Sick to death of having to store, pack and find CDs - I'm thinking of one of these...
www.brennan.co.uk/
Anyone got one - Is this British designed bit of kit inferior to the far-eastern big boys ?
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Not used one, but I think the small display is a limitation.
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Looked into one though went the iPod and Pure i20 DAC dock route instead, proper hifi sound.
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Excuse the ignorance, but what does it do that an ipod doesn't?
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I have a Windows based media centre PC that does the same thing, but also with films, TV recordings and photographs.
It's true that devices like this are great for re-exploring your music collection. I've found all manner of gems in my music collection that I'd actually forgotten I liked. There's something quite satisfying about sitting in your favourite armchair, flicking through a menu using a remote control, and having instant, effortless access to your media.
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...Excuse the ignorance, but what does it do that an ipod doesn't?...
Copies the data to a better standard, which should mean superior sound to an iPod/dock.
I read on the net somewhere Apple are developing 'hi-fi' iTunes files.
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I use a netbook running XBMC with a USB DAC and third party remote control. More flexible , cheaper and a bigger display, but certainly not a neat one box solution.
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>> Copies the data to a better standard, which should mean superior sound to an iPod/dock. >>
To the contrary!
iTunes can rip a CD to lossless standard files, the only restriction with iTunes is downloads that are 256kbps maximum.
The other factor is that the iPod's inbuilt DAC is a bottleneck hence the need to run the iPod through an external DAC for optimum sound.
I rip to 320kbps AAC files and get superb sound quality through the Pure i20 DAC dock through my hifi.
>> I read on the net somewhere Apple are developing 'hi-fi' iTunes files.
>>
This is speculation that higher res dowloads will become available.
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I've promised myself an Apple desktop when we move - that might be a solution - I'm fed up of CDs - they gather dust like nothing else..
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>>> I'm fed up of CDs
Just get the vinyl out then!
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Itunes works well with an Appletv2! I discover.
Also, you can stream Spotify to it via an iPhone, so really easy alternative there as well and no bulk between them at all.
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Squeezebox any day of the week. Or if you're truly lazy, a Joggler from eBay for £50 and an hour installing the Squeezeplay software onto it. That's what I've done with mine, and it's worked out very nicely.
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Not wanting to wish this on anyone but a friend had a house fire and was able to claim the price of a cd for every one of his vinyl records that melted...
He was also able to claim for a new cd for every one of his cd collection that had been damaged by water... fortunately this friend already had them all on hard drive ......
and I am led to believe, although I find it hard to take in, that said friend then just wiped dry all the cds and pocketed the money.....
for years he was meaning to clear out his loft and dump everything but it turns out he was able to claim for all the contents of it, including his wife's wedding dress that had been in a black bin bag for 15 years!
as I said, found that very hard to believe...
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>>
>> as I said, found that very hard to believe...
>>
if you've got new for old cover then I would think they'd have to give you the replacement cost of the whole lot. Trying to remember what the hell is in my loft and what it's worth would be pretty tricky mind you.
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I just use the PC and compress everything with extremely high bit rates. I have one of these sound cards which makes all the difference connected to my Cambridge Azure 640amp and Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s.
www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496.html
Really do want to invest in a proper DAC though. I my Marantz CD 6000 OSE LE does sound better but then it was a £330 sound player in its day like the OP I just find CDs a lot of hassle.
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I still think not having time to browse & play CDs is taking something from the music but if you want something that's more hi-fi than computer the Brennan JB7 has merit.
In the hi-fi world positives are that it does what it says and is more part of the hi-fi than the PC... a play button rather than a mouse click. Negatives are the fact it is a long job to load CDs onto the drive, its inbuilt music title/track database is missing loads of tracks/albums and manually updating details via the remote keypad is a pain.
They are fetching almost new prices used on Ebay and the company offers a 7-day refund if you're not happy. So not much to risk... advise you trial one on behalf of C4P!
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Fenlander has it I think and verbalizes my thoughts - it'll sit quite tidily alongside the Teac kit....I'll buy one after I move.
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I know someone who has one.
It sounds good, and its a small and always there to use.,
Its such a pain to find the CD you want that it never gets used.
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About to make a purchase...
Just need some help around this element of the buy..
160G 320G 500G
128k 2500 5000 5000
192k 1600 3200 5000
320k 1000 2000 3000
Lossless 210 420 630
The left hand figure relates to compression/ bit rates - would I notice the difference between the 320k and the "Lossless" ?
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the best bit i like about the brenan is the way the company advert sits behind its product,loud and proud,if you dont like it send it back we will sort the detail it says,its like a breath of fresh air in a world of excuses
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...would I notice the difference between the 320k and the "Lossless" ?...
Very hard to say, but I've heard iTunes is considering adopting lossless as standard.
Makes sense to buy the largest capacity you can afford.
