Vortex Box

[JohnA]

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone here has used vortex box software for their music server, and if you have how has it been for you. It seems super easy to use.

Thanks

John

 

[BMXTRIX]

Is it just a ripper/server or does it do something else? I'm kind of struggling to understand it because it seems like it is more of a music (only) ripper, which may not be much more than what most people can accomplish by ripping music to a NAS in their home which will use less power and leave them the full functionality of any computers they have running already.

Plus, you can rip from any computer in your home to the NAS which can increase flexibility and usability.

Most of all, I just can't imagine just dealing with music. My music collection is a small fraction of my video collection. Likely about 1% or less the size of my video collection. Would be nice to have some more tools for video.

 

[JohnA]

Hey BMXTRIX

You don't have to buy the hardware unit. The software is free, so my idea was to turn an older PC into a ripper/NAS

It will rip CD, DVD, and Blu-ray (with an addition of some code)

The software is automatic, once you load the software it is a "headless" unit. Pop a CD in and you don't do anything, it will automatically, rip in FLAC and mp3, grab cover art, and store them w/o any user interaction. It becomes your ripper and NAS

 

[jinjuku]

Nice review of the Vortex box at TechTalk.

 

[JohnA]

Nice review of the Vortex box at TechTalk.

I saw that but he is using the actual Vortex box, not the software and using his own computer, I was more interested in setting up your own box.

 

[bikemig]

I've been using a mac mini as a server for my music for some time. I use it as an HTPC as well since it is attached to my TV. That said, the Vortexbox seems like a good turnkey solution for a music server and the cost is vanishingly low is you recycle an old PC. How are you planning to stream the music from your computer? If you plan on attaching the computer to your existing music system, you will probably want to improve the soundcard on the computer or buy an external usb dac like this, http://www.amazon.com/HRT-Music-Streamer-II-Resolution/dp/B0038O4UFQ. Or you could stream the music to your system with a squeezebox touch. I have two SB Touch units to stream music to different parts of the house.

 

[sholling]

Hey BMXTRIX

You don't have to buy the hardware unit. The software is free, so my idea was to turn an older PC into a ripper/NAS

It will rip CD, DVD, and Blu-ray (with an addition of some code)

The software is automatic, once you load the software it is a "headless" unit. Pop a CD in and you don't do anything, it will automatically, rip in FLAC and mp3, grab cover art, and store them w/o any user interaction. It becomes your ripper and NAS

Based just on what I read about it I guess the ready to go box makes sense for a very small niche audience but It's not something that I'd use. The reasons that I'd hesitate are that it's a single tasker with limited expansion and I'm not seeing any built in redundancy such as some flavor of RAID. I'm sure you could figure something out but that defeats the plug it in and just feed it discs idea. In my opinion redundancy is a non-negotiable checkoff item when looking into any solution and when you're dealing with hundreds or more likely here - thousands of CDs. I prefer double redundancy (RAID and backups) just so I never have to re-rip after a drive failure. On the other hand maybe running the software on an old PC might be a decent solution as long as it supports RAID1 or RAID5 and some form of automated backup.

I prefer to rip at a PC and then copy to RAID enabled NAS devices or servers (the original becomes a backup). dbPowerAmp fully automates the rippping, tagging, and filing of CDs to your specifications and it's $38. Once you've ripped all your CDs you just run the included Batch Converter against the rips to create, tag, and file MP3s or whatever flavor your portable prefers. If you shop well you can pick up a power sipping RAID1 capable NAS $100-200 plus the cost drives of your choice.

Whatever solution you go with the two critical things to thoroughly think through in advance are your filing system and your backup solution. Re-ripping hundreds or thousands of CDs because you didn't do due diligence in advance is an experience on par with a root-canal.

 

[bikemig]

Completely agree with Sholling on this one; do the ripping right the first time. I didn't,

 

[JohnA]

Hi Sholling,

Thanks for the tips. The Vortex software will do RAID1, and it has a backup feature to be able to back up to an external USB drive.

Based just on what I read about it I guess the ready to go box makes sense for a very small niche audience but It's not something that I'd use. The reasons that I'd hesitate are that it's a single tasker with limited expansion and I'm not seeing any built in redundancy such as some flavor of RAID. I'm sure you could figure something out but that defeats the plug it in and just feed it discs idea. In my opinion redundancy is a non-negotiable checkoff item when looking into any solution and when you're dealing with hundreds or more likely here - thousands of CDs. I prefer double redundancy (RAID and backups) just so I never have to re-rip after a drive failure. On the other hand maybe running the software on an old PC might be a decent solution as long as it supports RAID1 or RAID5 and some form of automated backup.

I prefer to rip at a PC and then copy to RAID enabled NAS devices or servers (the original becomes a backup). dbPowerAmp fully automates the rippping, tagging, and filing of CDs to your specifications and it's $38. Once you've ripped all your CDs you just run the included Batch Converter against the rips to create, tag, and file MP3s or whatever flavor your portable prefers. If you shop well you can pick up a power sipping RAID1 capable NAS $100-200 plus the cost drives of your choice.

Whatever solution you go with the two critical things to thoroughly think through in advance are your filing system and your backup solution. Re-ripping hundreds or thousands of CDs because you didn't do due diligence in advance is an experience on par with a root-canal.

 

[adk highlander]

I know I am resurrecting the dead here but I am doing a vortexbox and thought I would revive JohnA's thread.

Here is my plan. I have a decent whole house audio setup but have found recently that I want to play different music from my library to different zones which with my media monkey setup is not possible. I can have multiple clients connected from various devices (tablet, phone, etc.) but it is only one "source". I found a product by Fusion that had three zone output for around 900 bucks. At first I thought that was a decent price compared to what I have been seeing. Then I hear it is just a vortexbox with a custom config and some hardware mods. So I go to Vortexbox.org and see they sell essentially the same machine for $589.

Looking at the specs I felt one of my old machines would work great for a vortexbox. I have installed the OS and have everything working for a single zone. I have a couple of other USB DAC's coming and ones installed I can configure up to five players (I will be using 3 for now). All of my music is already in FLAC format so it is easy to transfer over and it will create an mp3 version of each song for portable devices.

For playback control I am using the built in Logitech Music Server (This whole thing is based on slingbox tech) and each player has its own URL. I found yesterday there is a plug in for Denon/Marantz that will actually control the receiver via IP directly from the player so I only have to use one app.

The software will also handle DVD's but I am using another system for that and will only be focused on the audio side.

Does anyone else use one?

 

[adk highlander]

Vortexbox is now set up and running 3 discrete zones of audio in my house. Any zone has access to the music library, Internet radio or a list of apps including Pandora and LastFM.

Right now I am still just using the web interface to control the players. The only glitch so far is the IP control of the Marantz. I know the codes work correctly but most of these receivers can only have one IP connection to them at once and it will lock out other zones from controlling the unit.

Everything else is working as advertised. Really cool and total investment so far is $20 bucks for the cheap USB dac. I'm going to get a couple more and get the kids room connected and turn off the mobo audio.