MediaMonkey forum

I'm building a PC just to play music. I was planning on just using an SBlive card, and plugging the line out into my EQ. I've been reading alot on the web about ground loops, and USB DAC's, and all that. Is that just a lot of hype to sell additional equipment? What do you audiophiles suggest for a decent quality reasonable cost solution? [/b]

For me a simple cable to plug into the audio input on my stereo from my laptop (4 feet away) and a wireless keyboard mouse to control it.

Cheap, nasty, cheap, easy, cheap, reliable and cheap.

IF you want to play the music around the house: garage, pattio, family, office, kitchen, bedroom rooms I recommend a VLP FM transmitter.

Check --- Ramsey Electronics for kit or assembled FM transmitters. Only get the version that has PLL freqeuncy control - more stable.

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/

My dedicated PC's sound card connects directly into my FM transmitter. My various radios/alarm radio are tuned to 106.9, so I can listen to my commercial free music 24/7. My outside antenna reaches about 1/2 mile. I've even put into the audio chain a NOAA RX that cut in on an Alert.

Two problems with FM transmitters:

The first problem is that it's illegal in many countries. The FM bands are reserved for licensed operators. I believe that it's no problem in the US.

Second is sound quality. With FM transmission you will degrade the quality and introduce interference.

The best solution depends on you. I have a PC with an integrated solution that sends audio thru fiber optic to my PC. I'm satisfied with this solution. I might not be an audiophile but I set my standards higher than most.

I think the 2 most important decisions are what quality do you rip/purchase your music in. If you start with low quality a good sound card is a waste of money (will still sound better, but improving bitrate is a better solution). And secondly what kind of stereo you have. If you have some cheap system your sound card won't matter.
Now if you have both your songs in good quality (high bitrate or lossless), you have some decent stereo system and you can hear the diference in quality well (in other words you are an audiophile) you can consider investing a bit more. I advise that you use comparison sites like cnet reviews or pricegrabber to get a bit more details on the options out there.

As for distribution you can use a stereo with multiple rooms or a network with various PC's. Another solution is the sonos system which seems to get great reviews, but it is costly. I myself use a personal TV channel to transmit the music around.

I use a cable too, and my bluetooth handy to control MM - that's quite cool

I also thought of these FM Transmitters. Maybe it's illegal, but the range is not noo large, so that it shouldn't be a problem.

i use the fm transmitter it is going to analog stereo unit anyway.

so the transmission is not bad. but going to a digital home stereo unit you might beable to do a direct plug in line from the sound blaster live digital out plug most i seen are the black one beside the green plug.

but i am not sure on how long you can get the cable with out getting a power hum?

if your in the usa you can try the fm transmitter route.

the way i do it is listed in the news and other stuff room here under the audio broadcasting thread.

The external audigy with fiber connecion are often recomended. The external part means your sound has no interference from the PC's internal electronic parts. The fiber cable also has no problem with interference.

I hadn't thought about an FM transmitter. That might be nice for sounds out by the pool, etc. Lots of interesting comments - thanks.
Interestingly, no response from anyone that has a USB DAC at all. Anyone?

Hi

I recently purchased a Xitel USB stereo link which is basically an external DAC. I'm using it with an old laptop plus a large external USB 2 hard drive playing through my hi-fi. I'm pleased with the results, I can't distinguish between the CD player and the Xitel. For me it was a relatively cheap way of bypassing the laptop soundcard.

I don't have any...but i do read reviews all the time....my favorite so far:

http://www.slimdevices.com/index.html

you can see a review from cnet here:


http://news.com.com/Matchmaker+pairs+co ... 37233.html

cheers.

Logitech also have an option which uses their WMS system, rather than FM frequency, making it legal in some countries. Comes at a price though.

http://www.logitech.com

For a good review look here:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/02/16 ... _wms_ipod/

Try Hi-Fi Link by Xitel. It is a $49 device that is basically a 20 foot shielded cable that goes from a USB port on your computer to the jacks on the back of your stereo. The connections bypass your computer's sound card, microphone jacks, etc and take digital signals right up to the stereo where the sound pattern is converted to analog via a digital-to-analog device at the end of the cable. We get absolutely no static listening to Internet Radio or to our own music on the hard drive. We are enormously impressed with this simple device. Our stereo never sounded so good. In the US you can get Hi-Fi Link at Circuit City and on the web. See the manufacturer's description below.

http://www.xitel.com/product_hfl.htm

I also use the Hi-Fi link by Xitel, I think a hard wired system is the most reliable, and I don't have that far to go from my desktop to my stereo. I'm not sure that the technology in this thing (the USB DAC) is any better than a regular cable from a decent sound card jack to a reciever, but mine does sound good. I do have to have the ground loop isolator, due to the bad wiring in my house.
I see that the Squuzebox unit looks pretty nice if you have a wireless network. Ultimately, it's all about how much you want to spend for what you want to do.

pah68 wrote:For me a simple cable to plug into the audio input on my stereo from my laptop (4 feet away) and a wireless keyboard mouse to control it.

Cheap, nasty, cheap, easy, cheap, reliable and cheap.

My point exactly though i have a real remote control in stead of a wireless keyboard hehe .

just a simple 2 channel cable to my stereo and the sound is good

My rig is a rack mounted system, not true audiophile but a solid B or B+.

I have a fast Windows XP Processor, 2 gigs ram, 2 500 gig hard drives with a Raid V interface. The Sound Card is an Echo Layla used card, which I picked up for $125. Instead of making connections at the card, the device uses a "break out box" which acts like sort of an extension cord to a piece of rack mounted hardware in which the analog inputs and outputs are made.

It has about 3x the specs of any card, and is actually used in recording studios for music.

The Echo Layla is handled by a preamp on a tape monitor setting, so phonograph records go through a preamp and an RIAA EQ before hitting the computer.

The rest of the rig is a rack mounted Adcom top to bottom, with an Elisis EQ and a Masterlink for burning Redbook CD's.