[Thump553]

I'm thinking of buying a couple as gifts for nonaudiophiles.  What I'm looking for is the ability to play FLAC files from an external hard drive over a conventional stereo system.  Odds are the computer and stereo system would be fairly far apart, so wireless ability is probably also required.

[denjo]

Yes, the Roku Soundbridge.

More info here:
http://
http://www.roku.com/products_soundbridge.php

Best Regards
Dennis

Postcript: does not play flac but supports wav

[Rashiki]

Yes, the Roku Soundbridge.

I've read that the latest model of the SoundBridge, M1001,  always upsamples all input to 48kHz and since CDs are 44.1kHz, there's a bit of noise introduced by the resampling. If your friends aren't audiophiles they might not notice the noise.

An even cheaper option would be to get the Squeezebox Receiver for $149. It doesn't have a display or remote control (you'd have to buy the Squeezebox Controller for that), but you can still control it from the SqueezeCenter interface back on the computer.

[edit] If you really want a remote to go with the SB Receiver, look for a used Nokia 770 on eBay. They go for around $50 and can be used to control the SqueezeCenter interface remotely.

 -Rob

[WGH]

There have been a bunch of used Squeezebox 3's for sale on AC lately going for $150 - $175. I just got one for a friend but they go fast so you have to hang out on AC a lot (not a bad way to spend your time).

I converted all my .wav files to .flac and updated all the tags at the same time, that way it is easy to find artists and albums.

Wayne

[Adriel]

50 ft rg6 cable

[AmpDesigner333]

I've read that the latest model of the SoundBridge, M1001,  always upsamples all input to 48kHz and since CDs are 44.1kHz, there's a bit of noise introduced by the resampling. If your friends aren't audiophiles they might not notice the noise.

An even cheaper option would be to get the Squeezebox Receiver for $149. It doesn't have a display or remote control (you'd have to buy the Squeezebox Controller for that), but you can still control it from the SqueezeCenter interface back on the computer.

[edit] If you really want a remote to go with the SB Receiver, look for a used Nokia 770 on eBay. They go for around $50 and can be used to control the SqueezeCenter interface remotely.

 -Rob

Some comments about the sound quality of Soundbridge, originally thought to be "perfect", but not after recent listening...
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=78181.msg777202#msg777202

[eclein]

If you decide to go Squeezebox receiver and control it with an Android phone or ipod touch make sure you know PERL.
I bought just the receiver from a guy on ebay for $100 and control it with free android app or ipeng on ipod touch, but its tricky to get the receiver to recognize the server (in my case a laptop). I got it working from info in this link:

http://www.charmedquark.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=8392

 If you or the recipients PC/server automatically updates its Windows software, alot of times I have to reprogram the receiver/server connection....just so you know, you might be doing alot of tech support for your recipient. It sounds great but does take a bit of trickery.

[mfsoa]

I don't know if the coupon codes still work, but a bunch of us got Touchs for $229.

I can't imagine anything lower cost than that that does all that it can do, so well.

Maybe if you don't need all of the features there are cheaper alternatives?

But I think the Touch is a bargain for what it does.

-Mike

[MerlinWerks]

The J. River ID will be available soon. I've been a long time user of J. River Media Center, in the latest version (15) they have really ramped up "connectivity" features, DLNA, web browser control, etc. Obviously, this device won't satisfy critical listening requirements but looks very intriguing for anything beyond that.

[BobC]

I don't know if the coupon codes still work, but a bunch of us got Touchs for $229.

Can you please tell me where one would look for such a coupon?

Thanks, Bob

[mfsoa]

Coupons:

There was a flurry of activity on AC for a few days, let me see if I can recall where this would be...

Ahh, the Sweet Deals thread:  http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=78387.0

-Mike

[BobC]

Thanks! 

[lcrim]

Yes there are lower cost alternatives to the Logitech SqueezeBoxen.  There are several threads in this Circle which discuss them.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=62364.0 is about the use of the Alix PC boards made by PC Engines running Voyage Linux.  The cost for the device is around $150 all up but there is the consideration of the USB cable which can be pricey.  This utilizes Music Player Daemon, a program which can play many formats stored on a remote server.
The other Linux based device is the Networked Media Tank as discussed in http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=65732.20 the Dragontech ioBox HD-100 is the unit discussed.  In addition to playing many video formats across a network, the MPD can also be loaded to play hirez (incl. 24/192) music from a storage drive as well as internet radio stations.
This unit is about $170 and has a coax output (to a DAC) and can be accessed via a browser.

[JEaton]

Another possibility would be the Squeezebox Radio for $130-150.  Use the headphone out to connect it to a stereo.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Squeezebox-Radio-Player-Screen/dp/B002LARRDK

[BobC]

I was thinking about this for use with headphones in my bedroom.  Can anyone speak to the Squeezebox Radios quality as a headphone amp?

[doctorcilantro]

J. River just released a little DAC with analog outs; mimics an airport express.

Then you just need a license for MC15 and you can have unique and unlimited audio streams form one PC (controlled by any other PC running MC15 or an iPhone/iTouch)

dc

[AmpDesigner333]

Another possibility would be the Squeezebox Radio for $130-150.  Use the headphone out to connect it to a stereo.

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Squeezebox-Radio-Player-Screen/dp/B002LARRDK

Digital Out is pretty much a necessity for me.  The Logitech Touch would probably be perfect.  The big deal for me now is avoiding sample rate conversion to 48KHz, or at least the kind (algorithm) that Roku SB uses.  Now, if I could just get those coupon codes to work...
-Tommy

[JEaton]

Digital Out is pretty much a necessity for me.

My reply was to the original poster looking for a less expensive alternative as gifts for non-audiophile friends.