Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Have someone told you to always do good backups ? You will not be happy if have spent 100's of hours ripping and then the data gets lost , make backups on portable hard-disks that you store elsewhere . -- Mnyb Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH and assorted amps SiriuS, Classe' Primare and Dynadio speakers, Contour 4 Contour Center, and Contour 1.3SE rear ch. Rel Stadium 3 sub. Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: SB3 + powered Fostex PM0.4 Misc use: Radio (with battery) PLEASE FIX BUG 112 http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=112 Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Also always rip lossles otherwise you will do it again some day. Lossles is not only about sound-quality . A lossles rip is a backup of your music if the CD's get lost or damaged. A lossles rip can without losses be transcoded to other losles formats in the future without quality loss , now we solved the data migration problem . Use a free open source format like FLAC , you are no longer in the hands of big corporations (the codec can always be recreated by any literate programmer as the souce code is open) And FLAC is native to the squeezebox. 3 things that are absolutely essential and none about sound-quality :) If you are in the dark ages mp3 discard information to get smaller file sizes , that information is forever lost and can not be receated ever. But recent development in hard disk tech and proces makes file size a non problem- Also if you want to convert to another lossy format for a portable player or other uses, lossles files are superior to . Yes you can do that. on your computer take your lossles files and produce lossy mp3 copies for your iPod or similar. That is not hard to do. Portable things needs smaller file sizes if want a lot off songs with you. Converting between lossy formats as mp3 and AAC or mp3 to mp3 btw. Introduces further quality losses called "cascade coding artifacts". This is not good idea. What will happen in the futer when AAC becomes obselete (You can hear it on TV sometimes when a happles reporter have interwieved someone with a minidisc player (atrac) and the TV system uses mpeg2 . Or more often a radio reporter does this and then the show is sent as web radio to..) (You could argue that ALAC is also native to some Squeezboxes like Touch ,but all non apple alac is dependent on third party hacks and reverse engineering and don't support 24/96 or similar, so that is more fragile than you might think.) -- Mnyb Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH and assorted amps SiriuS, Classe' Primare and Dynadio speakers, Contour 4 Contour Center, and Contour 1.3SE rear ch. Rel Stadium 3 sub. Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: SB3 + powered Fostex PM0.4 Misc use: Radio (with battery) PLEASE FIX BUG 112 http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=112 Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] A DAC for the SB
Atver;598205 Wrote: > HeckI said I SUSPECT it would sound better, the mac setups I have > heard were very good and comparable to a good CD player. Where as my > Touch is about 60% of my CDP. > > I love what the Touch does, I'd just like to improve the sound a bit. The interesting part is that with good rips made by dBpower amp or EAC that are bit perfect, yes absolutely all information from the CD is there, and with a network based transport mechanism , that does not do anything to the sound. The "mechanical part" is as good as it's gets better or equal than any CDP can do :) CD is from 1979 the error control etc is not fantastic compared to a harddrive (otherwise you computer would never work). If you don't want to mod the Touch by bypassing the output caps there is finally time to borrow to and try some other DAC's. A remotely possible (but not so likely) trouble source is the switchmode external PSU delivered with the Touch it can spew out some rf junk back to the powerline that migth affect other equipment in your system. The Touch itself is hardly affected as it has more internal switchmode regulators and therefore is not really that sensitive to it's psu. External PSU is naturally an expensive ad on . Note that a baddly designed linear psu also disturb the power line. The squeezebox has spawned a whole cottage industry with "hardware leechers " or what to call them, that peedle useless ad-ons and mods (or in some cases make it worse).If they sell "quantum purifiers" they are definitely charlatans and completely incompetent as EE's beware. Another opportunity is the Transporter SE ! yes Logitech has re-spawned the Transporter , now it's actually cheaper than before but lacks some gadgetry navigation knob (that did nothing for the sound). It has a better DAC directly in the Squeezebox and balanced outputs and good analog output stage that is very silent. The unique thing with this is that you get rid of the whole potential "spdif problem" . The asynchronous and buffered way etc that the music files are transported toa sueezebox get's rid off the whole transport to DAC jitter problem. (That is why single box CDP's can theoretically be better than a CD transport + DAC) But the Touch actually has some advantages , it supports more file formats internally and is the future , all new functionality that may come is not likely to be developed fro the old architecture. And that nice color touchscreen and menu system. The Touch is small so with a selection of tunes on USB stick it could be carried to the hifi dealer if you want to try DAC's . But imho it's better to audition at home and avoid the sales pitch from hifi dealers they are ignorant and would probably frown at such things as squeezeboxes in many cases. -- Mnyb Main hifi: Touch + CIA PS +MeridianG68J MeridianHD621 MeridianG98DH and assorted amps SiriuS, Classe' Primare and Dynadio speakers, Contour 4 Contour Center, and Contour 1.3SE rear ch. Rel Stadium 3 sub. Bedroom/Office: Boom Kitchen: SB3 + powered Fostex PM0.4 Misc use: Radio (with battery) PLEASE FIX BUG 112 http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=112 Mnyb's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=4143 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=83976 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
