[nyc_paramedic]

nyc_paramedic...pm coming your way.

I think its more an issue with VirtualBox not recognizing it then anything.  It doesn't show up at all with dmesg.  Windows 7, no problem.

Bizarre, but its a no-name reader that I bought purely because of its cheapness.  I guess you get what you pay for with these things.

Sent you a PM. You could also use the Voyage Live CD, boot that, and do the install there. Swicth virtual consoles to run the dmesg command, i.e., Ctrl-Alt-F2, etc.

[ashok]

I think its more an issue with VirtualBox not recognizing it then anything.  It doesn't show up at all with dmesg.  Windows 7, no problem.

Bizarre, but its a no-name reader that I bought purely because of its cheapness.  I guess you get what you pay for with these things.

Jim,

I took the same route as you did with VirtualBox. Thanks for the tip. I installed VirtualBox on my laptop (WIndows XP), and then, a Debian guest OS.

Had a bit of a problem with the Debian guest OS not recognizing the CF card, but eventually got it to work. My CF card reader is one that came with a digital camera.

If you have not got it going yet, I can send you a PM with the steps I took to make the Debian guest OS recognize the flash card. (Or I can post the steps here if it will be of general interest.)

Once that was accomplished, I was able to install Voyage MPD on the CF card. There were a few missteps along the way. But I think it is done now. All I need is the ALIX box to see if I did it right.

[JDUBS]

Guys, I appreciate the posts and PMs!  The reader officially stopped working in Windows, too.  nyc_paramedic has graciously offered to help me out getting the os on the card.

Ashok, you were using MPD on your ioBox, previously (like me), right?

-Jim

[ashok]

Ashok, you were using MPD on your ioBox, previously (like me), right?

Still have it, but I find my CD player does a better job than the ioBox. Plus the limitation of 16 bits with the MPD implementation on the ioBox - I am looking for a better solution.

[nyc_paramedic]

Once that was accomplished, I was able to install Voyage MPD on the CF card. There were a few missteps along the way. But I think it is done now. All I need is the ALIX box to see if I did it right.

Is our Alix on order? A 3d2 or 2d2? Can you elaborate on your specific setup, i.e., NAS, DAC, etc?

[nyc_paramedic]

I will join here, just ordered a ECS MD-110 barebone and I will install Vortexbox 16 on it.
Will select an USB DAC later, though.

Not that your not welcome to the discussion, but the hardware and software you mentioned are not Alix nor Voyage MPD. Isn't Vortexbox an all in one (server, ripper, tagger) solution?

[ashok]

Is our Alix on order? A 3d2 or 2d2? Can you elaborate on your specific setup, i.e., NAS, DAC, etc?

It will be a 2C10 kit, referred to earlier. I had a CF card handy so I gave the Voyage install a shot.

NAS for now is the Linksys NSLU2, with a USB attached drive. I had uNSLUng it a few years ago. The old Firefly media server is installed on it - I used to have a Roku Soundbridge that needed it.

I believe MPD should not have any problems seeing that drive.

USB DAC will be either the HRT streamer II (or) Grant Fidelity tube dac. I am tilting towards the GF DAC, on account of it being able to accept 3 digital and 2 analog inputs.

[jeffery]

Hi, I have 2 questions:

1.Why there no body talk about Intel Atom, is the sound quality of Alix better than Atom?

2.There are many USB dac need drivers, and some of them don't have Linux driver, how to solve this problem?

[nyc_paramedic]

Hi, I have 2 questions:

1.Why there no body talk about Intel Atom, is the sound quality of Alix better than Atom?

2.There are many USB dac need drivers, and some of them don't have Linux driver, how to solve this problem?

1. The first generation ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Atom#First_generation_cores) Atom's were crippled by pairing them with a chip set (i945) that actually consumed *more* power than the Atom CPU itself. Also, and this is relevant to the current generation of Atom boards as well, I have searched the internet high and low for a headless Atom board and have yet to find one as simply elegant as the Alix 3d2 for feeding a USB DAC  --that is, truly headless (no VGA circuitry) and with the minimum amount of electronics on board to get the job done.

