Standalone home MP3 player?
Discussion
Running out of hard drive space (again!) for my mp3 collection so rather than buying another new hard drive for the pc I was wondering if there was any other solutions.
Are there dedicated mp3 home mp3 players available? I'm imagining a unit like a hi-fi separate with a huge hard drive (something like 250gig) fitted that is perhaps networkable (or usb at the very least) and that can play the contents of the hard drive irrespective of whether the pc is on or not.
Does such a solution exist, or can a freeview pvr with a usb connection provide such a facility?
Are there dedicated mp3 home mp3 players available? I'm imagining a unit like a hi-fi separate with a huge hard drive (something like 250gig) fitted that is perhaps networkable (or usb at the very least) and that can play the contents of the hard drive irrespective of whether the pc is on or not.
Does such a solution exist, or can a freeview pvr with a usb connection provide such a facility?
tycho said:
More disk in the PC then something like a Squeezebox or Roku Soundbridge?
there is a group test in this months "Stuff" of these 2 and a few others.
I've got that sitting in front of me at the moment! Ego if you want any reviews drop me a mail.
As far as I can tell there are plenty of options available depending on how you want it set up (eg. Do you mind leaving your PC on the whole time?)
Matt,
Do you need a PC switched on for the Squeezebox and the Soundbridge to work?
Or can you get either of them to retrieve music direct from say a Buffalo Linkstation without needing any software etc?
Both units appear to have an issue playing AAC files purchased from iTunes.
Phill
(Sorry to keep asking you questions like this!)
Do you need a PC switched on for the Squeezebox and the Soundbridge to work?
Or can you get either of them to retrieve music direct from say a Buffalo Linkstation without needing any software etc?
Both units appear to have an issue playing AAC files purchased from iTunes.
Phill
(Sorry to keep asking you questions like this!)
Trouble is if you distribute your music then you'll inevitably want to get to play something when one of the boxes isnt on.
There are docks for iPods which make it a pukka stereo system.
Personally I'd bung a lot of disk in the desktop, spend some cash on quietening it down and go for that route or build a very cheap music server out of old components and linux and stick it in a cupboard somewhere.
There are docks for iPods which make it a pukka stereo system.
Personally I'd bung a lot of disk in the desktop, spend some cash on quietening it down and go for that route or build a very cheap music server out of old components and linux and stick it in a cupboard somewhere.
Everyone replied while I was typing that last message!
I guess what I'd ideally like to achieve is for the music to be stored away from the pc, hence my thoughts about a PVR style device. If I was to go for a solution where the PC was on all the time I'd probably get an external HDD or a NAS and read from that using winamp. I'd like to elinate the deafening roar of my PC but can't justify replacing it at the moment.
I guess what I'd ideally like to achieve is for the music to be stored away from the pc, hence my thoughts about a PVR style device. If I was to go for a solution where the PC was on all the time I'd probably get an external HDD or a NAS and read from that using winamp. I'd like to elinate the deafening roar of my PC but can't justify replacing it at the moment.
Ego,
I don't know what your budget is but if I was in your position i'd look at getting something like a Buffalo Linkstation to store your MP3's etc then get a Sonos system to listen to them.
I've never used them but they look like good peices of kit and you set up each room as a zone. You can obviously add zones as and when your budget allows.
They do 2 options one with a built in amp which can power speakers (obviously) and one without which you plug into your hifi.
Have a look here and see what you think - Its not cheap though!
I don't know what your budget is but if I was in your position i'd look at getting something like a Buffalo Linkstation to store your MP3's etc then get a Sonos system to listen to them.
I've never used them but they look like good peices of kit and you set up each room as a zone. You can obviously add zones as and when your budget allows.
They do 2 options one with a built in amp which can power speakers (obviously) and one without which you plug into your hifi.
Have a look here and see what you think - Its not cheap though!
egomeister said:
Everyone replied while I was typing that last message!
I guess what I'd ideally like to achieve is for the music to be stored away from the pc, hence my thoughts about a PVR style device. If I was to go for a solution where the PC was on all the time I'd probably get an external HDD or a NAS and read from that using winamp. I'd like to elinate the deafening roar of my PC but can't justify replacing it at the moment.
