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[mjcrhbsh01]

Hi all,

I just started testing JRiver so please bear with me and pardon any ignorance on my part.

My main question today is about getting a small Mini-PC since it’s cyber Monday & there are a lot of good deals out there.

My intended setup is to use JRiver as a multi-zone whole-house audio system. It will not be used for any video playback, it’s for audio only. I am in the middle of installing the speakers & amps, eventually I am going to have 11 zones. I am going to use 11 of those cheap $4 USB sound cards, (link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MN1LTQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) one for each zone, plugged into a powered USB hub. Each USB sound card will be connected to a separate $20 Lepai LP-2020A+ amplifier which will power a stereo speaker in each zone. There will be different music played in different zones at any given time, though I doubt that I will ever play 11 different streams to each zone all at once.

For now I only have installed speakers in 2 rooms. For testing purposes I used now an old first generation Asus EeePC netbook with a first generation Intel Atom processor which were known to be very slow. I did a clean Windows 7 install, after which it was running quite snappy. I installed JRiver on that, but it seems to be struggling with just 2 zones playing. I want to get one of those mini PC/NUC as the server. There is a wide range from $99 to $500 plus. I have read thru a lot of threads on the forum but I have not found a case similar to mine.

So my million dollar question today is: For a JRiver server which will NOT be used for video, only for audio played to 11 USB sound cards, with different music played to each sound card, what kind of CPU should I go for so it should run smoothly. Atom, Celeron, i3, i5, or i7? There are mini PC’s on sale today with Celeron processors for $99. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much in advance.

[Matt]

I have no idea, but having multiple cores (like 4 of them) would sure help.

It only takes a couple percent of a modern CPU to playback with MC, so 11 zones at once shouldn't be all that much.

[Listener]

I won't get an Atom based NUC.  However, the CPC may not be the worst bottleneck you encounter.

You may have a problem hooking up 11 cheap USB DACs to a single PC.  Those USB DACs will be using USB Audio Class 1 which allocates isochronous bandwidth based on a 12 Mbit transmission rate.  The fact that the USB bus itself has a transmission rate of 480 Mbits/sec for USB 2 or 5 Mbits / sec for USB 3 does not change the limit.

[mjcrhbsh01]

Thanks Matt

I won't get an Atom based NUC.  However, the CPC may not be the worst bottleneck you encounter.

You may have a problem hooking up 11 cheap USB DACs to a single PC.  Those USB DACs will be using USB Audio Class 1 which allocates isochronous bandwidth based on a 12 Mbit transmission rate.  The fact that the USB bus itself has a transmission rate of 480 Mbits/sec for USB 2 or 5 Mbits / sec for USB 3 does not change the limit.

Thanks Listener for your recommendation not to go with an Atom. Would you say a Celeron would be sufficient or should I go with something more powerful?

I didn't quite understand the issue you mentioned about USB. I guess if I will encounter issues in the future perhaps I might have to get a 2nd Mini PC.

Thank you.

[mjcrhbsh01]

Mat,

Sorry about the new thread. I am new here, each time I am replying to a post it creates a new thread. Now I deleted the "Re" in the subject field in my reply & will see what happens.

[Listener]

Thanks Matt

Thanks Listener for your recommendation not to go with an Atom. Would you say a Celeron would be sufficient or should I go with something more powerful?

I didn't quite understand the issue you mentioned about USB. I guess if I will encounter issues in the future perhaps I might have to get a 2nd Mini PC.

I'm not sure how Intel is using the Celeron label in the current generation CPUs.  There is a significant jump from Atom CPUs to those based on the i4xxx core and its mobile variants.

About CPU power: if you aren't going to upsample or do DSR activities in JRiver, then CPU power use in JRiver might not matter.  However, the processing needed at the interrupt level and the DPC level for 11 audio outputs might be more significant.  4 cores might not help as much there.

USB devices: If you have a PC that is more powerful than the 1st gen eration Atom based PC, you might try hooking up first 1, then 2, then 3, ... usb DACs to see how many independent playback channels will work without glitches.

number of PCs: You might need more than 2 Mini PCs because of the USB Audio protocol issue I mentioned.

[mjcrhbsh01]

I ended up buying this Asus VivoPC yesterday http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=83-220-628 which has a Celeron CPU for $169 after coupon & rebate. I will see how it works out.

Thanks.

[SecondJon]

How did it work out for you?

I'm looking at a new server to manage streaming audio to multiple zones, on my old & dying PC I used multiple USB soundcards and the simple amplifier as you mentioned in your original post, for a house that was wired for whole-house speakers 50 years ago.