Just set-up my first dedicated 2 channel system. Now questions.

[HDMan72]

I just setup my first dedicated 2 channel stereo and am currently using a Gateway laptop running Windows 7 along with JRiver Media Center, I'm still on my free trial, I already tried Foobar2000 but prefer Jriver. Im thinking of getting a Mac Mini (8GB memory 1TB HD) in the near future. I already have an iPhone, iPad and a Mac. Was looking for set-up assistant on the Mac Mini, I assume I could use my other iOS devices to control with out a monitor but i have no experience with the mini. I would also like to know if I should stick with JRiver (buying the license) or am I better off using something that works with iTunes but processes the audio instead for bit-perfect playback. My digital music files are ALAC, FLAC, DSD.

 

My system is:

 

Marantz PM8004

Oppo BDP-105D

Music Hall MMF 5.1

iFI iPhono

Pioneer SP-BS22LR

Gateway PC running W7 w/JRiver Media Center

[iamimdoc]

Put jriver on the pc or the Mac. There is a version for both. The Mac is probably more powerful (depends on the laptop) and probably is the better choice. But the laptop has built in keyboard and monitor which can be useful.

 

Having said that, once things are set up you should not need a keyboard or a monitor so the issue is usually moot

 

Set jriver to automatically boot when pc or Mac has to be rebooted.

 

Put jremote on the iPad. Will control the pc or the Mac.

 

Control jriver with the iPad from your chair.

 

I believe you can set the oppo up as a DAC and just run jriver through it.

 

Get your favorite beverage, sit down and enjoy.

 

Repeat

[HDMan72]

Put jriver on the pc or the Mac. There is a version for both. The Mac is probably more powerful (depends on the laptop) and probably is the better choice. But the laptop has built in keyboard and monitor which can be useful.

 

Having said that, once things are set up you should not need a keyboard or a monitor so the issue is usually moot

 

Set jriver to automatically boot when pc or Mac has to be rebooted.

 

Put jremote on the iPad. Will control the pc or the Mac.

 

Control jriver with the iPad from your chair.

 

I believe you can set the oppo up as a DAC and just run jriver through it.

 

Get your favorite beverage, sit down and enjoy.

 

Repeat

 

 

Thanks! I just set JRiver to boot whenever I reboot PC. My laptop only has 4G of memory and a 250GB HD of which my music library takes up 128GB, hence why I'm looking into alternative Mac Mini or a more powerful PC.

[zackthedog]

I am extremely happy with my Mac Mini. I'm not even sure you need 8GB memory. The 4GB model is a steal at $499. You won't have any trouble running JRiver on it. The nice thing about the Mini is that the ethernet port is separate from the USB port. I have my music on a 3TB Seagate PersonalCloud NAS directly connected to the Mini with a BlueJeans Cat 6 Cable (thanks, SuperDad!) and the Arcam irDAC connected to the USB. The sound is really lovely. The MIni also has a very low-jitter optical output. Generally it sounds much much better than my old HP laptop.

 

I would stick with JRiver. You can stream music to any iDevice in your house, it plays any kind of file and the cataloguing function is extremely good. You can try some tweakier players later if you like (HQ Player, my favorite, or Audirvana) but JRiver will do a lot for you for a very reasonable price.

[HDMan72]

Thats great to hear and so far I really enjoy using JRiver. I believe the the $499 version comes with a 500GB HD correct? All I'll be doing is using the Mini for music playback, nothing else so 4GB memory probably isn't bad. Is your Mini connected to a display?

[zackthedog]

Thats great to hear and so far I really enjoy using JRiver. I believe the the $499 version comes with a 500GB HD correct? All I'll be doing is using the Mini for music playback, nothing else so 4GB memory probably isn't bad. Is your Mini connected to a display?

 

Yes, it's connected to a flat screen TV. We use the system for movies and CDs and things, the Arccam is a very handy hub for all that. I would put your music on a separate drive at some point, but you can add that later. The only thing that might argue for the 8GB version is if you plan to do DSD upsampling or something very demanding in the future. Unfortunately you can't upgrade memory on the Minis anymore. Even then I think 4GB would be sufficient, but I'm not certain about that. You could check the JRiver system requirements. I believe the 4GB version would be more than adequate for your current needs.

