Solution for playing lossless music digitally on home stereo setup

[kalash]

Basically, I want to eliminate my CD's on my bookshelf and rip them to my computer in a lossless format, such as FLAC or Apple Lossless, and then have a way to play them on my home stereo system.

It seems that there are two ways to go: wired or wireless. I thought about purchasing an iPod to do this, but I don't think it is large enough to hold all my files. The iPod touch only goes up to 64 GB, and is quite expensive. So any ideas? I've researched a little on Airplay, but don't know a whole lot about how it works. I all noticed that there is something called 'Sonos' selling at my local Best Buy.

I plan to buy a receiver that has Airplay / Networking capability, something like the Denon AVR 1613 5.1 receiver.

My concern with the wireless setup is that (i) there might be loss of quality due to compression to transmit the files wirelessly and (ii) I'm not sure how I'd interface with the music while I'm away from my computer. I guess one option is to an iPhone or iPod touch to wirelessly access my files on my computer or external HDD somehow?

Thoughts?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Since the receiver you're planning to buy 1613 already supports DLNA playback of FLAC and FLAC HD by wired network- all you really need is a cheap storage which supports DLNA - like this one:
Newegg.com - LG N1A1NF1 2TB Network Storage

or just play the music from your computer to save even more
Most people use Exact Audio copy to rip the CDs to Flacs/mp3s

 

[sholling]

I rip to FLAC using dbPoweramp Reference ($38) and yes it's worth paying for but they do have a 14 day free trial. What makes it worth paying for is the automated ripping --> tagging --> and filing system. It also allows you to go back and run the bundled "Converter" application to automate the process of making and filing copies in MP3 or Apple's equivalent format. Be sure to make backups because it sucks doing it all over when a drive dies.

Your next choice comes down to storing and streaming from your computer or setting up a network attached storage device (NAS) with a DLNA server or play directly from an external hard drive. Just keep in mind that not FLAC and Apple Lossless aren't supported by every DLNA server and you'll need to do some research to make sure that the NAS you want supports your formats. To get around that I use network shares instead of DLNA but that requires a device to access those shares. For that you may want to try the latest version of the Western Digital TV Live (requires a TV).

 

[saeyedoc]

Another good option, but a little more costly is a squeezebox.
I just got a 2TB drive filled with mostly Flac ripped from hi-rez sources. I've been using my Oppo through both direct USB connection and streaming with Playback on a macbook.
The problem I ran into is the large number of files, making it difficult to navigate. I organized them by artist, which helps, but I still have over 1000 files.
My friend who sent me the drive swears by Squeezebox. I'm thinking of running the server software on an imac we don't use much and streaming to a Squeezebox Touch attached via digital to my Anthem AVR. You can control it with ipeng through an iphone or ipad and see all of the cover art. It also give the option of running a second zone off the analog output.

 

[sholling]

Another good option, but a little more costly is a squeezebox.
I just got a 2TB drive filled with mostly Flac ripped from hi-rez sources. I've been using my Oppo through both direct USB connection and streaming with Playback on a macbook.
The problem I ran into is the large number of files, making it difficult to navigate. I organized them by artist, which helps, but I still have over 1000 files.
My friend who sent me the drive swears by Squeezebox. I'm thinking of running the server software on an imac we don't use much and streaming to a Squeezebox Touch attached via digital to my Anthem AVR. You can control it with ipeng through an iphone or ipad and see all of the cover art. It also give the option of running a second zone off the analog output.

This underscores the importance of coming up with a filing strategy, a file naming strategy, and a tagging standard before starting the process of ripping. I file my rips using drive:\Music\Artist Name\Album and I share the Music folder. That makes it easy for my to find what I'm looking for on the Music share.

 

[turbo16v]

I did this with an ipod classic. Painted mine black though.

PURE North America Online Store - i-20, iPhone/iPod Dock

 

[bikemig]

I rip all my music to apple lossless and use both itunes and squeezebox as a front end. Squeezebox is a terrific product.

 

[kalash]

Audioengine W1 / W3 vs. Airport Express

Can you tell me what the advantage is of the Squeezebox, other than providing a user interface so you can page through your library? You are still streaming from your PC / Mac, right? It seems like this could be done via an iPod touch or iPhone with a remote app using Airplay (via Apple's Airport Express base station).

