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Home sound systems based on MP3 players?

post #1 of 32
7/27/07 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
I recently bought a house and I'm considering replacing my 15-year-old AM/FM receiver with a new sound system. It occurred to me that it would be a pain to manage multiple music libraries, but it would be very convenient if someone made a "docking station" for MP3 players analogous to docking stations for laptops. Then I could just plug in something like an iPod and play whatever music I wanted at home.

So, for the audiophiles here, I have some questions (realize that I don't know _anything_ about what can be done and may not even know the right questions to ask):

1) What's the best way to interface an MP3 player with a home sound system, assuming it can be done?
2) Can I use wireless speakers, and is it recommended, to pipe sound around the house (I have eclectic musical tastes. Although I primarily listen to rock, I also like jazz and classical music)? At a minimum, I'd want speakers in the living room, sun room, dining room, and perhaps the outside patio and my office (I'd probably use a separate system in the master bedroom).
3) Any general recommendations?
4) Where can I collect information on the topic?

Oh, my budget is probably between $2-4K, though I could go higher if necessary.

TIA.
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post #2 of 32
7/27/07 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thinman View Post
I recently bought a house and I'm considering replacing my 15-year-old AM/FM receiver with a new sound system. It occurred to me that it would be a pain to manage multiple music libraries, but it would be very convenient if someone made a "docking station" for MP3 players analogous to docking stations for laptops. Then I could just plug in something like an iPod and play whatever music I wanted at home.

So, for the audiophiles here, I have some questions (realize that I don't know _anything_ about what can be done and may not even know the right questions to ask):

1) What's the best way to interface an MP3 player with a home sound system, assuming it can be done?
2) Can I use wireless speakers, and is it recommended, to pipe sound around the house (I have eclectic musical tastes. Although I primarily listen to rock, I also like jazz and classical music)? At a minimum, I'd want speakers in the living room, sun room, dining room, and perhaps the outside patio and my office (I'd probably use a separate system in the master bedroom).
3) Any general recommendations?
4) Where can I collect information on the topic?

Oh, my budget is probably between $2-4K, though I could go higher if necessary.

TIA.
The perfect destination for you would be:

www.avsforum.com

Speakers: It can be difficult, or done easily, both depending on how your house is built. As for actually hooking the MP3 player to a home stereo receiver, you shouldn't be faced with any opposition, if you can't find a docking station for your player, you need nothing more than a mere cable that not only plugs into the RCA jacks on your receiver, but also into the headphone jack on your player. You should be able to find a cable at your local Radio Shack for under 10 dollars.
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post #3 of 32
7/27/07 at 5:16pm
Look at the Sooloos product line.
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post #4 of 32
7/27/07 at 5:23pm
1. Best to find an MP3 player with line-out capability. iPods are great for this because many different companies have Line-Out solutions/docks for iPod (including the $400 'iMod' from RedWineAudio that takes a signal directly from the DAC bypassing any other additional processing)

2. Wireless speakers are not recommended at all for best audio quality.

3. Recommend getting each component seperately than all-in-one solutions (Speakers + Amplifier/Receiver + Dock/MP3 Player).

4. AVSForum.com, as well as the home audio section at Head-Fi.com are good resources.
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post #5 of 32
7/27/07 at 5:52pm
NY Times did an almost exact article not long ago. They found that when a MP3 player was hooked up to a highend system, it amplified the artifiact of highly compressed MP3 files. The article did a blind test of various pieces of music at various compression level, I think the minimum acceptable level is 128k.
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post #6 of 32
7/27/07 at 6:17pm
The best strategy is to rip your CD library in at lossless resolution. That way one gets CD quality (which frankly doesn't do it for me) and allows searchable inventory. The Sooloos can do this.
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post #7 of 32
7/27/07 at 7:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisan Fan View Post
The best strategy is to rip your CD library in at lossless resolution. That way one gets CD quality (which frankly doesn't do it for me) and allows searchable inventory. The Sooloos can do this.
If it wasn't for the OP solely relying on a MP3 player as the source, I would even recommend him ripping everything to his computer and have it play back via a wireless media extender.
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post #8 of 32
7/27/07 at 7:52pm
I might point out that the iPod has Wolfson DACs which are quite good sonically. You can even have them modded for better sound.
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post #9 of 32
7/27/07 at 8:46pm
Anyone has any feedback on Sonos products? Seems vastly cheaper than Sooloos (10 times cheaper?)

http://www.sonos.com/products/?tref=ghome

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post #10 of 32
7/27/07 at 9:01pm
Slim devices has an audiophile grade product that works well in conjunction with an existing set up (in other words, you have to buy it in addition to your stereo).