Not at all if you have a reasonable router ... -- linvale Squeezcenter running on ACER R1600 Windows XP Fileserver ReadyNAS Duo Main Listening Transporter / Controller Kitchen : SB3 Bedroom : Boom Bath : SBRadio Study: Duo linvale's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=22828 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] A DAC for the SB
mlsstl;597893 Wrote: > Interesting pronouncement since the Mac will have variables of its own. HeckI said I SUSPECT it would sound better, the mac setups I have heard were very good and comparable to a good CD player. Where as my Touch is about 60% of my CDP. I love what the Touch does, I'd just like to improve the sound a bit. -- Atver John Ayre Electonics, VPI Scout, AQ cables, Harbeth C7ES, REL R505 with a Touch. Atver's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=41985 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=83976 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Instructions for connecting USB DAC to Touch
Thanks very much for the input, John. And then, based on the results, what would I do or what would I know? Joel -- joelha joelha's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=41756 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82110 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Thanks for the correction. I did not know about the lack of a standard for tagging WAV or PCM files. -- Blazer Blazer's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=39545 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Blazer;598134 Wrote: > Since you are in the "Dark Ages"... > > 1) You do not have to convert (rip) your CDs to FLAC. We do that so > that the music takes up less space on our hard drives. (about 40% less > than the native WAV files on CDs) You could simply copy them in their > native WAV file format and stream them to your Touch. They will simply > take up more room on your hard drive. Actually WAV is not a CD's "native" format. That would be PCM. And a good reason for not storing the files as WAV is that there is no standard for tagging WAV files, and to make best use of an SB system you need good tags. -- aubuti aubuti's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2074 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Apesbrain;598130 Wrote: > I'm curious, do you have any music files on your computer that you'd > like to be able to play via your Squeezebox or are you literally > starting with a clean slate? For instance, do you have music on an iPod > that you've copied from your CDs? Your answer will help others to give > you suggestions on how to set up your server. No, I really am starting with a clean slate! -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Stupid Internet Radio Question
Kal Rubinson;598187 Wrote: > You can do it either way but the latter is better, imho. I scan for > stations by genre or reputation and sample them. If I like one enough, > I add it to my "Favorites" and have it stored on the SB Server. > > Kal Thanks -- souwalker souwalker's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37673 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84319 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
rgro;598186 Wrote: > When you're playing something, if you touch the "Now Playing" bar on the > top of the screen, you'll get a sub-screen with bunch of information. > If you scroll down, I believe the bitrate info for anything you're > playing is down at the bottom. Scroll down a ways to "More Info", and press that (or select with IR remote) to get a sub-menu that shows bitrate and codec. -- aubuti aubuti's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2074 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
Another questionwhen I'm using the Squeezebox, how does it affect other users in my house using the internet? -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Stupid Internet Radio Question
souwalker;598177 Wrote: > Been using Touch for a few months but never used the radio features. > Do I need to setup radio stations on the SB Server software first or > can I just select Internet Radio on the Touch to select stations and > commence streaming. > > Rgds > PatYou can do it either way but the latter is better, imho. I scan for stations by genre or reputation and sample them. If I like one enough, I add it to my "Favorites" and have it stored on the SB Server. Kal -- Kal Rubinson Kal Rubinson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40032 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84319 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Questions for SB set up with NAS
