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  1. #26
    Forum Regular Mike Anderson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    I don't have any problem with the idea theoretically, but practically I don't have a good way to run wires from PC to my stereo anymore
    The Squeezebox can operate wirelessly.

    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    and I don't want to have it on all the time.
    You could use a NAS hard drive if you don't want the computer on. Also, you can get Internet radio w/o the computer.
    There's an audiophile born every minute. Congratulations; you're right on time.

    FREE RADICAL RADIO: Hours of free, radical MP3s!

  2. #27
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    this may be a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway. Is this solution very different or better then using an ipod to store my music and connecting it direcly to my amp?
    -m

  3. #28
    Forum Regular Mike Anderson's Avatar
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    ^^^ Yes, it's completely different. With the Squeezebox:

    1) You get as much storage space as you need. I use a 500GB drive, for example.

    2) You get much higher quality sound, particularly if you ever get an external DAC and rip your CDs in a lossless format.

    3) You get a much higher degree of control over your music, e.g. the ability to browse and search through your collection by remote control.

    4) You get Internet radio (one of my favorite things about the Squeezebox).

    5) You can play FLAC files and other formats not supported by the iPod (at least not without changing out the software).

    Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod - but I love my Squeezebox more. It has completely changed the way I listen to music.
    There's an audiophile born every minute. Congratulations; you're right on time.

    FREE RADICAL RADIO: Hours of free, radical MP3s!

  4. #29
    Santa Claus
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    Late arrivial

    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    this may be a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway. Is this solution very different or better then using an ipod to store my music and connecting it direcly to my amp?
    -m
    Sorry I'm late.I own the Denon DM33S mini system and found it to be a great all in one unit.They put particular emphasis on the speakers among other things.I changed the spearker wire to the Audioquest type 2 which only made the speakers even better sounding.Also added a sub to the mix to complete the whole package.The DAC isn't shabby either.You may want to consider this option again.Look at the reviews of this unit on the web as it is really something special with the upgrades I mentioned.Good luck

  5. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fergymunster
    Sorry I'm late.I own the Denon DM33S mini system and found it to be a great all in one unit.They put particular emphasis on the speakers among other things.I changed the spearker wire to the Audioquest type 2 which only made the speakers even better sounding.Also added a sub to the mix to complete the whole package.The DAC isn't shabby either.You may want to consider this option again.Look at the reviews of this unit on the web as it is really something special with the upgrades I mentioned.Good luck
    Have you compared your DM33s side-by-side with a full (non-mini) system?

    thanks
    -m

  6. #31
    nightflier
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    Here's a nice & slick looking combo selling on eBay:

    http://cgi.ebay.com/LINN-KARIK-III-C...QQcmdZViewItem

    If it's not over your budget, this would definitely be a notch above the other options.

  7. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    Have you compared your DM33s side-by-side with a full (non-mini) system?

    thanks
    -m
    No,but my thinking is this.That you eliminate alot of potentail problems by getting a seperate cdp,amp and speakers if that what you mean by a full non-mini system.

  8. #33
    Forum Regular hermanv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    I was wondering about portable CDPs. I have a Panasonic that's from 1999. Do you think this would have most of the sound quality improvements. I'll hook it up and do an A-B comparison. What I would like is omething the size of a portable, that was meant to just sit on the shelf, so more square and with a few more options. ....edit...
    Portable CDP almost always use a single shared D to A chip, this takes less room and less power. A shared D to A for both channels causes a 23uS difference in delay between the two channels, not really awful, but they will never compare to a decent or even a cheap desktop unit.

    Even inexpensive mass market players up convert to 24 bit / 96 KHz these days. Take that good advice, find a store that will let you exchange (Audio Advisor mail order/internet will, no questions asked) and listen for yourself.

  9. #34
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    thanks for all the advice everyone. It seems my current CDP might be a little better then most of that era (being a 1 bit model); however, I would still like to pick up a new one just to check it out. My ear isn't the greatest so I might not even be able to tell ... we'll see.

    I have to admit, I'm really getting tempted by the Squeezebox or similar product. How does it compare to the others?

    -m

  10. #35
    Forum Regular Mike Anderson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    I have to admit, I'm really getting tempted by the Squeezebox or similar product. How does it compare to the others?
    I have to say haven't personally tried any other similar product (apart from taking the sound right out of my computer's sound card). But part of the reason I didn't is that it was pretty clear the Squeezebox -- at less than $300 -- had them beat dollar-for-dollar.

    Try it -- you'll never go back.

    There is only one downside: if you want to get error-free rips of your CDs (e.g. using EAC), it takes some time and effort to rip and tag a large CD collection. But once you do, you're golden.
    There's an audiophile born every minute. Congratulations; you're right on time.

    FREE RADICAL RADIO: Hours of free, radical MP3s!

  11. #36
    nightflier
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    There's a pill for that too....

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Anderson
    There is only one downside: if you want to get error-free rips of your CDs (e.g. using EAC), it takes some time and effort to rip and tag a large CD collection. But once you do, you're golden.
    By the way, there are services that do this for you. About $1 per CD at most places and they'll even pick up the CD's from you in most metropolitan areas.

  12. #37
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    Okay, I have a Squeezebox on the way; I couldn't resist the high tech soution. I have a number of options in my house for ripping my CD's; does it make any difference what cd reader I use in terms of the quality of the ripped music? As I thought incorrectly before this thread, I'm thinking since the computer is reading digital data it doesn't matter what reads it ...
    -m

  13. #38
    Forum Regular Mike Anderson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by curiousburke
    Okay, I have a Squeezebox on the way; I couldn't resist the high tech soution.
    Congratulations! I hope you love your SB as much as I do.

    Be sure to check out the Slim Devices forums:

    http://forums.slimdevices.com/

    There are a lot of very, very smart people there who are quite helpful in addressing questions and problems.

    Some of the SD employees hang out there too, including the CEO!

    I have a number of options in my house for ripping my CD's; does it make any difference what cd reader I use in terms of the quality of the ripped music? As I thought incorrectly before this thread, I'm thinking since the computer is reading digital data it doesn't matter what reads it ...
    -m
    Congratulations!

    It may matter; some drives will tend to be more error prone than others, particularly if you have an old one. You can use error-correction software, which will eliminate 99.99% of all errors, but it may take a bit longer if you're using an old drive that generates a lot of errors.

    If you really want to get error-free rips, if you have a little computer savvy, and if you're willing to spend a little extra time on this, you should download Exact Audio Copy. Also, be sure it is configured properly (which takes a little futzing -- you have to set the read offset for your drive, etc,) Do some Googling, and see if you can find the instructions for setting it up.

    If errors are not a big concern (sometimes they may be audible as clicks or pops, but most people probably won't notice 95% of errors), you can use something like iTunes to do the rips. It's fast and easy to use.

    Also, if disk space is not a big concern, use a lossless format like FLAC. That will compress your CDs by 50% without losing any data or quality whatsoever.

    If disk space is a big concern, I recommend using something like Variable Bit Rate MP3 encoding, with an average bit rate somewhere between 200-320 kbps.
    There's an audiophile born every minute. Congratulations; you're right on time.

    FREE RADICAL RADIO: Hours of free, radical MP3s!

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