below is an article from the latest hifi choice by malcolm steward on streaming audio for those who want to dip your toes or not.
reading it and the hassle to get good rips etc so that you can have the so called convienance factor afterwards keep me firmly in using a physical disc format (CD or LP) for now!
Streaming
Your audio life will undergo radical, profound and positive changes once you introduce it to ?computer audio? says Malcolm Steward. In part one of this in-depth audiophile streaming guide, tech-savvy readers can learn how to get it right first time
Malcolm Steward.
Adopting new technology like computer audio (well ?networked audio? is probably a more accurate description) does not mean turning your back on your current sources and software. I still enjoy listening to my LP collection regularly ? although I began to neglect compact disc after having started ripping discs to hard-disk storage. (I am still involved in the slow and rather laborious process of digitising my LPs.)
Regardless of whether your software strategy is one of augmentation or replacement, a network audio player in a system will provide simple access to your entire digitally stored music collection ? wherever that happens to be located; you will no longer need to inhabit a lounge that looks like a CD warehouse.
Another major bonus is that you can add true high-resolution format music to your collection without having to invest in any more discs, SACD or DVD-A machinery. Networked audio, provided it is handled the right way, is a complete win-win situation: it represents the ultimate ease-of-delivery music process and its sound quality can be absolutely breath-taking.
All suggestions in this piece ? for equipment, configurations and so on ? are our personal recommendations. They are not meant to be absolute or unequivocal; they just work to the satisfaction of our colleagues and friends.
?Networked audio, provided it is handled the right way, is a complete win-win situation?
Computer audioLet us first make one thing abundantly clear: not everything that is labelled ?high-definition? or ?audiophile-grade? in computer audio truly is. Genuine high-definition audio begins with files that are greater resolution than 16-bit/44.1kHz and which have not been treated with any form of lossy compression.
It is safest to regard equipment that seeks to extract as much musical information as possible from CD and higher-resolution files as audiophile-grade; not the pretenders, for example, that use the words ?high-resolution? and MP3 in the same sentence.
MP3 and its Apple-flavoured equivalent are not suitable formats for serious listening: they simply provide highly compressed music and their popularity derives from the ?old days? when internet speeds and downloads were slow and hard-disk storage space was prohibitively expensive. On that note, I currently have one folder on a 2TB back-up hard disk (that cost less than ?100) and contains 17,000 pieces of music in losslessly compressed format (FLAC). That folder is under 500GB in size: if you were to fill the rest of that disk in a like fashion, you would end up with about 70,000 uncompressed tracks. You could then play the contents of that disc for two hours every day and keep yourself amused for four years without hearing a single track repeated! Nobody needs lossy compression nowadays, except for cramming their music onto portable players with pitiful storage capacity.
?FLAC employs lossless compression, does not throw away any music and the process is completely reversible.?
Best file format
To illustrate the effects of compression ? lossy and lossless ? we saved a typically ordinary album track, Train by Goldfrapp, in various formats. The file occupied over 53MB when it came off the CD as a WAV. It shrivelled to 12MB when compressed in the so-called high-res MP3 (320kbs) format.
One has to ask how anything can be called high-resolution, when more than 78 per cent of the original content has been thrown away. That is worse than listening to your hi-fi down a telephone connection... while you are suffering from a cold. That, we contend, is why you should not entertain MP3 for serious listening and certainly not for archive purposes. Converting your CD collection to MP3 files and subsequently disposing of the CDs, as we know some people have done, is utter madness.
The sensible way to archive files is to convert them to FLAC, which employs lossless compression and does not ?throw away? any music. It reduces the size of that 53MB song to around 33MB and the process is completely reversible: you can always get your original file back.
There is a little additional processor involvement in replaying FLACs, which may be audible on some high-end equipment ? to a minimal degree ? but you can reduce this with just a click in your software package. The file size difference between the two extremes is inconsequential: it amounts to just 2MB on our test track. Our reason for converting files to FLAC, in preference to WAV is that, to the best of our knowledge, only Naim Audio equipment can attach metadata to WAV files (and metadata is a fundamental requirement for a functional music library).
So for cross-platform compatibility, we store all music as fully tagged FLACs, having not yet come across any popular audiophile hardware that cannot play FLACs (except for the iPhone and that is hardly an audiophile component).
