I want to add hard drive-driven mp3/wav/etc. and Internet-streaming audio to our parlor. The sound system itself already exists, so all I really need is basic stereo output (i.e., not 5.1) to feed into the receiver so it can do the rest.
This would be a purpose-built machine, essentially running three programs: an operating system; a file player (e.g., Winamp); and a basic browser to get to Pandora.com (or other Internet radio site). ALL “real” computing would be done in the office. There is no television (or even a clock) in the parlor, so HD video outs are unnecessary.
My old PIII 550, long retired to the basement, seemed to have everything I need. I think there’s 512K of RAM in there, enough to have had WinXP home running smoothly. It ran Winamp and IE Explorer (version?). The SoundBlaster card played music without hiccupping. It had a NIC. It had good graphics for the time, enough to run to a basic LCD monitor that will be mainly hidden. I don’t think it could set up a RAID array (to protect the sound files), but it certainly had two EIDE channels to set up automatic backups.
Aside from bells n whistles (i.e., remote control), would there be a noticeable difference to a listener? From a strictly listening/music experience perspective, is there any reason to go with updated hardware? If so, is there any reason to go beyond the most basic (inexpensive) motherboard/CPU combination out there?
Lastly, if I don’t want to pony up for a Windows OS, would one of the free systems work on such old hardware, and if so, is the learning curve for such a basic installation worth the savings?
As long as you have enough processing power to decode whatever format music you have, everything sounds the same. If you don’t have enough power, you get very obvious pauses and clicks. As you’ve seen, even that old PIII is plenty to handle MP3s. It may have trouble with some of the lossless audio formats.
The only thing that might make a difference would be a better sound card. Newer sound cards have higher quality outputs than older cards. If you have an ancient soundblaster from the days when a few more MIDI channels made an exciting upgrade, you could probably get something nicer. Of course, once you get beyond some (rather nebulous) threshold, the difference becomes imperceptible.
This is pretty much what I’ve done… I have an old 600mhz 170MB RAM HP machine in the kitchen, with WinXP and Winamp installed.
It plays music no problems at all - streams internet radio v. well, and I’ve put an 80GB hdd in for my music files.
As soon as 80GB looks like it’s getting tight, I burn a few DVDs and use those for lesser-played music.
Sounds fine - an audiophile would no doubt be appalled, but when playing the collected works of DJ Nut-E-One at high volume it doesn’t really make much difference
The only think I need is to swap the chunky 17in CRT for a small (14") LCD and it’ll be perfect.
There would be no need to update your audio hardware. You’re listening to mp3’s and such in your parlor, so I don’t think your looking for audiophile quality music. The stereo out for the soundblaster card should be fine for your use. Just get a decent set of speakers and you’ll be ok.
The underlying sound is pretty good. The heart of the system is a JVC RX-9010VBK, with a subwoofer and a pair of Sony bookshelf speakers for each channel. The room layout has seating in the middle, the speakers are wired through the walls, so L & R channels fire toward the listening space. The JVC allows a fair bit of tweaking (e.g., speaker timing, levels), so I have it set so you can sit just about anywhere in the room and DSOTM will clear out your senses. That’s what I meant by needing just basic stereo outs, as the receiver will handle the rest.
It sounds (heh) like I’m all set — even if something’s wrong and I need all new hardware, the core shouldn’t cost more than a hundred bucks or so. The only place to spend would be on storage and a very basic LCD.
Any thoughts on the OS?
Any suggestions as to music software? I’ve never had/used an iPod, but I’ve heard interesting things about iTunes. Is it just hype, or is it a good program? drachillix funny I overlooked that – I use MozyPro to back up our business!
Your system is absolutely fine as a mp3 player, and you really don’t need Windows.
You could use Damn Small Linux on it, set up Jinzora (web based music server) and select and play music remotely. All you would need is a web browser interface.
Seeing as Ubuntu is free, why not give it a go. Or the stripped down Xubuntu as the services you will need are quite limited.
There are quite a variety of audio handling programs available (all free of course) and which is best is largely a matter of taste.
The default audio compression is Ogg Vorbis that is arguably better than mp3. If you won’t be exporting it it will do the job well and easily.
You can rip to mp3 but have to actively seek out mp3 ripping plugins.
While I don’t dedicate a computer to audio reproduction (too lazy and already have HiFi I am happy with) I do have a Duron 750 based machine running Ubuntu Dapper Drake, a Soundblaster Live 1024 card and Harmon Kardon Sub/Sats that all sound more than adequate to me.
