Does this piece of HiFi kit actually exist?
Discussion
Hi Guys.
Does anyone know whether any of the manufacturers of HiFi equipment produces an item that does the following:
It stores digital music on a large-capacity memory system such as a hard-disc.
It can copy individual tracks from CDs, or even entire CDs, quickly and easily.
The tracks stored on the memory can be organised according to user's wishes, eg separate files for classical & rock, then subfiles for individual artists etc.
Tracks can easily be deleted or moved to a different file.
It has the facility to make a back-up copy of the stored tracks, say onto a USB flash drive.
There is an easy-read display, so you can quickly select the tracks to play.
It has the ability to play tracks at random.
Right, so far I guess it sounds like I want an iPlayer - but here's the killer requirement:
It has to be designed as one of the units of a typical HiFi system, ie mains powered, and connected to the HiFi amplifier unit and hence to the speakers - so that for your input source you can select between CD player, tuner or this hypothetical unit.
If such pieces of kit are on the market, what are they collectively known as?
Thank you for reading this, PHers at large, and I will be grateful for any relevant information you can pass on.
Cheers,
Tony.
Does anyone know whether any of the manufacturers of HiFi equipment produces an item that does the following:
It stores digital music on a large-capacity memory system such as a hard-disc.
It can copy individual tracks from CDs, or even entire CDs, quickly and easily.
The tracks stored on the memory can be organised according to user's wishes, eg separate files for classical & rock, then subfiles for individual artists etc.
Tracks can easily be deleted or moved to a different file.
It has the facility to make a back-up copy of the stored tracks, say onto a USB flash drive.
There is an easy-read display, so you can quickly select the tracks to play.
It has the ability to play tracks at random.
Right, so far I guess it sounds like I want an iPlayer - but here's the killer requirement:
It has to be designed as one of the units of a typical HiFi system, ie mains powered, and connected to the HiFi amplifier unit and hence to the speakers - so that for your input source you can select between CD player, tuner or this hypothetical unit.
If such pieces of kit are on the market, what are they collectively known as?
Thank you for reading this, PHers at large, and I will be grateful for any relevant information you can pass on.
Cheers,
Tony.
There is one advertised inside Private Eye. Martin something or other. Hang on...
ETA- http://www.brennan.co.uk/
ETA- http://www.brennan.co.uk/
Edited by grumbledoak on Thursday 27th March 13:19
Tony2or4 said:
But a PC wouldn't be connected in to my amplifier/speakers, would it?
I've never looked into it in any specific detail but as far as I'm aware you can pretty much accommodate any input your amp might have with a PC output. It's possible some options may require a slightly larger budget than others but I'll leave that to the more experienced AV peeps to pipe in on.Tony2or4 said:
Hi Guys.
Does anyone know whether any of the manufacturers of HiFi equipment produces an item that does the following:
It stores digital music on a large-capacity memory system such as a hard-disc.
It can copy individual tracks from CDs, or even entire CDs, quickly and easily.
The tracks stored on the memory can be organised according to user's wishes, eg separate files for classical & rock, then subfiles for individual artists etc.
Tracks can easily be deleted or moved to a different file.
It has the facility to make a back-up copy of the stored tracks, say onto a USB flash drive.
There is an easy-read display, so you can quickly select the tracks to play.
It has the ability to play tracks at random.
Right, so far I guess it sounds like I want an iPlayer - but here's the killer requirement:
It has to be designed as one of the units of a typical HiFi system, ie mains powered, and connected to the HiFi amplifier unit and hence to the speakers - so that for your input source you can select between CD player, tuner or this hypothetical unit.
If such pieces of kit are on the market, what are they collectively known as?
Thank you for reading this, PHers at large, and I will be grateful for any relevant information you can pass on.
Cheers,
Tony.
As suggested above a USB DAC will integrate a PC ( or laptop ) into your Hi-Fi.Does anyone know whether any of the manufacturers of HiFi equipment produces an item that does the following:
It stores digital music on a large-capacity memory system such as a hard-disc.
It can copy individual tracks from CDs, or even entire CDs, quickly and easily.
The tracks stored on the memory can be organised according to user's wishes, eg separate files for classical & rock, then subfiles for individual artists etc.
Tracks can easily be deleted or moved to a different file.
It has the facility to make a back-up copy of the stored tracks, say onto a USB flash drive.
There is an easy-read display, so you can quickly select the tracks to play.
