[nature boy]

Greetings,

I currently have Verizon FIOS high bandwidth internet service with three separate systems located throughout my house -  a dedicated 2 ch. listening room where I invest most of my audio $, small 2 ch. bedroom system for casual listening, and nice HT system (80% video & 20% listening).  Plus a decent investment in a car audio system as I spend a fair amount of time driving for work.

My primary home computer system is an older Dell Dimension DXP061 with an Intel Core 2 2.4GHz processor, 2.0GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive - running Windows XP.  Also have an older Seagate external back-up hard drive.  My system has been running smoothly with very few hick ups, virus and malware problems.

Any suggestions on system or software upgrades before I start ripping CD's to FLAC files and purchasing a Logitech Squeezebox Touch?

My primary interest is having the ability to store and stream CD quality and higher bit rate music.  I have convinced myself its time to transition to the digital music world.  I also don't want to invest in a new PC or MAC system at this time, but do want to keep jitter induced issues to a minimum.

If someone tells me the best solution is picking up a new laptop to simply connect to a DAC in my two-channel system, that's cool too.  Seems like the fewer points between source and speakers, sometimes the better the sound.  If a laptop is the best approach, your suggestions would be appreciated.

Your suggestions are welcome as I start down this path.  Thanks.

NB 

[eclein]

  I use a laptop running win7 64 bit with an external 1 TB USB drive as backup/storage and stream via SB to my AV receiver and find it extremely convenient. I can sit in my comfy chair and listen to any one of thousands of songs from my laptops music library. The SB touch will undoubtedly make streaming easier and more reliable. The one thing I have noticed is the big difference in sound from one file type (MP3) to another (ALAC). I have a mixed bag of file types and can hear the differences so you really have to go all in with whatever file type you pick-FLAC in your case. Convenience is the biggest upside, its elevated my lounging prowess!!!
  That being said after only listening to streamed music for the last 2 weeks I popped in a CD Saturday to see if there was a big difference, and I was shocked at how much better CD's sounded-just a bit fuller, a bit more depth, a little bit better. My squeezebox is a DUET with whatever stock DAC is installed and apparently the touch can stream higher bit rates and I've heard it sounds wonderful so thats a plus.
  I don't see or should I say haven't found a lot of sources for high res files, so it comes back around to CD's for me, vinyl for others. Its gonna happen sometime this all digital thing, but for now I'm holding on to my CD's and using both methods of listening.

[Bob in St. Louis]

NB, seems to me what you have is more than sufficient to stream FLAC to the Touch (assuming the Dell is WiFi).
If your Dell is working properly, then don't touch it. All I'd do would be install the Squeeze software.
As far as FLAC storage is concerned I would store the tunes on an external USB drive. Preferably, buy two of them and periodically back up the main drive to the other. Don't store your tunes on the 250GB internal drive on the Dell.
Without knowing how many albums you've got, it's hard to say how big a drive you need. But suffice it to say your collection will grow so buy a big one and get it over with.
A couple 1.0TB or 1.5TB units will store enough music to play for months without a repeat. That's the way I'd go without getting crazy with a RAID thing.

Also, the nice thing about having an external USB drive is you can carry your entire music collection to a friends house to hear your music on his rig. 

Hope that helps,
Bob

[srb]

Having music files stored and streamed from a second hard drive that is separate from the operating system hard drive is a performance advantage.  However, being a desktop system, and if there is room for a second internal hard drive, I would prefer to store music files on an internal SATA hard drive over an external USB hard drive.
 
I would use an external USB hard drive for backup.
 
Steve

[nature boy]

Steve,

Thanks.  An internal SATA hard drive seems like a good way to go.  I have a computer tech friend who does hardware installs for me for a cold beer.  Do you have any suggestions/recommendations on good dependable SATA hard drive and best online seller?  I buy a fair amount of peripherals from Newegg, they seem pretty reliable and quick.

NB

Having music files stored and streamed from a second hard drive that is separate from the operating system hard drive is a performance advantage.  However, being a desktop system, and if there is room for a second internal hard drive, I would prefer to store music files on an internal SATA hard drive over an external USB hard drive.

I may get him to add some RAM memory while he is at it too.
 
I would use an external USB hard drive for backup.
 
Steve

[srb]

Most modern hard drives are rated for a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of 1.2 million hours.  It is a statistical average, and so some drives will fail prematurely.  Luck of the draw.
 
