Marantz Network CD Player ND8006 - still happy like a kid on Christmas Morn' - I want to hook up my external hard drive - best options?

[AreBe]

I have a Marantz Network CD Player ND8006 ND8006 CD Player - Digital Source Streaming or CD with HEOS® | Marantz™ and am delighted with it.

Mid-fi system with my old Yamaha A 300 amp and some 30 year old but more than adequate Celestion 3 ways and some 100% OK Yamaha outdoor speakers.

The number one goal is fun!

The other goals are to see about hooking up an external hard drive to it. I have 2 options, just get a powered external hard drive and plug it into the USB port in the front. The other one is to get some kind of a computer - cheap, super cheap, tiny footprint- and a touchscreen, and maybe turn this thing into a mini- jukebox.
I have about a terabyte of digitized music (70's disco and classic rock, 80's 90's and generally classic rock, basically wedding cover band standards- total mid-fi to maybe even low fi. I am - and it works- playing music using the wiring in my house- not wi-fi- to get music from my terabyte to the device. Takes a while to scroll through the hundreds of artists- and thousands of sub-files- so I am sort of thinking of getting the smallest and worst computer available for it to control a terabyte hard drive and have a touchscreen so that I essentially turn this Marantz Network CD Player ND8006. into a jukebox, just type in what you are looking for, super easy and perhaps most convenient and user-friendly, mid-fi answer.

Any thoughts on how to do this?

No esoteric European brand hitting this any time soon. May upgrade the amp one day, not urgent- Mid Fi ok by me.

 

[jamieu]

I have a Marantz Network CD Player ND8006 ND8006 CD Player - Digital Source Streaming or CD with HEOS® | Marantz™ and am delighted with it.

Mid-fi system with my old Yamaha A 300 amp and some 30 year old but more than adequate Celestion 3 ways and some 100% OK Yamaha outdoor speakers.

The number one goal is fun!

The other goals are to see about hooking up an external hard drive to it. I have 2 options, just get a powered external hard drive and plug it into the USB port in the front. The other one is to get some kind of a computer - cheap, super cheap, tiny footprint- and a touchscreen, and maybe turn this thing into a mini- jukebox.
I have about a terabyte of digitized music (70's disco and classic rock, 80's 90's and generally classic rock, basically wedding cover band standards- total mid-fi to maybe even low fi. I am - and it works- playing music using the wiring in my house- not wi-fi- to get music from my terabyte to the device. Takes a while to scroll through the hundreds of artists- and thousands of sub-files- so I am sort of thinking of getting the smallest and worst computer available for it to control a terabyte hard drive and have a touchscreen so that I essentially turn this Marantz Network CD Player ND8006. into a jukebox, just type in what you are looking for, super easy and perhaps most convenient and user-friendly, mid-fi answer.

Any thoughts on how to do this?

No esoteric European brand hitting this any time soon. May upgrade the amp one day, not urgent- Mid Fi ok by me.

It's not clear if you already have your music files stored somewhere on your network along with a UPnP/DLNA server. If you're already listening to your music though your Marantz I'm guessing you have.

If that is the case, why not just get a cheap tablet and a table stand for it, load the official HEOS app or a 3rd party DLNA app like mConnect or BubbleUPnP onto it and then use that as your touch screen / jukebox display?

Or are you also looking to move your audio files off your Mac/PC completely so that you don't need to first turn that machine on to play music?

An old/used small form factor PC like an Intel NUC should in theory work fine for that. But the official HEOS app isn't supported on Windows, there's an unofficial app but I can't comment on how good it is or how it works with a touchscreen and although you could use a 3rd party UPnP/DLNA control app the options are either fairly basic in terms of interface design, cost money or require some additional steps to setup (hint: you also need to install BubbleUPnP server to make the Linn Kazoo app work with your Marantz).

You could also look at an entry level 2-bay NAS from Synology or QNAP which you could hide out of sight (sans monitor) and manage remotely via it's web interface. But that's not a cheap option and you'd still need to have the HEOS or a 3rd party DLNA control app running on a tablet or phone elsewhere. I guess it depends on whether you have other uses for a NAS. Synology NAS's also include software that allows you to play your local music files back when away from home.

Some routers let you attach a USB hard drive to them, so that could be something worth investigating. Although the UPnP server/indexing functionality will likely be very basic and possible a bit flakey. I certainly wouldn't go out and buy a router specifically for this functionality, but if your existing router has such a feature give it a go.

Have a search on here for UPnP and you should find plenty of similar suggestions / setups.

 

[AreBe]

Thanks for the reply- I have an external hard drive with a terabyte or so of song on it in one room attached to a computer and then I hook the Marantz Network CD Player ND8006 in another and I link them together through "Powerline networking" using the wiring in my house as a computer network and it works ok.

I have an external floppy - unpowered / takes power from USB port and it cannot be read by the Marantz or by a Sony streaming device I have in my kitchen - a Sony MAP S1 (MAPS-1 High-Resolution Audio CD Receiver with Bluetooth) perfectly OK unit, bought a demo unit at a good price at highly regarded downtown Tronto stereo store. That Sony is finicky- sometimes it likes my powered external hard drive and sometimes it likes the Powerline Networking so I have both set up.

Back to the Marantz: The Powerline Networking is used for both internet radio - no problem at all, and for a connection to my 'music server" the terabyte of music attached to my computer.

My 'thinking' is to get a new powered hard drive next to the Marantz.


