Music Server

[vkhandelwal]

Dear Forum members..

I have all my source files mostly in wav on a USB disk. right now I am using my marantz 5006 usb port to play the files. I am searching for a integrated music server which can store my music. the integarted amp is 7004 and speakers are monitor audio RX6( I want these to be used with both receiver and the stereo amp. other equipment details are specified in my signature.

one of the option is olive 03D which I can get from US for 999$. what are my other options with good quality DAC and network control option with USB ?

Thanks for your help!

 

[GeorgeO]

Is the 5006 a network audio player(like the AV 7005)? If yes then you all you need is to get a NAS, which will not be as expensive, since the receiver will access the NAS and play back the audio, files irrespective of the format. If not, then your 5006 will take the line in signal from the player( which will decode the format) and function as an amp only.

Can you clarify?

 

[vkhandelwal]

Is the 5006 a network audio player(like the AV 7005)? If yes then you all you need is to get a NAS, which will not be as expensive, since the receiver will access the NAS and play back the audio, files irrespective of the format. If not, then your 5006 will take the line in signal from the player( which will decode the format) and function as an amp only.

Can you clarify?

Thanks !
5006 is a network audio Player and can connect to DLNA/Upnp player. I also have Xtreamer which can act as NAS and dlna device. it also has preout which I can connect to external DAC and then use my marantz integarted amp . howeer I am looking for a device which can have both a good quality dac and Music player interface. In short I looking to integrate the function ( storage, Player, good quality DAC) in a single device.
OLIVE | PRODUCTS
a product like this.

 

[sam9s]

What kinda Music server would you prefer ..... Windows Based, or Linux based and if linux based then (Headless, meaning no monitor, keyboard required, only managed via browser) or GUI OS based like ubuntu.

DAC is a physical device. You can integrate storage with Music Server, which essentially becomes a NAS then can use foobar/Winamp as your player if using a windows client machine to play your music or a dedicated hardware device like SBT or 5006 which can access the Music server over LAN.

 

[musicbee]

Why not a PC with XMBC? All you need is an onbard DAC like Asus Xonar or an external DAC.

NAS makes sense too.

I've demoed quite a few music servers but unfortunately most of them don't have onboard storage and take input from an external USB device. The ones that have inbuilt storage have limited functionality and are mostly expensive/glorified external HDDs.

A few to consider are...
Bryston BDP-1
Marantz NA7004
NuForce MSR-1
Musical Fidelity M1CLiC
Qsonix (offers storage and management but no DAC)

I've been down that path but unfortunately I could not find an all in one solution. I have switched over to using the PC with an external DAC.

 

[vkhandelwal]

What kinda Music server would you prefer ..... Windows Based, or Linux based and if linux based then (Headless, meaning no monitor, keyboard required, only managed via browser) or GUI OS based like ubuntu.

DAC is a physical device. You can integrate storage with Music Server, which essentially becomes a NAS then can use foobar/Winamp as your player if using a windows client machine to play your music or a dedicated hardware device like SBT or 5006 which can access the Music server over LAN.

Thanks for your response

I am looking for integarted device and that need not be windows based or linux based. I am not looking for a PC based server but a hardware device which can act as a server/player. I don't want to have a NAS based player (I already have that in xtreamer) . attaching the USB disk or integrated disk is fine but the DAC in the device should be good.

 

[vkhandelwal]

Why not a PC with XMBC? All you need is an onbard DAC like Asus Xonar or an external DAC.

NAS makes sense too.

I've demoed quite a few music servers but unfortunately most of them don't have onboard storage and take input from an external USB device. The ones that have inbuilt storage have limited functionality and are mostly expensive/glorified external HDDs.

A few to consider are...
Bryston BDP-1
Marantz NA7004
NuForce MSR-1
Musical Fidelity M1CLiC
Qsonix (offers storage and management but no DAC)

I've been down that path but unfortunately I could not find an all in one solution. I have switched over to using the PC with an external DAC.

Thanks but I am not looking for a PC based server. I already have LAN setup at my home and xtreamer and Linksys E3200 as NAS devices. I am looking for a integrated device with good DAC like Olive which can be remote controlled by Mobile devices. external USB is fine as that gives me option to expand. Miclic (2000$) is very expesnive and out of my budget which is max 1000$. not sure if marantz NA7004 can beat olive o3HD.

 

[sam9s]

Thanks for your response

I am looking for integarted device and that need not be windows based or linux based. I am not looking for a PC based server but a hardware device which can act as a server/player. I don't want to have a NAS based player (I already have that in xtreamer) . attaching the USB disk or integrated disk is fine but the DAC in the device should be good.

