Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Apologies if this has been raised before... this is my first visit to
the NG.

I have 600+ CDs in my collection, and we're in the process of renovating
the house. At the moment they're all stacked up in inaccessible piles,
ready for the fitting of a new shelving system in which to store them
permanently once all the work is done.

....and then someone pointed me towards an iPod for the first time, and I
saw the possibilities of saving a whole stack of cash and space by not
getting any proper shelving at all, and simply putting all my music onto
an iPod instead.

The logic here is pretty sound, except for the sound itself. The quality
of the compressed files on the iPod when played through my hi-fi system
leaves something to be desired. (And, although an iPod has incredible
storage capacity for it's small size, it would not take my entire
collection in an uncompressed state.)

I have been so satisfied with my aged hi-fi system that I have sort of
'lost the plot' as regards the current state of the art, but the iPod
idea set me thinking...

Is there is a hi-fi unit sized machine available on the market yet which
has the capacity to enable digital storage of several hundred
_uncompressed_ CDs? I think I'm talking in TBs here.

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:
Apologies if this has been raised before... this is my first visit to
the NG.

I have 600+ CDs in my collection, and we're in the process of renovating
the house. At the moment they're all stacked up in inaccessible piles,
ready for the fitting of a new shelving system in which to store them
permanently once all the work is done.

...and then someone pointed me towards an iPod for the first time, and I
saw the possibilities of saving a whole stack of cash and space by not
getting any proper shelving at all, and simply putting all my music onto
an iPod instead.

The logic here is pretty sound, except for the sound itself. The quality
of the compressed files on the iPod when played through my hi-fi system
leaves something to be desired. (And, although an iPod has incredible
storage capacity for it's small size, it would not take my entire
collection in an uncompressed state.)

I have been so satisfied with my aged hi-fi system that I have sort of
'lost the plot' as regards the current state of the art, but the iPod
idea set me thinking...

Is there is a hi-fi unit sized machine available on the market yet which
has the capacity to enable digital storage of several hundred
_uncompressed_ CDs? I think I'm talking in TBs here.

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan





My main wish for an iPod is that it should have no associated pc
software - just appear as a hard drive, so I can do my own managing.

d

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

In article , Don
Pearce
wrote:


My main wish for an iPod is that it should have no associated pc
software - just appear as a hard drive, so I can do my own managing.

Are there no portable music replay devices that do that? I might be
interested in one I could load standard LPCM files onto as a USB HD. But I
am averse to both 'data reduced' formats and to the operating systems
implied by the 'management' software which something like an iPod seems to
demand.

I have wondered also about devices like the Olympus and Zoom recorders on
this basis...

Slainte,

Jim

--
Change 'noise' to 'jcgl' if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:

The logic here is pretty sound, except for the sound itself. The quality
of the compressed files on the iPod when played through my hi-fi system
leaves something to be desired.

I hope you are *not* using the headphone connector to connect! Find a
docking station and connect to that.

(And, although an iPod has incredible
storage capacity for it's small size, it would not take my entire
collection in an uncompressed state.)


I use a Slimdevices (now logitech) Squeezebox 3 with a cheap HP proliant
server for storage, for the house. That bunch is not HiFi unit shaped,
but the server lives at the bottom of the garden in a shed so I don't
see it. The unit itself is small but with a clear display you can see
for quite a distance.

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_squeezebox.html

Lately, they have come out with the HiFi shaped 'unload your wallet'
Transporter

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_transporter.html

Then, then the hide it away 'Duet' with colour LCD controller

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_duet.html

Lastly, the 'boom' (which I'm tempted to use as a kick-ass clock radio)

http://www.slimdevices.com/

There is also Sonus who do the same type of thing comparable with the
Duet for multi-room.

http://www.sonos.com

And others I have missed .... :-)

--
Adrian C

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:


What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan



http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_duet.html
http://www.roku.com/products_soundbridge.php
http://www.helios-labs.com/us/produc...ch_specs.shtml

For a start

--
Nick

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Don
Pearce
wrote:


My main wish for an iPod is that it should have no associated pc
software - just appear as a hard drive, so I can do my own managing.