I love your answer - I have to get a tablet or a small form computer that can run the Marantz program for hooking a computer up to the Marantz Network CD Player ND8006 , - it needs to be Windows. Dirt cheap is key, really key- I have an old Windows XP computer - a small desktop, but I do not think the Marantz program will run on it- I think a small or tiny computer is the way to go. I think a trip to Staples or Best Buy is in my future.

 

[Cebolla]

Given that you are keen on @jamieu's suggestion of using a tablet to run the controller application, so presumably you do have WiFi, what's the reason for using the relatively complicated less than ideal 'powerline network' instead of the more simple WiFi which both the Marantz & Sony support?

Also, bear in mind that the Marantz's own controller, the HEOS app, is only available on Android or Apple's iOS, so you are restricting yourself to third party controller applications if you go for a Windows based hand held device.

Having said that, my recommendation would be to use a third party application, the Logitech Media Server, for both the Marantz & the Sony. It's possible you may even be able to run LMS on your old Windows computer (certainly worth testing) and control would be via any web browser application, so you are not restricted to Android or iOS handheld devices:

Be aware that LMS does require a bit of configuration to get it work with UPnP/DLNA supporting devices like your Marantz & Sony, but that is relatively straight forward.

 

[AreBe]

Thanks for the response. My router/ wi-fi device is on upstairs on one side of the house, and dmy Marantz is on the opposite side, I have a wi-fi booster repeater too, but that is for my cellphone- I just assume that wi-fi is going to be substandard thus the Powerline network, that does work, by the way.

I have about 1.5 terabytes of music on a hard drive.

I know we are dropping down to mid-fi, and once I use my OK and adequate for the patio outdoor Yamaha speakers, that may be on the low end of mid-fi, but it's about fun and being demonstrably better than some Wi-Fi speaker on its own, etc.

The goal is this: 1, I want to hook up an external, powered, hard drive to my Marantz, and 2, I have to be able to look up music with ease. Sometimes the HEOS (? esoteric Marantz and Denon product, ended in litigation, and they are withdrawing it as I understand it) takes a while to work. 3, I think some small/tiny computer and then using some Marantz program referenced in the instructions for hooking up a computer may be the way to go- input through the USB B at the back from a computer- discussion about it in the instructions

 

[Cebolla]

Not sure why you'd assume WiFi is going to be substandard, given you are using approved network gear - either your WiFi devices can connect because you have a decent enough coverage in the parts of your house where WiFi is required or they can't. There may also be an issue where the network data demands of the connected WiFi devices exceed what the WiFi network can cope with. However, in that case as far as your streaming audio devices are concerned you'll experience very obvious audio stuttering or dropouts, ie, nothing subtle at all - so again, either it works or it doesn't.


If you do choose to go with it, the Logitech Media Server doesn't have a limit for the amount of audio file tracks it can handle, as far as I'm aware, so you should be ok as long as the computer you are connecting your hard drive to can properly access your audio files. What audio file format(s) are they, BTW?


The HEOS system is the backbone of current Marantz/Denon network streaming devices and is very much alive & well, with plans to provide a common HEOS firmware for all HEOS using devices in the first quarter of this year (I'm assuming the extra 2 in the 20222 mentioned in the article is a typo!):

LATEST HEOS APP AND FIRMWARE UPDATE AVAILABLE

support.marantz.com

The only litigation that I am aware of (a dispute with Sonos) was settled a few years ago and I certainly have not heard of any plans for HEOS to be withdrawn - where did you get that from?


Hooking up the Marantz via its USB B input to a computer means you'll 'merely' be using the Marantz as an external (USB audio) DAC for the computer. It's a completely different method to the ones discussed thus far (where the Marantz itself plays the music files), with the computer now playing the music files. The 'Marantz program' you mention is only the Marantz supplied USB audio 2.0 drivers for the computer - which shouldn't be necessary for current Windows computers (since Windows 10) anyway, as support for USB audio 2.0 is built-in, though they will be required for older versions of Windows. So you'll also need to run some sort of music file playing software on the computer to actually play your music files - LMS can still be used for this if you also install & configure its (Squeezelite) local player.

 

[rpr]

Thanks for the response. My router/ wi-fi device is on upstairs on one side of the house, and dmy Marantz is on the opposite side, I have a wi-fi booster repeater too, but that is for my cellphone- I just assume that wi-fi is going to be substandard thus the Powerline network, that does work, by the way.

I have about 1.5 terabytes of music on a hard drive.

I know we are dropping down to mid-fi, and once I use my OK and adequate for the patio outdoor Yamaha speakers, that may be on the low end of mid-fi, but it's about fun and being demonstrably better than some Wi-Fi speaker on its own, etc.

The goal is this: 1, I want to hook up an external, powered, hard drive to my Marantz, and 2, I have to be able to look up music with ease. Sometimes the HEOS (? esoteric Marantz and Denon product, ended in litigation, and they are withdrawing it as I understand it) takes a while to work. 3, I think some small/tiny computer and then using some Marantz program referenced in the instructions for hooking up a computer may be the way to go- input through the USB B at the back from a computer- discussion about it in the instructions

They are not withdrawing HEOS. A few years ago Sonos took Denon to court over patent infringments on smart speakers, but that is all sorted. I use HEOS to stream off a NAS to my Marantz 7012 and to two HEOS HS1 speakers. Works a treat.

 

[Jaded1]

Just bought one of these and compared to the already excellent Bluesound Node it has been bought to compliment it's an absolute beast of a machine. This isn't just a CD6006 with added network functionality. The weight of the sound is God like. Very impressive.

A complete headache to initialise mind you and HEOS is rather pants.

 

[Jaded1]

Download the full Bubbleupnp app for the bargain price of £2.99. A million light years better than HEOS.

Worth every single penny.