# Need Basic Advice on Downloading Music



## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

I've been a LP and CD user for years, yes I'm old. But my kids have advised me to get into the new century and download my own music. So my question is advise on how to start, what's required. I have a Dell XPS desktop , i7 quad core 3.4Ghz, 16gb ram, 2 2000GB4 SATA hard drives, plus 2 WD 3TB 3.o usb hard drives. My HT system is a Yamaha RX-A2010, oppo 93 and Parasound 2250 amp to feed my Kef's

I really don't know where to start with questions, do i need a media server for networking or can I use a flash drive and access music that I capture from an internet source with ? software and hardware is a DAC required ?. Looking for quality sound. Can you help I would like to do this right?


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## Jasonpctech (Apr 20, 2010)

To Start go see this JRMC this is audiophile quality playback software. Join their forums and read about all the features. Also look up my posts here at HTS and there at Jriver for first hand info.

If you want to get the vinyl recorded get one of these Behringer UFO202 Audio Interface it has complementary software included.

I use both products above and swear by them.

Where you get your music is another matter, See Spotify, LastFM, Pandora, MOG, Slacker, Google Music and soo many more. Also for my favorite streamer 181FMPlayer

Have fun and ask questions!


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Thank you Jason this gets me started in the right direction.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

For the EEEZiest playback and best selection of music , set up an account on AMAZON.com and download with amazon mp3 downloader / it will install as you make your first purchase < note I do not prefer to use Amazon cloud , more about that on amazon website.... the mp3's go straight to Windows Media Player library ......
Suggest you not use itunes unless your a heavy ipod/ipad user lddude:


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Thank you. Nope not a heavy ipod user.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

If I can ask another question. Would a Squeeze Box or a Cambridge DacMagic or the Cambridge Network NP30 provide a better music streaming solution with added sound quality. I mention Cambridge because there is a dealer close by.


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## Jasonpctech (Apr 20, 2010)

Why not think about getting a high-end audiophile sound card and forego the purchase of the USB cable and DAC altogether?  http://www.auzentech.com or ASUS Xonar Essence STX or Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium HD 

-OR- Try a optical cable from PC to AVR for movies. I do both, and own a Auzen Explosion 7.1 card for direct to amp connections. Combined with Jrivers WASAPI audio I get a audiophile total package I doubt the Cambridge box could best for the money.


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

I buy full CD quality (16bit/44.1khz) or better music in FLAC format from HDTracks. You do need to make sure that you back up your music collection though because there are no free re-downloads. While I do play them back from my PC (optical out from an Asus Xonar DX to an old Onkyo TX-SR707 receiver in my home-office) I mostly listen to them through a network connected media player tied into my family room's receiver via HDMI. That allows me to kick back in my recliner with my remote control in hand and select any music stored on my server from a menu displayed on my TV and play it through my main sound system - old man bliss. 

Some network media players to consider are the very latest version of the Western Digital TV Live and Netgear's NeoTV 550. The WD is Swiss Army Knife like in its ability to do a whole lot of things while the Netgear is more specialized but better at what it does do. I need 24bit audio support so I own two of the NeoTV 550s, one in the family room and another tied into the system in my bedroom.

If you go the media player route then what I recommend is to buy a RAID (RAID 1 or RAID5) ready network attached storage (NAS) device to store music and serve it up to your systems across the network without having to run your PC 24/7. Alternately to save money you can connect up to a 2TB external hard drive to the media player and copy new music to it across your network. In my case I download to my PC and then copy it to my server - that way I have two copies on two separate devices in case one dies. The server gets backed up to an external drive and kept elsewhere.


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

sholling said:


> If you go the media player route then what I recommend is to buy a RAID (RAID 1 or RAID5) ready network attached storage (NAS) device to store music and serve it up to your systems across the network without having to run your PC 24/7. Alternately to save money you can connect up to a 2TB external hard drive to the media player and copy new music to it across your network. In my case I download to my PC and then copy it to my server - that way I have two copies on two separate devices in case one dies. The server gets backed up to an external drive and kept elsewhere.


You make a valid point about keeping backups. With the cost of Hard Discs these days it is both simple to do and cheap insurance against losing your purchases. I would reccomend raid 5 over raid 1 for the same reason, However, still make backups..... addle: I have seen raid 5 configurations which were unrecoverable.

Cheers,
Bill.


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

robbo266317 said:


> You make a valid point about keeping backups. With the cost of Hard Discs these days it is both simple to do and cheap insurance against losing your purchases. I would reccomend raid 5 over raid 1 for the same reason, However, still make backups..... addle: I have seen raid 5 configurations which were unrecoverable.
> 
> Cheers,
> Bill.


Normally I would have recommended RAID5 but with the crazy price of 2TB drives right now four of them is out of the question for most people. Hopefully they'llcome back down to sane levels in the next 6-12 months. The other reason was that the OP specified music and few people ever accumulate more than a single terabyte of music, 2TB just gives a nice cushion. If the OP were including movies in the mix RAID5 would be a huge plus because it's more cost efficient. 

Just for reference a CD ripped to 16bit/44.1khz full CD quality lossless FLAC files takes up roughly 400-500MB and in theory about 2000 albums will fit on a 1TB drive. On the other hand some of HDTracks 24bit albums can be 2-3 or even 4 times that size.


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

What is the cost of 2 TB discs stateside?


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## sholling (Oct 6, 2010)

robbo266317 said:


> What is the cost of 2 TB discs stateside?


About $140-170 for a Western Digital "Green" 2TB internal drive. That's about double the low before the floods in Thailand damaged the factory.


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