edmondwolfman;597757 Wrote: > Do any of you have a speed problem using a NAS to run your Squeezebox > server software when rescanning etc? > > I initially put SB server on my Synology DS 207+ and if worked fine but > seemed a little slow when clearing and rescanning etc. I installed the > Windows version SB server on my vista machine and all I can say is WOW > the difference is astounding. I guess because my vista box has 4G of > RAM and a high powered CPU it runs circles around my exteranl NAS as > the CPU and memory in the NAS was really built for storing, retrieving > and backing up files. > > I was wondering if you are happy with the NAS performance and have you > compared it to a regular windows computer with fast CPU and a lot of > ram. I would say it is just barely fast enough. It seems fine when using the Touch to browse for music. There is a few seconds delay when I first access it after a long period of inactivity, I guess to "wake it up". I've currently got 2004 songs on it (165 albums). Playing CD quality FLAC (16/44k) albums is perfect. I do occasionally get a stutter at the beginning of hi-resolution (24/96k) FLAC albums. A "re-buffering" only at the very start of the album for a couple of seconds, then it is perfect after that. I'm pretty happy with the setup. I have the NAS in a separate room, and connect to it with Wi-Fi from the Touch. I wouldn't mind if it had a bit more horse-power, but except for the very occasional stutter at the start of hi-res albums, it does everything I want it to, and it has been pretty much flawless. I leave it on 24/7 and it never fails. Even when we have a power outage, it comes right up without intervention. I'm not sure I'd trade it for a more powerful solution unless I could find one that was as small, low power draw, and unobtrusive as the NAS. And the price was right ($180 + drive). A full scan takes about 20 minutes, but a rescan to look for changes only takes about 2 or 3 minutes. If I could find a small ATOM based computer with more memory, in a small box that housed the drive, I would probably be willing to pay an extra hundred or so bucks for that, but I didn't see anything that fit the bill when I was looking, so I went with the TS-110. I'm pretty happy with it, but it could be better I did try the server on my desktop, and it was better. It never stuttered on the hi-res albums. But if I go with a wired connection from the NAS to the Touch, it almost never stutters. It looks like the combination of low horsepower in the NAS and a wireless connection cause the stutter. The desktop doesn't stutter even when wireless to the Touch. Terry -- TerryS TerryS's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40835 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84094 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
souwalker;598182 Wrote: > Does the Touch display the bitrates? > > I've not tried Internet Radio yet. > > Pat When you're playing something, if you touch the "Now Playing" bar on the top of the screen, you'll get a sub-screen with bunch of information. If you scroll down, I believe the bitrate info for anything you're playing is down at the bottom. -- rgro Rick System information Touch w/Hardware V.5. Touch: FW 7.5.1 r9218. Duet: FW 66. Squeeze Server 7.5.2 r31646 running on a Vortexbox Appliance. V 1.6. Duet Controller, Receiver, and Touch configured in all-wireless set-up using Netgear WNDR 3700. Marantz PM8003 integrated amp, Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand speakers, Cambridge Audio DacMagic, REL Acoustics R305 sub-bass, PS Audio Quintet. rgro's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=34348 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
aubuti;598006 Wrote: > A few stations play at higher bitrates like 192kbps or 256 or even > above, but 128 is very common, as well as some execrable 64 or lower. > . Does the Touch display the bitrates? I've not tried Internet Radio yet. Pat -- souwalker souwalker's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37673 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
Vortexbox by default assumes that an external USB drive is being used as a backup disk and does not mount it as a normal disk. You CAN use an external drive as your music library, but it takes some linux hacking to turn off the special stuff that vortexbox scripts do with an external drive. I've done it successfully on my system, but I don't remember off the top of my head what I did. I'd have to spend some time and figure out what I did. Note that this was with version 1.5, I haven't tried it with 1.6, but I haven't seen anything about the external drive behavior changing. John S. -- JohnSwenson JohnSwenson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5974 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Decrease Minimal Brightness of Touch
SBT2010;598046 Wrote: > John, in your post you mention to check ambient light sensor & that the > values should be around 0 for the 2 channels & the Lux. Is this to be > tested when it's dark in the room, or is it o.k. to check when the room > is lighted, too? I just checked mine, because I've been unable to have > the display dim at night on both SB Touches I have. My readings for > channel 0: 731 (min. 585/max: 5?? - won't scroll far enough to see the > max. value). Channel 1: 386 (min. 321/max. 405. Lux: 759 (min. 655/max. > 813. Brightness: 100 (min. 100/max. 100). Change Gain (currently off). I > did this test in a lighted room. Yes, you want to check the sensors in a completely dark room. The issue here is to see what you get out of the sensor when there is no light hitting them. John S. -- JohnSwenson JohnSwenson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5974 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=79243 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Instructions for connecting USB DAC to Touch