Are there no portable music replay devices that do that? I might be
interested in one I could load standard LPCM files onto as a USB HD. But I
am averse to both 'data reduced' formats and to the operating systems
implied by the 'management' software which something like an iPod seems to
demand.

I have wondered also about devices like the Olympus and Zoom recorders on
this basis...

Slainte,

Jim


I have a TomTom sat nav that appears as a drive on my PC, and has a
directory called MP3, in which I can put music files, but that is
obviously for the car only. It can't play lpcm or anything but mp3.

d

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Don Pearce wrote:

I have a TomTom sat nav that appears as a drive on my PC, and has a
directory called MP3, in which I can put music files, but that is
obviously for the car only. It can't play lpcm or anything but mp3.

Over a few hundred tracks, you'll need *some* management software if not
iTunes. Show me an explorer folder of an MP3 device, and folder on a
hard drive and ask me to identify non-matched or duplicated (i.e.
non-replicated) files, and I'll run thaaaaaaaaat way ..... -

--
Adrian C

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Nick Gorham" wrote in message
...
Meehan Mydog wrote:


What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan



http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_duet.html
http://www.roku.com/products_soundbridge.php
http://www.helios-labs.com/us/produc...ch_specs.shtml

For a start


But it'd probably be cheaper to put up those shelves!

David.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Adrian C wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:

I have a TomTom sat nav that appears as a drive on my PC, and has a
directory called MP3, in which I can put music files, but that is
obviously for the car only. It can't play lpcm or anything but mp3.

Over a few hundred tracks, you'll need *some* management software if not
iTunes. Show me an explorer folder of an MP3 device, and folder on a
hard drive and ask me to identify non-matched or duplicated (i.e.
non-replicated) files, and I'll run thaaaaaaaaat way ..... -


My music folder is pretty well managed manually. The first layer is the
artist, after that an album name (or misc), followed by the music itself.

d

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

On 16 Sep, 12:20, Meehan Mydog not@all wrote:
Apologies if this has been raised before... this is my first visit to
the NG.

I have 600+ CDs in my collection, and we're in the process of renovating
the house. At the moment they're all stacked up in inaccessible piles,
ready for the fitting of a new shelving system in which to store them
permanently once all the work is done.

...and then someone pointed me towards an iPod for the first time, and I
saw the possibilities of saving a whole stack of cash and space by not
getting any proper shelving at all, and simply putting all my music onto
an iPod instead.

The logic here is pretty sound, except for the sound itself. The quality
of the compressed files on the iPod when played through my hi-fi system
leaves something to be desired. (And, although an iPod has incredible
storage capacity for it's small size, it would not take my entire
collection in an uncompressed state.)

I have been so satisfied with my aged hi-fi system that I have sort of
'lost the plot' as regards the current state of the art, but the iPod
idea set me thinking...

Is there is a hi-fi unit sized machine available on the market yet which
has the capacity to enable digital storage of *several hundred
_uncompressed_ CDs? I think I'm talking in TBs here.

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan

You might have a look at http://www.sooloos.com/www/index.php - if
only to admire Mayara on the floor.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Don Pearce wrote:
Adrian C wrote:

Over a few hundred tracks, you'll need *some* management software if
not iTunes. Show me an explorer folder of an MP3 device, and folder on
a hard drive and ask me to identify non-matched or duplicated (i.e.
non-replicated) files, and I'll run thaaaaaaaaat way ..... -


My music folder is pretty well managed manually. The first layer is the
artist, after that an album name (or misc), followed by the music itself.


Used to do that. A labour of love with many compilations with all tracks
not from the same artist. For me, easier to throw all into iTunes and
let that sort it all out, read tags, identify genres, attach pretty
album artwork and build 'Genius' play lists ...