 

The nice thing about the Minis is that you can also install Windows on them if you decide yoou go that route at some point. There are also a lot of mods and upgrades, likelinear power supplies, that you can do if you're so inclined. So you can take the system further aat some point down the road.

[HDMan72]

Ok, I have a TV in the same room so I can at least setup the mini with that and my keyboard & mouse from my Mac. The mini will only be used for music, nothing else so I don't need it connected to my tv. The only DSD I do is playback my DSD downloads through my Oppo 105D. I'm gonna check out the Mini over the weekend. Thanks for the info.

 

Cheers

[StephenJK]

Thanks! I just set JRiver to boot whenever I reboot PC. My laptop only has 4G of memory and a 250GB HD of which my music library takes up 128GB, hence why I'm looking into alternative Mac Mini or a more powerful PC.

 

You may want to consider using an external eSata or USB drive to hold all of your music rather than using the internal HDD. I've been doing this for years with a Dell laptop and a USB drive with JRiver and have never had any issues.

 

It makes doing backups and updates a lot easier, and without having to fuss with the music server. And, as your music collection grows, you can easily surpass the internal HDD capacity.

 

With about 700 ripped CD's and over 800 recorded LP's my music collection is now just over 1TB. I'm using a 2TB USB drive, but will soon be moving to an external eSATA 2TB drive to free up the USB drive for travelling.

[HDMan72]

Good point. So my other option is keep the PC but connect an external HD which seems to be recommended here (external HD). I would want to get at least a 1TB for my needs. Thanks for the informative info since I'm new around here. As I type this I'm waiting for UPS to deliver my speaker wire for auditioning which I got on loan from The Cable Company.

[zackthedog]

Good point. So my other option is keep the PC but connect an external HD which seems to be recommended here (external HD). I would want to get at least a 1TB for my needs. Thanks for the informative info since I'm new around here. As I type this I'm waiting for UPS to deliver my speaker wire for auditioning which I got on loan from The Cable Company.

 

If you decide to try the Mini, I would strongly recommend an ethernet storage drive. The Seagate PersonalCloud is very affordable and works like a charm. You connect it directly to the Mini ethernet port and it creates it own closed network. You want to keep the USB output free of any other activity apart from the DAC if you can. It makes a considerable difference. JRiver will happily scan the shared storage for your library. If you want to hardwire your network you can use the Thunderbolt port for you LAN with a simple adapter. If you decide to keep your PC you might try this trick as well to keep the USB card free of any added activity.

 

Good luck. Try the base Mini and if you feel it might be underpowered, take it back for the 8GB, that's what I did, though I'm not sure I really needed to. :-)

[HDMan72]

If you decide to try the Mini, I would strongly recommend an ethernet storage drive. The Seagate PersonalCloud is very affordable and works like a charm. You connect it directly to the Mini ethernet port and it creates it own closed network. You want to keep the USB output free of any other activity apart from the DAC if you can. It makes a considerable difference. JRiver will happily scan the shared storage for your library. If you want to hardwire your network you can use the Thunderbolt port for you LAN with a simple adapter. If you decide to keep your PC you might try this trick as well to keep the USB card free of any added activity.

 

Good luck. Try the base Mini and if you feel it might be underpowered, take it back for the 8GB, that's what I did, though I'm not sure I really needed to. :-)

 

Quick question. I may go for the Seagate Personal Cloud or the WD My Cloud. Recommended setup would be to use the ethernet connection to PC, that would be it, no USB correct? Is that method wireless? What would be the difference in the hardwire option you described, using a Thunderbolt port with LAN adapter? Or is that for if I decide to go with Mac Mini?

[goldsdad]

Recommended setup would be to use the ethernet connection to PC, that would be it, no USB correct? Is that method wireless?

 

Yes, ethernet was being recommended as an alternative to USB for connecting the external storage so that only the DAC is connected by USB because some people hear an improvement in sound quality that way.

 

No, ethernet is wired.

[HDMan72]

I want a wired connection. Thank you!

[zackthedog]

I want a wired connection. Thank you!