joelha;597447 Wrote: > Hi John, > > Here's what I'm showing (below). > > Momentary freq = 44103 Hz (0x2c.1a70) > > Endpoint: 1 OUT (ASYNC) > /QUOTE] > > The momentary freq being 44103 means the asynchronous interface is > working, the clock on the Touch is a little slower than the clock in > the DAC. The Dac has told the driver to speed up the data rate > slightly. > > This seems to indicate that the appropriate communication is happening. > > > I would put the Touch into a state that is known to cause the ticks > etc. Repeatedly look at the momentary freq and see if it changes when > you have a pop or click. > > The overall upshot of this is that it seems to be working, the driver > seems to be properly communicating with the DAC. > > The next test I would run is to try files at different sample rates and > see if there are any different behaviors. In particular I would try the > same song at 44.1 and 48. This make sure you use the two different > crystals. If you are running into an issue with one of the crystals be > fairly far away from the frequency the Streamer you MIGHT run into a > problem with the feedback system not being able to lock on fast enough. > By using 44.1 and 48 you use both crystals. You might also want to try > 88.1 and 96 and see how they work as well. > > John S. -- JohnSwenson JohnSwenson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5974 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82110 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
[SlimDevices: Touch] Stupid Internet Radio Question
Been using Touch for a few months but never used the radio features. Do I need to setup radio stations on the SB Server software first or can I just select Internet Radio on the Touch to select stations and commence streaming. Rgds Pat -- souwalker souwalker's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37673 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84319 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Instructions for connecting USB DAC to Touch
marea;595204 Wrote: > > It's work well if I connect th Touch to a non asynch Havana DAC via > USB. > anyway, with my ears and system, I like more the connexion Touch --> > spdif --> Havana > > My 2 cents I second that. It sounds more nature from the Touch to Mhdt Havana via the spdif. -- metronet metronet's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40742 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82110 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Since you are in the "Dark Ages"... 1) You do not have to convert (rip) your CDs to FLAC. We do that so the the music takes up less space on our hard drives. (about 40% less space) You could simply copy them in their native WAV file format and stream them to your Touch. They will simply take up more room on your hard drive. 2) FLAC is just one of several "lossless" compression formats. (codecs) Lossless means that no music is actually lost in the conversion. Others are Apple's ALAC, and Window's WMAL. 3)You could simply use iTunes and rip CDs to ALAC files for your Touch or use Windows Media Player and rip your CDs to WMAL files for your Touch. To use rip to FLAC, you need a different application (many free ones) like dbpoweramp to accomplish this. 4) There is no difference in sound quality between these lossless types. 5) FLAC is preferred by many because it is not proprietary. What if you end up with 3000 CDs converted to Apple's ALAC files and a few years from now, Apple decides that you have to pay them for that??? 6) As stated above, you could also just use Windows Media Player (or other software) and convert CDs to a "lossy" codec like MP3s. Lossy codecs take up even less space but actually loose some of the music data, so they may not sound as good. This lossy format has several different compression options like 64, 128, 256 or 320 kbs. If you Rip to the higher ones like 256 or 320, you may not notice a great deal of difference (or any) between those and a lossless codec like FLAC. This depends on your ears, the engineering of the music, and the resolving power of your stereo system. 7) You could do some experimenting... If you have a PC, simply use Windows Media Player and rip a couple of CDs to MP3s at 320kb/s and also to lossless WMAL. Then you can stream them to your Touch/stereo and see if you can tell a difference. Or if you have a MAC, just use iTunes and rip to MP3s and ALAC. Good luck... -- Blazer Blazer's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=39545 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
I'm curious, do you have any music files on your computer that you'd like to be able to play via your Squeezebox or are you literally starting with a clean slate? Your answer will help others to give you suggestions on how to set up your server. -- Apesbrain Apesbrain's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=738 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
Ocean56;598067 Wrote: > OK, as mentioned in my other post, my new Touch is set up and streaming > Internet radio with no problem. > > The review in Stereophile suggests that streaming FLAC files has to be > heard to be believed. > > I'm in the dark ages when it comes to PC audio files, so to my > knowledge, I HAVE no FLAC files ON my PC! > > Can I save a CD to the PC hard drive AS FLAC files to try this out? > > I need to download Squeezebox Server to my PC as well, correct? yes, use dbpoweramp or EAC programs to rip your CDs to FLAC. Then point your SbS (running on local computer, you'll need to install this if you haven't) to the music directory that contains your FLAC files and do a clear and rescan of your library. You can have a mixture of FLAC and mp3/aac files in your SbS music library by the way. p.s. don't expect a night and day difference from a high quality mp3 or aac file, especially for rock/pop music and if you're over 30 years old (i.e., natural hearing loss of high freqs as we age). This said, I rip everything to FLAC because it is lossless and will also allow me to convert files to any future codec that is invented that may take up lots less space (200,000 SONGS ON AN IPOD ANYONE?) -- garym garym's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=17325 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
[SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie file questions...