Depending on who you ask, you will be told that Western Digital, Seagate or Samsung are either the best or the worst.  I have owned all, and have not had any failures personally, although I have replaced faulty drives with all of these brands professionally or for friends.
 
Because my PC is in my AV rack, I chose Samsung F1 drives for their quiet operation and high capacity per platter.  I think any of the major brand drives will work well.  If noise or energy consumption is a factor, one of the green 5400rpm drives will do the job, although one of the faster 7200rpm drives may give a slightly quicker music file rip time and backup time (even when backing up to an external USB drive).
 
I have bought most of my personal parts and peripherals from Newegg and Buy.com.  Both have given me quick delivery and good return or exchange service when necessary.
 
Steve

[nature boy]

My desktop is not located in or near any of my listening rooms, so quiet drives are not all that important. I'll be streaming music via broadband WiFi, hopefull without a lot of drop outs.

Looks like a 7200rpm 1TB drive will work and some of these are even under $100 at Newegg.  Digital storage sure has become inexpensive.

Thanks for your help!

NB

[srb]

Looks like a 7200rpm 1TB drive will work and some of these are even under $100 at Newegg.  Digital storage sure has become inexpensive.

My first hard drive was a 20MB (Yes, megabyte or .02GB) for $400.  That was a smokin' deal compared to the 5MB hard drive for $2000 I looked at a year earlier!
 
Hard drives are still looking a bit small now that I record uncompressed HD video to a hard drive consuming ~8GB per hour.
 
Steve

[eclein]

NB...I have a Seagate 1TB USB drive that works great as a storage drive. Good experience with it.
Just a cautionary thing, I've never been able to stream music over wifi without some drop outs from time to time. I run my SB wired to its ethernet port and it hasn't bailed on me once since I hooked it up. Just a thought....dropouts always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times like say during a party, etc...like i said just a thought.

[nature boy]

Thanks for the comments and observations.  I'm getting a Seagate 1TB internal hard drive and additional memory installed this week.

Eclein I've been thinking about running ethernet throughout the house, but I'm not sure I have the energy or inclination to take on this project. 

My sons xBox (room next to my audio man cave) has not experienced any drop outs from our Verizon FIOS router, but your point is well taken.

Now to rip my full CD collection or get someone else to it?? I value my time

NB

[nature boy]

Got my Western Digital 1TB hard drive + some additional memory installed in my desktop.  I am picking up dbPoweramp and a Plexor PX-880U 24X external DVD/CD super multi writer optical disc drive ($79 + shipping at Provantage).  Should be ready to rock and roll with ripping my CD collection early next week.

Thanks for everyone's help - especially Steve, Chris (lonewolfny42), and Mike Galusha for their very kind help.  AC'ers rock

NB

[nature boy]

With all the new hard drive and external Plextor PX-880U DVD/CD drive in place I am now beginning to rip all my CD's using dBpoweramp software.  Thanks to my fellow AC members for their helpful suggestions.   

It will be a time consuming process, but much easier and better thanks to your input.   

NB

[mcgsxr]

It does take a long time to rip all the tunes, but PLEASE be sure to back it all up.  It will feel even longer to rip a 2nd time, if your drive does fail...

Streaming FLAC is a great musical experience, and all that time spent ripping the music pays off when you want to play tunes, and build playlists from many different albums etc.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Streaming FLAC is a great musical experience, and all that time spent ripping the music pays off when you want to play tunes, and build playlists from many different albums etc.

Yip. On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I've got a playlist of Holly Cole, Jennifer Warnes, and Jacinthia.
Nothing "smoother" than listing to Jacinthia sing "Black Coffee" watching raindrops stream down the window {*}. 

Bob

{*} While doing chores. 

[nature boy]

Yup,

With my "honey do list" done I can concentrate on building my digital music library, sufficiently backed up on an external hard drive and my CD collection if both drives ever simultaneously fail.  Nothing like a back-up for the back-up.

NB

Yip. On a rainy Sunday afternoon, I've got a playlist of Holly Cole, Jennifer Warnes, and Jacinthia.
Nothing "smoother" than listing to Jacinthia sing "Black Coffee" watching raindrops stream down the window {*}. 

Bob

{*} While doing chores. 

[doctorcilantro]

J. River Library Server (and added DLNA) will tie your system together nicely.

The newish "Treemote" function allows you to see every other instance of JRMC as a There Zone 1, There Zone 2 (you rename them). Thus, you can control any other system with iPhone or the PC you are currently on. You can playe unique music to each zone simultaneously.

the list goes on...the options are endless with JRMC.

DC