WiFi Networking | Stereophile.com

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Submitted By: Jim Tavegia

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Location: Atlanta

Joined: Sep 1 2005

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WiFi Networking

Posted: May 7, 2006 - 1:17pm

I am rereading JA's comments concerning music serving and how to access it from your easy chair with the new devices from Slim Audio and their Squeezebox and now the Sonos system. I have tried not to be academically challenged when it comes to audio, but after reading this I am beginning to feel impotent about ever grasping what it will take to make all this happen in MY house.

I am guessing that the first thing I should do is get "geared up" to make my laptop wireless and then take baby steps forward, or sideways depending upon how that goes.

At first I though that BlueTooth was just a dental problem for Pirates (I know, urgggg), can I have a rim shot here? Now I know that this multi-room music server business takes some effort and great understanding to "make all the operational lights come on".

I think this is one item that for me is going to take an instructional DVD to make all the pieces come together. I am sure this is going to be the future for many. I just hope at some point I get to come along before I kick. It does seem that all of the things we will need did not "come in the box".

Submitted By: RGibran

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Location: Dallas, TX

Joined: Oct 11 2005

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Re: WiFi Networking

Posted: May 7, 2006 - 2:39pm

Yo Jim, your on a roll today. First some good stuff and now some very funny stuff.

I anxiously await JA formal review of the Squeezebox. His preliminary comments on it in the Sphile newsletter were full of enthusiasm and just plain ole FUN!

I also like the way it looks sitting atop his Ayre universal player in the photo gallery section of this forum.

For $300.00 smakers you get a lot versatility in a very compact package, and perhaps the easiest setup for integration with your computer.

Slim Devices has a great forum for all things Squeezebox HERE with some very interesting surfing. According to music lovers and audiophiles there, the Squeezebox is damn good off it's own internal DACs. Others have dumped their CDP, combining a Squezebox with a Benchmark DAC, and you have a $1,300.00 player that holds it's own with CDPs in the 3K price range. Still others are runing a Squeezebox through their Lavry DAC never to look back on a stand alone player. It's very interesting stuff, at least to me. Mostly I see it as one heck of a fun audio toy, offering super convience and great sound to boot!

My problem, I'm unsure how much I would use it. There is still the chore of getting everything on your computer, keeping backups, and not being able to fondle the CD case even with it's limited liner notes. At any rate, I'm pretty sure there is one in my very near future as it is just too kewl!

Submitted By: Jim Tavegia

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Location: Atlanta

Joined: Sep 1 2005

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Re: WiFi Networking

Posted: May 7, 2006 - 3:27pm

This is probably going to end up just like all the first generation cd players that played, but were not quite the quality we thought we were getting. There is no doubt that this is probably the future for a lot of people, we may just have to wait for audiophile quality to reach us. I would still think that through the DACs JA is using it is very nice.

The Sonos web site is very nice, super informative, and will have me getting a router and card for my lap top soon to get my feet wet. After looking at their site it does not seem as bad as I first thought.

My wife, Diane, has her desktop on BellSouth DSL, so I am guessing that I can "make" her share if I do WiFi and get a card for my laptop. I do not use my laptop on the web much, but when I do it is steam-driven dial-up. It would be nice to get on the web in another room with no cables. SWEEEEET!

As I sit here and listen to Tony Bennett and Bill Evans on LP I think of how the past was so so easy. Time to leave old school behind. What did JA close with: Physical discs seem so 20th century. At least I made it to 2006.

I'm just going to design a tray for the top of my "walker" and then I can just scoot all around the house transmitting and receiving like a madman. Once I go "solar" I'll be in the yard and there will be no stopping me. What is that new phrase: Yeeeeeooooooowwww-Boooooyyyyyyeeeeee! I gotta tell ya, it is hard trying to be hip!

Submitted By: Editor

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Joined: Sep 1 2005

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Re: WiFi Networking

Posted: May 8, 2006 - 8:41am

Quote:
I anxiously await JA formal review of the Squeezebox. His preliminary comments on it in the Sphile newsletter were full of enthusiasm and just plain ole FUN!

Unfortunately, lacks of both space and time have meant that my planned follow-up report on the Squeezebox have had to be held over to the August issue rather than appearing in the July issue as planned.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Submitted By: compaxx

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Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Joined: May 11 2006

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WiFi Networking - The FM alternative

Posted: May 23, 2006 - 3:59am

Quote:
"...after reading this I am beginning to feel impotent about ever grasping what it will take to make all this happen in MY house."

Jim - I'm a big believer in simple practical solutions and short learning curves. To get to one that works you have to identify your true goal, which is to listen to music anywhere in your home (or nearby). So why not just go for a local plug-in FM broadcasting device (such as KIMA Wireless Audio)? These are small, inexpensive, and totally no-brain simple. Just plug the device into any source (stereo, PC, portable player) and tune in on any FM radio handy and that's all there is to it! The KIMA and several others also come with rechargeable internal batteries, so you can take it anywhere.

Down and dirty, but it works!

P.S. Yes, I'm also a fan of cordless headphones (Sennheiser) and portable speaker sets.

Hope this helps,
Tuvia