You can sometimes run into problems playing back files of greater-than-CD resolution (16-bit/44.1kHz). However, most equipment, nowadays, ought to be able to cope with 24-bit files up to 96kHz; this currently seems to be the de facto upper limit for most music vendors. That situation is not permanent, though: Linn Records already has 24-bit/192kHz recordings that you can download and other vendors are sure to follow suit.
When you buy a media player be sure you know what its upper limit is before you hand over your cash. Some specialist companies are already talking about producing 32-bit/384kHz recordings.
Getting started
Suppose you just want to clear some shelf space and re-vitalise your CD collection, what would be the best ?audiophile? way to do it? I use two methods: the first is to rip the CD on a purpose-built audiophile-grade hard-disk player, a Naim HDX SSD, which stores the bit-accurate rip on a remote NAS (Network Attached Storage) device in my office (HDX SSD only has a tiny solid-state disk to hold the software it needs to operate: it does not store any music internally). Otherwise, I rip the CD straight onto the NAS using its integral CD-reader using Exact Audio Copy or DBpoweramp software.
I rip the files as WAVs then convert them to FLAC, using DBpoweramp Music Converter software and ensure that all the tagging is correct using the MP3 tag program to strip out any ID3 data.
Some players will not play a FLAC if they find an ID3 tag attached to it. It is not unlike pernickety optical disc players refusing to play CDs that do not adhere strictly to the letter of the Red Book standard. The files on the NAS, which are mirrored on a VortexBox Appliance connected to the same network, can then be played by any UPnP- or DLNA-enabled network player ? from any manufacturer ? in my music room, by the SqueezeBox in the family room or the Naim UnitiQute in my office.
Where to store music
As noted, I keep all my ripped and downloaded music on a Mini-ATX-based NAS and a VortexBox Appliance, along with back-up drives tucked away in my office and only connected to my music room and hi-fi apparatus through a length of Cat6 cable, a GigaBit router and a pair of GigaBit switches.
I have also used Qnap and other proprietary NAS units supplied as part of review set-ups. For optimum performance some manufacturers ? Linn and Naim, for example ? will recommend NAS devices that they consider operate to the best advantage with their electronics. It is worth considering this advice, especially as manufacturers are extremely unlikely to suggest you use something wholly unsuitable with their products.
NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are preferable to regular desktop or laptop computers for storing music because that is their only function so their processor requirements are minimal. They need little active cooling because they only need run a bare-bones operating system and a lightweight UPnP server.
Most will also operate in headless mode ? without any keyboard, mouse, or monitor ? further reducing the potential for noise being introduced into the system. Their network connectivity naturally means that they can be located far away from the hi-fi system, so further reducing the potential for interference.
In the next part of this article we will look in greater detail at aspects of networked audio, computer networking components, and consider wired versus wireless connectivity.
BASIC NETWORK STRUCTUREMost networks begin with a router/ADSL modem supplied by the home?s ISP (Internet Service Provider). Most of these are tacky, inexpensive boxes, including those from the ?big? ISPs and can be improved upon for relatively little expense. Their retail price ? they are frequently advertised as being ?free? ? usually indicates their true worth. The trick is to replace them with the fastest and most reliable devices available ? that means GigaBit speed ? and most people with experience in networked audio prefer single task devices to combination units.
My years of using Netgear equipment have instilled great confidence in the brand, in particular the metal enclosure components. They seem to be particularly robust when equipment puts them under extreme pressure and continue to route traffic without collisions and interruptions.
Furthermore, use decent-quality Cat5e/6 cables to string the network together, rather than using the cheapest Cat5 you can find.
THE ITUNES ALTERNATIVEMany people decide to set up their server-style hi-fi system using software with which they are familiar and with which they feel comfortable. While relatively few people have significant experience with UPnP or DLNA servers ? and in truth, they are not in the least complicated from the user?s perspective ? most of the world?s computer users have come across Apple?s iTunes and have some experience with that.
However, being a music player rather than a server, it does not have the capabilities of true UPnP or DLNA software and its DRM (Digital Rights Management) music can cause problems. Some ? and I include myself in that number ? think that its audio performance is below par and variable. Although, being fair, it is improving with add-ons such as Amarra and Pure Music. I am also wary of its ripping abilities, having compared rips made using it to those made with DBpa and EAC on PCs. What?s more, iTunes does not natively support FLAC files and its importing of WAV files could be much better.
