I just got the excellent Topping Dx3 and was going to get a dedicated Laptop for music then figured there must be a much cheaper way to do this. I know nothing about DAPs and wonder if any and all would work fine. Are they all wifi capable for downloading? And what about transferring CDs. Older units could be had for a song I'm sure but I assume storage would not be great. A simple unobtrusive set up that doesn't take desk space with just a little unit sitting on the Topping would be great.
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Cheapest way to store/play music files
- Thread starter Fregly
- Start date
If you want to include playback, library management, ripping and storage in one unit, a decent laptop is the cheapest way to do it.
Headphonaholic
Active Member
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I have no experience with networked setups but I know there are threads around talking about them if you haven't checked those out.
DAPs would negate the need for the Topping potentially depending on how you are using it but would store the music. Many are running modified versions of Android and support wifi/bluetooth connectivity. If it does have Android Tidal and Spotify are often supported apps. Probably would want to also make sure it allows for sd cards to expand space (most do but just double check if you pursue a DAP).
DAPs would negate the need for the Topping potentially depending on how you are using it but would store the music. Many are running modified versions of Android and support wifi/bluetooth connectivity. If it does have Android Tidal and Spotify are often supported apps. Probably would want to also make sure it allows for sd cards to expand space (most do but just double check if you pursue a DAP).
- Thread Starter
- #5
Yes an older laptop makes sense. I bet I could land something for very little.
Maybe the BlueSound Vault might fit the bill? https://www.bluesound.com/products/vault-2i/
I was hoping that Amir would test the Node, as that was on my list. I believe the BlueSound gear is all Roon compatible too.
I was hoping that Amir would test the Node, as that was on my list. I believe the BlueSound gear is all Roon compatible too.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
Totally true and a bargain priced option- you can pick up a $30 2nd hand laptop that does everything, but I just can't get around the look of any laptop anywhere near my HiFi. I know it's silly but all these setups with an open laptop on top of a preamp or amp make me cringe.
Hi
Don't make it too complicated and please don't read/listen/believe the Computer Audiophile fringe crowd that would have you build a "music server" with i7 processor, Msoft Windows Server 2018, linear Power Supply, USB aseptiser and all the crap that flies in that kind of forum. Most any modern laptops are perfectly suitable for Media Files playback and with glorious results. eBay is your friend: You can find there $50 laptop that may serve you for years. that same $50 evice may be powerful enough to run Roon... Get one with Tidal and Roon ... Roon has a permanent license for $500 and for Tidal it is monthly, $20/month for a library of music that is for all purpose limitless (and lossless to boot!!0 is a bargain in my book ...
Happy New year to all!!
Don't make it too complicated and please don't read/listen/believe the Computer Audiophile fringe crowd that would have you build a "music server" with i7 processor, Msoft Windows Server 2018, linear Power Supply, USB aseptiser and all the crap that flies in that kind of forum. Most any modern laptops are perfectly suitable for Media Files playback and with glorious results. eBay is your friend: You can find there $50 laptop that may serve you for years. that same $50 evice may be powerful enough to run Roon... Get one with Tidal and Roon ... Roon has a permanent license for $500 and for Tidal it is monthly, $20/month for a library of music that is for all purpose limitless (and lossless to boot!!0 is a bargain in my book ...
Happy New year to all!!
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Better than cheap, I’m using a freebie PC computer which the office threw out, as a Roon bridge.
Would you call that an unsupportable bias or do you have another reason? It took me a while to reform my concept of what an audio component should look like.
- Joined
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Think of the laptop screen as a glorified LCD screen that are usually found on the front panel of hifi boxes
I got my last for $100, a refurb off newegg. They have quite a few there now for $99
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...eType=97&name=Laptops / Notebooks&isdeptsrh=1
I am curious if anyone has experience with Plex as a media storage playback device? This program seems to solve the posters problem. I have been using it for movies but they have joined with tidal and have improved there playback. For movies it’s a game changer.
Last I looked, Plex didn’t offer gapless playback over a network. I’d love to hear that’s changed, but I can’t live with spaces between tracks, when they shouldn’t be there. I do use and like Plex for movies.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
I'm not really sure I really want to 'reform my concept'. I like the way quality gear looks, feels, performs and obviously, how it is constructed. Call it conditioning if you will. HiFi restoration, rebuilding, collecting, auditioning and testing is my passion and the good stuff comes in boxes I like the shape of.
Young people particularly, don't have the same attachment to 'stuff' that my father and I have, including the desire to make informed decisions on quality gear that will stand the test of time. You know, the old "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.". Hence my disdain for the endless caravan of little Chinese gypsy boxes passing across poor Amir's bench.
So the laptop is a tool to me, and not a very well designed one at that. Cheap (now) maybe, but we all know it will fail (batteries/HDD/OS/CCFL or LED inverter backlight etc) in a relatively short period of time. It obsoletes itself, and requires maintenance in terms of data migration, upgrades and general tweaking as time goes on.
The laptop is just not worthy to be hanging out with my HiFi gear, with its lightweight plastic keyboard and short-lived lithium-ion heart, let alone assuming pride of place on top of a 65 pound amplifier that has steadfastly served me for ~30 years without even a glitch. It has earned its place, along with many others.
But, in the spirit of having fun, here's one for you Kal:
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So what's your handsome alternative John?
OK but the components that do the real heavy lifting for me (NAS boxes, fanless PCs, laptops) simply don't look like traditional components. Efforts to redecorate them seem an imposition on their current functionality.'m not really sure I really want to 'reform my concept'. I like the way quality gear looks, feels, performs and obviously, how it is constructed. Call it conditioning if you will. HiFi restoration, rebuilding, collecting, auditioning and testing is my passion and the good stuff comes in boxes I like the shape of.
Understood. I do not care much for using a laptop but, as an all-in-one computer/display/keyboard, it is a convenient fill-in as I often reconfigure devices for conducting a review. My main server is a plain/silent black box and my NAS boxes are in another room. The most imposing components on my rack are an Audio Research MP1, an Oppo UDP-205 and a AudioQuest Niagara 5000. Power amps are clustered around the front of the room with the speakers.
I'm not really sure I really want to 'reform my concept'. I like the way quality gear looks, feels, performs and obviously, how it is constructed. Call it conditioning if you will. HiFi restoration, rebuilding, collecting, auditioning and testing is my passion and the good stuff comes in boxes I like the shape of.
Young people particularly, don't have the same attachment to 'stuff' that my father and I have, including the desire to make informed decisions on quality gear that will stand the test of time. You know, the old "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.". Hence my disdain for the endless caravan of little Chinese gypsy boxes passing across poor Amir's bench.
So the laptop is a tool to me, and not a very well designed one at that. Cheap (now) maybe, but we all know it will fail (batteries/HDD/OS/CCFL or LED inverter backlight etc) in a relatively short period of time. It obsoletes itself, and requires maintenance in terms of data migration, upgrades and general tweaking as time goes on.
The laptop is just not worthy to be hanging out with my HiFi gear, with its lightweight plastic keyboard and short-lived lithium-ion heart, let alone assuming pride of place on top of a 65 pound amplifier that has steadfastly served me for ~30 years without even a glitch. It has earned its place, along with many others.
So besides a laptop what is is your answer to the OP’s question? Or do you indeed have an unworthy laptop on top of your amp anyways?