I ran across this product by Audioengine which supposedly allows for CD quality wireless transmission from any source device to your receiver or powered speakers. It's called the Audioengine 'W1'. Act as a DAC from your PC's USB port. Just google it (I can't post links yet).

They also make an older version called the 'W1:'

From what I can tell, the Audioengine device doesn't rely on a WiFi connection. Am I right? Maybe it's more stable than Airplay? My only concern is that it doesn't seem to have a digital audio input into the powered speaker / receiver. So maybe audio quality would be lost in transmission?

I'm reading very good things about the Audioengine products and am tempted to purchase their A5+ speakers to use in conjunction with a receiver or just as a a compact, stand-alone stereo (ultimately home theater) setup. I'm really looking for a minimalist setup, since I will likely be moving into a relatively small apartment.

Thoughts?

 

[kalash]

Since the receiver you're planning to buy 1613 already supports DLNA playback of FLAC and FLAC HD by wired network- all you really need is a cheap storage which supports DLNA - like this one:


or just play the music from your computer to save even more
Most people use Exact Audio copy to rip the CDs to Flacs/mp3s

How would you interface with this Network Storage device other than using your PC? I really know nothing about home networking.

 

[bikemig]

Can you tell me what the advantage is of the Squeezebox, other than providing a user interface so you can page through your library? You are still streaming from your PC / Mac, right? It seems like this could be done via an iPod touch or iPhone with a remote app using Airplay (via Apple's Airport Express base station).

I ran across this product by Audioengine which supposedly allows for CD quality wireless transmission from any source device to your receiver or powered speakers. It's called the Audioengine 'W1'. Act as a DAC from your PC's USB port. Just google it (I can't post links yet).

They also make an older version called the 'W1:'

From what I can tell, the Audioengine device doesn't rely on a WiFi connection. Am I right? Maybe it's more stable than Airplay? My only concern is that it doesn't seem to have a digital audio input into the powered speaker / receiver. So maybe audio quality would be lost in transmission?

I'm reading very good things about the Audioengine products and am tempted to purchase their A5+ speakers to use in conjunction with a receiver or just as a a compact, stand-alone stereo (ultimately home theater) setup. I'm really looking for a minimalist setup, since I will likely be moving into a relatively small apartment.

Thoughts?

There are a number of competing products for streaming music wirelessly. The SB Touch provides a really easy to use interface not just for the music you've ripped but also to access internet stations. It also has a good quality dac. It can play hi res files (up to 24/96) and it plays nicely with most different audio formats. With apple products, you are limited to redbook and you are limited in the audio formats you can use.

I am a fan of audio engine products. I think the A-5s are good speakers and audio engine makes solid products.

 

[Grador]

How would you interface with this Network Storage device other than using your PC? I really know nothing about home networking.

The receiver would connect directly to it and would stream the files. This method works.....but I find it to be finicky and the UI built into most receivers is quite cumbersome.

 

[saeyedoc]

Sure you could figure out a way to stream from your iphone or itouch, but they are not going to hold much hi-res music. I have a 2TB hard drive with mostly flacs. The squeezebox allows you to use a remote computer as your server and control it easily with an ipad or iphone. It also adds Pandora, Mog, Sirius/XM and other applications.
For a small amount of music, there are cheaper, workable solutions.

 

[kalash]

The receiver would connect directly to it and would stream the files. This method works.....but I find it to be finicky and the UI built into most receivers is quite cumbersome.

I thought so. The receiver I was considering, the Denon AVR1613, has a USB port that would allow me to plug an external HDD directly into it, but again there is the problem of browsing through my music...So it looks like I am stuck keeping my computer on if I want to use my iPod touch or similar device as a remote to access my music library on my external HDD or network storage device?

I'm also curious to hear how the Sonos addresses this problem. From what I hear, it has the edge on the Squeezebox and allows you to play files (stored on a network storage device?) while your computer is off.

 

[kalash]

Sure you could figure out a way to stream from your iphone or itouch, but they are not going to hold much hi-res music. I have a 2TB hard drive with mostly flacs. The squeezebox allows you to use a remote computer as your server and control it easily with an ipad or iphone. It also adds Pandora, Mog, Sirius/XM and other applications.
For a small amount of music, there are cheaper, workable solutions.

