Creeping up on the 21st century.

[awkwardbydesign]

I thought it might be time to try this new-fangled streaming malarky, so when a friend offered to sell me a Qnap NAS and set it all up, I decided to give it a go.
Bear in mind my wife had a PC for several years before I even learnt how to switch it on!
Initially the NAS was wirelessly fed to a laptop and then via USB to a DAC connected to the preamp. However this didn't work too well (or rather I didn't!), as I had to keep crossing the room to access the music.
Next came a Squeezebox Duet with a flakey power connection, but then I had to run the laptop to connect to Squeezebox Media (or something) and kept losing the connection everytime I turned it off.
A ReadyNAS was suggested as a solution (my friend was getting tired of having to restart it all the time!), and I bought one of them, sold the Qnap and made a profit! £5. He swapped the 2x2 Terabyte drives and set it all up again. It worked! Now I could just use the Duet remote and play all the music on the NAS.
Next problem; the only music on the NAS was someone else's collection which had been copied wholesale, most of which I didn't like, although I discovered Fink in there.
I tried ripping CDs on the PC, but ended up with individual songs, not an album that would play right through.
Next suggestion; buy a cheap desktop PC and he would load it with VortexBox, so I could just feed it with CDs and it would do everything for me.
Really? Honestly? You're not just trying to get rid of me?
Apparently so! The Bliss programme for cover art isn't working at the moment (I can live with that), but I bought a 5m Ethernet cable, so the VortexBox and laptop sit next to me, I feed CDs in, they pop out, I find them on the laptop, cut and paste to the ReadyNAS, and there they are on the Duet. Cool!
The rips don't sound as good as the CDs, but that may be down to the Duet. I have a linear PSU half built for it, and I may even Lampizate it.
I've ripped all the "General" music, the "World" music and nearly finished the "Classical" CDs; over 900 at the moment. I have the equipment (ADC, software on the laptop, etc), so I hope to digitize the some (or all) of our LPs in the future. About 700, but some are on CD too.
At the moment I am rediscovering CDs I've not heard for ages, as it is so easy to just dip in and out, but I am actually pleased the CDs sound better; I don't want to become one of those who plays one song, then half of another and so on. As the current amp has a remote, I only have to get up to go to the loo! Not a good way to live. :(
So now I can rip, rename and move files, and use a remote control. Job done. But if it doesn't work perfectly I still have to make a phone call*. But what are friends for, eh? :eyebrows:

* I'm even worse with phones. :doh:

[Gordon Steadman]

At some stage, it may be nice to join you in trying to find a different solution to the present one.

My main collection is on my MacPro in the snug at the front of the house. I tend to listen on phones in there.

However, I also have a MacMini connected to the main hi-fi and, as iTunes will happily share libraries, I can play the music from the Pro via the Mini. As yet, I still play CDs or LPs as a first choice but when that all becomes too much hassle, it will be good to sort out some sort of better system.

Much as I love the sound of the TT, I do find that I tend to use CDs more these days - the remote helps - not even having to change a CD will mean even more time stuck in the chair drinking some red wine.

I can think of worse fates in my old age.

[Gazjam]

but theres something about cueing the tonearm and letting that stylus drop..... :eyebrows:
just dont do it with TOO many red wines in you!

Being a big digital guy with a recent high quality vinyl setup....I can honestly say both are valid.

My take?
You get to a certain point "hifi sound quality" wise that the delivery mechanism doesn't matter anymore.
Both have their own "psychological" "soft" triggers that make the music listening experience better, I just appreciate both for letting me hear my favourite music in a way that registers emotionally :)

Feet up, glass of your favourite and that tune that makes the Day better....you've arrived!

[Mike - H]

This week I completed the task of going digital with the installation of a Sonos connect into my system. I now find myself looking at my beloved 401 and seeing a dead dinosaur. Even my CDP seems to have a very limited future, a new improved DAC will not only improve CD play back but also the streaming process to the same degree. Instant access to my entire (modest) music library via my iPad is simply too easy for my tired old bones to resist. Record cleaning and storage and CD storage were becoming problems, plus selection of the next album whilst sampling the wine :D We can see studio quality downloads on the horizon, as much as I love my vinyl to the point where I resisted CDs for a good fifteen years, for those of us for whom the machinery is just a means to an end the future would seem to be digital.

[naitphile]

This week I completed the task of going digital with the installation of a Sonos connect into my system. I now find myself looking at my beloved 401 and seeing a dead dinosaur. Even my CDP seems to have a very limited future, a new improved DAC will not only improve CD play back but also the streaming process to the same degree. Instant access to my entire (modest) music library via my iPad is simply too easy for my tired old bones to resist. Record cleaning and storage and CD storage were becoming problems, plus selection of the next album whilst sampling the wine :D We can see studio quality downloads on the horizon, as much as I love my vinyl to the point where I resisted CDs for a good fifteen years, for those of us for whom the machinery is just a means to an end the future would seem to be digital.

Strange I have been on digital since the early days and before that CDs and cassettes. I bought my debut carbon as a novelty while in the hifi shop for something else. It has taken over my life - providing the music is not too polyphonic records sound so much more realistic to me......get what you mean about the hassle however hassles with software, track duplications, tagging errors and backing up etc are not great either!

