[JLM]

If I go with a PC/Mac for a music server it will also serve as my desktop computer.  The room isn't huge, but following along the wall requires almost 30 feet of cable.  What's the possible/best solution? 

USB?

Coax?

Toslink?

Wireless (specify mode)?

TIA

[riffer]

I'm about 20' away.

USB - Too much of a hassle, as you will probably need a repeater.  I also had problems with the connection dropping.
Coax - Potential Grounding/surge protection issues.

I use Toslink, as that's the free connection I have on my DAC.

Wireless?  If you have the connection, you could try it.

[werd]

Hi

Get an audio card with xlr out and use that to feed a dac. Or use xlr in analogue to feed your amp. Xlr cables  that you have hanging around in analogue will still move a digital signal so you don't need to go buy dedicated digital xlr.

I needed about 50 fifty and the reason I bought the bdp. 50 feet in Ethernet is cheap and you are not streaming music but just commands.

[Russtafarian]

I've wrestled with this for a long time.  A Squeezebox used to be the easiest way to get great sound from a remote computer to the system and I used one for years. 

With PCs being relatively cheap and the emergence of wifi ipad/android control apps, I recently bit the bullet and integrated a $500 Win7 laptop running Jriver into the system as a dedicated music server.  Along with the Jremote IOS control app, it works really well and sounds great.

Russ

[HAL]

Either a Logitech Squeezebox Touch or a WiFi DAC would be the easiest for a separated setup. 

USB2 is supposed to be a maximum of 5 meters, so to short for the run.

If you have a I2S Bus input DAC, one possibility would be an M2Tech Evo via Ethernet I2S Bus cable to a DAC.  The Evo has line drivers on the I2S Bus output.  I have built DIY DAC's and used this up to 25' as that was my longest Ethernet cable. 

Good luck with the setup.

[mcgsxr]

Personally, I would consider Toslink.  Not everyone's fav, but the best way to affordably (ok, cheaply!) and reliably connect over that distance I figure.

I know that you played around with wifi years ago, and were not thrilled.

At present, I use an old (2006 or so G4) mini as my music server.  That is all the mini does in my system.  It sits right beside my receiver, and I use a usb-toslink converter to get the music out.

I have a 30 foot Toslink cable between my plasma and my receiver, so I know it will work over that distance.  My current install does not leverage the toslink, but a previous one did, with reliable results.

[JLM]

We have a wireless network, normally reliable, but I'm not computer savvy or in control of the router.

Yes some sort of dedicated server (like my existing old desktop) would be an easy answer, but it doesn't have an optical or coax output (and that's what my DAC offers for inputs).  Plus I don't have a smart device for remote control.

Too bad Logitech is dropping the SB, I hoped that they'd work through the HD glitches with the Touch.

Few PC's offer optical, so it looks like a iMac.  Just have a hard time spending $$ for a dedicated music server when I need a new computer anyway.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming...

[geowak]

I use the following connections.

WIRED Toslink to a DAC and
WIRED Coax to DAC
WIRELESS to an Apple airport extreme from ITUNES on MacBook
WIRELESS via two Pure I-20 docks and Iphone playing a MOG app via Apple Airport extreme

WIRED- For critical listening I use a Rega Apollo CD player feeding a Benchmark DAC into a Line Magnetic tube amp
WIRELESS- For casual listening I use a  Roku box or Pure I-20 dock and my flatpanel LCD as a display for MOG and run the audio into a Schitt Bifrost DAC and into a Parasound Halo amp and preamp.

I used to use a SB3 classic, but not anymore, although I still have it.

[mcgsxr]

My Mac Mini is so old that it lacks the Toslink built into every version since JLM.

I use a Ha Info device that is USB-Toslink to convert, and then run it into my receiver.

I use an iTouch as my remote for the Mac, and an App called Touchpad.  It allows me to use the iTouch as a wireless mouse and keyboard for the Mini, and also as a remote for the iTunes running on the Mini.

I imagine that something similar could be done with an old desktop.  I just use the Mini as it is really small form factor, and quiet.

[silver_strings]

Toslink or wifi, with toslink there is much less data loss over distances.

[kyrill]

I am convinced that the best way is at least  in high end mode is an ADNACO S3b  ( not toslink) PCIe that ends in a 2x usb 'outlet' via fiber glass
it is full USB3.0 and full galvanic isolation between server and usb out max wire length is 100 mtr
The advantage is also extreme thin flexible fiber cables and the usb out needs its own dedicated  separate 5v  power supply to power the usb bus. I use a Hynes 5v linear  pws. It is the best sounding usb out a computer possibly can have at this moment. it blows away the SoTm ( which is a very good second and much better sounding than any normal USB out

http://www.adnaco.com/products/

[jqp]

I am convinced that the best way is at least  in high end mode an ADNACO S3b  ( not toslink) PCIe that ends in a 2x usb 'outlet' via fiber glass
it is full USB3.0 and full galvanic isolation between server and usb out max wire length is 100 mtr
The advantage is also extreme thin flexible fiber cables and the usb out needs its own dedicated  separate 5v  power supply to power the usb bus. I use a Hynes 5v linear  pws. It is the best sounding usb out a computer possibly can have at this moment. it blows away the SoTm ( which is a very good second and much better sounding than any normal USB out

http://www.adnaco.com/products/

price range of this item?

[kyrill]

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XLQLNO
349$

30feet fiber wire http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092967U2

12 $

These are obviously no high end prices as there sound quality was not the aim of the manufacturer but a 'discovered' by product of a Taiwan (or Korean?) audio forum. They even replaced the clock inside for an audio precision clock with the expected results. The units are designed for research and industry
The "uber" audiophile industry has not discovered yet these fiber cables and the hardware structure they need, so the prices are more real. If this becomes the new reference (why not?) expect in the nearby future "audiophile" glass wires 1000 dollar and up for 3 feet or more

A  3 feet wire is available at Amazon for only 8 dollars.. I bought a 3 feet as well. Different lengths can be found at Ebay

I dont need the 30 feet, my dedicated music PC is in the same audio rack as the rest of my setup. But I heard a much more musical rendering of the music files when feeding an Audiophilleo 2 PP. Even with the Sonicweld Diverter there was an improved focus and transparency although less than with the Audiophilleo. The disadvantage is that bad recordings are also better exposed but still less mechanical, less electronic.  JKenny MK2/3 owners do not need this Adnaco for clearer music. I could not hear a difference that I could  be sure of.  But the difference into a Burson USB DAC HA-160D was big, more 3d, more musical more focus, more see-thru air around instruments and so on, no differences by the way in frequencies.

[HAL]

Interesting.  A modern version of the old Laser Link idea that Threshold did for it's transports now for PC.

The M2Tech Evo has a Laser Link interface on it as one of the galvanic isolation capabilities like TOSLINK, but that is a S/PDIF style interface.

[StuartA]

NuForce Air Dac
http://www.nuforce.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=11&Itemid=199/index.php

Hardcore audiophiles will turn their nose up, but this product has been a cost effective and flexible solution for me.