Home Digital Music Server Systems --- Circa January 2008

I am currently using two 'Music Server' Systems. Both are capable playing Internet Radio Stations or playing music files (mp3 files) on my local home computer --- which is a Shuttle Zen ST62K. To get a little better audio quality on my desk top I use the M-Audio Transit to get digitial out to a TOS link which I feed into a set of Edifier S2.1D powered speakers that has digitial input. I am a bit obsessed with getting the bits as close to my final output electronics as possible. The M-Audio transit is a bit dated now ( IMHO) in terms of A/D's, and I am not happy with the lack of driver development from transit. That said, it still seems to work. My goal in these projects is not 'audiophile' quality, but the getting good quality at a resonable cost at least to the amplifier stage. IMHO a good, easy to use internet radio/music server, is still a huge oppurtunity waiting to be solved (at the right cost point). This page describes some of the ways I come up with so far to achieve this ..., as I mentioned getting (say 24 bit) direct digital output to the amps seems like the most cost effective way to get good audio quality for these systems. Both systems are 'wireless,' transmitting music through the standard 802.11 b/g.

To see some of the radio stations I listen to check out: Nick's Internet Radio Links

To see some of the folks in my mp3 song collections see the bottom of the web page here.

The first system I put together is built from a commerically available Roku Soundbridge M1000.
I us the TOS optical out of the Roku and run it into the digitial input of the receiver/amplifier shown below. Roku uses a simple remote and display to sort through the music or stations. The interface is pretty minimal but gets the job done for simple tasks.



The Soundbridge is at top and is controlled by the remote on the right.The optical link goes into the AV receiver below --- I was unable to find a good quality (resonably cost) stereo receiver for digitial input, so I settled for an AV receiver even though I use it mostly for stereo. Here is a close up picture of the Soundbridge.



Here is a perhaps nicer darker image:



Downstairs I converted and older IBM T20 Lab top to use as a music server. I use a USB out directly into another AV receiver that has a USB in link, again a direct digitial connection to the amplifier. The computer is on the left and the amplifier on the right.



Here is a close up of the amplifier (JVC RX-D206) with the USB input shown on the lower left. I can send music to different parts of the house using the switching box above. Again, stereo would be fine, but I could not find a 'stereo receiver/amp' with digitial inputs at a resonable cost, so this compact JVC unit seems to be an ok comprimise.



Here is the display I put together on the T20 notebook computer. By using the remote you can flip through and play different internet radio stations. I also often control the system with Windows Remote Terminal Server,  which is about the only piece of Microsoft software that seems to work well I've ever used.



I had a 'Firefly' remote from another project sitting around, so I use that to control the internet radio system remotely.



That's about it. Actually, I probably spent more time building these systems than using them so far. Still, if you have a old computer sitting around, and get a receiver with direct digitial input, it is not too costly or expensive to build a simple music server to provide internet radio or play your local music files. Alternatively, you can get a higher quality A/D and doing something similar, like I've done with the M-Audio transit for my desktop system.

If you want to take your music around with you, I also built a wireless boombox with my assistant Albert Ryan --- here is a link to that project:  Wireless Boom Box Project  from I think sometime in 2006.