slim devices ?

[bear-hifi]

Has anyone used a Slim devices and if so could you tell me how it works? I have read a lot of good things about it but don't fully understand how it works and how it hooks up.

Thanks

Frank

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_transporter.html

 

[hpsenicka]

A slick looking unit... but an awful price ... $1999 !!

Basically it is similar in function to the $299 Squeezebox, or the competing Roku SoundBridge products, but it has a "audiophile quality" built-in DAC. I think you could achieve the same sonic performance by using one of the cheaper devices along with a decent external DAC of your choice.

It hooks up to your audio system the same way you would hook up a regular tuner.

It also requires a network connection, as well as internet services if you intend to play streaming internet radio.

Think of this unit as a "network music player" which can read/play streaming audio from an external server. The server can be one that you set up and manage on a PC or other device in your home, or it can be a server somewhere on the internet. Note that this unit does not actually store a library of digital music... you have to do that externally.

Slim Devices has a software component called SlimServer that you can run on a PC in your home to provide streaming audio for your network music player.

Personally, I prefer the Roku products as they appear a bit more cost-effective, and have a more "open standard" approach to compatibility with other products. For example, the Roku Soundbridge supports playing music from iTunes running on your PC.

 

[speedle]

Sadly, the Roku products insist on using a 48k sampling freq, meaning they must re-process EVERYTHING that goes into them from red book cd's, and the result is very audible, believe me. I sent my Roku back after I found that out, and bought a squeezebox, which sounds GREAT! Roku's whole attidude is way too defensive, check the web forums for both companies, you'll see what I mean.

 

[hpsenicka]

Sadly, the Roku products insist on using a 48k sampling freq, meaning they must re-process EVERYTHING that goes into them from red book cd's, and the result is very audible, believe me. I sent my Roku back after I found that out, and bought a squeezebox, which sounds GREAT! Roku's whole attidude is way too defensive, check the web forums for both companies, you'll see what I mean.

The 48K sampling rate is specific to the model M1001, and the SoundBridge Radio. The original M500, M1000, and M2000 do not suffer from this flaw.

 

[Njord Noatun]

Think of this unit as a "network music player" which can read/play streaming audio from an external server. The server can be one that you set up and manage on a PC or other device in your home, or it can be a server somewhere on the internet.........

.......Slim Devices has a software component called SlimServer that you can run on a PC in your home to provide streaming audio for your network music player.

I would love to be able to stream music straight from a hard drive connected straight into my router ("Network Attached Storage", or "NAS"), but would not like to keep a computer running 24/7.

Does anyone know if one can stream content directly from a network hard drive to the Slimdevices (by 801.11g or Ethernet) without support of a CPU? In other words, is a computer needed to stream the music, or is the content on a hard drive all that's needed for Slimdevices to operate?

 

[hpsenicka]

I would love to be able to stream music straight from a hard drive connected straight into my router ("Network Attached Storage", or "NAS"), but would not like to keep a computer running 24/7.

Does anyone know if one can stream content directly from a network hard drive to the Slimdevices (by 801.11g or Ethernet) without support of a CPU? In other words, is a computer needed to stream the music, or is the content on a hard drive all that's needed for Slimdevices to operate?

Firstly, "Slim Devices" is the company name... not a product name.

In general, networked storage devices do not natively stream content over the network. Typically they depend on the "client" device to "mount" the networked drive and read the disk directly.

However, many of these network storage devices are designed around a simple CPU and a stripped version of Linux or similar OS. A number of these devices have popular hacks which permit the installation of streaming server applications, so that you can essentially build your own streaming media appliance.

Perhaps the most popular example of this is the Linksys NSLU2, which is a tiny network device to which you attach an external USB hard disk. There is a an OS call "uNSLUng" which can be downloaded and installed on the NSLU2, and will allow you to use streaming server applications such as Twonky, or mt-daapd. I use mt-daapd, which mimics the features and functions of iTunes, and is fully compatible with the Roku SoundBridge.

FYI Roku is running a special until January 30th ...you can buy a factory refurbished M500 Soundbridge via their website for $99.

 

[Njord Noatun]

That is exactly what I was after! Now to find out if "hacks" would also work with non-Roku units.