One of the strengths to which it plays is Airplay, which enables you to play your iTunes library wirelessly through any Airplay-enabled device. You open iTunes on your computer or iPhone and select to play music from iTunes through an Airplay-enabled device or loudspeaker, such as the Marantz NA7004 network audio player. In truth, though, this is more a convenience, impress your friends feature than any outstanding step forward in audio performance.
NETWORK PLAYER OPTIONSBudget:
The Squeeze box Touch (HFC 338) is a remarkably versatile Device whose consistent performance seem hard to believe When you consider its budget price and tiny proportions. Your music computer or NAS has to run Squeezebox Server software, which is freely available and, more importantly, impressively reliable. It is also ideal if you began with iTunes, because it will integrate with an iTunes library. Its performance is sophisticated and it is none too embarrassed by being played through a high-end system, thanks to its presentation, which is vivid and musically cohesive.
Logitech SqueezeBox Touch; ?259 or less 01753 870 900 logitech.com
Midrange:
The Marantz NA7004 (HFC 344) is one of the first network Players to feature Apple?s Airplay, which allows your iPodor iPhone to play an iTunes library through it to your system. It connects to your network through Ethernet cable and Does not offer a wi-fi connection (which is no great loss). Compared to the Naim UnitiQute the Marantz wins out In terms of facilities and approaches it interms of being Musically engaging. That is not bad for a unit that costs only half the price of its competitor...even if it does save some of that money by not offering any amplification.
Marantz NA7004; ?700 02890 279830 marantz.co.uk
High end:
The NDX by NaimAudio (HFC 345) is a truly high-end, no-expense-spared network music player that brings more to the party than just superb performance. The NDX also features a DAC based on Naim?s multi HFC award-winning DA convertor. This not only provides DAC facilities to the streamer, but also to any other digital sources, making the NDX both a streamer and a digital input expander for your amplifier. It is an expensive unit, but if it is bleeding-edge music performance you want it has few rivals-and some of these are even more expensive.
Naim Audio NDX; ?2,995 01722 426 600 naimaudio.com
reading it and the hassle to get good rips etc so that you can have the so called convienance factor afterwards keep me firmly in using a physical disc format (CD or LP) for now!
Streaming
Your audio life will undergo radical, profound and positive changes once you introduce it to ?computer audio? says Malcolm Steward. In part one of this in-depth audiophile streaming guide, tech-savvy readers can learn how to get it right first time
Malcolm Steward.
Adopting new technology like computer audio (well ?networked audio? is probably a more accurate description) does not mean turning your back on your current sources and software. I still enjoy listening to my LP collection regularly ? although I began to neglect compact disc after having started ripping discs to hard-disk storage. (I am still involved in the slow and rather laborious process of digitising my LPs.)
Regardless of whether your software strategy is one of augmentation or replacement, a network audio player in a system will provide simple access to your entire digitally stored music collection ? wherever that happens to be located; you will no longer need to inhabit a lounge that looks like a CD warehouse.
Another major bonus is that you can add true high-resolution format music to your collection without having to invest in any more discs, SACD or DVD-A machinery. Networked audio, provided it is handled the right way, is a complete win-win situation: it represents the ultimate ease-of-delivery music process and its sound quality can be absolutely breath-taking.
All suggestions in this piece ? for equipment, configurations and so on ? are our personal recommendations. They are not meant to be absolute or unequivocal; they just work to the satisfaction of our colleagues and friends.
?Networked audio, provided it is handled the right way, is a complete win-win situation?
Computer audioLet us first make one thing abundantly clear: not everything that is labelled ?high-definition? or ?audiophile-grade? in computer audio truly is. Genuine high-definition audio begins with files that are greater resolution than 16-bit/44.1kHz and which have not been treated with any form of lossy compression.
It is safest to regard equipment that seeks to extract as much musical information as possible from CD and higher-resolution files as audiophile-grade; not the pretenders, for example, that use the words ?high-resolution? and MP3 in the same sentence.