We did something similar, only in addition, we added a video card with a TV tuner, wall-mounted a 23" LCD screen, and we now have a media center with internet connection. As an added benefit, we have Windows set up to run through our digital picture collection when it goes into screensaver mode. It’s kind of fun to glance up and see pictures you’d forgotten you had while listening to music you are rediscovering.
There are cards out there that will allow you to add a remote control to your computer. It can be programmed to run not just the card (video card in our case) but also other programs, and to double as a mouse. Rather handy when the random setting results in jumping from The Beach Boys to Marilyn Manson, and your head threatens to implode.
This is really just stage one of a longer plan. Like a few others in Colophon’sDo you still have your CD collection “on display”? thread, we have a sizable CD collection that we like to have out. One of the main reasons is the visceral perception of scanning over choices (somewhat like looking in an open fridge, despite knowing exactly what’s in there); another is the opportunity for guests to look over and choose what they want.
Stage 1 (now), is placing the two to three hundred GIG worth of music in play rather than burning it allll to disc (my CDs have custom labels too (they’re mostly soundboard recordings) which eat up a fair amount of time per burn). That’s/this is the simple solution with the simple interface to find likes/dislikes/needs of the system.
Stage 2 is two to three years down the road when (if) we have a couple thousand to drop into the room. We (yes, we … I love Mrs.Dvl!) envisage a sizable LCD, flush mounted/bezeled into the wall. It would do the screensaver thing mentioned (our pics, art, etc.) normally, but when you want to look at/for music, it will be large enough to duplicate (as closely as possible) the experience of looking through CD shelves.
That’s eminently doable right now with today’s technology (and tomorrows cash), but we’re hoping touchscreen technology/pricing will advance enough to enter the mix (we’re especially curious as to how Microsoft’s “Table” will change things). Our idea is to have an almost Minority Report-like interface, abandoning the keyboard and moving/linking between artists, titles, genre, etc. in ways that surpass staring at a CD collection.
Ah, dreams!
In the meantime, since it sounds like stage one won’t really cost anything, I’ll be digging the PC out from the basement…
Thanks!!!
Rhythm
(who wonders if it’s possible to take music too seriously)
Of course you didn’t ask, but I always like to talk about my geeky addition to my own jukebox setup…
A few years ago, I bought this kit for an FM radio transmitter from Ramsey Electronics. Not only was it a fun project to build, but it has good range. This transmitter is far better than any of those silly iPod transmitters you see in stores. At full power, I could drive a block or two away from my house and still pick up the signal if I was in the right spot.
The cool part is that you can set up cheap boom boxes hear and there throughout your house, in the garage, wherever, and you can have them all playing what’s on your personal radio station.
I used to use a small armband radio while doing yard work, though recently I have been wearing a Shuffle for that.
The only thing is that software has advanced a bit from winamp running on a stripped down windows install, and hardware has gotten quieter. $300 will get you an AppleTV, which has a warranty, is dead quiet, comes with a remote, is wireless, will play video content, and comes with a slick user interface. That’s a lot for your money, and with products like that on the market, I find it hard to rationalize cobbling together an archaic solution. That’s just me, though.
Given your dream scenario above, I think it’s especially important to note that AppleTV plays a “screen saver” of all of your album covers, and adding the cover art from a DVD or CD is as simple as holding the bar code from the packaging in front of a webcam (!).
minor7flat5 (great user name for an audio thread!) that looks like a fantastic project. I looked up its manual to see what goes into putting it together, and I’m realllllly tempted. I like how they don’t just tell you to solder A to B, but spend a bit of time explaining the circuits, pedagogy, etc.
Also, adding this into the mix would free up monitor/keyboard considerations when designing our shelves and, like you said, allow the collection/Pandora sound anywhere in the house—we have four rooms with substantial speaker setups (kitchen, den, parlor, bedroom) and having this much music available everywhere holds a lot of attraction. We’d still need a “base station” of sorts somewhere, but it’s great to have the optional flexibility.
The AppleTV also looks interesting, but $400 for a 160 GB machine seems a wee bit pricy. Storage space is vital, as I already have more than that in sound files and will eventually port over the CD collection. Lots of the existing material is lossless (e.g., SHNs of soundboard recordings), and when I get around to moving, say, Kind of Blue or DSOTM to the station, I don’t want to lose anything I don’t have to. Plus I didn’t see where Internet access is possible. I could be wrong (I’ll still take a closer look), but with the same budget it looks like I could quickly put together a modest new system that will have vastly more storage space and a bit more flexibility. Good idea—just not sure it works in this setting.
