[csmcgr]

Hello all, first let me start by saying that I'm no "techie". So, if some of my terminology is questionable please bear with me. I'm looking to purchase a Media Player whose primary function is to act as a music server and play FLAC and High Bit Rate MP3's. The true music servers out there such as Linn, Naim, and even Olive are not within my budget of

-Best Sound Quality at the mentioned price point.

-Good Playlist functionality

-Random/shuffle playback

-Connections for HDMI, USB, and Optical

-internal Hard drive or eSata connection

-Wired Network capability

-gapless playback would be nice....but not a deal breaker

-would like to be able to access music locally without the computer on.

-But I would also like to play Internet Radio or access my home network on occassion.


Also, what chipset should I be looking at to offer best SQ? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[csmcgr]

No recommendations?

 

[MrBobb]

A dedicated music player, relatively low-powered is not suitable for video.


Media = Video, audio, stills, others. Is a generic server that will do all. Music (audio) no big deal, but once u throw in video... lots of video format (codec) complicates and runs up your spending budget.


Info post, I don't have recommendation.

 

[sean_w_smith]



Quote:
Originally Posted by csmcgr /forum/post/20889695


Hello all, first let me start by saying that I'm no "techie". So, if some of my terminology is questionable please bear with me. I'm looking to purchase a Media Player whose primary function is to act as a music server and play FLAC and High Bit Rate MP3's. The true music servers out there such as Linn, Naim, and even Olive are not within my budget of

-Best Sound Quality at the mentioned price point.

-Good Playlist functionality

-Random/shuffle playback

-Connections for HDMI, USB, and Optical

-internal Hard drive or eSata connection

-Wired Network capability

-gapless playback would be nice....but not a deal breaker

-would like to be able to access music locally without the computer on.

-But I would also like to play Internet Radio or access my home network on occassion.


Also, what chipset should I be looking at to offer best SQ? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Sonos or Logitech Squeezebox are the two most popular choices that pretty much cover all those requirements except HDMI.


AppleTV does HDMI but you need itunes or some 3rd party software.



The sonos or Squeezebox Touch are probably your best bets.

 

[mayhem13]



Quote:
Originally Posted by csmcgr /forum/post/20889695


Hello all, first let me start by saying that I'm no "techie". So, if some of my terminology is questionable please bear with me. I'm looking to purchase a Media Player whose primary function is to act as a music server and play FLAC and High Bit Rate MP3's. The true music servers out there such as Linn, Naim, and even Olive are not within my budget of

-Best Sound Quality at the mentioned price point.

-Good Playlist functionality

-Random/shuffle playback

-Connections for HDMI, USB, and Optical

-internal Hard drive or eSata connection

-Wired Network capability

-gapless playback would be nice....but not a deal breaker

-would like to be able to access music locally without the computer on.

-But I would also like to play Internet Radio or access my home network on occassion.


Also, what chipset should I be looking at to offer best SQ? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Although the Oppo BDP-93 is primarily a video device, it does all you wish with aplomb. Playback quality is second to none and it doubles as a stand alone SACD player...something a PC can't yet do.

 

[Ornette]

The Oppo is great, although from the features in your wishlist it is missing gapless playback (this can't be fixed with future firmware updates) and internet radio. I haven't used the playlist function yet, so I don't know how good it is.