There have been _announcements_  by some SBC (specialty single-board-computer) manufacturers concerning new SBC utilizing the new Z series Atom CPU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Atom#Second_generation_cores), but I haven't seen anything actually available. Plus, any industrial SBC will cost you a minimum of $300-$500 USD. That's _if_ you find someone to sell you a single quantity item. In contrast, the PC Engines boards offer an incredible value and are available in single quantities. The new Bryston BDP-1 digital player is based on an Alix 1d.

2. There are many companies that are selling USB DACs with custom drivers. Some will offer a Linux driver and it should not be too much trouble to get it running with Voyage MPD --if it's not already included in the Linux kernel. Some, though, will only offer  closed, proprietary drivers for Windows and Mac only. To that I say: Vote with your wallet and don't buy the product. How will you know if the manufacture will support a future version of your operating system? How quickly will they fix bugs, if ever? What happens if the manufacturer of your DAC goes out of business? Is their source code entangled with third party IP (intellectual property) so it can never be released into the public domain? This is why open standards (USB Audio Class 1 and Class 2 Audio) are a good thing. I know that my expensive Ayre USB DAC will be usable by me for as long as I can find a machine with a USB 2.0 port.

I forgot to mention a new Atom board that is currently available in single quantities, the OpenVox IPC100. 1.1Ghz and 1.6Ghz fanless Atom (http://www.openvox.cn/products/show.php?itemid=161&lang=2)

[jtwrace]

This is what I bought:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=280532918295&index=1&nav=SEARCH&nid=07487510469

Is this really all that's needed?  Wireless capable?  Can itunes be used? 

[nyc_paramedic]

Is this really all that's needed?  Wireless capable?  Can itunes be used?

No, iTunes can not be used. This setup used MPD as the music server. What DAC do you have?

[jtwrace]

No, iTunes can not be used. This setup used MPD as the music server. What DAC do you have?

Wavelength

It appears that Linux will support NFS(+) drive format so what needs to be done to the library? 

Being that I have a Mac Mini this is very interesting.  Amarra capable?  Sorry for the noob questions. 

I just got a new OWC quad interface HD with the Oxford chipset.   

[JDUBS]

What would you need this for if you already have a Mac Mini performing (I assume) network music serving?

-Jim

Wavelength

It appears that Linux will support NFS(+) drive format so what needs to be done to the library? 

Being that I have a Mac Mini this is very interesting.  Amarra capable?  Sorry for the noob questions. 

I just got a new OWC quad interface HD with the Oxford chipset.   

[jtwrace]

What would you need this for if you already have a Mac Mini performing (I assume) network music serving?

-Jim

Why not?  No advantage? 

[nyc_paramedic]

Sorry for the noob questions.

 

No apologies, please.

Wavelength

OK, a USB DAC.

It appears that Linux will support NFS(+) drive format so what needs to be done to the library?

Yes, the Linux kernel does support NFS.
 

Being that I have a Mac Mini this is very interesting.  Amarra capable?

No, not Amarra capable. Amarra only runs on Mac OS X. And MPD will not be interacting with your iTunes in any way. You can use your Mac Mini as a simple NFS file server, though.We're using Voyage Linux as the operating system on the small Alix single board computer. Music Player Daemon is the music server that will be feeding data to your Wavelength DAC. We also use an MPD "client" that controls the MPD server and takes care of things like play lists, album art, etc.

Because we run a headless Linux and MPD, we have no need for desktop operating systems (like Mac OS X or Widnows) and all their cruft, i.e., window manager, drivers for VGA, etc. We also run mpd clients on other machines, not on the Alix.

Because we run ALSA and MPD, we can have them talk directly to the DAC (bit-perfect!) in a simple manner and obviate the need for complex programs like Amarra.

All you need, with this configuration, to feed you Wavelength USB DAC is:

An Alix board running Voyage Linux and MPD
Your music files on the network available via NFS
Some other device to control MPD: a netbook, dekstop, iPhone, iPod touch, Android phone, bluetooth phone, Nokia Tablet, etc.

All the software is free. The Alix costs ~125. You also need a small 12v power supply of your choice. You will be very impressed by the sound quality.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Nick

 

[jtwrace]

 

No apologies, please.

OK, a USB DAC.
 

Yes, the Linux kernel does support NFS.
 