"A hardware device that can act as a server" ....... is a PC basically, a server is a PC in all means. It can either be a DIY like I and quite a few other have done or be a branded one like synology or QNAP.

You then decide what you want to do with that PC/Server, make a file sharing machine, music server, NAS.... etc etc. A NAS if nicely built however can fullfill almost every functionality a person would need in an Networked Home entertainment system.

You need to be clear of what exactly you want. xtremer in all probability is your playback device and E3200 is your router, none is a NAS actually.

From your OP ...."I am searching for a integrated music server which can store my music.",.......... so again basically you need a storage device for your music which can act as a music server, which is one of the things a NAS does.

An integrated DAC is something that a NAS does not have out of box, but you can always go for something like xonar essence. Once the music server is setup you can access is via remote from mobile devices. You can even stream music from it to your mobile device out side your LAN via 3G.

Coming to your suggestions ....

marantz NA7004 is not a server and neither is a storage device, its a network music streamer, meaning that it can stream music from a NAS or a storage device. and I think 5006 which you already have does the same thing.

Olive 03HD yes is a storage device as well along with a network music streamer with a 500 GB HDD given in (now doesn't it starts to sound like a PC..) ..... anyway given the price its exorbitantly expensive. With none of the features I found that can not be done via a regular PC (except maybe the touch screen) ... with a price that would be 1/3 of the same.

Lastly musicbee suggestions are not PC based device, the Q Series devices by Qsonix is something like Olive...... ofcourse with different set of features, but it does have the option of inbuilt storage .......... these devices however does not justify the price tag, as you can easily achieve the same via low end PC.

Think about it ...

Regards
Sammy

 

[aashish351]

I built a 1TB vortexbox machine for just 12k. See diy section. Has a headless operation via network, is a digital file player as well as server. Can be controlled via iphone or android. You can connect a standalone dac of any quality you like.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

 

[GeorgeO]

Have to agree with Sammy on this.Besides 500GB storage limit is a deal killer at this time when 3TB drives are slowly getting to be mainstream.

 

[thatguy]

I am looking for integarted device and that need not be windows based or linux based. I am not looking for a PC based server but a hardware device which can act as a server/player.

Pretty much any music server you buy will be a PC. I use the word PC loosely, but it will have a CPU on a MOBO, a few sata ports, an Ethernet port, maybe even wireless card; pretty much what a regular Intel MOBO gives you. Chances are that it will be running linux. So unless you are convinced that the product offers something that you can't build yourself (atom mobo+sound card), I would advise caution. You will be paying a lot of money for a fancy faceplate.

Some customizations like a remote control or a small LCD might be a little difficult to put if you are doing it yourself. But you got to decide how much they are worth.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Words like server are often ---or even usually--- misunderstood. You have a PC? Yes, you have a server. For a very long time, even Windows has been able to make files and other resources available to other PCs on the network.

On the other hand, a Windows-2000 machine is probably not the best way of storing documents, spreadsheets, databases, etc, that are accessed by large numbers of people (personally, I don't think that anything from MS is a good way, but that's just me ) which will probably be done by something that people think of as a server because it will not be used for personal work, even though it may be a "P"C.

So, if you have a network, a LAN, in your house, every PC can be a server. You can play music from any machine on any machine: it is just data.

Stuff like NAS (Network Accessed Storage) comes from my kind of background, where putting additional disks in machines like IBM/RS6000 (Unix) meant buying absurdly expensive proprietary SCSI disks (to maintain warranty). Just as the I in RAID, originally stood for Inexpensive, it was an economical way of putting cheap PC disks onto a network at relatively low cost. Also, all the other system processing could be left out, enhancing the file serving performance.

This has trickled down to domestic use, because people do not want to run a PC at all times to serve files to their numerous other networked devices.

 

[thatguy]

^^^
I get those dirty looks when I tell people that a CD player is a computer with a CD drive and a sound card. They want to believe that a dedicated CD player has this smooth synchronous bitstream that runs from the laser receptor (or whatever it is called) to the point it is fed to the DAC, all implemented in hardware.

 

[vkhandelwal]

"A hardware device that can act as a server" ....... is a PC basically, a server is a PC in all means. It can either be a DIY like I and quite a few other have done or be a branded one like synology or QNAP.

You then decide what you want to do with that PC/Server, make a file sharing machine, music server, NAS.... etc etc. A NAS if nicely built however can fullfill almost every functionality a person would need in an Networked Home entertainment system.

