I have a old 2 channel audio system I like very much. based on a Yamaha C4 preamp and a Yamaha M2 power amp which feed a pair of recently overhauled Dahlquist DQ10 speakers.
A few years ago I "ripped" all my vinyl to CDs and then ripped all my CDs to wav & MP3 files. I had to, all the vinyl and CDs were taking over my livingroom.
So my total number of CDs and LPs on CD is about 2000. Stuff that I like and can't easily replace.
My problem is "feeding" the files to the preamp. I built not one but two media servers using micro AT motherboards. The cheap motherboards have terrible signal to noise ratio, then I needed a keyboard and a monitor and a mouse. It is all too much cwarp.
Recently I put all the CD quality mp3 files on a small SSD hard drive. The SSD is in a SATA to USB box. I can plug the SSD drive into any of my laptops or workstations and have all 2000 cds. The ssd drive is the size of one pack of smokes, and I nevr have have to refile LPS or CDs.
Then I put a 3TB hard drive in a SATA to USB box and plugged the USB into the back of flat screen TV and that is instant access to maybe 600 movies?
That got me thinking, (in theory) if I had a $400 netbook with a USB port I could just plug the SSD drive in, then somehow pipe from the netbook to either to the power or pre amp. The magic is not in the media server, what ever I use exists just to pull files off of a tiny SSD drive.
With a netbook I would have a built in screen, keyboard, and mouse. But output signal from the netbook would be not be digital but analogue. So I'd have to have a high quality sound chip in the netbook otherwise I'm just amplifying garbage like I am with my current media center.
Maybe I could find a preamp with USB port? Problem is it might never spec as clean as my existing preamp and then I am missing screen, keyboard, and mouse.
I am open to suggestions gents, and thanks.
A few years ago I "ripped" all my vinyl to CDs and then ripped all my CDs to wav & MP3 files. I had to, all the vinyl and CDs were taking over my livingroom.
So my total number of CDs and LPs on CD is about 2000. Stuff that I like and can't easily replace.
My problem is "feeding" the files to the preamp. I built not one but two media servers using micro AT motherboards. The cheap motherboards have terrible signal to noise ratio, then I needed a keyboard and a monitor and a mouse. It is all too much cwarp.
Recently I put all the CD quality mp3 files on a small SSD hard drive. The SSD is in a SATA to USB box. I can plug the SSD drive into any of my laptops or workstations and have all 2000 cds. The ssd drive is the size of one pack of smokes, and I nevr have have to refile LPS or CDs.
Then I put a 3TB hard drive in a SATA to USB box and plugged the USB into the back of flat screen TV and that is instant access to maybe 600 movies?
That got me thinking, (in theory) if I had a $400 netbook with a USB port I could just plug the SSD drive in, then somehow pipe from the netbook to either to the power or pre amp. The magic is not in the media server, what ever I use exists just to pull files off of a tiny SSD drive.
With a netbook I would have a built in screen, keyboard, and mouse. But output signal from the netbook would be not be digital but analogue. So I'd have to have a high quality sound chip in the netbook otherwise I'm just amplifying garbage like I am with my current media center.
Maybe I could find a preamp with USB port? Problem is it might never spec as clean as my existing preamp and then I am missing screen, keyboard, and mouse.
I am open to suggestions gents, and thanks.