No, not Amarra capable. Amarra only runs on Mac OS X. And MPD will not be interacting with your iTunes in any way. You can use your Mac Mini as a simple NFS file server, though.We're using Voyage Linux as the operating system on the small Alix single board computer. Music Player Daemon is the music server that will be feeding data to your Wavelength DAC. We also use an MPD "client" that controls the MPD server and takes care of things like play lists, album art, etc.

Because we run a headless Linux and MPD, we have no need for desktop operating systems (like Mac OS X or Widnows) and all their cruft, i.e., window manager, drivers for VGA, etc. We also run mpd clients on other machines, not on the Alix.

Because we run ALSA and MPD, we can have them talk directly to the DAC (bit-perfect!) in a simple manner and obviate the need for complex programs like Amarra.

All you need, with this configuration, to feed you Wavelength USB DAC is:

An Alix board running Voyage Linux and MPD
Your music files on the network available via NFS
Some other device to control MPD: a netbook, dekstop, iPhone, iPod touch, Android phone, bluetooth phone, Nokia Tablet, etc.

All the software is free. The Alix costs ~125. You also need a small 12v power supply of your choice. You will be very impressed by the sound quality.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Nick

 

Interesting.

Has anyone compared this setup to the Mini with or without Amarra?  Second, for setup use can one use a monitor and keyboard at first?  I do have an itouch for headless control.

I do not have an ethernet HD.  What are you using?  Plugged directly into this computer.  Right? 

Would I just need to take all my album files from my current HD and put them onto another NFS drive? 

[nyc_paramedic]

Has anyone compared this setup to the Mini with or without Amarra?

I don't know. Personally, I haven't as I don't own any Windows or Mac machines.

Second, for setup use can one use a monitor and keyboard at first?  I do have an itouch for headless control.

No. The Alix 2d2 and 3d2 have no VGA port. You can use your Mac Terminal program to log into the Alix over the network to finish configuration. 'Tis simple as typing ssh 192.168.x.x

I do not have an ethernet HD.  What are you using?  Plugged directly into this computer.  Right?

I use my Linux desktop computer as an NFS server. It's located in a spare bedroom. It's plugged into my network switch. The Alix can see my FLAC files over the network.

Would I just need to take all my album files from my current HD and put them onto another NFS drive?

 

You could do that. Or use any flea market Pentium II/III/4 (you might need an $11 SATA controller) and turn that into a simple NFS server. I've heard nice things about FreeNAS and it all configurable from a web browser. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FreeNAS

Though, I think your Mac will do fine as an NFS server as well:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1240&bih=792&&sa=X&ei=3OTzTLigH8T38AbN-rX2Cw&ved=0CBMQvwUoAQ&q=mac+os+x+nfs+server&spell=1

http://mactechnotes.blogspot.com/2005/09/mac-os-x-as-nfs-server.html

[TomS]

Interesting.

Has anyone compared this setup to the Mini with or without Amarra?  Second, for setup use can one use a monitor and keyboard at first?  I do have an itouch for headless control.

I do not have an ethernet HD.  What are you using?  Plugged directly into this computer.  Right? 

Would I just need to take all my album files from my current HD and put them onto another NFS drive?

I would LOVE to hear that comparison, particularly with a nice linear supply on the Alix.

You should be able to access the files remotely just fine from the Mini.  I do it now from my Macbook to my Linux laptop music server.

I think the only challenge might be getting Voyage onto the Compact Flash card.  I might be able to help you there once I get mine working.  I am using Linux on an old laptop to format and load Voyage onto the CF card.  From that point all you need is a terminal session into the Alix.  This could even be done from the Mac command line via SSH.  I will also use Putty and WinSCP from another old Windoze XP laptop to put MPD on it and configure it.  After that's all done the iTouch or an iPad would work great for the client.

[jtwrace]

I would LOVE to hear that comparison, particularly with a nice linear supply on the Alix.

So what you're telling me is that my Mini is taking a road trip soon.   

[TomS]

So what you're telling me is that my Mini is taking a road trip soon.   

No, I really don't know.  At least in theory the stripped down Linux hardware and software should have an advantage over a very big Mac OS.  Mach2Music definitely has the right idea and apparently it sounds terrific, but that OS is still pretty darn big.

My Alix arrived about 5 minutes ago so I hope to start on that tonight.