[rgcards]

So I'm trying to get back into computer audio.  Several years ago a ripped several hundred CDs using EAC to my  HP computer which I was outputting using foobar to a wired 4 sound dac.  Through divorce and hard drive failure I managed to lose all my ripped files,(although my ex says she will look for the back up drive when she can).  I don't have the patience to rip them all again manually, so when I saw a small green computer sonictransporter AP for sale I went ahead and bought it.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to use it .

1) What is Roon?  Do I need to use it or can I download jriver or another piece of software(media monkey, foobar)?
2) Do I need a micro rendu?  Can I hook the sonictransporter to a dac or my devialet amp?
3) I dont really need to stream music to different sites, do I need to get my router hooked up to the sonictransporter to use it
4) If I need a microrendu, can I substitute one of my many unused laptops instead?
5) What is a NUC and how does one use it instead of a computer
6) Sorry about being an idiot

RG

[FullRangeMan]

I will follow this topic to learn a bit.

[thunderbrick]

Sorry, the name "stupid" is already taken on AC.   Please try another moniker.

[SoCalWJS]

I will follow this topic to learn a bit.

Same here. I was at a home that featured Roon with an iPad controller. Loved the look and the features. Hopefully I'll figure out what I want/need at some point.

(I also get easily lost when it comes to this stuff)

[Mr. Oczka]

I'm an idiot too.  Looking forward to any info or suggestions that are out there.

tom

[mikeeastman]

I'm using the new Roon and not only does it have the best SQ of all the programs I've tried, even as a computer idiot I find it very easy to use. That maybe my only complaint it so easy my wife is now playing music on my precious system .  A NUC is a computer that is set up only to play music, mine runs a Linux program. I use a separate router just to control my system. I use a streamer so I can't help with the micro rendu.

[rgcards]

Sorry I have no idea what you are talking about. Can anyone tell me how to hook up the sonictransporter to my DAC? I just want to rip CDs. I have no desire to go wireless unless I have to. I've read everything I can find but they don't seem to go ocmver the basics. I don't have any money to spend on a player. It seems like one could use a PC. Or can the sonictransporter  attach directly to a DAC? Small green computer does not offer any contact information. Thsnks

[mresseguie]

RG,

Be nice to yourself. I don't know how to answer your questions, but I strongly urge you to repost your questions in the Sonore Circle. Vortecjr and Jesus have always provided helpful answers and information. It was their posting in a different audio site that brought me to AC in the first place.

I hope you get your answers.

Regards,

Michael

[John151]

You are not alone.  While I was once at the top of the audio food chain, the audio world left me behind while I was not paying attention.  Ripped CDs to MPEG 4 on PC,  played through modified Squeeze Box, computer died, using Apple now, just so lost on how to feed the kick ass system I built years ago. 

Not asking a question yet, just jumping back into the audio world, and letting you know that you are not alone.   

[Huck]

I am pretty stupid also..I will be 68 in a few months and I still love listening to music.....I have just recently replaced my cheap $20 dollar Lo******h speakers with a pair of JBL 305's and soon after(3 weeks)I bought KRK 8 inch subwoofer to add a little bottom to the 305's..I was at that time listening to Spotify with the free trial...bought a subscription and just found JRiver to rip some c.d.'s.( got some help with proper settings from folks there).
 Done all this computer stuff with help from my wife ,who is way more 'puter savvy than me.
I am listening from my computer(HP desktop,Windows10),via usb to a Audioengine D1 DAC which feeds my KRK and JBL's...I listen to speakers and headphones,which are nothing special(RP-21's),but sound good to me. Just bought a Schiit Fulla 2(onn it's way),hoping for a small step up in sound quality from my D1?!
 Now I see something else I might (need)...Roon.,what is it and do I need it?...do I need to buy any extra gear to use it?
 Sorry for the long winded post! Huck

[JLM]

Another member of the computer klutz club.  Thought I knew something about computers 30 years ago.  I listen now exclusively to ripped ALAC files on my MacBook Air and iMac via iTunes (relatively small library).  Just got the "free" 6 month subscription to Tidal which has pushed me to upgrade our internet service and wireless router (one thing leads to another) as I experience more drop outs than music.  Thankfully I'm a 'speaker guy' so can ignore all this fuss over hi-res, servers, etc. like the majority of audiophiles I know.  But I do try to keep up on the technology for fear of being left adrift in a sea of total confusion and disconnected obsolescence. 

