup. This way if one got corrupted, I could just plug in the second and replace the first. Would this work or is it just as easy with internal drives?

Or you could have BOTH an internal drive as your main and one or two external drives to back up since they are fairly cheap.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

What AVR do you have Kevin?

 

[KEW]

What AVR do you have Kevin?

It's Kurt, but you can call me Kevin as long as you're helping (but that's as far as I go)!

I have Marantz SR-6001.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

No way man, it's Kevin. I remember people for a living and I can't be wrong

It's Kurt, but you can call me Kevin as long as you're helping (but that's as far as I go)!

I have Marantz SR-6001.

 

[KEW]

No way man, it's Kevin. I remember people for a living and I can't be wrong

Well in that case, Kevin it is.

Cheers,
Kevin (formerly known to some as as Kurt).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

No way man, it's Kevin. I remember people for a living and I can't be wrong

Wait.....I thought I was Kevin!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Nope, I changed your name to Kirk once you got the garbage-man job...

Sorry man, I don't know what the best way to run your music is KEW. I just run directly from my computer to my AVR.

Wait.....I thought I was Kevin!