OK, as mentioned in my other post, my new Touch is set up and streaming Internet radio with no problem. The review in Stereophile suggests that streaming FLAC files has to be heard to be believed. I'm in the dark ages when it comes to PC audio files, so to my knowledge, I HAVE no FLAC files ON my PC! Can I save a CD to the PC hard drive AS FLAC files to try this out? I need to download Squeezebox Server to my PC as well, correct? -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84308 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
[SlimDevices: Touch] Touch/Radio shutting off by themselves???
Sometimes my Touch or Radio will shut off automatically while streaming (the stream stops & the screen displays the digital clock (transparent - I believe?) screensaver. Does anyone have an explanation & solutions for this quark? -- SBT2010 SBT2010's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40712 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84307 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Decrease Minimal Brightness of Touch
John, in your post you mention to check ambient light sensor & that the values should be around 0 for the 2 channels & the Lux. Is this to be tested when it's dark in the room, or is it o.k. to check when the room is lighted, too? I just checked mine, because I've been unable to have the display dim at night on both SB Touches I have. My readings for channel 0: 731 (min. 585/max: 5?? - won't scroll far enough to see the max. value). Channel 1: 386 (min. 321/max. 405. Lux: 759 (min. 655/max. 813. Brightness: 100 (min. 100/max. 100). Change Gain (currently off). I did this test in a lighted room. -- SBT2010 SBT2010's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40712 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=79243 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
I liked last.fm okay, but I haven't listened to it much in the past 1-2 years. For awhile the mixes started sounding a bit too same-y. I like Pandora, too. Tastes in our house are pretty eclectic, so I especially like the ease with which it is easy different "stations" in Pandora for different artists, genres, moods, etc. For our own library the mixes generated by MusicIP are really excellent. Lately I've been listening a lot more to my own music (either albums or great semi-random playlists generated by MusicIP) and using Napster to check out music I don't have yet. -- aubuti aubuti's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2074 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Newbie with Questions for the Experts
garym;597734 Wrote: > If you are a windows user, there are two programs consistently > recommended by those serious a about their ripping. EAC (free) and > dbpoweramp (not free). I use and recommend dbpa (reference edition R14; > not free but worth every penny). Both these programs have a bit of > learning curve, but dbpa is easier to setup in my opinion. They will > both work with accuraterip, which is a very nice feature regarding > confirming good rips and speeding up the ripping process). dbpa has a > forum as well. I also think you should install mp3tag. This is very > useful for various tag clean up functions (and does FLAC as well...) > > http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/ > http://www.dbpoweramp.com/spoons-audio-guide.htm > http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc-power-register.htm > http://forums.mp3tag.de/index.php?http://www.anytag.de/forums/ > http://www.mp3tag.de/en/download.html Downloaded EAC ripped a cd "Avett Brothers four theives gone" which has a hidden content tacked on to a 4 min song for a total of 16 + min. The VBA rejected the disk, I read in another forum the VBA doesn't like hidden content. I ripped all the cuts except the 16 min one. Then I went back and ripped a range on the 16 min one which just included the 4 min song. Did one edit with MP3Tag and dragged it onto the VBA from my laptop, perfect. So you can see I'm progressing. I have also found that the VBA can rip the CD content of SACDs, evan multichannel ones. It won't rip the CD side of a Dual disk though. I've ripped about sixty CDs and backed them up on my WD USB drive. My Oppo BD-83 is getting jealous of the SB Touch. -- tmauceri tmauceri's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=41450 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=83244 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Odd issue with my Touch (might be my DAC)
