HIFI Computer system

[Rikki Kitto]

Need to get a new computer that will mainly be used for my iTunes library, just wondered if any of you whizzz kidds might have ideas as to what's best for speed storage and sound quality

[ash2050]

Custom made using indivudal components as you're restricted to what you can get off the shelf.

Will also be cheaper.


http://www.cclonline.com/ > cheap on components.

[Colesy]

I've just built a small PC like this one:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/co...t-server-caps/

I use Squeezeboxes (similar to Sonos) to stream the music around the house so didn't need the expensive sound card etc. The build was less than £100 + HDD using second hand motherboard & RAM. If you're just streaming music from it you don't need a very fast machine, just keep it free of the usual junk programs it it should work well. The power consumption of this should be ~18W so something you can leave on all the time if wanted.

[Rikki Kitto]

That looks great, cheers for the link

[Sonic]

Is this a storage medium with seperate hifi or the "hifi" element being part of the computer?

If the former than storage is all dependent upon the format e.g. CD is 44khz @ 16bit, if you transcode this to something like aac vbr2 then it's going to be pretty decent in the car and such and probably at home, but you may well begin to notice a difference from the original format. Storing it in compressed but lossless FLAC format or similar is the best for quality.

As per Colesy's post above, you're best getting something like a Sonos to connect to your hifi element and stream from the digital source, or if you want to turn it up to 11... http://www.linn.co.uk/all-products/n...-music-players

[Rikki Kitto]

Hifi element built into the computer as this will now be my main source of playback, either from CD's or iTunes library, soundcloud etc

Sound is delivered through the TV and a Yamaha soundbar with Kef Subwoofer, not really Hifi I know but best for the room it's in and the ease of use.

[curlyks2]

If it's going to be in the same room as the speakers/tv/you, then I'd personally be looking for something quiet, small, big HD for storage, and sound quality appropriate to your music, the compression (or lack of it) of your audio files, and your hearing. Your budget will then dictate how much of that you can get and/or the compromises you make.

No connection to any of the following, but might be worth a click through:
Tranquil PC - makers of small quiet PCs
Quiet PC - suppliers of quiet PCs and components
DV247 - retailers of music stuff, including high(er) end computer sound/audio cards

[Rikki Kitto]

Nice one guys always helpful on this Forum

[Greg_S]

You could also looking at building from a single board PC and adding a decent sound card to go along side it.

Take a look at http://www.raspyfi.com There are some similar projects brewing for the beaglebone too.

You would likely need an external HDD drive plugged in, or stream from your NAS/online as I do

[Rikki Kitto]

Sounds great

[mcandmar]

Raspfi sounds interesting but not exactly plug and play, "some assembly required".

There seems to be a lot of different Yamaha sounds bars, does your model have a built in DAC? i.e. Coax or optical digital inputs. If so a small pc based on a mini-itx board with a digital out would be the ideal setup IMO. Ordinary analog audio outs from computers are usually really crappy quality, you really need a decent sound card, external DAC/AMP, or use your sound bar if it has a DAC built in.

[Rikki Kitto]

Yes it has optical and HDMI links