You need to be clear of what exactly you want. xtremer in all probability is your playback device and E3200 is your router, none is a NAS actually.

From your OP ...."I am searching for a integrated music server which can store my music.",.......... so again basically you need a storage device for your music which can act as a music server, which is one of the things a NAS does.

An integrated DAC is something that a NAS does not have out of box, but you can always go for something like xonar essence. Once the music server is setup you can access is via remote from mobile devices. You can even stream music from it to your mobile device out side your LAN via 3G.

Coming to your suggestions ....

marantz NA7004 is not a server and neither is a storage device, its a network music streamer, meaning that it can stream music from a NAS or a storage device. and I think 5006 which you already have does the same thing.

Olive 03HD yes is a storage device as well along with a network music streamer with a 500 GB HDD given in (now doesn't it starts to sound like a PC..) ..... anyway given the price its exorbitantly expensive. With none of the features I found that can not be done via a regular PC (except maybe the touch screen) ... with a price that would be 1/3 of the same.

Lastly musicbee suggestions are not PC based device, the Q Series devices by Qsonix is something like Olive...... ofcourse with different set of features, but it does have the option of inbuilt storage .......... these devices however does not justify the price tag, as you can easily achieve the same via low end PC.

Think about it ...

Regards
Sammy

Sammy,
I am a senior IT manager and in the field of Systems and Network since 14 years.
Please see my inputs below
A hardware device that can act as a server"[/I] ....... is a PC basically, a server is a PC in all means. It can either be a DIY like I and quite a few other have done or be a branded one like synology or QNAP.
personal computer is not a hadrware device which can act as a server only. it can play many roles and it has its own overheads such as relaibility, power consumption, space and cost of software( assuming we are using windows and not dealng with pirated software ) we can have a linux system, but after dealing with network and systems for 10-12 hours I am not intrested in dealing with anotherer machine and my family members bugging as users. any device which provides service to another computer/device can be treated as server but that does not mean it needs to be PC in nutshell.
You then decide what you want to do with that PC/Server, make a file sharing machine, music server, NAS.... etc etc. A NAS if nicely built however can fullfill almost every functionality a person would need in an Networked Home entertainment system.
NAS is just storage mechanism. it does not have player application and interface to control over network for music. check the definition it is just a part of network and a component and it cannot provide all funtion in home network it is just a role/device to sotre data and shared storage over network. A PC can act as A NAS device but a NAS need not be PC
You need to be clear of what exactly you want. xtremer in all probability is your playback device and E3200 is your router, none is a NAS actually.
Xtreamer has NAS capability and can act as a NAS/upnp/dlna device . it can also act as FTP server
Linksys E3200 can also share the storage over network for both linux and windows machineFrom your OP ...."I am searching for a integrated music server which can store my music.",.......... so again basically you need a storage device for your music which can act as a music server, which is one of the things a NAS does.
this can either store integrally or have an option to attached USB disk

An integrated DAC is something that a NAS does not have out of box, but you can always go for something like xonar essence. Once the music server is setup you can access is via remote from mobile devices. You can even stream music from it to your mobile device out side your LAN via 3G.
NAS is just storage over network and can be accessed by music server/client( a device which may be your receiver, media xtreamer or PC ) NAS is network attached storage and we do not add DAC to NAS . But DAC is used wherever we need to covert D to A signal or reverse.
I am not looking for streamer. I have that in xtreamer, my mobile, and My tv apart from my laptop , tablet and PC. I am looking for a device with audio player which can connect to my amp locally and store my digital music files internaly or on a uSB disk attached to it with good qulaity DAC.

Coming to your suggestions ....

marantz NA7004 is not a server and neither is a storage device, its a network music streamer, meaning that it can stream music from a NAS or a storage device. and I think 5006 which you already have does the same thing.
it is not a storage device. it can be a server a server need not have internal storage
Olive 03HD yes is a storage device as well along with a network music streamer with a 500 GB HDD given in (now doesn't it starts to sound like a PC..) ..... anyway given the price its exorbitantly expensive. With none of the features I found that can not be done via a regular PC (except maybe the touch screen) ... with a price that would be 1/3 of the same.
PC is out of the question due to limitation statve above. the price is due to DAC and Player interface and ease of use. I have 5 laptops/computer at home netowrked over gigabit ethernet but I do not want to leave any of them n permanently. I just want to start the amp/device and play my music.Lastly musicbee suggestions are not PC based device, the Q Series devices by Qsonix is something like Olive...... ofcourse with different set of features, but it does have the option of inbuilt storage .......... these devices however does not justify the price tag, as you can easily achieve the same via low end PC.

