Streaming music in the home using Logitech's Squeezebox Touch

Like many hifi enthusiasts, I have been dreaming a lot about digital audio lately.. having my music all in a high quality digital audio format e.g. FLAC or Apple lossless at my beck and call anytime and anyday from any device in my home.

For the longest time, this wasn't possible or involved a lot of dough to achieve. But now - with devices like Logitech's Squeezebox Touch or SBT in short (which I just bought from Amazon.com for around USD230) - the dream is finally becoming a reality for not a lot of money.

My configuration in my home is to put all my music into my NAS - in this case a Synology DJ212 running the SB Server software - and stream the music to my hifi system using the SBT. The SBT is connected to my NAS currently using the WIFI connection (in the future I will use Ethernet only for greater sound purity), and the SBT is connected via a coaxial digital cable to my DAC. I am also able to use the RCA outs on the SBT to connect directly to my amplifier.

How do you access the music you might ask? Well, I am using the free Logitech Squeezebox app to select which tracks I want to hear, arrange playlists etc. My Synology NAS also has software that allows me to access and play songs on my iPhone or iPad (using Synology Apple apps).

Check out my My Logitech Squeezebox un-boxing!

Will network streaming audio eventually replace my CD player? Eventually, maybe and only if you have a very high quality DAC like Naim's nDac. However a quick comparison shows that CD still has a slight edge for me in terms of timing and PRaT.

For me now - I am enjoying both mediums i.e. the convenience of network streaming via my SBT/NAS and also spinning CDs!

Naim and B&W

Naim 5i/CD5i + B&W 705s on Target stands (lead filled). Using standard Naim interconnects with 3m NACA5. "Rack" is an Ikea filing cabinet :p.

Been living for this set for more than 2 yrs now. Dunno if its my ears but its sounding tired to me. Maybe its just "hifi-degradation" - your own set will always stagnate in terms of the absolute sound experience while your mate's (or dealer's) set will nearly ALWAYS sound better or just plain different. I had some initial reservations about the bass from the 705s, but after loosening up, the bass is alright with a sweet mid-range. However I have been hoping for floorstanders for some time for a really powerful sound. I find that this combo sounds best on instruments and on faster pieces of music.

Hope the new place will have space for me to space out the speakers more - to about 6ft apart. It would be great to get a real cabinet and move the equipment to one side also with a carpet in the middle, should help with the sound somewhat. What I really want though is this - Chords with 800 series B&W...

All time classic songs (occasionally updated)

I always love songs with a great intro.. here's a list some of fav and truly classic songs:

Alphaville - forever young, big in japan, sounds like a melody (1984)
Barry Manilow - mandy
Beach Boys - god only knows
Bee Gees - too many to list e.g. i started a joke, you win again, immortality (not the celine dion version!)
Billy Idol - eyes without a face, sweet sixteen
Bonnie Tyler - total eclipse of the heart (1983)Brenda Russell - piano in the dark, get here (1988)Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music - avalon, slave to love (gotta love those trademark pukka sticks!)
Chemical Brothers - hey boy hey girl
Cowboy Junkies - sweet jane
Cutting Crew - i just died in your arms (1985)
Cyndi Lauper - true colors
Dire Straits - money for nothing, romeo & juliet
Duran Duran - rio
Dave Matthews Band - one sweet world
Eurythmics - again, too many to list e.g. sweet dreams (1983), there must be an angel (1985), angel (1989), no more i love yous
Everything But The Girl or E.B.T.G. - all tracks from "acoustic" (1992)Fire Inc - tonight is what it means to be young, nowhere fast (1984 - from streets of fire, great movie starring diane lane and michael pare)
John Lennon - woman, imagine
Joni Mitchell - both sides now (2000)
Michael Jackson - billie jean
No Doubt - don't speak
Queen - bohemian rhapsody, under pressure
Paul Oakenfold - starry eyed surprise
Prince - when doves cry, purple rain (great great guitar intro..)
Roxette - it must have been love (1990 - from pretty woman)
Richard Marx - endless summer nights (1988)
Simple Minds - don't you forget about me (1985)
Spandau Ballet - through the barricadesSuzanna Vega - luka (1987 - gotta love luca.. my dear nephew)
The Beach Boys - god only knows
The Cardigans - my favorite game
The Eagles - hotel california (only for that guitar/percussion solo opening..)
The Pretenders - i'll stand by you (1994)The Verve - bitter sweet symphony (1997)
Tracy Chapman - fast car, baby can i hold you tonight (1988)

here's a plug for Yahoo's Launchcast, one of my favorite music services which allows you to personalize the songs that you want to hear by rating the music. give it a try!

Naim 5i/CD5i

The sound of Naim is easy to recognize. "Good tempo" is a classic comment. More importantly, the Naim sound is not an electronic sound. Of course, it cannot compare to the soulfulness of tube acoustics but it is truely an audiophile sound..

My first encounter with Naim was with a Naim 5 that I bought secondhand from someone from Echoloft. When I first heard it, it made my previous Rotel and my demo set of Roksan sound decidedly crappy. Unfortunately, I got conned and the set started malfunctioning (the volume control was whacky). Fate will make sure that $%$#%$@ person who sold me that set gets his just punishment in the future. I found out later from Acoustic Sound the distributor in SG that that set was faulty and had been repaired several times and had many previous owners before.

Luckily (or unluckily) the Absolute guy allowed me to trade in the Naim 5 for his demo set which included a Naim 5i and CD5i. I can say, the sound of the 5i isnt as warm as that of the 5. But it isnt bad, and the extra 20W probably drives my B&Ws better. Unfortunately, my 5i volume led has died recently, leading me to conclude that Naim QC is not the greatest. Also, the much vaunted rule of using NACA cables seems to be a marketing gimmick. The sound isnt much improved over my previous run of bi-wire cables.

I was tempted to get a NATO tuner but I might hold back and wait for a good deal on a DAB set. The Tivolis dont appeal to me though..

The below pic is of my Naims with B&W speakers.. listening position isnt ideal though at the PC though... :)

Naim Nait 5

Hi, I am back after a long break... nearly 1 year actually!

I have changed my hifi setup to a Naim Nait 5 and B&W 705 (was considering Epos M12..) setup... sound is great and much more refined compared to my old rotel setup. highly recommend this combi for everyone.. i just changed to naim naca speaker cables as well which made a large difference as well. now the problem is finding more nice music to listen to. my fav music now is james blunt's "you're beautiful" and also simple plan's "perfect"... great music to calm down after a long day staring at the pc.. if anybody has any suggestions for music let me know..

Rotel RA-02 and CD-02

For audiophiles in the know.. you will always have a period of time where you have 2 sets of equipment.

For me, the Rotel RA-02 and CD-02 were my stopgap amp and cd player of choice pre-Naim. For the price, they are rock solid and are more suited for pop, and rock music.

Update...
I paired them with my Bose Acoustimass 5 for a while, Bose CMI.. seriously. When I got my B&W 600 series (very briefly), I swapped in a Naim 5 and the Rotel quickly got sold off...

Budget Hifi choices

Wanna get a new hifi, i kinda like nad for a long time so decided to use nad parts

Thinking of the following -

cdplayer - nad 542 or 521bee or 513
amp - nad c350 or c320bee
speakers - b&w 602 or kef q1 or monitor audio b2
cables - qed
interconnects - qed or van der hull or kimber