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Post by akbungle on Dec 9, 2009 23:48:11 GMT -5
lol well if your going to play that game then you can easily just get the Apple Airport express for $109 and use the iPhone to control it Cool I didn't know the airport express could function like that but I guess I don't know what the Airport Express really is in the first place. Well played just the same.
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 9, 2009 23:54:37 GMT -5
lol well if your going to play that game then you can easily just get the Apple Airport express for $109 and use the iPhone to control it Cool I didn't know the airport express could function like that but I guess I don't know what the Airport Express really is in the first place. Well played just the same. haha. regardless i think the Duet is the best option for the OP. with that being said can someone explain to me the point of the new logitech touch??? The touch screen isnt even the remote...its the module itself...seems..well...utterly pointless lol.
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Post by strindl on Dec 10, 2009 0:00:42 GMT -5
I have not actually seen one of the new "touch" things, but from what I have read, it's a receiver and controller in one box.
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Post by strindl on Dec 10, 2009 0:04:16 GMT -5
Oh..and I found that Absolute Sound piece on the Duet and Apple TV music streamers. They concluded that they couldn't tell the differnce between them sonically..and advised that they should both be used with their digital outs into a better quality DAC than is built in for each. With that being done, their test concluded that they were both every bit as good as listening to music through a high end CD player.
The piece is in the Absolute Sound Buyers Guide 09 with a spring 2009 date on it. Issue 187.
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 10, 2009 0:11:33 GMT -5
I have not actually seen one of the new "touch" things, but from what I have read, it's a receiver and controller in one box. right but it would need plugged into a DAC or receiver or pre-amp to get the signal there. That would require it to sit right by the unit. Why didnt they just come out with a touch screen remote that looks like the Harmony 1100 and let it control the duet receiver? Better yet, they should make a new Harmony remote that is both a universal remote AND a Duet...now that would be THE balls
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Post by strindl on Dec 10, 2009 0:17:06 GMT -5
Has that touch been released yet? I had heard that they were still working on the software for it and that a few had gotten into consumers hands before it was ready. I really don't think I have a use for one with my current setup though.
That idea for a real universal harmony remote is interesting...now something like that would be of benefit to me if I could have one remote that would actually handle everything..including my Duets. They'd have to give the Harmony wi fi capabilities in addition to the IR it already has in order to mesh with the duet.
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Post by roadrunner on Dec 10, 2009 2:22:33 GMT -5
Would one of you guys who is up to snuff on this stuff tell me how the Logitech Squeezebox compares with the Duet and the Apple TV. I haven't gotten into streaming from a PC yet, but I had seen several people post that they used the Squeezebox. There has been no discussion of how the Squeezebox fit in. Is it better, worse or comparable to the Duet and the ATV?
Explain it to me slowly and in detail, as I took a handful of pain pills a short while ago and my mind is not quite up to complex thought at the moment. ;D
Thanks.
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Post by agehring on Dec 10, 2009 8:45:56 GMT -5
If your comfortable "modding" things, then the AppleTV would be a very good choice (I have 3 of them). I run the software XBMX (http://xbmc.org/) on my ATV, and there is a iPhone/iPod Touch/Web interface for controlling it. I can play music without turning on the TV.
I have about 1 T of music files (in ogg, flac, mp3, and m4a ) format, and XBMC plays them all.
The "modification" is very simple, and requires no tools. You use software to create a bootable USB stick, boot off of it, then use the ATV interface to install XBMC.
Also note: in the (not to distant) future, there is going to be a hardware mod (you remove the wireless, and install a BCM70012/70010 in its place) that will provide true 1080p/24 video decoding. I'm beta testing it now...
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Post by jam2001 on Dec 10, 2009 9:50:19 GMT -5
...and advised that they should both be used with their digital outs into a better quality DAC than is built in for each.... I have one of my Squeezeboxes setup using digital out to the DMC-1 as I feel the Emotiva DAC sounds better than the Squeezebox internal DAC. I'm curious though how other people have their Squeezeboxes setup?
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 10, 2009 9:59:18 GMT -5
...and advised that they should both be used with their digital outs into a better quality DAC than is built in for each.... I have one of my Squeezeboxes setup using digital out to the DMC-1 as I feel the Emotiva DAC sounds better than the Squeezebox internal DAC. I'm curious though how other people have their Squeezeboxes setup? your situation it looks like your integrating a 2-channel and a home theater system correct? In this case many people will probably be hooking it up exactly how you are. Those with a dedicated 2-channel setup will most likely be using the digital output into a DAC which is then connected to a pre-amp.
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oneliterpeter
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Post by oneliterpeter on Dec 10, 2009 10:51:05 GMT -5
Cool I didn't know the airport express could function like that but I guess I don't know what the Airport Express really is in the first place. Well played just the same. haha. regardless i think the Duet is the best option for the OP. with that being said can someone explain to me the point of the new logitech touch??? The touch screen isnt even the remote...its the module itself...seems..well...utterly pointless lol. LOL... Now here's something we can agree on. ;D The Touch IS completely pointless.
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Post by jam2001 on Dec 10, 2009 15:41:43 GMT -5
Big Red, you are correct.
I guess where I'm confused is, how good is Emotiva DAC's in comparison to other external DAC's? Am I missing out THAT much, by not having an external DAC?
I plan to get the Logitech Touch once it comes out, and I keep hearing that it has a better internal DAC than the Squeezebox. What is difficult to determine from those statements, is whether it will make a noticeable difference as compared to the Emotiva DCM-1 DAC.
