Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Building Your Own Audio Server (again)

the back story- when selecting our home entertainment gear, I decided we would be happy with an audio request piece. In terms of its analog output we are very happy with it. It integrates extremely well into our crestron system. I also figured since it has a digital output, I could plug it into my Meridian digital theater and get the best of both worlds. I ripped any music I really cared about as FLAC and the other stuff that the family likes and kids music, etc at 192kps MP3. I figured the slight difference in sound when played through the Meridian would be acceptable for the convienence of not having to get up to switch music and to make playlists.

At first I thought the digital output of the request sounded fine going into the Meridian. But as time wore on, I thought something wasnt quite right, but I wasnt sure of what. I started looking at the display on the 861 and low and behold it reads 48khz as the source- not the 44.1 it should be. Checking on the digital speakers, it reads 96khz- as it is upsampled.

I decided to compare a few albums I had near by- the first was Abacab- on the title track when played through the request from a FLAC file, the resulting sound with Trifield is strange- the drums are pulled into the surround field. When the original CD is played into the Meridian the resulting sound is much better and the drums stay up front. I went through the whole Abacab album and found that sonic cues like the drum beat were changed in the request version.

As Ive been reading through the archives here I stumbled upon some discussion about many sound cards need to resample to 48khz.

It seems to me that is what's going on here. And I am not happy about it. My theory is that in the process of resampling, these audible cues that Trifield uses to create its effect get shifted and therefore cause trifleld to produce a different sound.

Am I correct in this?

I spoke with Request about this- and they say they are aware of it and are working on a firmware update to allow the card to output 44.1khz- but I wonder if this is just a cosmetic change. I think I am not their typical customer- that most people get this kind of thing for multi room ease of use- which was my primary reason.

But Ive been spoiled by the ease of use in my digital theater.

If so, I am thinking about building a music server of my own.

My objectives/ requirements are as follows:

1- get bit for bit data into the Meridian. I realize the resulting sound might not be at the level of the 800- but most of my listening is classic rock so for this purpose its OK.

2- the computer will be in another room so I need a good remote control solution that can be programmed into my crestron.

3- since the computer will be in another room, I need to have a nice interface, and it would be helpful if it could be output on composite video since all the projector inputs are taken. I could always add a switcher but thats more complication.

I have a few spare computers on hand so I can go with either PC or mac. Im more of a mac user right now, but I have no aversion to using a PC for this purpose.

Any thoughts and input are welcome. Thanks!

The resampling from 44.1 to 48KHz is a known issue with Windoze KMixer drivers.

Mark

Anyone have any experience with something like this?

Pinnacle Systems Show Center... http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1481&Langue_ID=7

Jerry,

I have written a few apps to control my Powermac G5, connected to a 561 which has just been sold (getting G). I am playing full format AIFF files through the build-in optical output. It is quite easy to do. I am using a keyspan USB serial adapter to interface with the 561. I can compile the apps to work on W2K or OSX on the fly....iTunes suddenly rocks!

I also bought a touchscreen which acts as a 2nd monitor where I display the app. This way I can choose any song from the display with a simple touch!

I came across this today (ir control using TCP/IP.....wiFi...PDA..... :

[URL=http://www.hometoys.com/ces_2004_news.php4?section=enhancedview&id=15940475]

Quote:

"Harmony`s Web-enabled universal remotes are configured online, with users` A/V equipment profiles stored on their personal Web pages. Instructions for each user`s unique mix of components, as well as personalized TV listings, are downloaded directly to the remote via a USB connection. At CES, Harmony will demonstrate the new WiFi Command Center, a complete wireless solutions package consisting of the SST-112 Ethernet-to-IR base station, a Pocket PC and a wireless access point."

Regards,

richard

[This message has been edited by richardkrol (edited 01-07-2004).]

[This message has been edited by richardkrol (edited 01-07-2004).]

[This message has been edited by richardkrol (edited 01-07-2004).]

Jerry,

If you haven't already, you might want to take a look at the new Squeezebox from Slim Devices, which now supports multiple formats, such as FLAC. http://www.slimdevices.com

If you're not familiar with this device, it still uses your PC as the music server, but all of the audio conversion is done in the device itself and not by an audio card in the PC. The device communicates with the PC via Ethernet, which also takes care of the remote control of the PC issue.

