HiFi : Source III : Home Music Server

The third source element in my music system is the digital music server.

In a nutshell, all my music files are held elsewhere on my home network. Music is accessed via a laptop computer and the digital stream is fed out through a DAC to the amplifier.

The set up consists of three elements:

Laptop : Currently, this is a Dell with one or two issues, like turning itself off or freezing after an hour or so ...
Software : I'm getting good results with Media Monkey
DAC : Cambridge DacMagic

The laptop connects to the home network via WiFi. This means the music files can be held elsewhere so HDD noise is kept to a minimum. Most files are in .flac format. This is a lossless compression format. .mp3s are lossy and it's possible to spot the degradation in a .mp3 file on playback through a reasonable system.

.flacs have different levels of compression, but this only makes a difference to the amount of processor power the computer needs to decode the file. Since this laptop does little else, it's not really an issue.

Media Monkey both catalogues the music files and processes the digital file for export as a digital stream from the laptop via a USB port. When the DacMagic was first plugged into the computer it was identified as a USB sound card. Media Monkey can use a variety of output modules. At the moment I'm using the standard wave output.

The DacMagic can switch between three different digital sources and has three switchable digital filter profiles. The device converts the digital input to a regular analogue output which plays back through my Marantz amplifier.

The music source files are either ripped from the original CDs or, more and more often, downloaded direct from websites run by the artist's label or retailers who are set up for digital delivery. It is possible to find music which is recorded at a far higher fidelity than can be delivered via CD ... more about digital music files another day.

HiFi : Source II : Digital Disc

This article sets the digital disc playback into the scheme of things.

So far I haven't explored the world of BluRay and other exotic disc systems, and at this stage I'm unlikely to given the success I'm starting to have with digital playback from computer music files ... more about this later.


However, like vinyl, I think CD will be around for a while yet.

The CD playback trail here consists of two parts:

CD transport/player : Marantz CD5001
DA converter : Cambridge DacMagic

The Marantz has been superseded by the CD5003, but I doubt if it sounds any better. Besides, I am using the player only as a disc transport by taking the digital output direct and playing it through the DacMagic which converts the digital signal to analogue for playing through the amplifier.

The DacMagic also has the ability to filter and profile the output although any changes are barely perceptible. It also handles the digital output from the computer when using it as a music server and switches between up to three digital sources.

So, basically, all digital sources are directed via the DacMagic and its DAC to the amplifier.

Found; a home for my hifi

So far so good. I'll go through the components individually a bit later on.

It's distinctly British looking; small stand-mounted speakers - Quad 11L2s - and components tuned to the European ear, although manufactured by Marantz.

Most stuff has been brought in from the UK, suitcase by suitcase and powered through a 110v>220v converter.

The turntable, a Pro-Ject Classic Cherry, has had a new 110v/60Hz motor fitted by me. It awaits an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and accurate alignment and adjustments.

I'm also playing with a powered sub-woofer - hidden behind the tables, but this is from a home cinema system and is not very musical. I'd like to try again with a kit I built in the UK which gave seamless results.

If you look carefully, you can also see a Cambridge DacMagic with a USB cable stretching out to my laptop ... This is giving very interesting and encouraging results ... hifi from a computer. More soon ...