Phil Leigh;597927 Wrote: > Well, as I said the Touch ALWAYS sends a 24-bit "bitstream" via its > digital outputs. The DAC should always show 24, because that is what it > is being given. Maybe the dCS has some funky way of deciding what > bit-depth to display based on the actual values of the bits... That's what I'm thinking... The dCS must be doing some kind of calculation to figure out bit depth because it will display 16, 23, or 24 depending on the file being played. 16 bit files show either 16 or 23 while 24 bit files correctly show 24. It does show the sample rate correctly though. The good news is the dCS doesn't suffer from any of the lock on issues between tracks that so many others seem to... It plays everything just fine - no pops or anything. Like I said when I created the thread, I figured it was some kind of weird DAC issue... Thanks for helping me confirm that :) -- gtb75 gtb75's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=42412 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84280 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
I'll get it figured out...:-)BTW, looking at your public profile, i see you use last fm. Like? Dislike? I've been using Pandora for awhile now and like it a lot... -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
Ocean56;598004 Wrote: > Thanks for the fast response! > > I DID switch stations between tracks, and that's when I noticed a > difference. > > The PC I'll be using is an older Dell, but it will be strictly > dedicated to my music library. > > If the Vortex s/w works better, I have NO problem downloading it & > using it to run the Squeezebox. I looked at their forum earlier, and > noticed some comments regarding using external hard drives. I'll have > to research that further... Okay, if you switched stations, that explains it. A few stations play at higher bitrates like 192kbps or 256 or even above, but 128 is very common, as well as some execrable 64 or lower. Yes, research the Vortexbox + external drive some more rather than taking my only quasi-informed word for it. I would guess that the issue, if there is one, is making sure the OS mounts the drive before trying to load Squeezebox Server (SBS). If SBS is loaded and the drive isn't recognized yet it will think you have zero tracks in your library. But a rescan after the drive is recognized should put things back to normal. This issue exists to one degree or another with all OSs. -- aubuti aubuti's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2074 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
Thanks for the fast response! I DID switch stations between tracks, and that's when I noticed a difference. The PC I'll be using is an older Dell, but it will be strictly dedicated to my music library. If the Vortex s/w works better, I have NO problem downloading it & using it to run the Squeezebox. I looked at their forum earlier, and noticed some comments regarding using external hard drives. I'll have to research that further... -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
There's a nice Christmas surprise. Enjoy! 1) The quality of the internet radio station will affect sound quality, and the most important variable is the probably the bitrate at which the station streams. This usually doesn't change from track to track, so I don't know how to explain the sound being different from one song to another unless you changed stations between tracks. Also, if your bandwidth is not adequate for the streaming it will be manifested as interruptions in the music, not as subtle differences in sound quality. 2) It depends entirely on your comfort level with the two options -- there is no "right" answer. I am fairly certain (though not 100%) that the Vortexbox software supports external USB drives. Note that Vortexbox is not a "program" per se, but rather an entire replacement operating system for the computer. So if you install Vortexbox it will overwrite all the WinXP stuff on it. If the computer is borderline in terms of computing capacity (CPU speed, RAM, etc), Vortexbox or any Linux distro will make more efficient use of the limited computing resources than Windows. 3) Any brand of HDD will do if you're connecting it to an external computer running SBS. Things get a little pickier if you use TinySBS, the limited-function server that is built-in to the Touch. -- aubuti aubuti's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2074 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
[SlimDevices: Touch] New Touch owner questions...