One downside for your setup might be the lack of a video output for onscreen menu control. However, the Squeezebox has a very nice flourescent display that is very readable and useable. If your HT gear is hidden away than this would be problematic.

Anyway, I'm a very happy user of the SliMP3 device, which is the predecessor to the Squeezebox. Despite being MP3 and analog output only, I'm very, very satisfied with the audio performance in conjunction with my Meridian gear.

Regards,

Dan W.



[This message has been edited by Lerxst (edited 01-07-2004).]

Any sound card with ASIO drivers will bypass kmixer and output 44.1.

Thanks for the information everyone.

Richard,
can you explain a little more on your setup? I love itunes and I would have no problem storing files in AIFF format (thats apple's version of WAV).

the sound out of the apple optical port is bit for bit accurate? I think I remember reading that they made sure it would be- can you confirm?

Right now Im thinking of just getting a basemodel G5 and this wireless keyboard which includes a track pad:
http://www.wireless-computing.com/products/rf250/index.html

I think this would make it easier to navigate my music collection anyway (its quite large). I could always add a keyspan DRM http://www.keyspan.com/products/USB/remote/

if I wanted the crestron to be able to toggle up and down- which seems silly anyway.

I have owned the Audiotron http://www.turtlebeach.com for over a year and have almost all me CD's on a server. It does have the advantage that its supports id-tags in the WAV files.

Dan

Can the Slim Devices Squeezebox download and stream music over the internet? Im interested in downloading radio channels plus putting some of my music collection on a network hard disc. Im looking at having minimal involvement from the PC though, so I want to select sources via the device or IR direct. Also is there much difference between using the wireless network and a wired 10/100 link?

Thanks

Ian

[This message has been edited by idhutt (edited 01-08-2004).]

Hi Jerry,

I've just finished putting the finishing touches to my home cinema / audio server.

It comes in 3 parts a HTPC machine connected to the 861 and to the projector. A touchpanel (optional) and a Raid 5 server box (essentially file storage).

I am running

Media Center (audio)
TheaterTek (DVD)
Exact Audio Copy (CD ripping)
SmartRipper 2.41 (DVD ripping).
Main Lobby Suite (control)

To take each component in turn easiest first

Raid 5 Server

This is simply a big box with 6 disks in a hot-swapable raid 5 array ~1TB storage at the moment. It contains my entire music collection (un-compressed) and I am starting to rip my DVDs to it too.
I intent to upgrade to ~6TB of storage once 350Gig disks are available.

TouchScreen
Very lightweight pc with a LCD touchscreen. Uses main lobby in client mode - essentially controls the HTPC. It allows to be choose from ripped music and films and also surf web etc.

HTPC.

This is a very quiet high spec machine that attaches to the 861 and projector. It has a RME digi-pad sound card which by-passes the KMixer so no nasty sampling. The video is a Radeon 9800 pro. Media Center handles the music library and Theatertek shows the DVDs.

Chris

Ian,

The SliMP3 and Squeezebox are implemented as a 2-piece system. The first being the hardware player that connects to your HT/Stereo and to your PC via Ethernet. The second being the server software that runs on your PC.

As such, the hardware player cannot directly access network-attached-storage, but must connect to it's own server software running on your PC.

As a hardware engineer, I really like this approach, since all of the "intelligence" of the system is contained in the server software and the hardware player is actually a pretty "dumb" device. This makes for easy upgrades and feature adds in the future.

As for the wireless aspect, it should work just fine on the Squeezebox, I'm speculating here since I haven't seen one in action. But, I actually have my SliMP3 connected into my network via an 802.11b wireless bridge and it
works just fine.

My understanding is that you can stream Internet-based music from the PC server to the hardware player, but this isn't something I've played around with. I believe it entails creating a psuedo-playlist that contains the URL and port number of the stream you want to connect to, then on the player you select that psuedo-playlist.

Dan W.

Stacey,
Regarding the Kmixer issues, and based on your comment above about ASIO drivers etc, could you confirm (to the best of your knowledge and pls excuse my ignorance on the matter) whether that means if my sound card claims "ASIO 2.0 drivers for low latency (as low as 2ms) multi-track playback and recording at 16bit/48kHz or 24-bit/96kHz*" it will by-pass the mkixer issue?

I am waiting for delivery of an Audigy 2 card now and although my PC is being built for photo-editing, I suspect I'll plug it into the M gear at some point.

Many thanks

Nick