I heard a set up at an audiophile show this year and was very impressed. It was based on lossless CD transfer.

The Squeezbox is a well regarded entry level product. It's wireless and can work with music stored on an external HD to your computer. I believe you can install more than one unit. While outside your budget, what I heard and was impressed by was the Transport (for these two devices, see www.slimdevices.com).

If you are intent upon focusing on the music, invest in a two channel system. However, it sounds like you are more intersted in having speakers around the house. If you own the home I would opt for the expense of installing wired speakers. You're discussing an upgrade to the home and something you'll clearly use and enjoy. As such, I would think of this as a home investment (though one which will depreciate) and do a proper installation of in wall or on wall speakers in the rooms where you'd like to have music. Then focus on building a system to work with these speakers. At $2K-4K you will be limited in what you can do, so you'll have to budget carefully.
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post #11 of 32
7/27/07 at 9:30pm
I use a Squeezebox to feed losslessly-compressed CDs digitally to my main system. I think the only reason to use the much more expensive Transporter is that it can stream 96 kHz digital audio. Otherwise, it's cheaper and higher quality to use something like a Benchmark DAC-1 with a Squeezebox. Squeezebox's setup is somewhat DIY, and you need to be comfortable with fooling around with a computer. --Andre
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post #12 of 32
7/27/07 at 9:44pm
Wallpaper:
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post #13 of 32
7/29/07 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe View Post
If it wasn't for the OP solely relying on a MP3 player as the source, I would even recommend him ripping everything to his computer and have it play back via a wireless media extender.

I do, in fact have all my music on my laptop (provided by my employer and it has WiFi capabilities), so I could use it to run a home sound system. In practice, I carry the laptop to and from work daily.

What is a wireless media extender? Does ripping CD's give better sound quality than downloading the music? I guess you can tell I'm totally ignorant about what can be done, so thanks to all who have posted so far and especially to those who pointed me to audio fora where I can git edukated.

Since I can be flexible regarding cost, etc., perhaps I should have asked my questions more generally:

(1) What's the best way to set up a home sound system?

(2) What's the sweet spot in price/performance for a home sound system?

and

(3) What's the best way (and what's the cost) to set up a home sound system to hit the sweet spot?

(maybe I need a different thread)
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post #14 of 32
7/29/07 at 7:58pm
1. Buy them seperately from companies that focus on that area of home audio (speakers, amplifiers, source components) rather than all-in-one solutions. 2. Search up AVSforum.com or the speaker forum at Head-fi.org 3. As above, do your research. The X-series at www.AV123.com are known for great bang for the buck for low-budget setups. For higher budgets, I'd say check out speakers from Paradigm, Wharfdale and other companies that focus on speakers. For amplifier, the Pioneer Elite A-35R is great for a simple stereo sound setup.
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post #15 of 32
7/30/07 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thinman View Post
I do, in fact have all my music on my laptop (provided by my employer and it has WiFi capabilities), so I could use it to run a home sound system. In practice, I carry the laptop to and from work daily.

What is a wireless media extender? Does ripping CD's give better sound quality than downloading the music? I guess you can tell I'm totally ignorant about what can be done, so thanks to all who have posted so far and especially to those who pointed me to audio fora where I can git edukated.

Since I can be flexible regarding cost, etc., perhaps I should have asked my questions more generally:

(1) What's the best way to set up a home sound system?

(2) What's the sweet spot in price/performance for a home sound system?

and

(3) What's the best way (and what's the cost) to set up a home sound system to hit the sweet spot?

(maybe I need a different thread)
The sound produced is pretty good, it's not great, but it beats searching my home for CD's. Basically, I have the majority of my music ripped to my harddrive, and with the use of a media extender, I am able to play my music, watch video's, or view pictures directly through my stereo or television, without the need to hook my laptop directly to my A/V equipment, everything works through my wi/fi. As for downloading, I have a subscription to Rhapsody, and have absolutely no problems with it playing through my equipment. Just make sure the extender is able to play your downloaded music format.

There are many to choose from, I personally use a Xbox360, and it serves my needs well. You could also check Sonos.

http://www.sonos.com/products/?tref=ghome

or

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1125238693203

There are others that are available at a cheaper price, from places like Bestbuy and Fryes, you just have to search through their sites.
If you don't spend too much on the extender, it will allow you to put more towards audio equipment like speakers, receiver, around home installation, etc.
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