Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Would you recommend anyone buying into DVD-A or SACD?

One more note on Mr. Doody's comments. Most kids today don't listen to real music but that is another issue. Imagine listening to rap on DVD-A! Oh the pain...the pain! Sorry if I offended any Rap listeners.

Ron

A bit more wacky than that Ronomy!

I'm planning to send it wireless from my PC to a Roku Soundbridge and connect the Soundbridge's digital output to the 518 (when Roku finally manufacture and ship the ruddy things!).

It could be a month or two until I get the Roku and a 566, but I will post here when it finally happens! If the Roku arrives first, I'll be able to try it in my HT setup using the DAC in my Yamaha A2.

Incidentally, I was very surprised how good the WAVs sounded played wireless to my laptop and using the headphones output to my hifi! Consequently, I have high hopes for the PC->Wireless->Roku->518->566->551->Castle configuration. Whatever the result, I'll have achieved my goal of creating a networked CD jukebox...

[This message has been edited by VirusKiller (edited 05-11-2004).]

Topic view: I agree with the No side even though it would be nice to see DVD-A take off. Maybe it will with the inexpensive players and Britney Spears.

Question for VirusKiller: Why the Roku compared to the Squeezebox? http://www.slimdevices.com/ It would be interesting to see someone compare the two as they seem quite similar...

RodHunt - 'cos I wasn't aware of the Squeezebox when I ordered the Roku. I'm evaluating the specs now - seems pretty good at first glance, is cheaper and has built-in wireless (Roku requires $50 wireless card). May well cancel the Roku order if Squeezebox meets my requirements and would be delivered sooner! Thanks for the pointer... BTW, do you have one and, if so, what do you think of it?

Cheers,
Joel

[edit] Almost certain to cancel Roku and order Squeezebox - key feature not available on Roku is ability to sync multiple Squeezeboxes around the house. My house is >100 years old and wiring is a nightmare! Also, Squeezebox available from reputable UK web retailers (e.g. DABS) for less that �200 for the wireless version, so no hassles with customs etc. Just checking out the open-source SlimServer software now to see if it picks up WAV header tags [/edit]

[edit2] SlimServer software works a dream on WAV header files. It is also available for Linux (on which my file server is running). At present, I don't know whether Roku software will support WAV headers and I'm not bothered any more. Am cancelling Roku order and buying a Squeezebox direct from a UK reseller. Will be cheaper too! [/edit2]

[This message has been edited by VirusKiller (edited 05-11-2004).]

Hey VirusKiller, I have not used the Squeezebox but one of the members here has and seems to rather like it: http://www.softronix.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000773.html (or search on Squeezebox).

A friend is using the prior version (Slimp3)and keeps trying to talk me into purchasing one. Same software in both - It does a great job at keeping your music available and organized. Rock solid for over a year now with very regular usage. He is running on a WinXP machine. I kind of like getting up to pick out the next CD....

I was amazed today to see borders book store was stocking DVD-A's and SACD's. Didn't care for many but at least they are stocking them. It could take off if they just put some damn music on them.

Joel

I don't think that you will be disappointed with the squeezebox but the Roku sure looks nice. Interesting to see that it also supports the slim server protocol which is what drives the squeezebox.

A couple of things to note:

I've just upgraded to G68 from 568.2mm and the G68 relays click everytime I change song on Squeezebox. This is not a fault of the Squeezebox and occurs when digital sync is lost on the connection - my Freeview box causes it too. Apparent Meridian are working on alternative handling of the relays which will ovoid this annoyance. Not sure how it affects the 861.

Alot of people have had much success with streaming over wireless. I initially set mine up as this (really easy - like 60 second job) but had a few really minor glitches so in the end I just hard wired it. Its probably more to do with transient congestion on the Wlan, but I feel happier with 10x the bandwidth of CAT5. Don't let this put you off wireless though. Really wish my Sony Clie Palm could stream the output over WiFi - limitation of the Clie software.

Having problems ith what sounds like center channel interference on logic modes when playing from squeezebox. Using in direct/stereo temporarily but don't think that I had it when I first tried it on the G68. Never a problem on 568 - alway used PLII Music.

Whilst you can sync multiple squeezeboxes, software players cannot be sync'd.

There is a Squeezebox forum at http://dspeirs.proboards25.com if you need to as questions, but its a much smaller userbase than here. Software updates are frequent.

-Ian

Thanks for the advice Ian. My 518 is due to arrive tomorrow and hopefully the Squeezebox will arrive on Friday, though no guarantee. Potentially a good weekend in store!

Funnily enough, my 561's "poor" syncing on to the digital signal from my Freeview box was the one of only two gripes I had with that fantastic piece of kit, even more so when my Yamaha A2 has no problems with the same set-top box. Maybe M's processors are doing too much! Whatever, a little more tolerance to sync on incoming signals would be appreciated.

Ian,

Have you tried selecting the "Poor Quality Digital Source" option?

Right click on the digital output, and select properties. It should be about 3 or 4 entries down.

This helped me out with my Sat Receiver, which was making the 861 relays click everytime there was a commercial break on two of my local affiliates broadcasting HDTV.

It's worth experimenting with if you haven't already to see if it helps.

Cheers,

John

Just tried "Poor Quality Digital Source" - when viewing G68 display that shows signal type, the Squeezebox shows 44K when playing and NLK (no lock?) when manually changing between tracks and I still get the relay clicks. I don't think that this is the case when transitioning between tracks.

With digital TV, I initially get 48X (Xmas?!?). When I then change channels, I initially get a relay click or two, at which point, the display changes to 48K. No further clicks from then on...

Interesting the description of this option on the config help. I just wish the tooltip displayed for longer so I could get a chance to read it all.

-Ian

Ian,

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Is this perhaps a defect in the Squeezebox then?

Have you tried with another brand component to see if it too has lock issues when using track forward or track back?

Cheers,