 

DON"T buy the My Cloud. It's very slow and noisy. I had problems with skipping when reading files directly from it. That's why I thought I needed the more powerful Mac but it was the My Cloud that was the problem. :-) The Seagate PersonalCloud works very well for me. And it's much more discrete and attractive-looking. Just plug it directly into the ethernet port on your laptop. Windows 8.1 recognized it automatically for me (it takes a couple of minutes) but there's a YouTube video that explains how to connect an ethernet drive directly to your computer. Mac OS X will definitely see it without any fuss. In both cases you want to enable the ethernet connection in the network control panel. You can also set up two networks simultaneously, one for the ethernet drive and a wifi connection for accessing the internet.

 

Of course, you can also just plug it into your router and it will show up on your network. I think it sounds better with a direct connection.

[HDMan72]

DON"T buy the My Cloud. It's very slow and noisy. I had problems with skipping when reading files directly from it. That's why I thought I needed the more powerful Mac but it was the My Cloud that was the problem. :-) The Seagate PersonalCloud works very well for me. And it's much more discrete and attractive-looking. Just plug it directly into the ethernet port on your laptop. Windows 8.1 recognized it automatically for me (it takes a couple of minutes) but there's a YouTube video that explains how to connect an ethernet drive directly to your computer. Mac OS X will definitely see it without any fuss. In both cases you want to enable the ethernet connection in the network control panel. You can also set up two networks simultaneously, one for the ethernet drive and a wifi connection for accessing the internet.

 

Of course, you can also just plug it into your router and it will show up on your network. I think it sounds better with a direct connection.

 

I got the Seagate Personal Cloud yesterday, 3TB. I'm completely lost on how to set this up on my LAN connection with my PC. I plugged in my Personal Cloud but Windows 7 did not recognize it. I'm searching On web for insight. The YouTube vid I found doesn't really show me much and it's for the WD MyCloud.

[zackthedog]

I got the Seagate Personal Cloud yesterday, 3TB. I'm completely lost on how to set this up on my LAN connection with my PC. I plugged in my Personal Cloud but Windows 7 did not recognize it. I'm searching On web for insight. The YouTube vid I found doesn't really show me much and it's for the WD MyCloud.

 

I just tried it with my Windows 7 laptop. I plugged the PC into the ethernet port, then dowwnloaded the Seagate PC software (and signed up for the infernal account). Either beccause of that or on it's own, after about five minutes the PC appeared in my network lisst and all my music is accessible. Try this and let me know if it doesn't work.

 

After you plug the drive in, go to Network and Internet in the Control Panel and make suree you see an Ethernet connection in addition to your W-Fi connection. It should say "Local Area Connection, No Internet Access". If you don't see this, click on "Change adapteer settings" in the left-hand sidebar and make sure the Ethernet driver is enabled.

[zackthedog]

if it still doesn't show up, restart the computer with the PC plugged in. After you login the Seagate window will pop up asking you to login to your account. Do that, and the PC should show up in your network list. I don't know if this activates the drive or what, but it's worked three times in a row for me now without having to mess with the network configguration.

[HDMan72]

if it still doesn't show up, restart the computer with the PC plugged in. After you login the Seagate window will pop up asking you to login to your account. Do that, and the PC should show up in your network list. I don't know if this activates the drive or what, but it's worked three times in a row for me now without having to mess with the network configguration.

 

ethernet is enabled, I rebooted PC, Jriver launched and than I got Seagate login screen. I logged in. Now under Computer I have Gateway (C followed by Sdrive (\\My-PC) (S

 

Under Network I have My PC and another My PC

 

also what does under Network Location Sdrive (\\MY-PC) (S mean? It says 0 bytes free of 8.00 KB

 

when I click one of my PC's I see a folder SDrive Share

[zackthedog]

S-drive isn't what you want. I'm on Windows Proffesional, maybe that's the difference. Try restarting a couple of times. I'm out of the house for a couple of hours. I'll check in when I get back. We'll get it to work. :-). In the meantime look for the drive under Devices. If you see it double click on it and it should open your web browser to let you configure it.

[HDMan72]

S-drive isn't what you want. I'm on Windows Proffesional, maybe that's the difference. Try restarting a couple of times. I'm out of the house for a couple of hours. I'll check in when I get back. We'll get it to work. :-). In the meantime look for the drive under Devices. If you see it double click on it and it should open your web browser to let you configure it.

 

I'm in!!! I never downloaded software. What is the Sdrive for, I have a shortcut for it on my desktop too?

