NAD CDP with USB & digital inputs

I have no plans to place a PC in my listening room. Most of them are too noisy in dedicated rooms. So the reason I started this thread was to consider a PC'less harddisk based audio system, with a warm clear sound normally associated with standalone CD players. This NAD CDplayer does solve that problem but in an expensive way.

The other options are:
  • WD TV HD with an external DAC.
  • Squeezebox is good too but I do not want to do this over the LAN. I could get a NAS drive with Slimserver installed on it, but that might be a hassle, and I already have a few USB drives that I could use. I am looking forward to an upgrade to squeezebox (long overdue), which might support USB.

Thanks,
Sharad

Neither of those are low jitter transports. High quality PC soundcards/USB or Firewire interfaces are a lot better. The squeezebox is better than WD TV, however to really get it to work properly, you need a linear, regulated 12V PSU. Stock wall wart won't cut in.

Why don't you come over to my place sometime? I use a pure computer transport. You are most welcome to come and evaluate it.

Cheers
 
I have no plans to place a PC in my listening room. Most of them are too noisy in dedicated rooms.

The other options are:

  • Squeezebox is good too but I do not want to do this over the LAN. I could get a NAS drive with Slimserver installed on it, but that might be a hassle, and I already have a few USB drives that I could use. I am looking forward to an upgrade to squeezebox (long overdue), which might support USB.

Sharad, for a long time, I have thinking along similar lines. But the issue of managing and moving a large set of media files across various servers and playing devices is a little daunting to me. I would prefer to keep all my media files in a single location and manage it there. In my mind PCs, because of software, give you a flexibility that other devices cannot.

The Squeezebox is an excellent option for a second room where you would like to music while doing other stuff, or want to entertain guests in the drawing room. But for your main listening requirements, an HTPC connected physically to the amp seems a good option. And today, noise is not an issue. A well conceived HTPC can have a collateral noise level of 15dB or less. This will hardly affect your listening.

DVDPs and CDPs with USBs are becoming common. The day is not far away when you will get either an amp with a USB port or a simple device that has an USB port and excellent connections - something like the Wadia iTransport that can handle a simple USB device. I would not be surprised if such devices come with a Foobar written into them with a simple four or five lines of display using which you can browse and play the song you want. These are already available in HTPC cases, but are expensive. It is not long before they trickle down to a device costing a few hundred dollars. Look at Review of the IOGEAR Portable Media Player GMD2025U120 Hard Drive - PC World. This is a step in the right direction.

Centralizing your media and waiting for that day, is, in my opinion, a sensible option.

These are my thoughts.

Cheers
 
An HTPC would not be able to take care of my HT needs in the near future, for which I already have a bluray player and an HD capable receiver. It can not replace my turntable too. So that leaves just the CD audio. I would not mind moving only that job to a capable player if I get the sound I want. All I would get is just a bit more convenience. So booting a computer every time I get a few minutes for music, does not sound very convenient to me. I would also need to either switch on the projector, or install one more monitor in that room. And the last thing that I am afraid of is the fan noise. I spent extra money on the split AC from Diakin just because it is completely silent in the normal mode.

I could easily use the DAC in Denon AVR 2809 which has two of their new advanced AL24 processors, and even handles DSD signals. But I prefer the sound from the NAD CD player, and even more so the pre-amp in NAD C372 amp. Unfortunately, the Denon AVR has only pre-out, and no line level out for digital sources :(

I do not mind copying the music to an external harddisk once in a while. So that is why I feel that a simple usb hdd based 'transport' with a NAD/CA DAC might work for me.

Regards,
Sharad
 
For Fan noise please use this on the cpu

Scythe Ninja Mini CPU heatsink | silentpcreview.com

Been planning to get this for a long time now. You can skip installing the fan for a low heat 45nm cpu

For the chassis google for 80mm fans with good airflow cfm values rated @21db to < 24db noise.

Lastly use a good quality smps with active power factor correction pfc ( important for audio and harmonics) ex: corsair with a 120mm low noise fan. I use the 400cx for example and because of its large fan it rotates very slowly to achieve the same airflow as a smaller fan. The fan speed too is variable with temp.

HTH
 
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