No issues Vivek, being a novice at networks I was apprehensive to say the least, but the whole process is not too difficult, though I wish either Jriver/and or sotm had a small tutorial on how to use this with each other, it would have saved me 3-4 hours searching on the net. Anyway no harm/no foul I got it running fine now.Hey Sid, sorry just saw your post now. Am sure you have sorted your issues. Hope it has not been a waste of money for you. I would have let you borrow mine.
JLS you know whose wall wart SOTM it was
Panditji, you will know only if you try it as to whether it is better or worse or much the same. Try get a unit - Sid seems to have found it underwhelming, but his dedicated computer is presumably doing what the SOTM does. For me it sounds good and allowed me to scratch an itch for about 20,000.
Well the tx-usbhub costs approx $350 to the $450 for the sms200, so maybe the clock in that is better, hence their recommendation. Also they have their tx-usb ultra which at $900 is highly regarded and perhaps will sound better than the tx-usbhub (I have been told by a friend who uses this as part of music pc, that the sound is very analog like).
Panditjee..i suggest you to go through the lengthy threads on computeraudiphile website and decide yourself, whether to take a plunge or not.
I mentioned before that in the Sotm website under FAQ on how it improve the SQ of the sms200 it is clearly mentioned that using the TX-usbhubex will improve the sound quality. Here is what they have said:
Thanks Prem. However if one is a member of Computer audiophile, the opinions there on the sotm sms200 and indeed many other lower priced servers is that they are just fantastic and beat every other method of computer audio. Hence my appetite was whetted, of-course having been around the block many times, I know to consider these opinions, reviews etc with a skeptical eye, and I don't really believe these unless I test and hear on my own. Evidently having done just that I am underwhelmed to say the least. Anyways I am making an informed decision. I will also be listening to a higher end lumin server belonging to a fellow audio enthusiast soon and then will consider my further foray either into servers or a higher specd. PC.Hi Sidvee, my 2 cents
Don’t have any experience with music servers. But I have heard the Aurender. It’s very nice. I honestly don’t know how it compares to others but from what I heard, I liked it. I owned the AURALiC Aries Mini for a short period. For the price it’s decent but no great shakes. My gut feel is SOTM would be playing in the same league since both these are priced similarly.
You have a nice optimised PC. Maybe you should tweak it a bit more and be done with.
Music Vault music servers also come highly recommended from people whose ears I trust. A few of them have been recording engineers. Here’s the link
http://www.musicvaultcat.com
All the best in your search for the perfect music server
I was having fully dedicated , heavily optimized Windows 10 with 10 GB RAM. I still insists to listen to it first or borrow it , then make any conclusion about costs comparison with laptop or PC. IMO a stock Sotm sounds better than any other PC with half the cost of all the modification done for audio pc. By the way a laptop and a stock Sotm costs same . But audiophile itches could cost you a car down the line. So it's better to own a stock Sotm or audiophile Pc then to fall into digital jungle of upgradism
I am not into computer audio. But I do follow a lot of threads. I feel nobody is really addressing the basic issue here. 90% of the stuff out there doesn’t get the tone right. By adding fancy cords and more digital gimmickry, the tone is not going to come. You add better cords, isolation, better power supplies, etc only after the basics have been got right. That’s strictly my opinion
