cds to music server

[W8N4AFREAK]

I currently need to replace a 50 disc CD changer. It's about to die. I would like to move away from the changer and get a music server?? Here is my need and goal. I'll be converting about 300 CDs. I'm looking for a unit that will allow me to load the CDs through a self contained CD drive. Also have the ability to create: groupings play lists, etc... If this will involve my PC or network connection not a big deal.

The unit will be hooked to a Home Theater system. I have no need for a multi-zone system, or DVD abilities. Basically looking for a big iPod that I can incorporate with my current theater system and control with a remote.

Honestly I’m not even sure if music server is the correct terminology.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[BMXTRIX]

While there are music server solutions such as Escient's Fireball or the AudioRequest products (Google them) I would say that you are much better served with some of the iPod products and interfaces which are available.

You can get one zone, hook it up to your receiver, have full control, and 160GB of storage for half the price of those product - plus you can take it with you in half a second.

 

[Davemcc]

If you are computer savvy, you could build a pc based raid array server like Stratman.

On the other hand, I have the Escient Fireball 80g and I find it ideal for my purposes. I've got over 300 discs in mine and it's about half full. It has a good user interface, loads and changes songs quickly, downloads album art automatically via ethernet and is an easy to use, plug and play device.

 

[W8N4AFREAK]

If you are computer savvy, you could build a pc based raid array server like Stratman.

On the other hand, I have the Escient Fireball 80g and I find it ideal for my purposes. I've got over 300 discs in mine and it's about half full. It has a good user interface, loads and changes songs quickly, downloads album art automatically via ethernet and is an easy to use, plug and play device.

What is the equation for figuring how many CDs will fit per GIG. I know all CDs are different but I'm sure something can get you close. Also how long does it take per CD to convert. Is it worth using a service to do this?

 

[MUDSHARK]

The upgraded 300gb hd on my Yamaha MCX-1000 holds about 450 albums in PCM many many more in the MP3 mode (which I don't use). A couple of minutes per cd to load. There are many models (assuming you aren't interested in the PC method such as squeezebox or Stratman's solution) Escient, Cambridge, Yamaha, Integra, and many others. If you use a digital output no problem, if analog listen to the unit first as the DACs in these units leave much to be desired (hence my Monarchy dedicated Dac).

 

[MDS]

What is the equation for figuring how many CDs will fit per GIG.

A gigabyte per hard drive manufacturers is 1 billion bytes (10^9) whereas a gigabyte in memory is 2^30 bytes, which is a bit more than one billion - but no matter. 1 GB is 1000 MB (per hard drive manufacturers, in reality it is 1024 MB).

2 channel 16 bit / 44.1 kHz PCM, which is what is on a CD, takes ~10.5 MB per minute of audio, so a full 72 minute audio CD would require ~750 MB. So storing uncompressed WAV files you'll barely get one and change CDs per gigabyte of harddrive storage.

Using a compressed format like MP3 you can store far more. Figure on ~5 MB per 4 minute song (MP3 at 192 kbps) and you can store about 200 songs per gig. The file system itself requires some overhead so these are approximations.

 

[stratman]

Mine is up and running perfectly. Can't be happier. Ripping all in WAV into 1 Terabyte RAID 1 box.

 

[ErinH]

Not sure if you'd be willing to go this route, because if you don't have the computer with the files in the same room as your stereo, it'll kind of be a pain but...

Apple airport express would be an option to consider. I bought one recently for the purpose of playing my music off my PC through my living room setup. All you need to connect is a wireless network, mini toslink->optical cable ($4), and the airport express itself ($100 or less).

I can stream any music on iTunes through the AX and play it out my speakers in the living room. I can use my wife's laptop, my PC, or a friend's laptop. If it can connect to my wireless network, I can listen to it.

Like I said, the hard part is going to be ease of access if the PC is not in the same room, or you don't have a laptop. I don't mind much because I usually just stream the music when I'm cleaning the house, so I'm moving back and forth from room to room anyway.

 

[stratman]

One solution that I posted is: The Iomega Multimedia drive, you can get the unit plus a a small LCD TV for under $500.00, plus you've got 500GB of storage. I might have considered this option if my budget was tighter.





http://www.iomega.com/direct/products/family.jsp?FOLDER<>folder_id=54110787&ASSORTMENT<>ast_id=63191&bmUID=1204509497756

 

[gus6464]

I will repost what I posted on the other thread. Super cheap music server pc with tons of space.

Dell Optiplex GX260 - $100
http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage...361&s=uwb93694

1gb ram upgrade - $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820141198

Apple Airport Express - $100

2 500GB externals - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822204034

Total - $440

Those little optiplex systems run dead quiet and a p4 2.0 is all you need for music. If you need a screen you can pick up a really cheap LCD if you want. For remote if you use itunes you have quite a bit of options:

PSP
Laptop
ipod touch
iphone
Any other device which has wifi

 

[W8N4AFREAK]

Thanks,


Lots of options. I think I may go with the fireball. This is exactly what I was imagining with the menu. The only problem I have is the drive size, 80gig. WOW! I remember droppin like $500.00 on a 320Meg HD and thinking I was king of the world.

I do like many of the other options but the fireball looks like a clean interface. Others, beside me will be using this system. So the PC route will gets the ax.

Does anyone know if you could pull the 80Gig drive from a fireball SE-80, and ghost the drive to a larger one. I'm guessing I can but would rather have conformation. Paying an extra $1,500.00 for a MX-311 just for the drive space is insane.

 

[MDS]

Does anyone know if you could pull the 80Gig drive from a fireball SE-80, and ghost the drive to a larger one.

I don't know if you can on the Fireball or not but that is the number one criticism of all-in-one music servers. With most of them you cannot simply replace the drive with a larger one.

Another issue that doesn't seem to phase most people is that using any device that just rips each track off the CD and then converts it to whatever format will not give you perfect replication of the song in all cases. This is due to the fact that songs are often mixed together and/or the track markers are placed such that the next 'track' starts before the current track is actually over (so it sounds like continuous play with no gaps).

I can give dozens of example of this off the top of my head but as I said most people seem to be unaware of this and instead blame the ripper or encoder when it has nothing to do with it.

 

[MUDSHARK]

Most of these units have partitions on the hard drive preventing easy upgrading. I had to contract it out to a person with the right tools to upgrade mine to 300gb. Not very expensive but way over my head.

Here's an example of a pretty fair alternative from Cambridge that I belive got good reviews for sound quality.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CAMBRIDGE-MUSIC-SERVER_W0QQitemZ280204793914QQihZ018QQcategoryZ88760QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


What MDS wrote about random play is true but one I consider a minor annoyance that does not detract from the pleasure of a music server very much. Abbey Road is one such album that is impossible to catch the beginning of some songs. This is more of a concern with Classical music, perhaps.

 

[MDS]

What MDS wrote about random play is true but one I consider a minor annoyance that does not detract from the pleasure of a music server very much. Abbey Road is one such album that is impossible to catch the beginning of some songs. This is more of a concern with Classical music, perhaps.

Keep in mind that I'm a fanatic. I do the ripping and editing manually precisely so that I can control the end result but that is not for everyone and when you are faced with ripping 500+ CDs the process is definitely slow...

 

[Davemcc]

Thanks,


Lots of options. I think I may go with the fireball. This is exactly what I was imagining with the menu. The only problem I have is the drive size, 80gig. WOW! I remember droppin like $500.00 on a 320Meg HD and thinking I was king of the world.

I do like many of the other options but the fireball looks like a clean interface. Others, beside me will be using this system. So the PC route will gets the ax.

Does anyone know if you could pull the 80Gig drive from a fireball SE-80, and ghost the drive to a larger one. I'm guessing I can but would rather have conformation. Paying an extra $1,500.00 for a MX-311 just for the drive space is insane.

I'm not sure space is that much of a consideration on the Fireball. I found the info screen and it shows I have 411 discs loaded and I've used less than half the memory (5384 tracks in the collection, room for approximately 7215 more tracks). All my discs are ripped at 192K bitrate and it sounds good to me. If quality is that much of a concern, 320K bitrate is available.

I figure that once I get 800 discs ripped into the Fireball, if I need more space I can start deleting songs I don't like from albums that only have one or two good songs. I may be years before I find another 400 discs to load into this thing.

On a side note, the Fireball was pretty much my wife's gift to herself. She loves it for the easy use of the menus, the album art and the ease of making her own playlists. If you want to score significant points with a non-technically inclined SO, the Fireball is a good choice.