Topic: its really a shame that...

[pfife]

the Tosh 4960 is such a piece... Mine was still playing discs, but the skip forward/back functions stopped working altogether, and it was driving me crazy.... so I hooked up my old phillips cd player/burner unit so I could rock some cds, and its noticably less quality than the 4960.  Burr-Brown rulz.  cheap crap droolz!

I'd like to pick up another one, or the samsung equivalent, but I think I'm just going to live with the phillips until I collect enough scratch for a DAC... at which point I'll be integrating a pc into my system.   

enough rambling.  RIP pfife's 4960.  I'll miss you terribly.... kinda...

[Tim]

3960+Bel Canto 2.0 leaves me happy. I'd like a nice player but there's always a need for money elsewhere...

[scervin]

Get the Oppo 970 or wait for the 981 early next year.  It will have 1080P upconversion and all the audio goodies.  Those Toshibas are a POS!

[Nick's Picks]

i'm running a new POS toshiba universal.
great picture
pretty good SACD playback
PCM is transport only, as its internal DAC sounds terrible.

$80 !
can't go wrong.
model number SD-6980

[scervin]

i'm running a new POS toshiba universal.
great picture
pretty good SACD playback
PCM is transport only, as its internal DAC sounds terrible.

$80 !
can't go wrong.
model number SD-6980

How do you get "pretty good SACD playback" if "internal DAC sounds terrible"??

I got one of those Toshiba's for my living room and it sucked.  Gave to my brother and it has since crapped out on him.

I've really been thinking of getting the Oppo digital to run 480i into a scaler and use it also as a universal.  I just don't know if it will work as a decent transport to feed a nice DAC for 2 channel. 

I'm guessing the Onyko SP1000 will best it in all areas, so I will probably keep it.  Eventually it will be a dedicated transport and universal, once I find something decent that sends 480i via HDMI.  Or I might just SDI mod the Onkyo.

[Nick's Picks]

because the SACD sounds better than redbook or DVDA analog output.  so, therefore I say SACD sounds pretty good, but not awesome or anything.
but when i run digi out into my integrated amp, and can push buttons between the two (analog output vs. digital), I can easily hear how sucky PCM playback is on this thing.  can't do that w/SACD, and to my ear it sounds much better than redbook on this player.

its 1080i picture is what I bought it for.  the universal playing aspect is just a bonus. 

[dmonterisi]

How do you get "pretty good SACD playback" if "internal DAC sounds terrible"??

aren't different DAC's required for SACD playback?  or do some players go DSD>PCM>DAC?

i have this sony dvd/sacd player.  I listen to cd's via digi-out to my receiver.  the sacd playback sounds pretty good.  video quality is okay, but is nothing phenomenal.  i basically bought it because it's relatively inexpensive, has sacd playback and dvd upsampling.  i'd say at under $200, it does a decent job.  At some point, i will upgrade this piece, but it's fine for now.

[Nick's Picks]

as per Sony....
I'd like to have one of the dvp9100es SACD / DVD decks.

[pfife]

Get the Oppo 970 or wait for the 981 early next year.  It will have 1080P upconversion and all the audio goodies.  Those Toshibas are a POS!

see, and you're gonna think I'm a dumbass, but my audio and video systems are seperate.   This is the player for my audio system, which is solely 2 channel.   I'd like it to play DVD-As, for my shows, but if I integrate a pc, then I won't need that.  I'm actually considering getting a nice CD player.

I have them seperate b/c I really like my living room, which we vowed to keep TV-less.   Its where I have all of my plants,large window, natural sun... and its a rather peaceful room to listen to death metal in...

[Kyle]

Get the Oppo 970 or wait for the 981 early next year.  It will have 1080P upconversion and all the audio goodies.  Those Toshibas are a POS!

see, and you're gonna think I'm a dumbass, but my audio and video systems are seperate.   This is the player for my audio system, which is solely 2 channel.   I'd like it to play DVD-As, for my shows, but if I integrate a pc, then I won't need that.  I'm actually considering getting a nice CD player.

I have them seperate b/c I really like my living room, which we vowed to keep TV-less.   Its where I have all of my plants,large window, natural sun... and its a rather peaceful room to listen to death metal in...

nope, not a duymbass - I have seperate video/audio rigs as well....

[scervin]

Get the Oppo 970 or wait for the 981 early next year.  It will have 1080P upconversion and all the audio goodies.  Those Toshibas are a POS!

see, and you're gonna think I'm a dumbass, but my audio and video systems are seperate.   This is the player for my audio system, which is solely 2 channel.   I'd like it to play DVD-As, for my shows, but if I integrate a pc, then I won't need that.  I'm actually considering getting a nice CD player.

I have them seperate b/c I really like my living room, which we vowed to keep TV-less.   Its where I have all of my plants,large window, natural sun... and its a rather peaceful room to listen to death metal in...

Why would I think you are a dumbarse for having 2 systems?  I wish I could do the same, but space is limited.  Our living room is for unwinding at night.  If it is a player for you audio system I'd spend the extra cash and get a nice universal.