My family totally surprised me and got me a Touch for Christmas! I've got it set up now and streaming from my Linksys router to my stereo system - it was simple and easy to do. But I have some questions: 1. Will the quality of my internet connection and/or the broadcast quality of either an HD radio station or Internet radio station affect the sound? I'm asking because I noticed that every once in awhile, the sound doesn't seem to be as good from one song to another. 2. I want to use an old PC (strictly dedicated to this music project), an external HD, and start loading my CDs on it, as well as Squeezebox Server. Can I download the Vortex (?) Linux program TO that PC, AND use an external USB drive? I've browsed through the forum, and see conflicting opinions. Or am I better off simply using XP, the Squeezebox program, and the external HD? 3. Do I need to only choose a certain brand of HD for the external drive? Thanks, all! -- Ocean56 Ocean56's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=40734 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84302 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Another SB Touch vs. Sonos dilemma
jaggy;597726 Wrote: > The kinds of issues especially I'm interested in hearing about are: > - basic tasks like ease of the interface (whether through the unit or > dedicated or iphone/touch/android remotes) > - speed, lags, glitches > - dropouts because of wifi issues > - stability of server software; ease of updates (esp on a NAS) > - anything else worth knowing about > > And likewise, if you have any feedback on what's wonderful about the SB > Touch! > > thanks My 2 cents worth: The interface is pretty easy to learn and use. Plus one can very easily customize the home menu of the Touch so that only certain items are shown. A few minor issues regarding speed, lags & glitches - first when listening to high resolution files there may be slight delay or pause will the buffer fills, second if using an external hard drive there may be a slight delay as the hard drive powers up. If the Touch is using a wireless connection you may sometimes experience dropouts due to network interference like a microwave. The server software is very stable and can be greatly enhanced by installing some of the wide variety plug-ins currently available. May I suggest that you download and install SqueezeBox server and run it using a virtual SqueezeBox just to get a feeling of exactly what is involved. Since I am not familiar with the Sonos system I can't comment on it but I will say that when using any Squeezebox device the effort one puts into making sure that all the files are properly tagged and have correct cover art will be rewarded ten fold when using the Touch and listening to music. -- ralphpnj Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels -> Snatch -> The Transporter -> Transporter 2 (oops) -> Touch 'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/jazzfann/) ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84267 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] digital silence between tracks?
Phil Leigh;597925 Wrote: > What DAC do you have? I have a CAL Alpha 24/96 connected via coax (Blue Jeans/Belden) or optical (Kimber). -- Apesbrain Apesbrain's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=738 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=77849 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Another SB Touch vs. Sonos dilemma
jaggy;597726 Wrote: > Hi All > > > > The kinds of issues especially I'm interested in hearing about are: > - basic tasks like ease of the interface (whether through the unit or > dedicated or iphone/touch/android remotes) > - speed, lags, glitches > - dropouts because of wifi issues > - stability of server software; ease of updates (esp on a NAS) > - anything else worth knowing about > > And likewise, if you have any feedback on what's wonderful about the SB > Touch! > > thanks basic tasks like ease of the interface (whether through the unit or dedicated or iphone/touch/android remotes) - I use the actual Touch interface and am happy with it. But I've used the SBS web interface and Squeezeplay remotely, and was satified with them also. But I prefer a "touch" interface. - speed, lags, glitches - rare. I have my Touch hardwired to my router. Setup the router to give permanent IPs to the MAC addresses of the Touch, Boom, and SB Server. - dropouts because of wifi issues - rare. not an issue. - stability of server software; ease of updates (esp on a NAS)- fine, no problems. My NAS is an ATOM desktop. - anything else worth knowing about: everyonce in a while there are glitches which require either reboot of server, Touch, or both. But this is quite infrequent. -- firedog Tranquil PC fanless WHS server running SqueezeServer; SB Touch slaved to Empirical Audio Pace Car; MF V DAC3, MF X-150 amp, Devore Gibbon Super 8 Speakers; Dual 506 + Ortofon 20 (occasional use); sometimes use PC with M-Audio 192 as digital source. SB Boom in second room. Arcam CD82 which I don't use anymore, even though it's a very good player. firedog's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=11550 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84267 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Setting presets on the Touch?