Think about it ...
Sure!!

 

[vkhandelwal]

Pretty much any music server you buy will be a PC. I use the word PC loosely, but it will have a CPU on a MOBO, a few sata ports, an Ethernet port, maybe even wireless card; pretty much what a regular Intel MOBO gives you. Chances are that it will be running linux. So unless you are convinced that the product offers something that you can't build yourself (atom mobo+sound card), I would advise caution. You will be paying a lot of money for a fancy faceplate.

Some customizations like a remote control or a small LCD might be a little difficult to put if you are doing it yourself. But you got to decide how much they are worth.

Do not agree. see my inline comments in reply to sammy

 

[sam9s]

Sammy,
I am a senior IT manager and in the field of Systems and Network since 14 years.[/b]

err .. good to know .. I am just a poor Tech Consultant ...

NAS is just storage mechanism. it does not have player application and interface to control over network for music. check the definition it is just a part of network and a component and it cannot provide all funtion in home network it is just a role/device to sotre data and shared storage over network

NAS is a storage mech, but it does has an OS and can easily be used with software player depending on the flavour of OS you have choosen, and can also be controlled over network for music/movies/files/images and a LOT more (Not sure where did you get the idea that it cant).

As I said a ...... a proper built NAS can provide every role/function in a Home Entertainment Network (except maybe the fancy activities like touch screen ... ect)

Xtreamer has NAS caopability and can act as a NAS/upnp/dlna device . it can also act as FTP server
Linksys E3200 can also share the storage over network for both linux and windows machine

The model of xtremer you have might have NAS capabilities, but it started off as Media Player. E3200 is a router just because it can let machines connected to it and share storage does not make it a NAS ...lolzzz

NAS is just storage over network and can be accessed music server( a device which may be your receiver, media xtreamer or PC ) NAS is network attached storage and we do not add DAC to NAS . But DAC is used wherever we need to D to A signal or reverse.

NAS is a storage device that can and infact should be made as a music server, if thats what is required. It would be ....errr illogical to have a NAS and have a separate music server to access music from it ....coz all it takes is to have an application to start streaming from it, making it a music server as well

I am not looking for streamer. I have that in xtreamer, mobile, and My tv apart from my laptop , tablet and PC. I am looking for a device with audio player which can connect to my amp locally and store my digital music files internaly or on a uSB disk attached to it with good qulaity DAC

You are most welcome to spent your buck on Olive 03HD or Qsonix then.
BTW all of the above can also be accomplished via a "PC" based NAS, keeping power consumption, space constraint, style, scalability, versatility every aspect intact with a price tag 1/3 of the device in question. (except the touch screen ... )

.

it is not a storage device. it can be a server a server need not have internal storage

By all means 7004 is not a server, irrespective of, if it has an internal or external storage ..... A server is a computer system in strict terminology. In that sense every god damm digital device is a server coz its serving some or the other purpose......lolzzzz

I just want to start the amp/device and play my music.

[/quote]

Well this changes your OP. which seems you were keen to have a storage device for your music acting as a Music server .......

If you just want to start the amp and play the music .... get an iPod connect it with your amp and play ....simple .....!!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

<Cross-posted with Sam>

I am a senior IT manager and in the field of Systems and Network since 14 years.

As somone who is up to date in the trade (I retired a decade ago) perhaps you would comment on my thoughts re the difference between NAS and a media/music server...

NAS just deals with data. A music file or a video file is just a file. Something that is playing that file accesses it in the same way that any computer device accesses any file, local or networked.

A playing device of some sort may not be able to do that. It may require that data is sent to it in a form that it recognises as (eg) music* which it then plays. It may require to be controlled from the remote device. The server must run software that does this, and that point, we can call it a media server.

My squeezebox Duet, for instance, needs to have music streamed to it by Squeezeserver (or compatible) software. On the other hand, the Squeezebox Touch runs its own copy of Squeezeserver software, and can access a directly-connected USB drive (but not a network connected drive/NAS? Don't know).

Network people transcend this client/server stuff by talking about hosts! Back in work days, my network served around 40 people locally, but there were well over a hundred devices on it. What's a printer? Is it a client or a server? Hmmm... after answering, go and ask a hacker!


*of course, the model networking layers still apply. It is still just data to the network/wifi cards.