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to avoid this and plan to use my iphone / itouch as a remote only. My question is: Does the squeezebox allow you page through your music library on your external HDD or network storage while your computer is turned OFF or in sleep mode?

By the way, is there any disadvantage to ripping your CD's as Apple Lossless format instead of regular FLAC? That way you can play the songs in iTunes, because iTunes doesn't seem to want to play FLAC files. (I didn't see the Apple Lossless option in Exact Audio Copy).

 

[saeyedoc]

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to avoid this and plan to use my iphone / itouch as a remote only. My question is: Does the squeezebox allow you page through your music library on your external HDD or network storage while your computer is turned OFF or in sleep mode?

By the way, is there any disadvantage to ripping your CD's as Apple Lossless format instead of regular FLAC? That way you can play the songs in iTunes, because iTunes doesn't seem to want to play FLAC files. (I didn't see the Apple Lossless option in Exact Audio Copy).

You can hook the squeezebox up directly to an external HD, but I hear it doesn't work as well as if you hook the drive up to a computer, especially with a large number of files. You can buy devices such as a vortexbox that runs the squeezebox server, or just use an old computer that's somewhere on your network.
Sonos still needs to get the music from somewhere, whether it's a NAS or computer. Sonos does set up it's own wireless network apart from your wifi network, so it may have some advantages in whole house solutions. I don't think Sonos plays as many file formats as SB.
FLAC and apple lossless are similar, some devices, such as my Oppo, won't play them. Apple lossless is a better fit with itunes, flac would have to be converted.
If your system is primarily itunes, an apple TV or airport express would be another good option.

 

[kalash]

Any reason to go Sonos (or Squeezebox) over Airplay?

You can hook the squeezebox up directly to an external HD, but I hear it doesn't work as well as if you hook the drive up to a computer, especially with a large number of files. You can buy devices such as a vortexbox that runs the squeezebox server, or just use an old computer that's somewhere on your network.
Sonos still needs to get the music from somewhere, whether it's a NAS or computer. Sonos does set up it's own wireless network apart from your wifi network, so it may have some advantages in whole house solutions. I don't think Sonos plays as many file formats as SB.
FLAC and apple lossless are similar, some devices, such as my Oppo, won't play them. Apple lossless is a better fit with itunes, flac would have to be converted.
If your system is primarily itunes, an apple TV or airport express would be another good option.

So...assuming I go Apple Lossless (ALAC), is there any reason why I should go Sonos (or Squeezebox)? I see Airplay (or the W3 wireless option from Audioengine) as doing pretty much everything I need to do, except that my computer has to be running the whole time.

What I'd like to do is have a way to access a network drive while my computer is shut off, but I need a way to interface with it (say, through my iPod Touch or iPhone), but if Sonos doesn't allow for this, I'm still having a hard time seeing the advantage here...Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[saeyedoc]

So...assuming I go Apple Lossless (ALAC), is there any reason why I should go Sonos (or Squeezebox)? I see Airplay (or the W3 wireless option from Audioengine) as doing pretty much everything I need to do, except that my computer has to be running the whole time.

What I'd like to do is have a way to access a network drive while my computer is shut off, but I need a way to interface with it (say, through my iPod Touch or iPhone), but if Sonos doesn't allow for this, I'm still having a hard time seeing the advantage here...Maybe I'm missing something?

You can set your computer with the music on it to wake on demand or just leave it running. I don't think airplay will support higher resolutions.

 

[saeyedoc]

The only way to access a network drive without having a computer on would be to use a NAS drive hooked up to a router directly or hook up a hard drive directly to your receiver or another device like an Oppo-93. If the music is hooked up to a computer that's not on, how can you access it?

 

[kalash]

You can set your computer with the music on it to wake on demand or just leave it running. I don't think airplay will support higher resolutions.

Do you have any idea how you do wake on demand in Windows 7?

 

[kalash]

The only way to access a network drive without having a computer on would be to use a NAS drive hooked up to a router directly or hook up a hard drive directly to your receiver or another device like an Oppo-93. If the music is hooked up to a computer that's not on, how can you access it?

Yes, that's what I meant--I would access the NAS drive which is plugged into my router. The question is how would I interface with my library (say, iTunes) if I'm accessing it off a network drive?