Audiophile HTPC

[shailenderb]

Can some expert tell me how is the product in the link below used for HTPC. Don't want to use it with my existing PC, but with a new HTPC I am planning to assemble. This would be mainly for pure 2-channel stereo audio. Occasional video playback. Is there anything like an "audiophile configuration" available readymade for a HTPC?

eBay India: ANTEC VERIS MULTIMEDIA STATION FOR HTPC MEDIA CENTRE (item 180669555654 end time 19-Jun-2011 10:35:55 IST)

Needless to add, I am technically challenged where computer building is concerned.

Thanks for any helpful inputs.

Regds / Shailender

 

[baijuxavior]

Antec is the famous company that manufactures pc enclosures, power supplies etc. This item seems good. Visit antc website for more info. Antec.com - Product: VERIS Premier

For a nice review see http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/mms_premier/

 

[shailenderb]

Antec is the famous company that manufactures pc enclosures, power supplies etc. This item seems good. Visit antc website for more info. Antec.com - Product: VERIS Premier

For a nice review see Antec Veris Multimedia Station Premier Review - Overclockers Club

Thank you. Let me check the links provided by you.

Regds / Shailender

 

[raghumailbox]

Antec products are good, this Audiophile HTPC is also good product.
But i think this works only when you switch on the PC, since there are lots of softwares avaialble controls sound and selects various sources, so what is the requirement to spend 5+K on this equipment.

 

[baijuxavior]

Antec products are good, this Audiophile HTPC is also good product.
But i think this works only when you switch on the PC, since there are lots of softwares avaialble controls sound and selects various sources, so what is the requirement to spend 5+K on this equipment.

As per the review, you can turn on and off your pc using remote as the mb power supply can be rerouted through this product.

 

[hydra]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the item you've linked to looks like a controller + interface (nice one at that) and nothing more.

Good to see you're going the 2-channel Music PC way! I'm also a very hardware-challenged person, but after a bit of reading and research I managed to set up a Music PC. I simply chose and bought the components -- I got it assembled by somebody who knows what he's doing. You can read about it here (shameless self-promotion, heh, heh).

You'll find the "Art of Building a Computer Transport" a very good place to start reading. You can download it from here.

It will be a bit difficult to implement everything that's mentioned in that paper, but you can follow the general principles and rules, and suit the system to your particular needs.

These are other interesting resources:
The Well-Tempered Computer
Music computers - Gearslutz.com
Quiet PC Experts - Quiet PCs and Top Silent PC Parts
silentpcreview.com | Everything about Silent / Quiet Computers

Your priorities for the build will be silence in operation and quality of sound output. You will need to choose every component with these two aspects in mind. The cabinet, the PSU and the motherboard/processor's cooling fans & options, and the hard-disk will need to be paid special attention to. If you choose your components well, you can get by without any additional mods to any of the equipment.

Next you will need to choose how you will get the sound to the amplifier: internal soundcard or external DAC? Whatever you choose, you will have a plethora of options to choose from, esp. if you choose to use an external DAC. If you do choose to use an external DAC, you will need to choose how you will connect the PC to the DAC: USB/Optical/Coaxial.

On the software side, you will have to choose a media player software (CPlay or Foobar 2000 are IMHO the best), and make a choice on using the best way of bypassing the windows audio processing (ASIO/ASIO4all or WASAPI, depending on the operating system).

You will find most of the basic guidelines you'll need in the "Art of Building a Computer Transport".

It would be a good idea to decide how much you want to spend on the PC (plus a DAC if you choose that way) first. Then you should settle on the sound card vs. DAC question. (Well, the first and second decisions kind of run into each other, don't they?). Most of the other things will slowly fall into place

 

[shailenderb]

Thank You, Hydra, for all your helpful inputs.

I won't be needing a separate DAC (at least that's what I hope) since I have already ordered a Emotiva pre-power combo that comes with a DAC.

I'll keep a printout of your tips for deciding on other components. My PC service guy will be given a copy.

Shall keep you posted of the progress (and hope to receive more help).

Regds / Shailender

 

[shailenderb]

Sorry, forgot to add. I have now decided to buy FUSION REMOTE MAX (Antec.com - Product: FUSION REMOTE MAX) instead of the earlier add-on panel. This looks more attractive with a full-fledged remote, etc. Antec have quite a few models and I need to choose the one that can fit the MB that suits my need.