 

[vkhandelwal]

NAS is a storage mech, but it does has an OS and can easily be used with software player depending on the flavour of OS you have choosen, and can also be controlled over network for music/movies/files/images and a LOT more (Not sure where did you get the idea that it cant).
it may have firmware/OS like HP/IBM/Dell device. a device which has Nas service/function may have other features/services but NAS device need not have other function like Music /Video player streamer etc. we can opt for products from storage vendors Like IBM/HP/Dell but no point here you are mixinf network attached storage with a device/PC which can act as NAS. you need to research more on storage technologies. if you want I can share link to whitepapers on NAS

As I said a ...... a proper built NAS can provide every role/function in a Home Entertainment Network (except maybe the fancy activities like touch screen ... ect)
No sir , it is not mandatory to have NAS device to have all the funtion. are you suggesting it will have Switch, router, display, music server, video section.. everything. are there no NAS device available without these? Go to Storage vendors device and searcg their standalone NAS options. I gues you are only referring to a PC used/tweaked as NAS server and not dedicated NAS.

The model of xtremer you have might have NAS capabilities, but it started off as Media Player. E3200 is a router just because it can let machines connected to it and share storage does not make it a NAS ...lolzzz
it does not matter how it started. even PC started as just computing device for simpler application. abd evolved to have many other functions .
I did not claim that E3200 is dedicated NAS. it can attach a USB device, create user. assign permission and can be accessed by my PC ,smart TV, laptop though.



NAS is a storage device that can and infact should be made as a music server, if thats what is required. It would be ....errr illogical to have a NAS and have a separate music server to access music from it ....coz all it takes is to have an application to start streaming from it, making it a music server as well

not all NAS device can be tweked and can be amde music server. HP/Dell?IBM NAS do not provide customization to haave another application layer over their platform.

You are most welcome to spent your buck on Olive 03HD or Qsonix then.
BTW all of the above can also be accomplished via a "PC" based NAS, keeping power consumption, space constraint, style, scalability, versatility every aspect intact with a price tag 1/3 of the device in question. (except the touch screen ... )
Thanks I will surely go for a dedicated audio/Player/server. the other part is debatable but no point in discussing those

.


By all means 7004 is not a server, irrespective of, if it has an internal or external storage ..... A server is a computer system in strict terminology. In that sense every god damm digital device is a server coz its serving some or the other purpose......lolzzzz
you need to polish your knowledge about server. a server is just not windows 2000/2003/2008/2012 server or a PC or Linux/unix. A server is just not a computer in strict terms. computer is also not a PC in strciter term[/quote]

Well this changes your OP. which seems you were keen to have a storage device for your music acting as a Music server .......

If you just want to start the amp and play the music .... get an iPod connect it with your amp and play ....simple .....!!
I have already a disk full of wav files connected to my marantz. I need a device with good interface and DAC . Ipod is not a replcment for good component in music setup

with so many lolzz in your replies I sense you are making a fun of my comments and that gives me urge to do that from my side as well but please research more and do not limit you NAS knowledge to PC only.
NAS is network attached storage and is not limited to some application running on PC. the concept is to share the files/data over network and is widely used in entrprise networks and is not just for home network and PC based NAS

 

[vkhandelwal]

<Cross-posted with Sam>


As somone who is up to date in the trade (I retired a decade ago) perhaps you would comment on my thoughts re the difference between NAS and a media/music server...

NAS just deals with data. A music file or a video file is just a file. Something that is playing that file accesses it in the same way that any computer device accesses any file, local or networked.

A playing device of some sort may not be able to do that. It may require that data is sent to it in a form that it recognises as (eg) music* which it then plays. It may require to be controlled from the remote device. The server must run software that does this, and that point, we can call it a media server.

My squeezebox Duet, for instance, needs to have music streamed to it by Squeezeserver (or compatible) software. On the other hand, the Squeezebox Touch runs its own copy of Squeezeserver software, and can access a directly-connected USB drive (but not a network connected drive/NAS? Don't know).

Network people transcend this client/server stuff by talking about hosts! Back in work days, my network served around 40 people locally, but there were well over a hundred devices on it. What's a printer? Is it a client or a server? Hmmm... after answering, go and ask a hacker!


*of course, the model networking layers still apply. It is still just data to the network/wifi cards.

Agreed,
if you see my post we both are on same page. I am aslo stating that NAS is a storage device and it is not mandatory for a NAS device to have other function such as media server. printer is a serve if it is a network printer. the device which is acting as print server is surely a server.

 

[vkhandelwal]

Network-attached storage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just for starters. storage is a vast field and it can take alot of time to get acquainted.. NAS/SAN/FC and many more..
somehow my simple question for music server options has been converted into a discussion on Storage technolgies