[awkwardbydesign]

It would be interesting to know the ages of the different posters here. I'm 66 (how did that happen?) and started in 1971. At that time there were only vinyl records (musicassettes were of poor quality), and anything digital was way off in the future. I am always tickled by people "discovering" vinyl. But of course, it is a discovery to each and every one. As streaming is to me.
At the moment CD replay works best in my system, but that is because I have used it to set everything up. A year or two ago LPs sounded better, so know it depends on how much I put in to it.
And I can understand vinyl replay!

[walpurgis]

It would be interesting to know the ages of the different posters here.

I'm sure it would.

Maybe I'm older than you?

[Mike - H]

I'm 62 and have been buying vinyl and players since I was 15, and as I said above I resisted CDs for years. I even went down the dark road of mp3s for ten years(shudder) I'm not a box swapper, I've upgraded (and downgraded) only about four times in as many decades. My present system was a treat for my sixtieth, getting the 401 fulfilled a long held wish to own one. But ironically the other upgrades to my system showed me just how good CDs can be, I think down loads have made the CD industry up its game in the last five years or so.

I know there is a large amount of pleasure in handling albums and using TTs, and to many tinkering with the mechanisms involved is a huge part of the enjoyment they get from their hobby. But these days, for me it's about the music and chilling, it will always be a subject for debate (sometimes heated) but for me differences in SQ are so minimal as to be irrelevant.

:cool:

[awkwardbydesign]

I'm sure it would.

Maybe I'm older than you?
Well, I already admitted I'm 66.

[awkwardbydesign]

Ibut for me differences in SQ are so minimal as to be irrelevant.

:cool:
My 3 (or 4 if you include the Duet with or without the external DAC) sources all sound different. But part of my decision to start streaming is an attempt to learn this new fangled digital stuff. If it wasn't for the incentive of hearing more music I doubt if I would ever bother, and that would be a shame. I need to try to keep up or become a dinosaur. It's like exercising; if I don't enjoy it I don't do it, which is why I still have a longboard in the boot of the car.

[DSJR]

but theres something about cueing the tonearm and letting that stylus drop..... :eyebrows:
just dont do it with TOO many red wines in you!

Being a big digital guy with a recent high quality vinyl setup....I can honestly say both are valid.

My take?
You get to a certain point "hifi sound quality" wise that the delivery mechanism doesn't matter anymore.
Both have their own "psychological" "soft" triggers that make the music listening experience better, I just appreciate both for letting me hear my favourite music in a way that registers emotionally :)

Feet up, glass of your favourite and that tune that makes the Day better....you've arrived!

Gary, that's one of the best posts I've EVER read - probably because I totally agree :respect:

My PC upstairs with M-Audio 'Audiophile' 24/96 soundcard sounds ok, but it's a bit 'deadpan' in comparison to my ton-up Digit Opto, which still involves after all the bodging it had ages ago. I've yet to try an optical from the PC (the motherboard offers optical output) and really must do this sometime. I still prefer to handle the physical medium though, but that's probably a factor of my age and audio 'upbringing!'

[maxrob200]

I had a NAS wirelessly connected to a Squeezebox SB3 via Beresford Bushmaster DAC and like some of the members here, gave up because of the drop-outs and hassles. Used a terrific android app on my Nexus 7 (Orange Squeeze) which replaced the clumsy SB3 remote and would have been great if there were no drop-outs from my setup.

So, I built a HTPC with some spare computer bits, using optical and co-ax s/pdif to the BM and output to my stereo system, added a touch screen monitor, installed jRiver in theatre view mode and I couldn't be happier. Low cost, very good performance from flac files

[Mark Pope]

I bought myself a Cambridge Audio NP30e and ReadyNAS duo ostensibly so I could rip my vinyl to hard disk and then get rid of my turntable.
It didn't quite work out like that. I found that ripping to hard disk was time consuming and frustrating and I ended up enjoying listening to the music instead. I ended up having my LP12 turntable upgraded with a Lingo and a new Benz Micro Ace SL cartridge fitted to my Ittok. Since then,my vinyl collection has grown substantially!

Streaming has its place. I have been a member of the B&W Society of sound for just over 2 years, which sends me two downloads of high-res music a month.
I have also ripped a fair few CDs to the NAS, mainly so I can then transfer them to a FiiO X3 to enable me to listen to music when I'm commuting on the train.

I have found that I have become much more source-agnostic recently. I have a large(ish) collection of CDs as well as a large vinyl collection. I tend to think in terms of what I want to listen to, which determines the source, rather than the other way around. If I have the same music on vinyl, CD and on NAS (usually where a vinyl album comes with a copy of the music on CD), then my preference will be to listen to the vinyl copy rather than the digital versions.

I have been tempted to upgrade my streamer, but so far, I have resisted. I remain unconvinced that higher resolution digital files are really any better than the CD quality equivalent.

[struth]

CD quality rips are as good az I can hear tbh. Dont think ill get mine any better and am very happy with it. but still like you will play the vinyl mastered version in preferance

[awkwardbydesign]

My Squeezebox Duet seems to be behaving itself, apart from the occasional problem with the DC input. The linear PSU will solve that, as I will wire it differently.
My main frustration with it, is sometimes a folder from the computer (copied on to the NAS) appears on the Duet remote and sometimes it doesn't! There is probably(?) a logical reason for this, but with my ignorance level I wouldn't know what that is.
At least it's only my wife's downloads, mainly single MP3 songs, so I can live with that. :lol: