Sharing digital music with stereo?

[jcsprankle]

I have 1000s of music files (mostly mp3 at 192k) on my computer that I'm interested in listening to on my stereo/HT system. I have a home network in my house (wired and wireless) that I would like to use for this. Currently, I use my Series 2 Tivo to share music but the quality is terrible (No offense to Tivo because, other than the music quality, Tivo rocks).

I have researched many different devices that will let you share music over a home network and I think I'm settled on the Squeezebox by Slim Devices. It has a digital out and uses high-quality DACs so I should be able to get decent sound quality out of it.

Does anyone have experience with the Squeezebox? How's the sound quality? Is there a better way to go?

 

[Hi Ho]

I don't own one but there are several on this board that have one and love them. It has received rave reviews. I might buy one myself at some point.

 

[abboudc]

You have a few options, the most popular being:
1. Roku Soundbridge
2. Slimdevices Squeezebox
3. Apple Airport Express
4. Some receivers have ethernet in and can do MP3 decoding
5. Portable mp3 player and dock

The Roku or Squeezebox have the most features and arguably the best sound quality. Though there shouldn't be much of a difference with lossy formats. They also come with remotes and nice lcd displays. They'll also work with either PC's or Macs (I think the squeezebox will even work with Linux). They're also the most expensive.

The Airport Express will tie you to iTunes as your music player. Its much cheaper, acts as a repeater for your network, and can act as a print server. But you'll still need a pc to control your music and it doesn't come with a remote.

For the same price as a squeezebox or roku, you could also pick up an iPod and Dock w/remote. This is the best of both worlds in my opinion. You can control your music, or take it with you.

 

[Naves74]

I personally have an airport express. I love the little thing. It has a fiber out and can play any file on your stereo that can be played in itunes. It is easy to set up and easy to operate and is around 100 bucks and works on the exsisting wireless network you have now. But I am biased so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[westcott]

You could always stretch a string between two tin cans.

 

[MACCA350]

My second computer is located in my HT equipment rack which I use mostly as a jukebox. It's networked to my main computer and has access to cable internet. I don't use it for video so it only has a 64MB video card connected to the receiver via Svideo.

For audio I have a SPDIF adapter(AUD$30 plugged straight onto the motherboard and sits in an empty slot on the back of the case) which has Coax/Optical output connected to the receiver. I then set the PC audio to output through the SPDIF and thats it, all audio from the PC is sent out digitally which is decoded by the receiver(even DD and DTS).

This was simple, cheap and suited my needs.

cheers

 

[jcsprankle]

Interesting...

My second computer is located in my HT equipment rack which I use mostly as a jukebox. It's networked to my main computer and has access to cable internet. I don't use it for video so it only has a 64MB video card connected to the receiver via Svideo.

For audio I have a SPDIF adapter(AUD$30 plugged straight onto the motherboard and sits in an empty slot on the back of the case) which has Coax/Optical output connected to the receiver. I then set the PC audio to output through the SPDIF and thats it, all audio from the PC is sent out digitally which is decoded by the receiver(even DD and DTS).

This was simple, cheap and suited my needs.

cheers

This is an interesting setup and something that might work for me in the future. But, I have two questions:

1- When you rip a new CD or otherwise add digital music to your first computer, do you have to manually "push" the new music over to your jukebox?

2- When you're playing music from your jukebox, how does the system know what song to play? Do you do it on the jukebox computer directly or is there some other interface between the computer and HT system?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[MACCA350]

1- When you rip a new CD or otherwise add digital music to your first computer, do you have to manually "push" the new music over to your jukebox?

Yes(just copy and past through the network), but this is only so I don't have to have both computers turned on to play music. Most other stuff is left on the main comp which I can access through the network.

2- When you're playing music from your jukebox, how does the system know what song to play? Do you do it on the jukebox computer directly or is there some other interface between the computer and HT system?

I use a wireless keyboard/mouse for the HTPC and the display is either TV or projector. At the moment I use Windows Media Player to catalog and play tracks(there are jukebox programs out there but I haven't tried them yet)

cheers

 

[jcsprankle]

I like the idea of a dedicated jukebox PC but that'll have to wait for a future install due to space constraints. I also like that tin can and string idea .

Sounds like the Squeezebox is the way to go for me. I found another thread that really praises its features (here) and that's good enough for me! Thanks everyone!