v7.5.3 (beta), may work also with <= 7.5.2 My menue is in german, so my description in English is not exact. --- In Menue: Settings / Expand (in German "Erweitert") / BetaFunctions A. Assign "Holding Number 1 on Remote" to "Save Preset 1" do it again for keys 2-6 B. Assign your music, radiostation etc. to the keys C. Assign "Holding Number 1 on Remote" to "Play Preset 1" do it for keys 2-6 Ready! Holding key 1 plays the preset 1 and so on. --- In (B.) Sometimes you can not store music etc. when its playing: you can store it, when you go in menue to the entry for this music and then hold the key. Best regards Mikel -- mik3000 mik3000's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37998 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=78416 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] Another SB Touch vs. Sonos dilemma
krochat;597808 Wrote: > One thing that needs to be emphasized - use an always-on music server of > adequate power - I can't recommend VortexBox on an old PC (or newer > low-power silent PC) highly enough. > > The problem I experienced was connection problems if the server wasn't > available, and reconnecting after waking the server required > persistence and several minutes - one of those annoyances you're trying > to avoid. > > I used to run SqueezeCenter on a regular PC that I would suspend at the > end of the day. Squeezeboxes can send Wake-On-Lan (WOL) to wake up > suspended servers but it never worked properly for that machine. > > So I switched to a separate VortexBox machine and it worked beautifully > for weeks - press "play" and it played. > > Then I got worried about power usage (40 watts for that particular PC, > some are as low as 20 watts), so I activated the "Server Power Control" > plugin for end-of-day power suspension and used the player's WOL > capability to wake up the server in the morning. > > This worked, but it took a couple of minutes to wake up and reconnect > in the morning - a delay I found so annoying that I turned off the > power plugin and now just run 24 hours a day. > > With regards to running SqueezeCenter on a NAS - many here have > reported poor performance with some NAS units. > VortexBox is a much better solution. It also has a one-click software > "update" feature. > > FWIW, the Vortexbox is hard-wired to the network, 4 of my 5 players are > wireless. Hi Jaggy I've been a Squeezebox user for 3 years now, I have 4 players, 3 connect wirelessly and 1 is hard wired (a Touch), as the above post I also run a vortexbox solution installed on low power server, it is also hard wired into the router - my router is pretty bog standard. I would echo the sentiments of the person above, regardless of how many players you've got the importance of the server and network often hinder the effectiveness of the players, I've got no complaints over my setup - however to illustrate I previously had the server located upstairs and connected to router via ethernet powerplugs, this was inefficient and there was a lot of rebuffering, I moved downstairs and located next to router and its been very good. In terms of your initial question The kinds of issues especially I'm interested in hearing about are: - basic tasks like ease of the interface (whether through the unit or dedicated or iphone/touch/android remotes) Always works well for me, I do have a number of plugins, one heavily used is the trackstat plugin for rating songs, I have noticed that when rating a song there is a slight delay in the server when using my Duet controller but not a problem on the touch - speed, lags, glitches very very occasional, see comment above re: plugin - dropouts because of wifi issues Not been a problem for me - stability of server software; ease of updates (esp on a NAS) Fine for me - anything else worth knowing about I think the Touch is a quality device but as with all SB products how good your server/network is will impact the usability, IMO this is the achillies heel for SB in comparison to Sonos range in that Sonos controls those 2 factors differently in the design giving more 'plug and play' however that doesn't mean that SB don't work well out of the box. I also much prefer the product range that SB offer, simple things like being able to control the players directly rather then via a controller is a big thing for me. Ian -- socistep socistep's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18860 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84267 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
Re: [SlimDevices: Touch] newb question playlists
mfw;597912 Wrote: > I need help understanding playlists; creation, etc. > What I want to do is "shuffle" all songs, or a lot of songs, in a > genre. > > My setup: > TinySC, USB disk direct to Touch, analog out to receiver, wifi to > computer in another room, where I rip and tag CD's. Server and > SqueezePlay installed on PC, but only use occasionally, mostly to > experiment and fool around. About 1,000 FLAC tracks so far. I may > eventually install a dedicated, low power server. > > I think I understand TinSC playlists are limited to 100 songs; and that > server only plays playlists. > > How can I "shuffle" all Christmas genre tracks? Probably have less than > 100 of these. (My wife wanted the Christmas music; my efforts to do this > usually resulted in the same song repeatedly, or played a few songs and > stopped..) > > How can I "shuffle" all Blues genre tracks? I have way more than 100 > of these. > > Should I create playlists on the full server on my pc and move this to > the Touch? (Full server playlists are limited only by configuration > parameter, defaults to 500, so would need to limit to 100 when > transferring to Touch.) > > What are the best ways to create playlists? > > I see the shuffle icon on the Touch, but what songs does this shuffle? > Does this shuffle within a playlist? Using the touch remote > Settings > set Shuffle to 'Song' (or use the shuffle button on the remote). My Music > Genres > highlight 'Christmas' and press play. This could take a few moments using TinySC. -- kidstypike kidstypike 1xSB3 - 1xDuet - 1xBoom - 1xRadio - 1xTouch kidstypike's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10436 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84287 ___ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