99% of the 'computer community' have no idea how very very poorly they communicate with the rest of us, the result being isolation.  They are off on their own tiny island (making the obscure world of audio even more fractured and isolated).  Many more audiophiles would like to join them but this technology/communication gap is holding us back. 

There are a few mass market plug and play CD quality solutions.  I have an audiophile friend who won't use a computer for audio and doesn't own a music CD but listens to 100% digital.  He simply controls an $800 BlueSound PowerNode that drives speakers via his smartphone that accesses Tidal for $20 per month.  The PowerNode has even learned to use his favorite remote for seamless use with his TV.

So why can't better sound quality be as simple?

[THROWBACK]

JLM: "So why can't better sound quality be as simple?"

Um . . . vinyl?

I know, I know. I can't take my 2,000 classical lp's to the "home" (I'm 81 and the "home" may not be all that far off). But I can't take my wonderful GR Research LS-9 speakers to the home either. So I'm half-heartedly looking at small-box/small-speaker digital solutions as well. And I never thought I'd say this, but digital is getting very close to vinyl in some recordings. Very close.

But there's an awful lot to learn out there and it keeps changing more rapidly than my interest/ability in keeping up with it. Luckily, I was able to join an audio club (Colorado Audio Society) whose members keep up with the new stuff very well and generously share the results of their experiments. Maybe the OP can join one too.

[Avoosl]

    Finally, a thread for the rest of us! 

    All I can add here is a plea that we separate the idea of computers as such, and our humble and confessed
ignorance of them - from the software which really rules the scene.  None of the endless arrays of baffle-speak
about this and that streaming module or service with its special hook-up needs and such has much of anything
to do with computer know-how.  The basics of computer subsystem understanding are few and the learning path
 to a usable knowledge of them is fairly easy - and rarely pertains to what we need to know about all the diskless
'stuff'.  Learning the whimsical names of all the services available and their special characteristics of rates, bit
length, and which devices are really needed are not.  Knowing which services are needful for us in particular is not
easy, partly because there are so darned many of them, and they add a fear that, in using one or another we are
falling behind on the new one just around the corner.

    Quick anedote.  I was a pro scientific programmer and modifier of DSP algorithms for filtering, spectral analysis and
such all my life.  Nearly none of that has helped in mastering the continual flourishing of newer and better (perhaps)
streaming services and the gadgets that further them.  A week-long class I took in obect oriented c++ in 1995 was
an example of what I'm getting at.  The class was filled with knowledgeable and very sharp programmers.  Throughout
 the week we all fell behind the in-class work with three exceptions.  These three exceptions were secretaries who
knew absolutely nothing about computers and, maybe, even less about programming of any kind - but they were
masterful typers.  The instructor was aware of all this and made the point that, to 'get' OOP, we had to forget about
trying to understand the nuts and bolts of what we were doing, but to merely access the large blocks of code already
there for us to copy, paste and modify a little.  I suppose those who want to enter the ramifying field of diskless music
services and peripheral software and devices must use a similar 'letting go' to advance where we think we need to go. 

    Summary. A  modest proposal: let us all leave aside the need for confessing 'computer ignorance' and realize that it's
all about the software, and allow those with a mastery of these matters to set forth guides to thread the thicket of
services, what they do, what the limitations are, etc.   

[brother love]

I don't have the patience to rip them all again manually, so when I saw a small green computer sonictransporter AP for sale I went ahead and bought it.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to use it.

... Can anyone tell me how to hook up the sonictransporter to my DAC? I just want to rip CDs.

