wanting to learn about going digital

[Jay]

I want to use a pc to store and play flac files I create from my cd's.  I currently have a win10 PC hooked up to a Marantz receiver which has a preamp out to my Stereomour. I want to cut the Marantz out of the loop. My plan is to get a decent DAC with USB input from the PC and RCA output to my stereomour II.

The 2 main DACs I'm considering are the MHDT Orchid, and a Schiit Bifrost (or even an Yggdrasil).

My main question at this point is: how do i best turn the windows 10 PC into a music server?

Also, any opinions about the DAC's or other similarly priced ones, and pointers to (preferably free) music server software would be appreciated!

Thanks, Jay

 

[denti alligator]

I use J.River. Works very well. I have one PC upstairs on the network with all my FLAC and I use one downstairs to play to a DAC, which goes to my amps. Sounds great.

 

[Jay]

thanks Sam.  If I'm going to use the same computer to store and play the files, do I need "server" software, or just a media player?

 

[denti alligator]

No, you don’t. One machine can do it all.

 

[ccmccull]

Take a look at roon as well. I like it because it aggregates your personal collection and your streaming subscriptions together. And it lets you move your server away from your hifi, if that's of interest. Also the music discovery features and the extra album and artist writeups are top notch.  It is a subscription service, but I have found it's worth the price.

 

[CORedhawk]

Second Roon. It has transformed the way I find and listen to music. Good luck!

 

[Jay]

Roon and JRiver both look pretty cool. I like that JRiver will rip CDs.  If I'm understanding correctly, Roon is more about access to online content, and Jriver seems more geared to managing my own local files. N'est ce pas?

or not, I have some reading to do

 

[ccmccull]

I don't know about jriver. Roon puts your current music files in a nicely organized catalog, then combines it with what's available in your subscriptions. For example, I have a very large collection of old mp3s that I ripped from CDs years ago. If I search on rune for an album which I have in mp3 format, it will show that album and any versions that are available on qobuz since I am a subscriber to qobuz. For example attached is what I get when I search for U2 unforgettable fire. If I search for something that I don't have an mp3 for, it will only show the qobuz versions.

Oh, and making this screenshot reminds me of the other great thing about roon, which is that it turns your phone into a remote control.

 

[marioed]

Just to add my $0.02. I’ve used both JRiver and Roon. Overall I think Roon is easier to use, especially if you want to be able to setup multiple systems. For example one in the living room and one in the basement. I think it’s also easier to setup Roon as a 24/7 music server using the ROCK version of the software on an Intel NUC or equivalent to feed multiple endpoints. The endpoints can be raspberry pi’s running something like Ropieee software.

With JRiver you can rip cd’s but I prefer using dbPoweramp for that as I think it does a better job of error correction and for me it’s easier to edit metadata on the rips. JRiver is certainly less expensive but I like Roon’s interface more for large collections. From a sound quality point I think they are about the same. Both can do some DSP and digital room correction. Room correction in JRiver might be easier than in Roon.

Both work great with local files. JRiver is a bit more sensitive to how you have the metadata setup for your cd rips. Roon is a bit easier to edit metadata after you import files.

Regards,
Mario

 

[Jay]

good information! Thanks for the input. I have a DAC on order now, eager to get it all set up and join the 21st century

 

[Deluk]

Advice: Back up all of your music onto an outboard hard drive. A 3tb one is small and not too expensive for the security it gives you. Picture and video files too. If your PC HD goes POP you may not be able to access them again and you will be very sad! Also means you can plug the hard drive into a laptop if you wish, to make perhaps a more convenient music source/server.

 

[Tubejack]

Just to add input, I also love and use Roon (catalog) and Qobuz (digital online hi rez files.)  However, I have used EAC for over a decade to rip some 800+ CDs into .flac.  Maybe it's just familiarity of use, but I find it as a dedicated ripper easy to use and to catalog its output, and album pic search.

 

[Jay]

I've been messing with PCs since about 1993 and have never had a hard drive fail - I'm certainly way overdue   I do have my photos backed up.  I have only ripped a dozen or so CDs so far (using EAC), but backup early and often, right?  I may need to update the USB ports on my entertainment PC to use an external SSD.