Regds / Shailender

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The Antec product page gives a link for downloading the manual. I like it when companies do that: the manual is often a lot more honest as to what a product does and how it does it than the marketing stuff is.

EDIT: Woops! posted before your post #8

 

[Imrahn]

Sorry, forgot to add. I have now decided to buy FUSION REMOTE MAX (Antec.com - Product: FUSION REMOTE MAX) instead of the earlier add-on panel. This looks more attractive with a full-fledged remote, etc. Antec have quite a few models and I need to choose the one that can fit the MB that suits my need.

Regds / Shailender

That model looks good apart from the fact that its nearly 4cms higher than what hydra has got....also, certain Antec models are very hard to obtain/service.Do consider that before going for it.

 

[shailenderb]

The Antec product page gives a link for downloading the manual. I like it when companies do that: the manual is often a lot more honest as to what a product does and how it does it than the marketing stuff is.

EDIT: Woops! posted before your post #8

Thad, I agree with your take on companies that give out manuals on their sites. Also, companies that display the MRPs of their products somehow give an impression of being more trustworthy than the ones that don't.

Regds / Shailender

 

[hydra]

... I have now decided to buy FUSION REMOTE MAX (Antec.com - Product: FUSION REMOTE MAX) instead of the earlier add-on panel. This looks more attractive with a full-fledged remote, etc. Antec have quite a few models and I need to choose the one that can fit the MB that suits my need.
...

That's a really nice looking cabinet. But I'm not so sure of the price <-> performance ratio. A substantial percentage of the price is most likely going into that small LCD screen.

Depending on what you're looking for (looks-wise) from the PC, you might get a cabinet that is as good (or better), and a 15" LCD monitor for a bit less than the price of that cabinet. This combination will most likely be better from a usability POV. You might even skip the LCD monitor altogether and just use your TV, with the money saved going into some component that will enhance the Music PC's performance/output.

I do understand that the screen on the cabinet might help you use the PC without an external screen. How usable it is that way, especially for maneuvering a long playlist/music tree, only actual use will tell.

 

[gigy]

That antec controller is good for HTPC but there is nothing Audiophile about it. Very good for power up and shut down of the pc while lazying around in sofa. See if yuo can get any model without that small lcd as it can get cost down as you will be looking at the lcd display while controlling. its a 5.1 software not 7.1. don't know if a new imon release is coming
another problem in buying the controller only is to find a htpc cabinet with 3 dvd drive slots. So the fusion cabinets with remote are better buy

 

[shailenderb]

That's a really nice looking cabinet. But I'm not so sure of the price <-> performance ratio. A substantial percentage of the price is most likely going into that small LCD screen.

Depending on what you're looking for (looks-wise) from the PC, you might get a cabinet that is as good (or better), and a 15" LCD monitor for a bit less than the price of that cabinet. This combination will most likely be better from a usability POV. You might even skip the LCD monitor altogether and just use your TV, with the money saved going into some component that will enhance the Music PC's performance/output.

I do understand that the screen on the cabinet might help you use the PC without an external screen. How usable it is that way, especially for maneuvering a long playlist/music tree, only actual use will tell.

I just found that it is available for a lesser price in Chennai. Yes, I'm mainly buying it for the looks (to go with the other components in the chain). I'll be buying the MB, etc keeping in mind your suggestions - in consultation with my supplier / assembler.

No, I don't need a monitor for this setup since I ll be connecting the system to my LCD via HDMI and audio to thro optical to the pre-power amp.

Now, I need to know the best card available for audiophile quality output and, if possible, the price. Also the other components to go with it. Looking at a minimum of 8 GB RAM. Budget is around 30K, excluding the chasis.

Regds / Shailender

 

[shailenderb]

That antec controller is good for HTPC but there is nothing Audiophile about it. Very good for power up and shut down of the pc while lazying around in sofa. See if yuo can get any model without that small lcd as it can get cost down as you will be looking at the lcd display while controlling. its a 5.1 software not 7.1. don't know if a new imon release is coming
another problem in buying the controller only is to find a htpc cabinet with 3 dvd drive slots. So the fusion cabinets with remote are better buy

No, I'm not interested 5.1 or 7.1 or even 2.1. Just 2.0. Pure 2 channel audio putput to my pre-power combo through the amp's built-in DAC. Anyhow, like you and Hydra have suggested, the LCD display would be a waste on the chasis. Let me see if I can get it without LCD at a lesser price, now that I
know its available in Chennai.