Firstly, "Slim Devices" is the company name... not a product name.

Yes, I am aware of that distinction, but decided to go along with the terminology already established in the thread I tagged onto.

Thanks!

Rgds,

 

[uofmtiger]

FYI Roku is running a special until January 30th ...you can buy a factory refurbished M500 Soundbridge via their website for $99.

Sorry to ask this in a Slimdevices post, but how easy is it to navigate to a particular album with a large (15,000+) collection of songs on the M500?

Secondly, will the Roku play Flac or WMA Lossless files?

I was looking into buying a $299 Squeezebox, but $99 is hard to beat. I also like the fact that it supports Rhapsody.

 

[hpsenicka]

Sorry to ask this in a Slimdevices post, but how easy is it to navigate to a particular album with a large (15,000+) collection of songs on the M500?

Secondly, will the Roku play Flac or WMA Lossless files?

I was looking into buying a $299 Squeezebox, but $99 is hard to beat. I also like the fact that it supports Rhapsody.

When browsing the published contents of either a Firefly or mt-daapd media server you can choose to browse by :

Artist
Album
Song
Genre
Composer

Of course that is assuming that the appropriate ID3 tags are completed for each track.

The Roku supports FLAC... you should probably check out the website for details ... www.rokulabs.com

Also another note worth mentioning... if your intention is to play FLAC or other high bitrate content, you should be aware that you may encounter difficulties with 802.11b wireless network performance under anything other than ideal conditions. I personally use the wired ethernet connection to avoid this headache.

 

[bobschneider]

I would love to be able to stream music straight from a hard drive connected straight into my router ("Network Attached Storage", or "NAS"), but would not like to keep a computer running 24/7.

Does anyone know if one can stream content directly from a network hard drive to the Slimdevices (by 801.11g or Ethernet) without support of a CPU? In other words, is a computer needed to stream the music, or is the content on a hard drive all that's needed for Slimdevices to operate?

The Infrant ReadyNAS NV and NV+ have the Slimdevices Slimserver software built in. This is what I'm using in my system: a ReadyNAS where I store my FLAC files, hooked up to a Netgear wireless router, which streams to my Squeezebox. Works great, and the only time I need to have a computer up and running is to load CDs onto the NAS.

Folks have gotten other NASs to run Slimserver, although it's a bit more complicated. Check out the fourms on Slim Devices' website - there's lots of discussion on this topic there. I decided that this approach was too complicated for me, but I might have given it a shot if I already had a suitable NAS.

 

[fredt300b]

Has anyone used a Slim devices and if so could you tell me how it works? I have read a lot of good things about it but don't fully understand how it works and how it hooks up.

1) You buy a Squeezebox 3 or a Transporter
2) You will need an external hard drive for your computer. About 160 gig or more will be fine.
3) You will need an adapter cable to plug the SB into your computer's USB port, or if you have a wireless network the SB will work just as well wireless. The wireless connection is far more convenient.
4) You download the Slim Devices software from their web site. It is self explanatory.
5) You will also need a program for copying your CD's to the external hard drive. I'm using Exact Audio Copy (EAC), a freeware program. EAC is not very intuitive, so you will need somebody to show you how to set it up and use it. Their online directions were designed for technowoks, not truckers.
6) The SB remote works much like a CD player remote, only it gives you much more information about the disk, track, genre, etc.

The most practical way to get into this is to find somebody nearby who has set up a Slim Devices system and have them show you how. For me the hardest part by far was setting up EAC, and I was fortunate to have Skip Pack to patiently guide me throught it.

OT: Saw a really interesting program on the Nat'l Geographic Channel about how Peterbuilts are constructed. Loved that big assembly that rotates a full sized truck chassis over 180 degrees. Was that the Texas plant?

 

[Badwater]

Another ripper

Another very easy to use ripper program is Yahoo Juke Box, which you can download for free from Yahoo. Juke Box can be set to rip to FLAC. Not sure how it compares to EAC, but its so easy to use and it preserves all the track info. So far I have ripped about 80 gigs of worth of music. Set my entire collection as a play list to shuffle and let it go. Never know what is next and it sounds great. Lots of fun!

Bill