My next home will have a dedicated HT and 2 channel room.... I hope.

[BobW]

If you can live without SACD the Harman Kardon DVD-31 is impressive for audio.
Decent build quality as well
My Tosh is holding up well for the 'rents, where it landed after I decided that I wouldn't invest in any SACDs.
They use it almost 100% for video. Which would be, like three or four plays per month   

[pfife]

I just hooked up a 400mhz pc to the amp, using a Zoltrix Nightingale 6 sound card, analog out to the amp, and it sounds just as good, if not better, than the cd player....

I've been of the opinion that a nice DAC to go between the computer and amp might rule, but I'm also starting to think that a squeezebox might be a more economical and practical idea...

[Nick's Picks]

AND....
can also be your DAC.  digi out from the Zoltrix into the SB3, and its fairly decent sounding from what i've read.
Stereophile posted it to their 60 best componants of 2006, so its got to be good .
roll eyes...

[pfife]

AND....
can also be your DAC.  digi out from the Zoltrix into the SB3, and its fairly decent sounding from what i've read.
Stereophile posted it to their 60 best componants of 2006, so its got to be good .
roll eyes...

woah, seriously?    It has digital inputs?!?   I had no idea!   At any rate, if I get an SB3, it would most likely replace the zoltrix, but I could run my cd player through it.... 

Edit - I'm not seeing any inputs on the SB3... 

[Brian Skalinder]

woah, seriously?    It has digital inputs?!?
< snip >
Edit - I'm not seeing any inputs on the SB3... 

Digital input of sorts.  Not coax or optical S/PDIF, but rather TCP/IP-based digital input via cat5 or wireless network.  Was a mild PITA and not insignificant startup cost getting my PC system up and running:  SATA card + 2 internal drives (RAID1) and firewire card + external enclosure + 2 external drive (nightly backup for redundancy).  Of course, I have all my data backed up on optical media (and most my masters backed up off-site as well).  Redundancy and backups are critical if you're running computer-based playback...unless one fancies re-doing all the setup work if a HD fails.  Right now, I'm running PC Foobar > digi-out > office system and PC > wireless network > Squeezebox digi-out > living room system.  Since making the switch to medialess playback I haven't looked back, not even glanced - well worth the effort getting it all fired up.  For me, anyway.  Love it.

[pfife]

woah, seriously?    It has digital inputs?!?
< snip >
Edit - I'm not seeing any inputs on the SB3... 

Digital input of sorts.  Not coax or optical S/PDIF, but rather TCP/IP-based digital input via cat5 or wireless network.  Was a mild PITA and not insignificant startup cost getting my PC system up and running:  SATA card + 2 internal drives (RAID1) and firewire card + external enclosure + 2 external drive (nightly backup for redundancy).  Of course, I have all my data backed up on optical media (and most my masters backed up off-site as well).  Redundancy and backups are critical if you're running computer-based playback...unless one fancies re-doing all the setup work if a HD fails.  Right now, I'm running PC Foobar > digi-out > office system and PC > wireless network > Squeezebox digi-out > living room system.  Since making the switch to medialess playback I haven't looked back, not even glanced - well worth the effort getting it all fired up.  For me, anyway.  Love it.

Yeah, the backup system is kinda stressing me.  I'm in the infantile stages of getting this all set up, right now - I actually have everything working (network, remote desktop control, slimserver) but I haven't gotten my backup system going.... I'm planning to have it as my main musical collection, so I'm gonna have to do a RAID, but I have no idea how to set one up, but I could prolly figure it out.   At this point I only have about 6gb of flacs on a 40gb hd, but I'm gonna be purchasing some larger HDs within a couple days, I'd imagine.  I've lived through hard drive failure before, and it totally blows.   IT was actually way worse than HD failure, b/c I didn't notice that it was failing for quite a while, so a lot of my early flac masters are corrupted on the optical backups, becuase the source on the HD was corrupted... 

I'm still not really following the use of the ethernet input as a digital input... As it stands right now, I have a cat5 wire running to the location where my SB3, and was planning to use it as the main network input,but I do have wireless... but I don't understand why I'd plug the computer into it as Nick was saying... I'm actually OK with going with the SB3 because I'm pretty sure it will make my CD player obsolete, and has DACs that I'm totally sold on.

thanks for the input guys.

[Brian Skalinder]

I'm planning to have it as my main musical collection, so I'm gonna have to do a RAID, but I have no idea how to set one up, but I could prolly figure it out.

FWIW, I think RAID is overkill.  Consumer RAID devices are not as reliable as pro - controller failures are more likely, and recovery is less dependable.  I'm actually kinda sweating my cheapo SATA RAID card right now.  One of these days I'll turn off the RAID and switch over to an automated nightly sync.  Unless your data is changing a LOT over the course of a day, I think an automated nightly sync between two drives is easier and safer.  That's what I did for my second pair of drives and will continue to do for drives I add to my system.

