Laptops as Music Servers
- Thread starter JoeyGS
- Start date
Hi
Get a 128 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) at $80 Click HERE, That's more than enough for operating system and music software and about 250 CDs in FLAC. Also SSD are always silent.. They have no moving parts. I have been using a NAS forever and frankly can't hear a difference between the NAS and music from the SSD ..
Upgrade your RAM to the max the laptop can take likely 2 GB about $30, a USB 2.0 PC card adapter about $25 or even less. Get yourself two NAS (one for main the other for backup) at 1 TB each about $100 each (1 TB is good for roughly 4500 Cds or even more with FLAC (lossless) compression, Get DB Power amp about $50 for clean ripping of your CDs, Get foobar at $0.00 , it is free or JR Media Center at $50, a good USB cable from Blue Jean about $10.. You're set after you would have chosen from the list of DACs, our members provided you ..
P.S. You would likely upgrade the HDD to an SSD in a new laptop.; aside from the RAM all these are necessary purchases ... And yes a good DAC will make all the difference.
Thank you very kindly Frantz!:b
This is exactly what I was going to do, i.e. install SSD instead of HDD, but Amir advised me that “... SSDs are better for sure but would not work in your current laptop as the interface for them is different...” and I discarded the idea. Is this 128GB Crucial solid-state drive for $79.99 you recommended has interface and dimensions compatible with my current HDD? I am not a hardware Guru, sorry...
Could you please give me pointers to the appropriate websites where I can get suitable 1GB RAM sticks, USB 2.0 PC card adapter and a good USB cable (I just do not know what cables are good...)?
I know you are quite happy with M2Tech Young DAC, but at about $1900 it is way too expensive for me. Could you please recommend me a DAC with asynchronous 24/192 or higher USB input and fully balanced XLR outputs for up to $1000?
The only DACs in my range I heard of are:
1. Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus for about $500 (http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=872)
2. Sonore exD DSD DAC for about $1200
(http://sonore.us/index2.html)
3. Schiit Audio Gungnir DAC for about $850 – weird name, but sounds interesting
(http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=11)
Frantz, could you please explain to me if I install PC Card to get USB 2.0 as suggested, will my current USB 1.1 ports and newly acquired USB 2.0 ports still be on the same bus as the rest of my system (keyboard, mouse, etc)? This maybe a concern, as Gary L. Koh kindly noted.
I am monumentally sorry about the long post, but I do need some help here, please...:b
This is exactly what I was going to do, i.e. install SSD instead of HDD, but Amir advised me that “... SSDs are better for sure but would not work in your current laptop as the interface for them is different...” and I discarded the idea. Is this 128GB Crucial solid-state drive for $79.99 you recommended has interface and dimensions compatible with my current HDD? I am not a hardware Guru, sorry...
Could you please give me pointers to the appropriate websites where I can get suitable 1GB RAM sticks, USB 2.0 PC card adapter and a good USB cable (I just do not know what cables are good...)?
I know you are quite happy with M2Tech Young DAC, but at about $1900 it is way too expensive for me. Could you please recommend me a DAC with asynchronous 24/192 or higher USB input and fully balanced XLR outputs for up to $1000?
The only DACs in my range I heard of are:
1. Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus for about $500 (http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=872)
2. Sonore exD DSD DAC for about $1200
(http://sonore.us/index2.html)
3. Schiit Audio Gungnir DAC for about $850 – weird name, but sounds interesting
(http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=11)
Frantz, could you please explain to me if I install PC Card to get USB 2.0 as suggested, will my current USB 1.1 ports and newly acquired USB 2.0 ports still be on the same bus as the rest of my system (keyboard, mouse, etc)? This maybe a concern, as Gary L. Koh kindly noted.
I am monumentally sorry about the long post, but I do need some help here, please...:b
Hi
Amir is right, i had forgotten about the HDD interface of your R31. it is IDE or PATA, newer interfaces are SATA.. You will not beable to use this SSD on your laptop. I haven't seen SSD with PATA ...
If you use a PC card USB 2.0 the laptop USB and these USB 2.0 will be on different ports. The PC Card port is usually independent from the USB bus.
Belkin makes decent cables, Blue Jeans too and a slew of others. DO not go for the completely generic USB cables .. Some are poorly constructed
You can get your RAM at www.tigerdirect.com 1 GB will cost you about $50. Same website for USB 2.0 adapters
I have no direct experience with the DACs you listed. Jkeny a member of the WBF makes a DAC about which , I have heard good things, again no direct experience. You may be able to arrange an audition .. Contact him via PM ... Others will certainly chime about their favorite DACs in your budget.
Amir is right, i had forgotten about the HDD interface of your R31. it is IDE or PATA, newer interfaces are SATA.. You will not beable to use this SSD on your laptop. I haven't seen SSD with PATA ...
If you use a PC card USB 2.0 the laptop USB and these USB 2.0 will be on different ports. The PC Card port is usually independent from the USB bus.