I'll take a stab at some basic info to help your cause. Your sonicTransporter AP is a CD ripping device & music server that stores music (library). You have to put the music into this PC server/ library  https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/audio-server/products/sonictransporter-ap-8tb-roon-server?variant=18120952644#:

With a PC music server you connect straight to your DAC with a USB cable typically this type for whatever given length is needed: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-USB-2-0-Cable-Male/dp/B00NH11KIK/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1513173449&sr=1-5&keywords=usb+cable . You then choose what music player you want: JRiver, Audirvana, Foobar, etc. & you are good to go for your stored CD-ripped music.

But your music server is limited to only Roon, Squeezebox, DLNA, HQplayer (NAA), AirPlay, etc as per FAQ https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/pages/faq:

Q. Can I install Windows software such as jRiver on my sonicTransporter?

A. No, you can only use the apps we provide. These include Roon, Squeezebox, DLNA, HQplayer (NAA), AirPlay, etc

Roon is a user-friendly command control system that "manages" your music collection with good graphics. It costs $119 per yr.: https://roonlabs.com/howroonworks.html

So with Roon, you would need a ethernet cable attached from your internet router for web access. I don't subscribe to Roon, so maybe others could chime in. A network audio player/ streaming device is also needed with ethernet connection & USB cable connection to your DAC. This method also enables you to go the streaming route by using Tidal/ Spotify as a music source, but it is a bit more difficult & requires due diligence (research, queries, etc.):

Small Green Computer has good info available on their site. Take the time to read it carefully ...

https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/pages/what-do-i-need



vvv Thanks srb. I cleaned-up some wording to make more sense with respect to the sonicTransporter device. vvv

[srb]

It seems that only server software can be installed on the sonicTransporter - RoonServer, Squeezebox Server, MinimServer, etc.  A network player must be installed on the network to play music and provide connection to a USB DAC, whether a microRendu, Sonicorbiter, Auralic Aries, Bluesound Node, Sonos, etc.

I don't believe the sonicTransporter can connect directly to a USB DAC for playback, it looks like the only Small Green Computer device that can connect directly to a DAC for playback is the microJukebox.

Steve

[Vincent Kars]

It is a music server.
You can compare it with a webserver but this time for music.
Hence a box hanging around in your network

1-Roon is a media player supplying a lot of meta data. You pay E 100 a year.

2- See 4. Don’t know if direct playback is possible. It is a Linux box hence can support USB audio but the question is if they have implemented this.

3- Yes
To control it, it has a web interface
To rip CDs, it pulls its meta data from the internet
To allow other devices to plays its content, they need to be connected.
Hence you have to connect it to your home network

4- If you configure it for DLNA, any DLNA enabled devices can use the server.
This might be a laptop/desktop running Win (Windows media sharing=DLNA), an Android phone running UpNPlay, BubbleUPnP,etc. A lot of receivers support DLNA as well

5 a NUC is simply a PC with a very small form factor.

[rgcards]

Thanks for the replies!! So grateful for the community.
I have lots of PCs and 1 Mac laying around. Can I just install driver or iTunes and make a music player? Audio is sucking away funds from the college funds!!

[avta]

Absolutely. Use the Mac with iTunes. You can listen To ripped music files ( not flac files yet but that may change ).  I usually rip to Wav but other formats work as well. In addition there are lots of internet music stations available if you’re so inclined.

[Vincent Kars]

I have lots of PCs and 1 Mac laying around. Can I just install driver or iTunes and make a music player?

Sure.
Grap a PC install MusicBee, Foobar or any other piece of freeware.
A far less complicated way to play audio compared with a DLNA enabled music server.

[woodsyi]

Sorry I have no idea what you are talking about. Can anyone tell me how to hook up the sonictransporter to my DAC? I just want to rip CDs. I have no desire to go wireless unless I have to. I've read everything I can find but they don't seem to go ocmver the basics. I don't have any money to spend on a player. It seems like one could use a PC. Or can the sonictransporter  attach directly to a DAC? Small green computer does not offer any contact information. Thsnks

Sorry if I missed it.  What DAC do you have?