[davehg]

Excluse multiple post on Square Circle.

Ok, bought the Squeezebox 3, will likely do the Bolder mods and upgrade the PS. I will be using the SB3 with a Tri-Vista DAC (yeah, I have heard all about USB DACS...I am using what I have).

Since I am starting ground up, I have ultimate flexibility on which PC and software to use with the Squeezebox. I will dedicate this PC to music only, nothing else. All of the solutions below will be linked to external USB or FireWire drives. I really want the best combination of ease of use plus sound quality. Feedback?

Apple MAC Mini.
PRO: Complete, compact, reasonably quiet, good value, very user friendly, can use Itunes playing .WAV or AIFF files, easy to burn to external drives.
CON: Accessories add to price, people claim Foobar playing .WAC or FLAC is better, can't use EAC to rip. Can't use my IPAQ as a remote. A bit of a pain to integrate with my current XP computers.

Windows XP on a fanless or quiet Mini-Itx System
PRO: I already have an XP system to network to, the opposite of the Apple CON's. Plus, I have a Wifi IPAQ I could use as a remote control, plus I can use Foobar and FLAC or WAV files and EAC.
CON: Have to find and assemble (or have vendor assemble) the necessary hardware. Gordon Ranking claims PC's are inferior. XP is a huge OS, so I need a hard drive. Probably more than a MAC MINI

Damn Small Linux on a fanless Mini-Itx, booting off CF card.
PRO: No hard drive, small and very dedicated, can use FLAC files.
CON: Not user or newbie friendly, still have to figure out how to burn to the external hard drives. Can't use my IPAQ

I am leaning toward the MAC MINI, primarily due to convenience. Thoughts? Anyone actually do their own A/B comparisons?

[woodsyi]

SB3 is your transport -- I think you are talking music storage and server platform.  I am using XP with external HD at the moment but will move to a 1 TB nas storage unit that has a barebone OS to support slimserver without PC being on.

[macdaddy]

SB3 is your transport -- I think you are talking music storage and server platform.  I am using XP with external HD at the moment but will move to a 1 TB nas storage unit that has a barebone OS to support slimserver without PC being on.

wowza...

would you please post some links to vendors or further info..? many thanks (in advance).

[JoshK]

What all are you looking to do, what price class and how many discs do you want to store?  It is hard to offer up a solution otherwise.  

Wayne handles the mods to your SB2/3, you handle the rest, for which we can help.  Which OS is pretty irrelevant these days, except for useability.

[macdaddy]

What all are you looking to do, what price class and how many discs do you want to store?  It is hard to offer up a solution otherwise.  

Wayne handles the mods to your SB2/3, you handle the rest, for which we can help.  Which OS is pretty irrelevant these days, except for useability.

thanks for the response...

i am a taper and a collector - i have terabytes of the stuff...

the only reason i am not on the sb3 tip yet, and am sticking with a bulkier homebuilt hifipc (attached to the network) running fb2k and using the ap2496 coax out to feed my outboard dac, is because i need at least 24/96 resolution, as that is what some of us are recording at these days...

[davehg]

I spent a fair amount of time researching the pro's and cons, and will provide a quick review of the feedback, so other's can make their own opinions.

It came down to the MAC Mini for several reasons of convenience. I have never owned a MAC, but the simplicity and integration out of the box is pretty incredible. With an XP or Linux system, there is too much customization required. I can probably do it, but I have so little time to spare. If there is no sonic differences of any magnitude, the easiest solution wins. Linux was really interesting, but just too tweaky unless you already know Linux or have the time to learn.

The MAC mini is also compact, and easily configurable to work with my existing XP and WiFi setup.  

Second, while file formats may sound different, and I will experiment with WAV vs. Apple Lossless prior to embarking on a massive ripping process, there seemed to be NO sonic differences anyone could attribute to the OS and "server/storage" components. The only thing sonically different would be the SB3 vs. an external DAC vs. a USB DAC.

When the 2 SB3's I ordered come in next week, I plan on doing a few comparisons that I will write about. First, the stock SB3 vs. one with a Bolder PS. Next, the stock SB3 vs. the modified SB3 (easy to do since I am only modding one). Third, I will try listening via both XP Itunes playing apple losseless and WAV, and the MAC Mini doing the same.

SHould be fun. My Pioneer Elite PD-S95 CD transport, a true brick if there ever was, is for sale on Audiogon.