You can hunk the MP3's away on a Terastation or a NAS of any description.
That would allow central storage for MP3's
If you ran a Roku Soundbridge or a Squeezebox there is a requirement for a 'server' to be running somewhere so that the 'clients' can connect and access the music.
If you go for a PVR such as MythTV or XP Media Centre then you can use a NAS without the server requirement as it will just read the MP3's as remote data.
The downside with a PVR is of course that the TV needs to be on for you to listen to music.
So 6 of one...
Do you have constant PC noise and the flexibility of one or many Squeezebox style devices or do you go for the quiet convenience of a NAS box with the downside of TV to control.
Phil mentioned the Sonos.
Thats an option but I would store the MP3's on that directly and its more a multi-room audio solution.
With two base stations and one commander you are looking at around a bag for the Sonos.
How many MP3's are we talking?
It does and I now recall a Slim Devices evangelist telling me this 
http://fieldnetworks.com/slim/linksta
Though unless things have changed significantly its not a factory supported feature.
>> Edited by Plotloss on Monday 15th May 15:30
http://fieldnetworks.com/slim/linksta
Though unless things have changed significantly its not a factory supported feature.
>> Edited by Plotloss on Monday 15th May 15:30
Plotloss: Currently on around 100gb of music, but I reckon I have about a further 40gb worth to rip so I think I'd want 250gb of storage at a minimum. All files encoded in mp3 format for maximum compatibilty.
My computer is stacked to the gills at the moment so if I went the additional storage route it would need to be external, either via USB (even that is pretty busy!) or a Linkstation. The computer is about 4.5 years old and fitted with crappy 80mm fans which does it no favours with regard to noise - I have bought a decent quality cpu fan so it is mainly psu/graphics card now.
Some of those products look promising although not the one box solution I was hoping for - a mains powered 250gb mp3 player would pretty much do the job for me! I will read through the sites in more detail tonight...
My computer is stacked to the gills at the moment so if I went the additional storage route it would need to be external, either via USB (even that is pretty busy!) or a Linkstation. The computer is about 4.5 years old and fitted with crappy 80mm fans which does it no favours with regard to noise - I have bought a decent quality cpu fan so it is mainly psu/graphics card now.
Some of those products look promising although not the one box solution I was hoping for - a mains powered 250gb mp3 player would pretty much do the job for me! I will read through the sites in more detail tonight...
Phillips have something, comes with a main box and a remote box.
The main box has a storage capacity of its very own which supplies the remote box.
Around £600 though and nowhere near 250Gb as the manufacturers shy away from the most dense platters.
You can get next to silent 80mm fans, I wouldnt have thought making your machine as it stands today very quiet wouldnt be much of an issue.
You do have a large storage consideration so I would have thought that you will be stretching most devices with 140Gb.
The main box has a storage capacity of its very own which supplies the remote box.
Around £600 though and nowhere near 250Gb as the manufacturers shy away from the most dense platters.
You can get next to silent 80mm fans, I wouldnt have thought making your machine as it stands today very quiet wouldnt be much of an issue.
You do have a large storage consideration so I would have thought that you will be stretching most devices with 140Gb.
Ego,
Also have a look at the Yamaha MusicCAST Digital Audio Server (MCX-2000).
I don't think its that cheap but it looks like it might do what you need to do it while still leaving some future growth.
Only downside is that I think you have to rip MP3's directly and you can't transfer music from your PC to it
Also have a look at the Yamaha MusicCAST Digital Audio Server (MCX-2000).
I don't think its that cheap but it looks like it might do what you need to do it while still leaving some future growth.
Only downside is that I think you have to rip MP3's directly and you can't transfer music from your PC to it
Plotloss said:
Needs proper installation or proprietary players a la Sonos that MusicCast though...
True if you wanted to send music around the house but if this is just for a one room solution can you not just have the Server plugged into your hifi in the room you require?
Then add the proprietary device in each room as and when needs require and finances allow?
Hope i'm not being awkard i'm genuinely interested!
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