I thought that it might be useful to start a thread for “non-technical” music lovers (i.e., people who aren’t PC gurus) about how to start enjoying high-resolution FLAC music downloads, SACDs, and Blu-ray audio, with little effort, for a “reasonable” price (at least compared with high-end audiophile products), and while preserving your investment in CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray videos. (By high-resolution recordings, I mean high quality recordings that are delivered to the consumer – not just mastered – at 24bit/192kHz, or 24bit/96kHz, or 24bit/88kHz. For comparison, a CD is 16bit/44.1kHz, and most music downloads are compressed at much lower bit rates.)
There are other TC threads that debate whether or not people can hear the difference between high-res recordings and CDs. My intent is to leave that debate to other threads, and in this thread share information between people who want to try high-res recordings for themselves, and who want to share information about how to get started.
I’ll start the discussion by describing the “low tech” way that I handle high-resolution FLAC music files. (I do this using an 8 year old PC running Windows XP – so there’s nothing “high tech” about my PC.)
I use an Oppo universal BDP-105 player, and I also have the older BDP-95 player. Here’s a comparison between Oppo’s current universal players, the BDP-103 and BDP-105: https://www.oppodigital.com/KnowledgeBase.aspx?KBID=37 (I have no affiliation with Oppo; there are undoubtedly other players that can do the same thing.)
I connect an external USB hard disk drive (readily available for $70 - $100 US on-line) to the front panel USB jack of my Oppo player. (BTW, the same USB hard drive can be used to backup files on your PC.) For those so inclined, a more sophisticated method is available to make the FLAC files available to the Oppo player by streaming the files from your PC via a wireless home network to the Oppo: https://www.oppodigital.com/KnowledgeBase.aspx “Configuring and Accessing a Simple DLNA Server in Windows”. (I haven’t tried this yet.)
In my experience the process of downloading high-res FLAC files from HDTracks to a PC is fairly straightforward. And HDTtacks supports PayPal checkout, so purchasing high-res recordings is convenient. (I have no affiliation with HDTracks. There are other sources for high-res classical downloads.) Just make certain that you store the downloaded music files in a folder on your computer that you can easily locate later.
After I download a high-res FLAC file to my PC, I use “sneaker-ware”: I unplug the USB drive from my Oppo, carry it into my office, and plug it into my PC.
I simply “copy-and-paste” the folder with the downloaded music from my PC to the USB drive. (You can easily create and name folders on the USB drive, just like you do on your PC. For example, a folder for Beethoven, Mozart, etc., and whatever structure for subfolders that you want to establish. Again, other folders can be used to backup other PC files.)
I carry the USB drive back into my listening room, plug the USB drive back into the Oppo’s front panel USB jack, and it’s ready to play music.
I use the “low tech” method to navigate the Oppo menus, and the folders and FLAC files on the USB hard drive, i.e., I employ my HDTV display connected to the Oppo, and the Oppo’s remote control. The process is simple: press the button on the remote control for the Oppo’s Home menu, select Music, select the USB hard drive, and then the folder that contains the music I want to hear. An alternative is the Oppo MediaControl HD app for iPad: http://www.oppoth.com/en/news-and-ev...p#.VBjBKVeKWwI . (Here’s a video of the optional Oppo MediaControl HD app for iPad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tbkkXkcSLo ) However, if you’re looking for a computer-based graphical-user-interface (GUI) that enables you to search thousands of recordings that are stored on a music server based on multiple keys (e.g., composer, conductor, orchestra, soloists, name of composition, etc), I don’t think the current Oppo products fit the bill. (Admittedly, though, I haven’t tried the MediaControl HD app, because I don’t have an iPad. And I’m not knowledgeable about media servers – others can comment about that technology.)
In spite of not having the best search capabilities, I think that the Oppo is a good solution if you want to play CDs (without having to copy your entire CD collection to a music server), DVDs, Blu-ray videos (opera, ballet, symphony concerts, movies), Blu-ray audio (e.g., Solti Ring), FLAC files, SACDs (sa-cd.net lists some of the available recordings), Pandora, Rhapsody, several on-line video streaming options, and access an on-line service by the Berliner Philharmoniker (http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/ ).
Regarding the audio connection to the Oppo:
Again, I use the “low tech” method: I connect my stereo (2 channel) to the Oppo player via old-fashioned RCA connections. I usually listen to classical and opera via one of my 50 year old tube amplifiers, so there’s nothing “high tech” about the audio connection. (And it sounds wonderful.)
For headphone users, here’s what Oppo says: “The BDP-105 features a headphone amplifier for use with high-quality headphones.” The Oppo has a volume control on the remote, but it has no tone controls. (I don’t use headphones, so I don’t have experience with using headphones with the Oppo.)
For those who have a modern surround-sound amplifier or receiver, you can connect it to the Oppo via an HDMI cable.
Separate from the Oppo players, I sometimes play FLAC music files (and WAV and MP3 files) through my PC in my office, using free software called MediaMonkey. However, I find it difficult to locate music files from different sources, i.e., those ripped from CDs, downloaded from Amazon, downloaded from HDTracks, downloaded from Linn, etc. (I have no affiliation with MediaMonkey; there are other software players that will handle FLAC files.)
Other TC members may have better ideas about how to enjoy high-res FLAC music downloads, SACDs, and Blu-ray audio without a lot of technical complexity, without a lot of effort, and without great expense. Your thoughts?