Regds / Shailender

 

[hydra]

...
Now, I need to know the best card available for audiophile quality output and, if possible, the price. Also the other components to go with it. Looking at a minimum of 8 GB RAM. Budget is around 30K, excluding the chasis.

You mentioned you are getting an Emotiva pre-power combo. Since you mentioned that it has a DAC, I assume you are getting the XDA-1.

I'm not sure which is the best input mode for the XDA-1, but I think the USB input should be all right. So you don't need a sound card at all.

If you plan to use the optical-in or the coaxial-in of the XDA-1, well, whether you need a sound card or not (if your motherboard has digital-outs) is a hotly debated topic. You can visit this thread to know more.

About the RAM, I don't really think you need as much as 8GB RAM for a Music PC. Even 4GB should do. But well, getting more RAM does keep things future-proof and it doesn't hurt things any.

About the cabinet, do choose one that you like aesthetically. You can also perhaps consider Silverstone cabinets and Lian Li cabinets. I use a Silverstone cabinet myself.

From the pictures given on the Antec website and from the Silverstone cabinets I've seen, I think the Silverstone cabinets (such as the GD04-B, which I use) are airier and have better cooling. The Antec cabinet you've linked to (at about 12-13K here, I presume) doesn't seem to have as good cooling as the Silverstone GD04-B (around 7K here). The GD04-B does not have an LCD screen, of course.

 

[reignofchaos]

Having 8GB has one benefit - you can disable the swap file completely. This is very very useful when playing music to avoid timing errors.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

About the RAM, I don't really think you need as much as 8GB RAM for a Music PC. Even 4GB should do. But well, getting more RAM does keep things future-proof and it doesn't hurt things any.

Having 8GB has one benefit - you can disable the swap file completely. This is very very useful when playing music to avoid timing errors.

I was running XP with 2Gb and a disabled swap file. The music PC is not going to be running multiple applications, each with heavy memory demands.

8Gb seems excessive. More than 4 is not accessible to XP anyway, and if the board has 4 slots, the 2+2 can be installed, and there is space to double it in the future.

Has anybody mentioned the paper, The art of building Computer Transports? It has to be googled, and several links to it seem to be dead, but it can be found eventually. That guy recommends 256Mb ram. Seriously!

shailenderb, did you mention what OS you plan to use? I may have missed it.

About the cabinet, do choose one that you like aesthetically. You can also perhaps consider Silverstone cabinets and Lian Li cabinets. I use a Silverstone cabinet myself.

From the pictures given on the Antec website and from the Silverstone cabinets I've seen, I think the Silverstone cabinets (such as the GD04-B, which I use) are airier and have better cooling. The Antec cabinet you've linked to (at about 12-13K here, I presume) doesn't seem to have as good cooling as the Silverstone GD04-B (around 7K here). The GD04-B does not have an LCD screen, of course.

Local members will be interested in the sources. I know that IT Depot stock antec (I bought my cabinet there), but I don't know about Silverstone in Chennai? I chose the P-183, along with the Antec power supply which is a proprietary fit for that and one or two of their other cabinets, but this is not relevant to this thread, as it is a big box.

 

[reignofchaos]

I was running XP with 2Gb and a disabled swap file. The music PC is not going to be running multiple applications, each with heavy memory demands.

8Gb seems excessive. More than 4 is not accessible to XP anyway, and if the board has 4 slots, the 2+2 can be installed, and there is space to double it in the future.

Has anybody mentioned the paper, The art of building Computer Transports? It has to be googled, and several links to it seem to be dead, but it can be found eventually. That guy recommends 256Mb ram. Seriously!

I was talking about Windows 7 x64. With winxp and foobar, 2GB is enough.

Win7 is a memory hog and assuming that is installed, just having 4GB causes the machine to swap at times.

That art of building computer transports article is just too old and not current. Much of the stuff he mentions is no longer relevant.

P183 is hands down the best case for a quiet pc. No two ways about it .

 

[shailenderb]

Thad,

I'll be using Win 7. By the way, Antec and Silverstone are available with Sethiainfotech in Ritchie St. Prices are slightly lesser than Global Ebay.

Regds / Shailender