I am looking at using Casatunes for the management of my Russound CAA6.6 system, can you tell me if the Russound package has anything other than the cables (RS232 to USB) and a generic soundcard? As well as the Casatunes software of course.

What is the difference in using a Russound system and normal, why is there no requirement for a XLi/XLe card if it contains a hardware switching matrix? How is this achieved in the Russound kit?

Given most modern PC’s have a 7.1 soundcard or better, why would I need to spend the extra money to buy your russound kit over just the straight software?

And what does the XLi provide that would make me use that over the soundcard already in my computer?

BTW I am a fan of the software, just trying to calculate my hardware requirements.

Cheers
TM

Be glad to help you.
You are correct that if you have a modern system with HD audio on-board, you do not need the kit. Just purchase the software and check out the documentation at http://www.casatunes.com/downloads.
The XLi and XLe are not needed (in fact, they don’t work with the Russound or NuVo) because they duplicate the switching that takes place inside the Russound system. The CasaTunes software splits your 7.1 on-board audio into 4 stereo “sources” to feed into the source inputs of the Russound. These four sources act similarly to other Russound sources, in that the Russound switches them to your various rooms.
Also, the CasaTunes software controls the Russound, so you can switch music, change volume, etc, from any browser on any computer in the house or with the great iPhone app.
By the way, the metadata (song titles, artists, etc) will show up on the Russound Keypads, too.
The kit is for customers that might not have a good, high quality, multi-channel sound card or on-board audio. Also, we tested several sound cards and picked the Creative for the kit because it had measurably less cross-talk and distortion than the others we tested. Cross-talk is when you can faintly hear music from one stereo pair through another pair. Don’t worry, though, in our experience modern on-board audio seems to be high quality.

Thanx for the feedback Kim that is great. One further question regarding Casatunes software, in the trial version I tried to check out, I could only ever get it to use one Casatunes player as one source. Is this just in the trial? In the full version are you able to have say 4 different MP3’s playing from your local PC in for different zones, or do you need each on the be a different type, like internet radio, ipod, itunes etc. So in essence you have 4 instances of media player running simultaneously….is this possible?

Cheers
TM

You are welcome.
Yes, you can listen to at least 4 different MP3’s (or other types of streams) at the same time and you are right that we have at least 4 instances of our own player running instantaneously. I say “at least” because with the XLe in Vista or Windows 7 you get 5. And you can actually go higher than that if you don’t use the external inputs for external devices.

The trial is not limited, but without a hardware switch, such as the CasaTunes XLi/XLe or the NuVo/Russound controllers, it is very difficult to show how the CasaTunes “Players” are independent.
By the way, you can even plug an iPod into the PC’s USB port and listen to more than one song from the iPod at the same time.
See the video at http://www.casatunes.com/multi-room-audio/index.php/product-tour/ and play the video to see how it works with our hardware.

Kim thank you so much, excellent service! I will look to order my software shortly I think, will connect up to my Russound to have a look at the full function on the trial then.
cheers
TM

No problem.
If you get stuck after connecting to your Russound, please call us 888-855-2272x1 and ask for Wade. He will be happy to log in remotely and walk you through it.