At this point I only have about 6gb of flacs on a 40gb hd, but I'm gonna be purchasing some larger HDs within a couple days, I'd imagine.  I've lived through hard drive failure before, and it totally blows.   IT was actually way worse than HD failure, b/c I didn't notice that it was failing for quite a while, so a lot of my early flac masters are corrupted on the optical backups, becuase the source on the HD was corrupted... 

I remember the thread about your corruption problems. Sucks!  At any rate, no better time than now, is what I figured.  The more data you acquire, the more effort it will be down the road.  I loaded ~400 GB of data from CD/DVD backups onto my HD system.  PITA.  And it sounds like you have all the core infrastructure ready - network, wireless, etc.

I'm still not really following the use of the ethernet input as a digital input... As it stands right now, I have a cat5 wire running to the location where my SB3, and was planning to use it as the main network input,but I do have wireless... but I don't understand why I'd plug the computer into it as Nick was saying...

If you have cat5 and wireless, you're all set.  I'm not sure why you'd connect your PC directly to the SB3, either.  The only reason to run your PC directly to the SB3 is if you don't have a network set up.  I far prefer using Foobar for my office listening, anyway, so no need for an SB3 in there.  In the living room, I'm not willing to put up with a media PC, so the SB3's a great, compact option.

[pfife]

I'm planning to have it as my main musical collection, so I'm gonna have to do a RAID, but I have no idea how to set one up, but I could prolly figure it out.

FWIW, I think RAID is overkill.  Consumer RAID devices are not as reliable as pro - controller failures are more likely, and recovery is less dependable.  I'm actually kinda sweating my cheapo SATA RAID card right now.  One of these days I'll turn off the RAID and switch over to an automated nightly sync.  Unless your data is changing a LOT over the course of a day, I think an automated nightly sync between two drives is easier and safer.  That's what I did for my second pair of drives and will continue to do for drives I add to my system.

Wow, sweet!  Honestly, and I hate to admit it, but what you are saying here is what I thought what a RAID was.   what's above is exactly what I'd like to do.  Thanks for the link +T.  Seems easy enough- I've made bat files before, just never used the scheduler.  I'd imagine its not that difficult.

thanks for the info.

[Brian Skalinder]

Wow, sweet!  Honestly, and I hate to admit it, but what you are saying here is what I thought what a RAID was.   what's above is exactly what I'd like to do.  Thanks for the link +T.  Seems easy enough- I've made bat files before, just never used the scheduler.  I'd imagine its not that difficult.

Really easy to do.  I could've used xcopy and BAT files and the Windows scheduler, but I've encountered challenges before with scheduling in Win2K.  The Argentum s/w is dirt cheap and has a super-easy interface, so I forked over a few bucks.  Don't use Argentum!  Use DeltaCopy.  More info on reasonable redundancy here.  FWIW, RAID1 (mirroring) is real-time sync between two drives - every bit written to one drive is also written to the other simultaneously.  With the process in the link above, the data's synced based on a schedule you define.  For my purposes, nightly is frequently enough.  But you could set it up to sync every 6 hours if you want, or every hour, or 30min, or whatever interval works for you.  At any rate - a total breeze.

Good luck!

[pfife]

Wow, sweet!  Honestly, and I hate to admit it, but what you are saying here is what I thought what a RAID was.   what's above is exactly what I'd like to do.  Thanks for the link +T.  Seems easy enough- I've made bat files before, just never used the scheduler.  I'd imagine its not that difficult.

Really easy to do.  I could've used xcopy and BAT files and the Windows scheduler, but I've encountered challenges before with scheduling in Win2K.  The Argentum s/w is dirt cheap and has a super-easy interface, so I forked over a few bucks.  FWIW, RAID1 (mirroring) is real-time sync between two drives - every bit written to one drive is also written to the other simultaneously.  With the process in the link above, the data's synced based on a schedule you define.  For my purposes, nightly is frequently enough.  But you could set it up to sync every 6 hours if you want, or every hour, or 30min, or whatever interval works for you.  At any rate - a total breeze.

Good luck!

right on, sounds like a cinch.  The only problematic issue I forsee is getting all the HDs running in the computer, but it shouldn't be a problem.  I think I'm going to have a 20gb one for the operating system, and 2 400gbs or so for the data.   I think I have enough spots open on the ribbons for that - the computer currently has 2 hds in it, and only 1 cdrom drive, so I should have a slave spot open on that ribbon w/the cd rom.   sounds like it could be simple!  Now I just need to get the drives!

[Tim]

good info Skalinder - thanks

[Nick's Picks]

yea...I was backwards.
its got a digital OUTPUT..
so you can stream directly do your DAC, should you have one.

I knew there was some sort of digital chain here I really liked w/this box.

[Brian Skalinder]

The Argentum s/w is dirt cheap and has a super-easy interface, so I forked over a few bucks.

Note:  I cannot recommend Argentum Backup any longer due to a fatal flaw.  See reasonable redundancy thread for details and a new, better solution.