Belkin makes decent cables, Blue Jeans too and a slew of others. DO not go for the completely generic USB cables .. Some are poorly constructed
You can get your RAM at www.tigerdirect.com 1 GB will cost you about $50. Same website for USB 2.0 adapters
I have no direct experience with the DACs you listed. Jkeny a member of the WBF makes a DAC about which , I have heard good things, again no direct experience. You may be able to arrange an audition .. Contact him via PM ... Others will certainly chime about their favorite DACs in your budget.
Last edited:
abrich - I don't think that you will be able to find an SSD for your Thinkpad. The interfaces are different. If you use a PC-card with a USB2.0 port, that will be a different bus from your USB1.1 ports. I recommend you check Tiger Direct and also New Egg for parts. Unfortunately, it has been so long since I've looked at IDE HDD's that I am not able to recommend any. Check out the reviews on the above two websites.
abrich
I was wrong: there are IDE/PATA SSD... I have no expereince with PATA SSD but yu can find them at a AMAZON (Click Here) .. With SSD your laptop will boot in hurry and be even more silent and likely consume less... Price is a little bit more, $110...
I was wrong: there are IDE/PATA SSD... I have no expereince with PATA SSD but yu can find them at a AMAZON (Click Here) .. With SSD your laptop will boot in hurry and be even more silent and likely consume less... Price is a little bit more, $110...
New here, so hallo
What about fanless netbooks like ASUS Eee PC X101CH http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-x101ch_Laptop_review can be 2 MB RAM also.
Are they worth attention? And what about the I3 or B987:
"The B970 is a 2.3Ghz/2MB Cache Sandy Bridge chip with 650-1100Mhz/6EU Graphics and a 35W TDP
The i3 is a 1.8Ghz/3MB cache Ivy Bridge chip with 350-1050Mhz HD4000 graphics and a 17W TDP"
What about fanless netbooks like ASUS Eee PC X101CH http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-eee-pc-x101ch_Laptop_review can be 2 MB RAM also.
Are they worth attention? And what about the I3 or B987:
"The B970 is a 2.3Ghz/2MB Cache Sandy Bridge chip with 650-1100Mhz/6EU Graphics and a 35W TDP
The i3 is a 1.8Ghz/3MB cache Ivy Bridge chip with 350-1050Mhz HD4000 graphics and a 17W TDP"
The older motherboards, like the Core 2 are capable of producing better sonic results than the newer ones. I would not upgrade the RAM; sites like CMP2 recommend using the smallest amount possible, which is about 256M. Might be a problem for playing 24/192 or double DSD, but I doubt it.
Edit: I should qualify that statement, because you may have a lot of unnecessary features running on a stock Windows system that would use the small amount of memory you have. Check your System Monitor for memory usage to see how much remains when the machine is at idle. Audio playback uses very little memory (my Foobar ASIO setup requires less than 40M), so unless you're bumping up against the limit you shouldn't have a problem.
Edit: I should qualify that statement, because you may have a lot of unnecessary features running on a stock Windows system that would use the small amount of memory you have. Check your System Monitor for memory usage to see how much remains when the machine is at idle. Audio playback uses very little memory (my Foobar ASIO setup requires less than 40M), so unless you're bumping up against the limit you shouldn't have a problem.
Last edited:
TB1, if you or anyone else has an interest in exploring Linux for computer audio I've created a fully packaged audio OS that has a realtime audio kernel. Visit the post below. I recommend going this route for anyone who isn't experienced with Linux. However, if you're into endless nights of Google searches or S&M the DIY route may appeal to you.
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?11046-Announcement-for-Pre-Release-The-JaguarAudioDesign-com-Free-Realtime-Audio-OS
Hi all, seeing this thread is the only one I could find with the mention of PCMCIA, I thought I'd jump in with a headache of my own! Sorry
Could anyone guide me with a bullet proof answer to the question(s):
1/ can I connect a PCMCIA audio card (Audio 2 ZS Notebook 7.1) to a USB adapter in order to connect onto a USB-C port.
2/ if the answer is yes, what features are offered to me?
Set up is:
1 x iMac 2010 and/or 1 xMacBook Retina 2016
1 x Edirol UA-5 DAC (early 2000)
1 x Denon UD-M31 receiver + Mission shelve spearkers
1 x Allen & Heath One : 32 DJ mixer + Audiotechnica turntables
Cheers,
Pierre
Could anyone guide me with a bullet proof answer to the question(s):
1/ can I connect a PCMCIA audio card (Audio 2 ZS Notebook 7.1) to a USB adapter in order to connect onto a USB-C port.
2/ if the answer is yes, what features are offered to me?
Set up is:
1 x iMac 2010 and/or 1 xMacBook Retina 2016
1 x Edirol UA-5 DAC (early 2000)
1 x Denon UD-M31 receiver + Mission shelve spearkers
1 x Allen & Heath One : 32 DJ mixer + Audiotechnica turntables
Cheers,
Pierre
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |