Things I've learned so far that bear underlining:
* the occasion of a new hard drive is the perfect opportunity to 'evolve' a computer to a server.. the clean install of the OS and the no-background-apps/processes environment stays as lean and clean as you can keep it.. what a pleasure to have only blank slate to designate as sound server.
* a desktop system is the simpler one (compared to notebook) to work on.. lots of internal space to maneuver, replace, arrange the components, simple to vacuum out, dust-out heatsinks, etc.. everything way more visible and obvious.
* you need to install the identical operating system over the previous one, apparently.. can't go from home-premium to professional, for example, at least with the simple manual install that I did.
* you need the original OS Product Key to keep the new OS functional.. it needs to be registered with Microsoft in order not to default to trial-period-ended. Simple enough if it's a legal product on the machine originally, just a re-registration... that you can even do *by phone* if you don't want to put your new system online yet. (Or ever).
* all very simple to transfer your existing soundfiles to an external drive or usb drive and then download that to the new machine.. best to organize and compile them neatly before they leave the original machine... and best to pre-set the new server machine to exactly where and under what label they will reside in their new home.
* probably best-- my guess anyway-- to wait until everything is configured and loaded (server software, sound files, network & router) on the new server before stripping out the numerous default programs, apps and processes that will no longer be needed.. any of that final audio-purist procedure can happen once you're certain you've got a happily functioning source component.
* and yes as mentioned upthread, the fans are annoying. If you're a careful listener (and why be here if you're not) they'll eventually get your attention. This is something you'll have to solve before this is called finished.
Last, I think it's worth getting thru all the mechanical & installation configuration of the above and just trying the existing audio-outs on the new server (before going either usb-usbdac, or soundcard-spdifdac, or whatever else.) I was surprised to find that the garden-variety Dell I'm rebuilding as server sounded competent thru it's standard analog-outs. Not great, not high-end, certainly not ultraclean and hirez--- but very nearly as good as the average consumer sony cd player does, thru its own analog outs. (Looking inside the Dell I see that these outputs are right off the motherboard and are themselves shielded by a full-coverage shielding can enclosure. Not just bare surface-mount outs.)
Being able to iron out the systemic Server issues with a competent audio output makes sense before engaging the more purist highend gear. That can and will come once the Server project gets the full seal of approval.
* the occasion of a new hard drive is the perfect opportunity to 'evolve' a computer to a server.. the clean install of the OS and the no-background-apps/processes environment stays as lean and clean as you can keep it.. what a pleasure to have only blank slate to designate as sound server.
* a desktop system is the simpler one (compared to notebook) to work on.. lots of internal space to maneuver, replace, arrange the components, simple to vacuum out, dust-out heatsinks, etc.. everything way more visible and obvious.
* you need to install the identical operating system over the previous one, apparently.. can't go from home-premium to professional, for example, at least with the simple manual install that I did.
* you need the original OS Product Key to keep the new OS functional.. it needs to be registered with Microsoft in order not to default to trial-period-ended. Simple enough if it's a legal product on the machine originally, just a re-registration... that you can even do *by phone* if you don't want to put your new system online yet. (Or ever).
* all very simple to transfer your existing soundfiles to an external drive or usb drive and then download that to the new machine.. best to organize and compile them neatly before they leave the original machine... and best to pre-set the new server machine to exactly where and under what label they will reside in their new home.
* probably best-- my guess anyway-- to wait until everything is configured and loaded (server software, sound files, network & router) on the new server before stripping out the numerous default programs, apps and processes that will no longer be needed.. any of that final audio-purist procedure can happen once you're certain you've got a happily functioning source component.
* and yes as mentioned upthread, the fans are annoying. If you're a careful listener (and why be here if you're not) they'll eventually get your attention. This is something you'll have to solve before this is called finished.
Last, I think it's worth getting thru all the mechanical & installation configuration of the above and just trying the existing audio-outs on the new server (before going either usb-usbdac, or soundcard-spdifdac, or whatever else.) I was surprised to find that the garden-variety Dell I'm rebuilding as server sounded competent thru it's standard analog-outs. Not great, not high-end, certainly not ultraclean and hirez--- but very nearly as good as the average consumer sony cd player does, thru its own analog outs. (Looking inside the Dell I see that these outputs are right off the motherboard and are themselves shielded by a full-coverage shielding can enclosure. Not just bare surface-mount outs.)
Being able to iron out the systemic Server issues with a competent audio output makes sense before engaging the more purist highend gear. That can and will come once the Server project gets the full seal of approval.
You missed one thing: No two setups are the same, making fault finding a lot of fun!
I started on the thin client route, but the unit I was using only had usb1 so was painfully slow on a rescan (about 1.4TB of music) and was flaky. when that died and I couldn't find anything else in the house that would run voyage-mpd I got an HP microserver on one of their cashback deals. Best £120 I ever spent on audio pleasure.
I now have movies on there as well, mpd for the main stereo, minimserver for unpnp to laptops and tablets round the house (up yours sonos) and it just gets on with the job. It's not fanless, which is slightly annoying and one day will have to move it to another room in the house, but its very quiet. All the fanless machines that were up to the task were a lot more (small linux distros that work on odd hardware are difficult to find now).
Biggest gripe is hibernate wont work from power button, but can telnet in from phone to hibernate it.
It has transformed music listening in the house and been fun, whilst frustrating. It's really really easy to hate linux when things don't work right.
I started on the thin client route, but the unit I was using only had usb1 so was painfully slow on a rescan (about 1.4TB of music) and was flaky. when that died and I couldn't find anything else in the house that would run voyage-mpd I got an HP microserver on one of their cashback deals. Best £120 I ever spent on audio pleasure.
I now have movies on there as well, mpd for the main stereo, minimserver for unpnp to laptops and tablets round the house (up yours sonos) and it just gets on with the job. It's not fanless, which is slightly annoying and one day will have to move it to another room in the house, but its very quiet. All the fanless machines that were up to the task were a lot more (small linux distros that work on odd hardware are difficult to find now).
Biggest gripe is hibernate wont work from power button, but can telnet in from phone to hibernate it.
It has transformed music listening in the house and been fun, whilst frustrating. It's really really easy to hate linux when things don't work right.
regarding "obsolete"
Just wanted to add that there is maybe a mistaken concept regarding music servers being judged as equivalent to personal computers.
Unless you're separating the library to remote storage drive(s), or working with streaming, the tech involved in creating an entirely competent Digital Music Server-- is pretty simple. And not vulnerable to requiring cutting edge gear.
While it was disconcerting, a little, for me to run into components in my project that had dates like 2oo4 or 2oo3, it's worth remembering -- that's already the new millennium, that is well ahead of the curve in maybe all respects but SOTA computing.
The values we use with cutting-edge computer tech talk-- wherein only tomorrow morning's gear is worth thinking about-- isn't really valid in most other pursuits. While it may be true enough for Dacs, which *are* computer processors--- the music server as a sound source is fairly ahead of itself already.
Or at least ahead of the tech wave in its context. By which I mean that my project will be plugged into vacuum-tube amplification and proceed as signal from there to speakers with standard moving-cone drivers. All of which tech was established before 1920 or so. And no one (that I'd care to be conversing with, anyway)-- would feel that the gear involved wasn't viable, or could be termed obsolete.
The last thing here is that it's true, a microsoft XP operating system sounds so very dated to us today, and yet --- for my unassuming, nearly cost-free project, I'm running XPproSP3, whose date is not turn of the century---- but April 2oo8. Fairly recent. From the Dell drivers site I downloaded sound drivers, from Analog Devices, and a display driver from Intel, whose dates are both November 2o11. Very recent indeed.
So the point isn't that I'm feeling I should rationalize my project as if there was some criticism, since there wasn't; rather, I just wanted to point out that a digital source component comprised of computer equipment and software even this outdated by Computer standards --- is still really recent by Audio standards (and not at all a bad way to get involved with computer audio).
We'll note that Cd technology was released circa 1980, and for many audiophiles is *still* their last update in source material ....
(Leave it to the internet to make you feel you're out of touch even with gear that happens to be from the last several years. I won't even start about Lp records, because you've heard that one. I do sometimes feel like the voices on the net msg boards re computer audio are.. let's say very competitive, younger-sounding, nearly 'gamer' style mentalities. Mine's best cause it's wicked new & hyper-hyper. Hmm.)
I think if it's a choice of staying completely isolated in the last century or adding on an entry-level source that gets you into the new era, why not go with the new thing and start learning the intricacies. Even if it's composed of orphaned parts and found software. And oh yeah, costs nothing at all.
Just wanted to add that there is maybe a mistaken concept regarding music servers being judged as equivalent to personal computers.
Unless you're separating the library to remote storage drive(s), or working with streaming, the tech involved in creating an entirely competent Digital Music Server-- is pretty simple. And not vulnerable to requiring cutting edge gear.
While it was disconcerting, a little, for me to run into components in my project that had dates like 2oo4 or 2oo3, it's worth remembering -- that's already the new millennium, that is well ahead of the curve in maybe all respects but SOTA computing.
The values we use with cutting-edge computer tech talk-- wherein only tomorrow morning's gear is worth thinking about-- isn't really valid in most other pursuits. While it may be true enough for Dacs, which *are* computer processors--- the music server as a sound source is fairly ahead of itself already.
Or at least ahead of the tech wave in its context. By which I mean that my project will be plugged into vacuum-tube amplification and proceed as signal from there to speakers with standard moving-cone drivers. All of which tech was established before 1920 or so. And no one (that I'd care to be conversing with, anyway)-- would feel that the gear involved wasn't viable, or could be termed obsolete.
The last thing here is that it's true, a microsoft XP operating system sounds so very dated to us today, and yet --- for my unassuming, nearly cost-free project, I'm running XPproSP3, whose date is not turn of the century---- but April 2oo8. Fairly recent. From the Dell drivers site I downloaded sound drivers, from Analog Devices, and a display driver from Intel, whose dates are both November 2o11. Very recent indeed.
So the point isn't that I'm feeling I should rationalize my project as if there was some criticism, since there wasn't; rather, I just wanted to point out that a digital source component comprised of computer equipment and software even this outdated by Computer standards --- is still really recent by Audio standards (and not at all a bad way to get involved with computer audio).
We'll note that Cd technology was released circa 1980, and for many audiophiles is *still* their last update in source material ....
(Leave it to the internet to make you feel you're out of touch even with gear that happens to be from the last several years. I won't even start about Lp records, because you've heard that one. I do sometimes feel like the voices on the net msg boards re computer audio are.. let's say very competitive, younger-sounding, nearly 'gamer' style mentalities. Mine's best cause it's wicked new & hyper-hyper. Hmm.)
I think if it's a choice of staying completely isolated in the last century or adding on an entry-level source that gets you into the new era, why not go with the new thing and start learning the intricacies. Even if it's composed of orphaned parts and found software. And oh yeah, costs nothing at all.
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Intermittent, I couldn't agree more. I may have several computers in my household, but the one that runs my audio system dates from 2000, and wasn't "state of the art" then. Just an old laptop. Yes, it's now running Linux, not Win2000, and yes, it accesses my music from another Unix box via wired network, and yes, it uses MPD, and some other stuff to also be a crossover, but it works great, and isn't under any stress while running. I'm a very firm believer in using tools that do the job, and not upgrading when it's not needed.
My grump is that when I started playing with Linux you could make it boot off a floppy and run on a 486 very nicely. Finding a linux these days that will run the code you want in 256MB RAM even headless is hard unless you are a hardcore coder and can build the whole chain yourself. Once you are at a core family processor and 1GB RAM you can do whatever you want and it all plays beautifully. The days of running a music server off really basic hardware is gone (other than very small music collections). But that doesn't matter too much when there are some very cheap new boards out there, at least unless you are a tight old git like me!
Hm. I find that if you don't insist on a pretty desktop, but install for a "server", then the required memory is far smaller, and the hardware requirements are fall easier to deal with. Since the screen is broken on my audio laptop, I didn't bother with the pretty desktop, and it uses less than 256 megs. Ubuntu....
Hm, I am running my MPD headless player on an old thin client, together with nginx for remote control it takes 105MB RAM (kernel 3.14, stock linux voyage):
256MB is quite a lot for such purpose.
Code:
root@voyage:~# free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 498288 105404 392884 0 692 68448
-/+ buffers/cache: 36264 462024256MB is quite a lot for such purpose.
Then add 1TB of music and a unpnp server and watch the RAM runout. I tried so hard to get an HP T5710 to do what I wanted. But just too much music.
root@microserver:/# free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 1943928 1791796 152132 0 27452 1485180
-/+ buffers/cache: 279164 1664764
Swap: 3929084 41024 3888060
But I am serving music around the house.
root@microserver:/# free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 1943928 1791796 152132 0 27452 1485180
-/+ buffers/cache: 279164 1664764
Swap: 3929084 41024 3888060
But I am serving music around the house.
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