netmduser Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Is it worth to keep using a minidisc deck or move to a digital music system? Are there any recommendations for either? Starting to feel weird with all the discs I have collected over the years I never seem to have enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 It's not so hard to have the best of both worlds. I have lots of disks, but I can play all of the content (uploaded) off a hard disk on my PC. The only problem is connecting that to the stereo with zero background noise (hum, fans, etc etc). But it's still really nice to "pop in a disk". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenvenus Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I use both. Each has strengths and weaknesses, plus I simply enjoy using MD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netmduser Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I use both. Each has strengths and weaknesses, plus I simply enjoy using MD's. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Having all your music on a digital server sounds tempting. What about sound quality? Are there any recommended models out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think the Sony NAC (?NAS) series (GigaJuke) is grossly overpriced. You can (and I did) do way better with a custom Windows PC with HDMI and/or optical out. Biggest thing to think about is how to minimize the fan noise, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenvenus Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 Regarding a Music Server- I don't have any particular recommendations. As to me it's all about what your exact needs are, and then finding out what device(es) are able to do what you want, and what you can get within your budget I found just listing all the things I expect my sound system to be able to perform helped me to then find a suitable overall solution, and this included for me the continued use of MD, rather than just replacing it with a server Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THIS SUCKS Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 i have an old windows xp machine with a usb optical out hooked up to the optical in of my md deck. then ilay and md its already hooked up and if i want to record an md i can just do it through the deck thats already hooked up. i use the deck as a dac when i just want to listen to the songs from the hard drive. it works great. yes the fan is loud because the pc is so old the fan is on all the time at full speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Fan noise is a big consideration. Obviously silent PCs are the way to go for Hi-Fi use. However, I haven't heard anything about power consumption mentioned. A PC even @ 100 watts is a power hog compared to a MD deck @ 18 watts. There is also something to be said for MD in favor of simplicity. I still don't have my Creative X-Fi working the way I want after 2 years but I can pop in an MD and hit play. Just that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netmduser Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 You have a good point about power consumption most decks are very low. Simple is also a good quality. The GigaJuke looks great did you know that it is windows based and the hard drive requires defragmenting?##@!? That is why I like a deck. It is super quiet and low power consumption. Just never seem to have enough blank discs! But if a cost effective music server was available I would get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 If all you need is storgage/server, to be used with a seperate front-end like a modern receiver I can highly recommend HP's Media Vaults. Especially the first generation. I've have mine running 2 discs, up to 1.5 TB (limit). I just use mine for storage but they will stream music too. I think they are under $100 now. Runs FreeNas OS, very robust and easy to use. Mine have been in service for 3 years and I bought them used... I've been thinking about trying a new receiver with DLNA to bypass the audio computer all together. Seems to be the most efficient setup now. That Sony NAC-HD1 really got under my skin this week. Nice looking unit, great concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenvenus Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 An excellent budget 'music server' to use would be a second hand iMac from 2006 (plus) or so, you can get these pretty cheap now, they look good and you can control the music softwear via a remote control. Use digital out and link it to a AV Reciever that includes a reasonable DAC. Music can be stored onboard or externally via a (USB) external hard drive, to keep it simple. These are very quiet units to run and can easily handle very large collections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I use an old now obsolete NSLU2 with 2 attached external drives attached to the usb. runs a small Linux os , not very powerful but fast enough for audio. This is really a NAS, but I know some one who installed a music server on it and stores all the music files on a large flash usb stick attached. cheap answer. I just make an icon to it and open it as a net work drive on my notebook. works well. very low powered, no fans and the size of your hand, doesnt get hot. http://www.nslu2-linux.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 It warms my heart to hear someone is still using the old SLUG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjollo Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 well my SLUG has been going now non stop for must be 3 years now and has never put a foot wrong. very nice little device. The Seagate external hardrives ( those grey brick looking ones ) have also been solid, they auto spin down after a short time so the ideal addition. hate all the wires though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperclip Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 3 years non-stop is pretty amazing! I often wonder how long HDD's will last when they are spun down lilke that... I know they wear on start-up so it's probably a balance like most things. I spin mine down after 1 min. I don't know. Let me know when you have a disc failure if you think about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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