MP3 and its Apple-flavoured equivalent are not suitable formats for serious listening: they simply provide highly compressed music and their popularity derives from the ?old days? when internet speeds and downloads were slow and hard-disk storage space was prohibitively expensive. On that note, I currently have one folder on a 2TB back-up hard disk (that cost less than ?100) and contains 17,000 pieces of music in losslessly compressed format (FLAC). That folder is under 500GB in size: if you were to fill the rest of that disk in a like fashion, you would end up with about 70,000 uncompressed tracks. You could then play the contents of that disc for two hours every day and keep yourself amused for four years without hearing a single track repeated! Nobody needs lossy compression nowadays, except for cramming their music onto portable players with pitiful storage capacity.
?FLAC employs lossless compression, does not throw away any music and the process is completely reversible.?
Best file format
To illustrate the effects of compression ? lossy and lossless ? we saved a typically ordinary album track, Train by Goldfrapp, in various formats. The file occupied over 53MB when it came off the CD as a WAV. It shrivelled to 12MB when compressed in the so-called high-res MP3 (320kbs) format.
One has to ask how anything can be called high-resolution, when more than 78 per cent of the original content has been thrown away. That is worse than listening to your hi-fi down a telephone connection... while you are suffering from a cold. That, we contend, is why you should not entertain MP3 for serious listening and certainly not for archive purposes. Converting your CD collection to MP3 files and subsequently disposing of the CDs, as we know some people have done, is utter madness.
The sensible way to archive files is to convert them to FLAC, which employs lossless compression and does not ?throw away? any music. It reduces the size of that 53MB song to around 33MB and the process is completely reversible: you can always get your original file back.
There is a little additional processor involvement in replaying FLACs, which may be audible on some high-end equipment ? to a minimal degree ? but you can reduce this with just a click in your software package. The file size difference between the two extremes is inconsequential: it amounts to just 2MB on our test track. Our reason for converting files to FLAC, in preference to WAV is that, to the best of our knowledge, only Naim Audio equipment can attach metadata to WAV files (and metadata is a fundamental requirement for a functional music library).
So for cross-platform compatibility, we store all music as fully tagged FLACs, having not yet come across any popular audiophile hardware that cannot play FLACs (except for the iPhone and that is hardly an audiophile component).
You can sometimes run into problems playing back files of greater-than-CD resolution (16-bit/44.1kHz). However, most equipment, nowadays, ought to be able to cope with 24-bit files up to 96kHz; this currently seems to be the de facto upper limit for most music vendors. That situation is not permanent, though: Linn Records already has 24-bit/192kHz recordings that you can download and other vendors are sure to follow suit.
When you buy a media player be sure you know what its upper limit is before you hand over your cash. Some specialist companies are already talking about producing 32-bit/384kHz recordings.
Getting started
Suppose you just want to clear some shelf space and re-vitalise your CD collection, what would be the best ?audiophile? way to do it? I use two methods: the first is to rip the CD on a purpose-built audiophile-grade hard-disk player, a Naim HDX SSD, which stores the bit-accurate rip on a remote NAS (Network Attached Storage) device in my office (HDX SSD only has a tiny solid-state disk to hold the software it needs to operate: it does not store any music internally). Otherwise, I rip the CD straight onto the NAS using its integral CD-reader using Exact Audio Copy or DBpoweramp software.
I rip the files as WAVs then convert them to FLAC, using DBpoweramp Music Converter software and ensure that all the tagging is correct using the MP3 tag program to strip out any ID3 data.
Some players will not play a FLAC if they find an ID3 tag attached to it. It is not unlike pernickety optical disc players refusing to play CDs that do not adhere strictly to the letter of the Red Book standard. The files on the NAS, which are mirrored on a VortexBox Appliance connected to the same network, can then be played by any UPnP- or DLNA-enabled network player ? from any manufacturer ? in my music room, by the SqueezeBox in the family room or the Naim UnitiQute in my office.
Where to store music
As noted, I keep all my ripped and downloaded music on a Mini-ATX-based NAS and a VortexBox Appliance, along with back-up drives tucked away in my office and only connected to my music room and hi-fi apparatus through a length of Cat6 cable, a GigaBit router and a pair of GigaBit switches.
I have also used Qnap and other proprietary NAS units supplied as part of review set-ups. For optimum performance some manufacturers ? Linn and Naim, for example ? will recommend NAS devices that they consider operate to the best advantage with their electronics. It is worth considering this advice, especially as manufacturers are extremely unlikely to suggest you use something wholly unsuitable with their products.
NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are preferable to regular desktop or laptop computers for storing music because that is their only function so their processor requirements are minimal. They need little active cooling because they only need run a bare-bones operating system and a lightweight UPnP server.
Most will also operate in headless mode ? without any keyboard, mouse, or monitor ? further reducing the potential for noise being introduced into the system. Their network connectivity naturally means that they can be located far away from the hi-fi system, so further reducing the potential for interference.
In the next part of this article we will look in greater detail at aspects of networked audio, computer networking components, and consider wired versus wireless connectivity.
BASIC NETWORK STRUCTUREMost networks begin with a router/ADSL modem supplied by the home?s ISP (Internet Service Provider). Most of these are tacky, inexpensive boxes, including those from the ?big? ISPs and can be improved upon for relatively little expense. Their retail price ? they are frequently advertised as being ?free? ? usually indicates their true worth. The trick is to replace them with the fastest and most reliable devices available ? that means GigaBit speed ? and most people with experience in networked audio prefer single task devices to combination units.
My years of using Netgear equipment have instilled great confidence in the brand, in particular the metal enclosure components. They seem to be particularly robust when equipment puts them under extreme pressure and continue to route traffic without collisions and interruptions.
Furthermore, use decent-quality Cat5e/6 cables to string the network together, rather than using the cheapest Cat5 you can find.
THE ITUNES ALTERNATIVEMany people decide to set up their server-style hi-fi system using software with which they are familiar and with which they feel comfortable. While relatively few people have significant experience with UPnP or DLNA servers ? and in truth, they are not in the least complicated from the user?s perspective ? most of the world?s computer users have come across Apple?s iTunes and have some experience with that.
However, being a music player rather than a server, it does not have the capabilities of true UPnP or DLNA software and its DRM (Digital Rights Management) music can cause problems. Some ? and I include myself in that number ? think that its audio performance is below par and variable. Although, being fair, it is improving with add-ons such as Amarra and Pure Music. I am also wary of its ripping abilities, having compared rips made using it to those made with DBpa and EAC on PCs. What?s more, iTunes does not natively support FLAC files and its importing of WAV files could be much better.
One of the strengths to which it plays is Airplay, which enables you to play your iTunes library wirelessly through any Airplay-enabled device. You open iTunes on your computer or iPhone and select to play music from iTunes through an Airplay-enabled device or loudspeaker, such as the Marantz NA7004 network audio player. In truth, though, this is more a convenience, impress your friends feature than any outstanding step forward in audio performance.
NETWORK PLAYER OPTIONSBudget:
The Squeeze box Touch (HFC 338) is a remarkably versatile Device whose consistent performance seem hard to believe When you consider its budget price and tiny proportions. Your music computer or NAS has to run Squeezebox Server software, which is freely available and, more importantly, impressively reliable. It is also ideal if you began with iTunes, because it will integrate with an iTunes library. Its performance is sophisticated and it is none too embarrassed by being played through a high-end system, thanks to its presentation, which is vivid and musically cohesive.
Logitech SqueezeBox Touch; ?259 or less 01753 870 900 logitech.com
Midrange:
The Marantz NA7004 (HFC 344) is one of the first network Players to feature Apple?s Airplay, which allows your iPodor iPhone to play an iTunes library through it to your system. It connects to your network through Ethernet cable and Does not offer a wi-fi connection (which is no great loss). Compared to the Naim UnitiQute the Marantz wins out In terms of facilities and approaches it interms of being Musically engaging. That is not bad for a unit that costs only half the price of its competitor...even if it does save some of that money by not offering any amplification.
Marantz NA7004; ?700 02890 279830 marantz.co.uk
High end:
The NDX by NaimAudio (HFC 345) is a truly high-end, no-expense-spared network music player that brings more to the party than just superb performance. The NDX also features a DAC based on Naim?s multi HFC award-winning DA convertor. This not only provides DAC facilities to the streamer, but also to any other digital sources, making the NDX both a streamer and a digital input expander for your amplifier. It is an expensive unit, but if it is bleeding-edge music performance you want it has few rivals-and some of these are even more expensive.
Naim Audio NDX; ?2,995 01722 426 600 naimaudio.com