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>> I've heard iTunes is considering adopting lossless as standard
None of Apple's music players or phones can handle lossless though. They would need new hardware which will probably be on the way. Then you'd have to buy or rip all your music again ;-)
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Lossless, by its very name, is not suitable for MP3 players. Storage has not yet increased in size/fallen in cost sufficiently to accommodate the very large file sizes of lossless media.
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Lossless iTunes are already here if you are a Radiohead fan:
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1359546/Apple-poised-offer-lossless-sound-quality-iTunes.html
Also stuff in the article from producer Jimmy Iovine who says he's working with Apple on lossless storage devices.
Last edited by: Iffy on Sat 30 Apr 11 at 13:05
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>> Also stuff in the article from producer Jimmy Iovine who says he's working with Apple
>> on lossless storage devices.
Yes when storage devices become cheap enough and big enough as I said. And you will have to use an Apple only Lossless format, and many Ipods wont be able to play them.
Itunes is not just a tool for serving Ipods and Iphones.
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Unfortunately only you can tell whether you can tell the difference or not, personally I would seriously doubt it.
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>> The left hand figure relates to compression/ bit rates - would I notice the difference
>> between the 320k and the "Lossless" ?
How does Lossless compare with CD at I think 720kbs?
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Pugugly said:
>> About to make a purchase...
>>
>> Just need some help around this element of the buy..
>>
>> 160G 320G 500G
>>
>> 128k 2500 5000 5000
>>
>> 192k 1600 3200 5000
>>
>> 320k 1000 2000 3000
>>
>> Lossless 210 420 630
>>
>> The left hand figure relates to compression/ bit rates - would I notice the difference
>> between the 320k and the "Lossless" ?
Most people I know choose 128k compression, but to my ears there is a significant improvement going to 192K the lower rate having loads of distortion. Using high quality headphones and an iPod, I was unable to hear any obvious difference on going to bit rates above 192K. But these things are very personal and subjective. Some people's ears are better tuned in to audio quality than others.
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>>>Cheddar's Pure i20 DAC
Thanks, how does the DAC work Cheddar, I guess it must connect to the port of the Ipod and not the headphones out?
I ask because I have an Ipod and iPad but can't listen to the music on them due to the quality and both have music on them that has been ripped in a lossless format!
Can you use headphones with it?
Any help appreciated!
Z
Last edited by: zippy on Sat 30 Apr 11 at 14:52
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>> >>>Cheddar's Pure i20 DAC
>>
>> Thanks, how does the DAC work Cheddar, I guess it must connect to the port
>> of the Ipod and not the headphones out?
>>
correct
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Leaving aside DACs for a moment, iPods produce much better quality sound via the port than the headphone socket.
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Well it arrived today - looks like a stunning bit of kit - properly built and a nice quality feel to it.
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Well,
Finally finished loading it last night - it has taken 450 CDs to date some at no loss and most at the 320k bit rate. It's less than half full, but I bought the largest HDD version in order to record some of my audio tape library on to it at a later date, which is simplicity itself. Loading speeds are the same at whichever rate you load at and the compression is done during the machine's down time. It can play and load at the same time which is good. Around 80% of the discs were already indexed by the box so it automatically loaded the correct details, album name and track titles etc. We both have some obscure music which weren't on the database (via Magix) and these can be loaded manually (painfully slow) or there is a way of recording them on the database via the 'net and then getting an update CD.
Sound quality is good. It can work as a stand alone unit or plumbed into a HiFi as mine is and it sounds very good linked to my little Teac Reference system.
The display is readable from the sofa - this has been designed by an engineer and not an accountant so it has a very good display. The remote is fully featured and can search (easy) the machine's loaded tracks very easily and quickly, or alternatively it's very easy to create playlists on it.
Excellent bit of kit.
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...Excellent bit of kit...
Certainly sounds like it.
Just out of interest - because I really can't justify another new toy at the minute, how long do you need to leave each CD in the machine, before you can put in the next one?
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It varies, some "busy" CDs take around two minutes to load, others take a lot less. I've done most of the work this week in the evenings watching telly, reckon I was getting through around 50 CDs a day...I'm storing the CDs at the moment and bought proper air-tight PVC boxes (Really Useful Box Company) a ten quid box (18 litre) takes over a hundred CDs, they are tidied and will be put into alphabetical order one rainy night (Dave took the whatsit from me over this in the HJ days) - the box also has an USB to back up the box's HDD and to export MP3 to iPOD as well. Standard phono inputs on the rear for recording from other sources.
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...some "busy" CDs take around two minutes to load, others take a lot less...the box also has an USB to back up the box's HDD and to export MP3 to iPOD as well. Standard phono inputs on the rear for recording from other sources...
Got it, thanks.
Really does sound like a properly designed and well-specced machine.
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Brenan CD storage device - anyone got one ? - Boxsterboy
