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Topic: HD based hifi component (Read 3534 times) previous topic - next topic
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HD based hifi component

Hi,

Does anyone know of any decent harddrive based MP3 hifi components?

The unit doesn't have to rip from CD, preferabbly it will have a removeable harddrive or connection to PC (e.g. USB) for updating the stored tracks and be compatible with standard playlists that can be exported from the PC.

A friendly user interface would be nice too (it's not for me  )

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

P.S. I'm in the UK.

HD based hifi component

Reply #1 –
Not what you're looking for, but something to consider...

SLIMP3

HD based hifi component

Reply #2 –
There have been a couple of hard drive based component mp3 players, I can recall one each from Compaq & HP (overpriced, discontinued), Motorola (likewise) and Rio (the "central advanced digital audio center" - reputedly the best, and at $1500 MSRP, probably the most expensive).  You should be able to find at least one of these used on an auction site.
  There are even more  'streaming boxes' like the SLIMP3, Audiotron, and SimpliFi.

HD based hifi component

Reply #3 –
Howdy,
I am looking for the same thing. How hard can it be for someone to invent a simple mp3 box, that you add your own hard-drive and connects to a USB port?

I would love to have a 120gig MP3 BOX connected  to my HI-FI. But I want to keep it seperate from my computer....

I hope oneday someone will invent one, but ATM I haven't seen any easy one.....

I may even get a group of my enginerring friends to see what we can come up with...

If cheap as you can get 89AUD DVD/MP3/VCD ETC players can play MP3's, it can;'t be too hard to decode a mp3 from a HD....

Cheers,
Burgerings

HD based hifi component

Reply #4 –
Quote
Howdy,
I am looking for the same thing. How hard can it be for someone to invent a simple mp3 box, that you add your own hard-drive and connects to a USB port?


I don't know about the USB part (10/100 connection is faster and possibly easier to implement), but I believe there are plans online for boxes you can build that will do just this, and cost a lot less than $750+ to build.
  If I stumble over any I'll edit this...

HD based hifi component

Reply #5 –
Depending on your electronics background you may find what you want at :

MP3Projects

HD based hifi component

Reply #6 –
Thanks for your responses  $1500 (around £1000) is a lot of moola, I would have thought someone would have made a player at around the £3-400 mark.

I think it would be cheaper getting a portable and jacking it into the Hifi Unit!! Not pretty not clever but a damn sight cheaper!!

I will be sure to post my eventual solution  (if anyones interested lol!)

Cheers

HD based hifi component

Reply #7 –
There was a few of these players in latest what hifi mag... they are coming out, they wont be cheap but they will be hifi quality (whatever that means  ... I guess you would be very happy with them in lossless mode as they'll have quality DACs etc.. and there own software.. in mp3 mode i guess they'll be as good as the format is, and as good as the files are...

Not got the mag with me at the moment so sorry can't give you any more info.. just take a look tho.. Cyrus was one i think.. yeah thats it... net links follow

http://www.cyrus.co.uk/news/press_220703_cyruslink.htm
http://www.cyrus.co.uk/news/news_0803_cyruslink.htm

digital wireless.. not bad

sadly i fear the same difficulties in getting lossless, ogg, mpc, aac would be an issue... hdd size would be interesting too.. dont think it can work with a PC as the server either..

HD based hifi component

Reply #8 –
I think the best option is still to have an old computer in a closet running headless. slimp3 is great, but still requires a computer for storage. It can't handle lossless, either.

A headless closet machine then handles both storage and playback. An old Palm V could be permamently cradled as the unit/controller (and display current song data, etc.). You could control playback in a number of other ways, too. I'd check in at avsforum.

Of course, this requires you to run at least a long wire - one to the reciever and another if your controller is wired.

I might do something like this as I like the idea of never flipping a cd again. I have a lot of my music ripped to lossless on a 160 gb external that I keep with me at the office. While not an audiophile, I know that my laptop adds a lot of extra noise. I'm thinking of throwing that plus another drive or two in an old machine and praying the hard drives don't stop spinning  [a good thing is that because they're all my cd's, i have backups, just a pain in the neck to re-rip everything]

Can anyone answer a quality question as to whether I would hear a difference between my budget cd player ($150 phillips) playing originals and the output from a good sound card playing lossless rips?
Guinness for strength!
 

HD based hifi component

Reply #9 –
Quote
Of course, this requires you to run at least a long wire - one to the reciever and another if your controller is wired.
>
>
Can anyone answer a quality question as to whether I would hear a difference between my budget cd player ($150 phillips) playing originals and the output from a good sound card playing lossless rips?

The long wire is asking for degredation..  hum and RFI pickup,  etc.  Longer it is, harder it will be to keep that out.  Why not build one of the SFF breadbox sized PC's with quiet fans and put it in with your stereo gear?

You might be able to hear the difference on a good system..  your average portable CD player has cheaper components by economic need,  (tho something like the upper Iriver stuff is better than average)  your lower end component CD players have a similar situation.  I got the chance to hear a $3000 audiophile player (Resolution Audio CD55) on a good system and WOW.. it did make a difference.

A better sound card could possibly have better sound than the ouput of a low end CD player, assuming you do all the right things in hooking stuff up.

Whether the lossless (or MP3) rips would be noticiable on a REALLY good system, is something I want to do testing on..  someday I want to have an ABX party at my audiophile friend's house with the >$30K system..