MP3 player / device to link to existing stereo

[mister.c.]

Good morning / evening all and thanks for an excellent forum (which shows how little i know on this modern technology!)

Having just moved into the digital age I have burned a number of my CDs to MP3 for transferring onto MP3 discs to play on our compatible stereo. Already for the home this seems a tad pointless and it would make sense to have a device which can store all of the MP3s (which will no doubt increase over time) and ideally link digitally to the stereo (by this i mean not using the conventional approach of 3.5mm plug to device and inputs to stereo via phone connectors at the back).

I was wondering what the appropriate solution was. We do not want a portable MP3 player (IPOD etc) as you'd expect being designed for being on the move these are far too 'fiddly' for what i need; ideally a remote control would be a great solution.

I was wanting a more static and high storage solution that would purely be attached to one stereo & would be easy to interface with. I've read back through all the posts and seen things on squeezeboxes, but these involve wi-fi and thats something i don't want / need to get involved in. Essentially if you could plug and play a smart 'hard drive' solution into the stereo (perhaps not the best phrase but hopefully you get my drift) and interface, then this would be great. I would not want it linked to my computer or DVD system.

Alternatively, are there any Hi-Fi products, separates etc which essentially would fulfill the role of being able to be linked to my laptop to update the MP3 into the product, then linked to existing speakers / systems and then i could listen, hassle free.

I've looked back & to be fair most of the technology went over my head, so I thought it best to ask for your wisdom! Thanks for listening and any assistance you can bring me.

[PJTX100]

Not cheap, but this may be an option...

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/showpr...=CAMB-640H-SIL

They do it in black too. Read around on it, there were early teething problems but I suspect firmware upgrades have largely overcome this.

My only piece of advice it make sure you have a complete back up your music. Unless you are happy to re-rip everything.

[Autopilot]

The thing with the 640h is that a Squeezebox or simular device plus a NAS (clever nevworked harddrive basically) could still come in cheaper. Thats a much better setup IMO.

[lazymatt]

How would you ant to control it?

there are things like the PixelMagic HD box, which will also 'do' movies and photo's. It has a remote, but needs to be connected to a screen/TV so you can see the menu's.

There are other products out there that have built in screens, I think Freecom do one, but they tend to be very small, and quite difficult to use, unlike the SB 3.

The other thing is, a lot of people don't want a noisy hard drive sitting in their living room, and already have the music on their PC, which is why the SB3 is such a popular solution.

[mister.c.]

Thanks all for your comments and help- ideally i would want to control it by remote.

Ultimately (if this thing exists!), I would want something that is like an IPOD / Creative piece of kit in the sense that it can be easily connected to existing stereo equipment, has a fair whack of storage but is focused on serving the needs of someone who is not wanting portability - ie you interface with a remote control and it would have a display that allows this. A smart hard drive i guess.

Or alternatively it is exactly the same as a hi-fi stereo, with CD,FM etc but also has an integrated hard drive designed for you to upload MP3s via a cable. DVD players / recorders come with integrated hard drives so i thought audio only devices would as well.

The clever networked box sounds to have the most potential;I've not got a problem with having a box next to the stereo & only have a laptop which gets put away after use, hence i dont need or would want something that links to my pc.

Perhaps the reason I've not found

[amcluesent]

You may want to look at -

Olive Musica

Slimdevices Squeezebox

Sonos equipment

Pinnacle SoundBridge

[PJTX100]

Originally Posted by Autopilot

The thing with the 640h is that a Squeezebox or simular device plus a NAS (clever nevworked harddrive basically) could still come in cheaper. Thats a much better setup IMO.

I totally agree. It's just that mister c. seemed adamant he didn't want to go the wifi / PC route. Many people seem to still want to separate their PC setup from the HiFi setup but still have the benefits of mass music storage. IMHO the 640h is designed to appeal to this market.

[Autopilot]

Yes, but a NAS (once setup) avoids the need for a PC, and it could be cable rather than WiFi. But you make a good point, something like 640h does suit a certain kind of user.

[lazymatt]

Originally Posted by mister.c.

Thanks all for your comments and help- ideally i would want to control it by remote.

Ultimately (if this thing exists!), I would want something that is like an IPOD / Creative piece of kit in the sense that it can be easily connected to existing stereo equipment, has a fair whack of storage but is focused on serving the needs of someone who is not wanting portability - ie you interface with a remote control and it would have a display that allows this. A smart hard drive i guess.

Or alternatively it is exactly the same as a hi-fi stereo, with CD,FM etc but also has an integrated hard drive designed for you to upload MP3s via a cable. DVD players / recorders come with integrated hard drives so i thought audio only devices would as well.

The clever networked box sounds to have the most potential;I've not got a problem with having a box next to the stereo & only have a laptop which gets put away after use, hence i dont need or would want something that links to my pc.

Perhaps the reason I've not found

There's been a few people on here looking for something like that recently, and there's just not that many good/well known solutions out there. There's some really high end stuff (thousands of pounds) but nothing at the more reasonable end of the market from known manufacturers.

The problem with buying something from someone unknown is the UI can often be a nightmare, and it really can be (apart from sound quality) the difference between a good machine and a dog.

[mister.c.]

Originally Posted by lazymatt

There's been a few people on here looking for something like that recently, and there's just not that many good/well known solutions out there.

Thanks again - Its interesting that others still enjoy stereo's being separated from PCs and enjoy a Hi-Fi separate approach to enjoying their music. The cambridge thing looks exactly right for me, but a tad too expensive; being about twice as much as getting a massive storage portable is not a premium that seems cost effective to me; I'd get up off my backside to sort it out myself! Or hunt out an IPOD and get something like the Pioneer dock which includes a remote control.

With reference to a previous comment, I suppose I am adamant not to go the PC & wi-fi route, because its not the way i live my life or organise my laptop using activities. I really don't need nor care for Wi-Fi.

It just seems a tad strange (and perhaps backward looking, or is it moi that's backward looking!) that the only cost affective way a stereo really allow you to interface with your mp3 collection (and have the luxury of doing this with a remote control!) is via an MP3 disc. I'll keep looking through the suggestions per the post & pray the Cambridge really comes down in price!

[Autopilot]

Originally Posted by mister.c.

With reference to a previous comment, I suppose I am adamant not to go the PC & wi-fi route, because its not the way i live my life or organise my laptop using activities. I really don't need nor care for Wi-Fi.

I did not either, in fact it was the Squeezebox 3 that got me to use WiFi for the first time.

All i did for the first 6 months was use a £10 wireless card and connected my Squeezebox to my PC using an "AdHoc" network (no router or anything). Worked great.