Any Touch beta testers here on this forum?
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Post by strindl on Dec 10, 2009 15:51:22 GMT -5
I have three duets and all use the digital outs going into the digital ins on the [re amp processor in the system. In my main system it plugs into an Integra DHC-9.9, in my living room system it's an Outlaw 990 and in my bedroom system it's a Harmon Kardon Signature 2.0.
I've never heard the DMC-1 but I'm certain tha DACS in there are superior to those built into the Duet receiver.
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Post by regulator on Dec 10, 2009 16:34:12 GMT -5
If your comfortable "modding" things, then the AppleTV would be a very good choice (I have 3 of them). I run the software XBMX (http://xbmc.org/) on my ATV, and there is a iPhone/iPod Touch/Web interface for controlling it. I can play music without turning on the TV. I have about 1 T of music files (in ogg, flac, mp3, and m4a ) format, and XBMC plays them all. The "modification" is very simple, and requires no tools. You use software to create a bootable USB stick, boot off of it, then use the ATV interface to install XBMC. Also note: in the (not to distant) future, there is going to be a hardware mod (you remove the wireless, and install a BCM70012/70010 in its place) that will provide true 1080p/24 video decoding. I'm beta testing it now... How do you like the XBMC? Their software looks very cool. So basically its just a browser with some added features? I am starting to think the ATV would be a good addition to my set up. I should have bought it on BF when it was on sale
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Post by bigred7078 on Dec 11, 2009 7:59:13 GMT -5
Big Red, you are correct. I guess where I'm confused is, how good is Emotiva DAC's in comparison to other external DAC's? Am I missing out THAT much, by not having an external DAC? I plan to get the Logitech Touch once it comes out, and I keep hearing that it has a better internal DAC than the Squeezebox. What is difficult to determine from those statements, is whether it will make a noticeable difference as compared to the Emotiva DCM-1 DAC. Any Touch beta testers here on this forum? while the Dacs in the Touch may be better than in the squeezebox, there still not considered high quality dacs. The only logitech product with a good analog section is the Transporter...and at 2 grand i would much rather have the Duet paired with a decent external dac like the upcoming emotiva dac. Anyway, having owned the DMC-1 i can tell you that it has a really really good sounding dac. I would highly recommend using a digital out from the Touch to your DMC-1 for best results without using an separate dac
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Post by jam2001 on Dec 11, 2009 15:26:37 GMT -5
BigRed,
I know that audio is subjective, but sometimes one piece of equipment clearly sounds better than another. That's what I was looking for.
Thanks!
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Post by eiger on Dec 12, 2009 1:03:03 GMT -5
Its a very very nice unit, and for your uses i would recommend it over the Sonos. FYI it does require your computer to be on so it can access the files (same goes for the sonos). I'm in the market as well and was reading your run-down. Thanks Bigred. Point of clarification for the OP - I believe you can integrate with a NAS so you don't have to have a PC turned on.
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Post by GreenKiwi on Dec 16, 2009 1:55:05 GMT -5
Just to throw another monkey wrench into the discussion. There are some other apps that will run on the ATV hardware. Boxee is one of them. They will support FLAC and other formats... they might even do playback off of NAS.
As far as lossless formats, they are all effectively equivalent in terms of sound (and compression) and can be transcoded losslessly to each other. Avoid WAV for the aforementioned limitation of tags and album art and having to pay the size penalty for no compression.
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Post by fishhead on Dec 16, 2009 18:51:27 GMT -5
Does anyone have first-hand knowledge if the Duet or ATV(even with modded software) can stream off an NAS server or one of the new hardrives that can plug into a router port....without having a computer or TV running? That would certainly be the ideal system. Great music without having to turn a bunch of stuff on when you drag in from work. Some days twisting off a beer top, flipping on the pre-amp switch and finding a couch is all the work I want after a long day.
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Post by busen19 on Dec 16, 2009 19:16:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the input guys. Bigred, you sound like you're pretty happy with the ATV? Do you run into any streaming or loss of signal issues? It says on the specs that it plays WAV files also. They should sound as good as the .ALAC shouldn't they? I'm hoping I can access my files without turning on the computer also. I'm storing music on a drive attached to my wireless router N+. I can access it from all my computers, so I'm hoping the ATV would access it also. I can't see any downside to it other then internet radio being a little restricted and it having to be on all the time. For the price($229) it's going at, it seems to do a lot and the iPhone and iPod touch should make good controllers for music. I mainly want to use it to access my music files same as the other players do. BTW, I've never been a big Apple fan, but my iPhone is an enyoyable item. i'm very happy with the apple tv. I have really not had any issues with music playback. Here is the thing though. You need to have the music IN iTunes in order to access it. Thats the only way the ATV can see the files. It doesnt work like the duet or Sonos that can grab the music from any folder unfortunately, but thats just part of anything Apple. Here is my thread on the Apple TV emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=newgear&action=display&thread=3221&page=1Actually thats not true. You can use the ATV patchstick and install NitoTV to play any codec you like from any folder on your computer... not just iTunes. You don't have to be a geek to figure it out. If you can figure out how to plug a usb flash drive into your computer, download the code from google code and plug it into your ATV then you are set. More advanced hacks will require puddy for windows and terminal for mac, but the instructions are out there and are simple. The Apple TV can be so much more than what you get when you buy it... food for thought
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