Mp3 Player for a hi fi
Discussion
I have been thinking about putting together a little home system and have run out of knoweldge when I think about how I would like to play music. Most of my collection is mp3 based and there doesn't seem to be a good solution out there for playing over a normal system.
Docks seem limited to me in regard to the fact that they rely on a third party device and would have no remote and would be subject to that devices limitations. there would also have to be manual syncing and selection of tracks rather than having access to your full collection.
Squeeze box and streaming seems like a good idea but would annoy me if I had to go upstairs and boot my PC to allow the squeeze box to access the archived songs. The box itself looks very good but the lack of storage is an issue.
Cd ripping/ storage. Cambridge audio do a device that rips cd's and stores them on a paltry 160gb device. That's not enough storage. I'm also not sure it would allow you to just add music to its hard drive.
Servers. They would seem to be a good solution to a central storage device but have no audio output.
I'm wondering if a large storage mp3 player for a hifi exists? preferably even better one wifi equiped that would sync with a master directory. Failing that would it be possible to use a server as centeral storage and hook a squeeze box to the server. That way I could use a media player on the pc routed to the server when I'm on the Pc and when im in the lounge the Hi fi could get its music from the server.
Docks seem limited to me in regard to the fact that they rely on a third party device and would have no remote and would be subject to that devices limitations. there would also have to be manual syncing and selection of tracks rather than having access to your full collection.
Squeeze box and streaming seems like a good idea but would annoy me if I had to go upstairs and boot my PC to allow the squeeze box to access the archived songs. The box itself looks very good but the lack of storage is an issue.
Cd ripping/ storage. Cambridge audio do a device that rips cd's and stores them on a paltry 160gb device. That's not enough storage. I'm also not sure it would allow you to just add music to its hard drive.
Servers. They would seem to be a good solution to a central storage device but have no audio output.
I'm wondering if a large storage mp3 player for a hifi exists? preferably even better one wifi equiped that would sync with a master directory. Failing that would it be possible to use a server as centeral storage and hook a squeeze box to the server. That way I could use a media player on the pc routed to the server when I'm on the Pc and when im in the lounge the Hi fi could get its music from the server.
There are so many ways you can do this.
- iPod dock (no remote, and you will need to use a computer to add stuff onto it)
- Squeezebox (needs a computer or reasonably powerful NAS box to run as a server)
- universal disc player and burn your MP3s to CD (as MP3s); some even have USB inputs so you could use a USB stick
- dedicated computer plugged into your stereo, such as a Mac Mini
- specific device aimed at being an all-in-one solution, such as the Brennan or Naim HDX
I like my Squeezebox, but I did buy a Mac Mini to act as an always-on server for it. I guess one of the Asus Eee-Box things or other low-power PCs would do a similar job.
- iPod dock (no remote, and you will need to use a computer to add stuff onto it)
- Squeezebox (needs a computer or reasonably powerful NAS box to run as a server)
- universal disc player and burn your MP3s to CD (as MP3s); some even have USB inputs so you could use a USB stick
- dedicated computer plugged into your stereo, such as a Mac Mini
- specific device aimed at being an all-in-one solution, such as the Brennan or Naim HDX
I like my Squeezebox, but I did buy a Mac Mini to act as an always-on server for it. I guess one of the Asus Eee-Box things or other low-power PCs would do a similar job.
Marantz do a good iPod dock with a remote.
http://www.hifigear.co.uk/site/scripts/product_bro...
Or a Mac Mini, as already suggested, would be my choice.
http://www.hifigear.co.uk/site/scripts/product_bro...
Or a Mac Mini, as already suggested, would be my choice.
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