 

Ok, now what is the best method to move my music off the PC HD to the Seagate?

 

Thanks for all the help!

[zackthedog]

I'm in!!! I never downloaded software. What is the Sdrive for, I have a shortcut for it on my desktop too?

 

Ok, now what is the best method to move my music off the PC HD to the Seagate?

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Congratulations! If you open the PC you'll see a Public folder with sub-folders for Music, Videos, etc. Drag your music files there to copy them to the drive. Use the Public folder because it gurantees cross-platform compatibility, and also allows remote access if you ever need it (I think that's what the Sdrive app is for). Then you want to tell JRiver to scan this folder for your music files.

 

I would keep a USB drive handy to back up the Seagate every so often. Keep it disconnected from the computer unless you're using it for backup. I do it manually by sorting folders by date and copying anything recent to the USB drive. But you can set up the Seagate to do periodic backups. I haven't read the manual, it's probably a good idea. :-)

 

One last thing I recommend is a BlueJeans Cat 6 cable. You can get it on Amazon for $10-20 depending on the length. It sounds a bit smoother than standard ethernet cable.

[HDMan72]

Congratulations! If you open the PC you'll see a Public folder with sub-folders for Music, Videos, etc. Drag your music files there to copy them to the drive. Use the PUblic folder because it gurantees cross-platform compatibility, and also allows remote access if you ever need it (I think that's what the Sdrive app is for). Then you want to tell JRiver to scan this folder for your music files.

 

I would keep a USB drive handy to back up the Seagate every so often. Keep it disconnected from the computer unless you're using it for backup. I do it manually by sorting folder by date a copying anything recent to the USB drive. But you can set up the Seagate to do periodic backups. I haven't read the manual, it's probably a good idea. :-)

 

One last thing I recommend is a BlueJeans Cat 6 cable. You can get it on Amazon for $10-20 depending on the length. It sounds a bit smoother than standard ethernet cable.

 

I'm copying music files now but I did through the Seagate menu, create files or something and just checked music files. They are almost done, was that a good way? I'll have JRiver scan new library when finished. I would like to clear music from internal PC HD, is that cool to do? You read my mind about CAT 6 cable, I'll order it asap from Amazon.

 

Hopefully I'm good to go.

 

Huge thanks to you!

[zackthedog]

I'm copying music files now but I did through the Seagate menu, create files or something and just checked music files. They are almost done, was that a good way? I'll have JRiver scan new library when finished. I would like to clear music from internal PC HD, is that cool to do? You read my mind about CAT 6 cable, I'll order it asap from Amazon.

 

Hopefully I'm good to go.

 

Huge thanks to you!

 

Yes, that's fine, whatever gets them on there. :-) Make sure Jriver sees them, and do some playback tests, making sure it is reading them from the Seagate without any problems. Personally I would grab a portable USB drive and back them up before deleting them from your computer.

 

Before you rescan with JRiver, remove all current files from the library. Select all songs and delete, using the *second* option. The third option will delete them from your hard drive. You may have to uninstall and re-install JRiver. to get clean scan. I find it does not always re-scan a complete library after moving your files to another location. Look at the file paths to be sure it's reading from the Seagate.

 

Now you still should think about that Mac Mini. :-) I think you'll find it's a big step up in sound quality.

 

You're entirely welcome! I'm glad it worked out. It's a good way to improve your USB playback.

[HDMan72]

 

Now you still should think about that Mac Mini. :-) I think you'll find it's a big step up in sound quality.

 

You're entirely welcome! I'm glad it worked out. It's a good way to improve your USB playback.

 

Lets say I came across getting a MacBook Air or MacBook, does the Seagate operate as it is now with my PC? I see the MacBook's have flash storage, so the Seagate looks like it would be really handy.

[zackthedog]

Lets say I came across getting a MacBook Air or MacBook, does the Seagate operate as it is now with my PC? I see the MacBook's have flash storage, so the Seagate looks like it would be really handy.

 

The Seaagate will work with Mac or PC. The advanatage of the Mini is the separation of the ethernet from the USB. I don't know if that's true for the Macbook, and the Air only has one port for everrything, IIRC. Pluse with the portables you're paying for things you don't need, like sccreens and stuff.