It has the ability to play tracks at random.
Right, so far I guess it sounds like I want an iPlayer - but here's the killer requirement:
It has to be designed as one of the units of a typical HiFi system, ie mains powered, and connected to the HiFi amplifier unit and hence to the speakers - so that for your input source you can select between CD player, tuner or this hypothetical unit.
If such pieces of kit are on the market, what are they collectively known as?
Thank you for reading this, PHers at large, and I will be grateful for any relevant information you can pass on.
Cheers,
Tony.
Olive's products should fit the bill http://www.olive.us/ ,http://www.whathifi.com/review/olive-o3hd Naim's HDX and I've been considering one of these but I've not listened to one yet. Very similar spec to the Olive's but with built in amp and a few more features http://cocktailaudio.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1...
Edited by Crackie on Thursday 27th March 14:04
MacW said:
Tony2or4 said:
But a PC wouldn't be connected in to my amplifier/speakers, would it?
I've never looked into it in any specific detail but as far as I'm aware you can pretty much accommodate any input your amp might have with a PC output. Mr E said:
Why not? Mine is.
Although I know that you can copy CDs onto a PC's hard drive and thus play the music directly on the computer via its own speakers, I wasn't aware that you can also treat the PC as an input to a HiFi amp and therefore play from the PC onto the HiFi speakers: the lack of anything that looks like typical HiFi-type connector sockets on the back of the computer failed to drop a hint. A couple of other posters have pointed out that I could get an adapter for PC to HiFi connection, though.So it does seem as though a PC would do the job.
The problem with going that route, though, is the overall looks of a system involving a computer. Picture a stack of units consisting of an amp, then a tuner sitting on top of that, with a CD player above that, all neatly matching each other as a centre-piece in the middle of the sideboard - and amongst all that lot there's a PC tower, a monitor and a keyboard.
Also it'd be a shame to have to pay for another PC system, with all the other things it's capable of doing, just to be able to use it as a source of music.
What I'm really on the look out for is a single unit of typical HiFi equipment shape and size, with controls and a display on the front panel.
Tony2or4 said:
Although I know that you can copy CDs onto a PC's hard drive and thus play the music directly on the computer via its own speakers, I wasn't aware that you can also treat the PC as an input to a HiFi amp and therefore play from the PC onto the HiFi speakers: the lack of anything that looks like typical HiFi-type connector sockets on the back of the computer failed to drop a hint. A couple of other posters have pointed out that I could get an adapter for PC to HiFi connection, though.
So it does seem as though a PC would do the job.
The problem with going that route, though, is the overall looks of a system involving a computer. Picture a stack of units consisting of an amp, then a tuner sitting on top of that, with a CD player above that, all neatly matching each other as a centre-piece in the middle of the sideboard - and amongst all that lot there's a PC tower, a monitor and a keyboard.
Also it'd be a shame to have to pay for another PC system, with all the other things it's capable of doing, just to be able to use it as a source of music.
What I'm really on the look out for is a single unit of typical HiFi equipment shape and size, with controls and a display on the front panel.
You could just stream to a DAC connected your hi fi from your existing computer using Ethernet via home plugs....So it does seem as though a PC would do the job.
The problem with going that route, though, is the overall looks of a system involving a computer. Picture a stack of units consisting of an amp, then a tuner sitting on top of that, with a CD player above that, all neatly matching each other as a centre-piece in the middle of the sideboard - and amongst all that lot there's a PC tower, a monitor and a keyboard.
Also it'd be a shame to have to pay for another PC system, with all the other things it's capable of doing, just to be able to use it as a source of music.
What I'm really on the look out for is a single unit of typical HiFi equipment shape and size, with controls and a display on the front panel.
Tony2or4 said:
Zoon said:
Sonos with a spotify subscription should cover most needs.
That sounds like handing over dosh on a regular basis.Cheaper than buying CD's, and frees up storage space. If you have a huge CD collection and not interested in current stuff, then the PC route makes sense.
get a vortexbox server it will rip and automatically catalogue your music according to how you want it. Its a server so you can access the file structure via your pc to do anything really complex
Then get a Sonos, or squeezebox, e.t.c. (or any music streamer that has an interface you like)
put that in your hifi rack, and bobs your uncle
Then get a Sonos, or squeezebox, e.t.c. (or any music streamer that has an interface you like)
put that in your hifi rack, and bobs your uncle
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