.... & later ...

and inform Apple which tracks are 'missing' from my collection, which
TV shows and films have been added from 'elsewhere', what religious,
sexual and political persuasion I have (for later subliminal
'adjustment'), the depth of my pocket buying tracks and iPod
accessories, and the hours, minutes and seconds I have left on planet earth.

Oh hang on, there's a knock on the door ....

--
Adrian C

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Adrian C wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:
Adrian C wrote:

Over a few hundred tracks, you'll need *some* management software if
not iTunes. Show me an explorer folder of an MP3 device, and folder
on a hard drive and ask me to identify non-matched or duplicated
(i.e. non-replicated) files, and I'll run thaaaaaaaaat way ..... -


My music folder is pretty well managed manually. The first layer is
the artist, after that an album name (or misc), followed by the music
itself.


Used to do that. A labour of love with many compilations with all tracks
not from the same artist. For me, easier to throw all into iTunes and
let that sort it all out, read tags, identify genres, attach pretty
album artwork and build 'Genius' play lists ...

... & later ...

and inform Apple which tracks are 'missing' from my collection, which
TV shows and films have been added from 'elsewhere', what religious,
sexual and political persuasion I have (for later subliminal
'adjustment'), the depth of my pocket buying tracks and iPod
accessories, and the hours, minutes and seconds I have left on planet
earth.

Oh hang on, there's a knock on the door ....


The grim reaper?

I'm not interested in genres, playlists etc. It is my music, and I know
what I have. All I need is a simple, logical way to find it. A directory
structure of my own devising is precisely that.

d

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote...

Does one exist yet?

The nearest thing is the Arcam MS250,£3,000
http://www.arcam.co.uk/prod_fmj_ms250_intro.cfm
which could just hold your current CD collection.

--
Ken

http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/buddyduck/

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Don Pearce wrote:
Adrian C wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:
Adrian C wrote:

Over a few hundred tracks, you'll need *some* management software if
not iTunes. Show me an explorer folder of an MP3 device, and folder
on a hard drive and ask me to identify non-matched or duplicated
(i.e. non-replicated) files, and I'll run thaaaaaaaaat way ..... -


My music folder is pretty well managed manually. The first layer is
the artist, after that an album name (or misc), followed by the music
itself.


Used to do that. A labour of love with many compilations with all
tracks not from the same artist. For me, easier to throw all into
iTunes and let that sort it all out, read tags, identify genres,
attach pretty album artwork and build 'Genius' play lists ...

... & later ...

and inform Apple which tracks are 'missing' from my collection, which
TV shows and films have been added from 'elsewhere', what religious,
sexual and political persuasion I have (for later subliminal
'adjustment'), the depth of my pocket buying tracks and iPod
accessories, and the hours, minutes and seconds I have left on planet
earth.

Oh hang on, there's a knock on the door ....


The grim reaper?

I'm not interested in genres, playlists etc. It is my music, and I know
what I have. All I need is a simple, logical way to find it. A directory
structure of my own devising is precisely that.


I've now lost track of my digital music - well over 1000 artists.

I find iTunes a good method of organising, lossless compression and a
Mac Mini a good way of storing/serving, and an iPod Touch a good way of
accessing. The Touch is also a good portable device, although storage is
limited.

Rob

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Rob wrote:


I'm not interested in genres, playlists etc. It is my music, and I
know what I have. All I need is a simple, logical way to find it. A
directory structure of my own devising is precisely that.


I've now lost track of my digital music - well over 1000 artists.


Are there that many artists? The number I consider listening to doesn't
exceed a few dozen, I think.

I find iTunes a good method of organising, lossless compression and a
Mac Mini a good way of storing/serving, and an iPod Touch a good way of
accessing. The Touch is also a good portable device, although storage is
limited.

Rob

I just have this thing about software that tries to take over control of
me. I dislike it instantly. I did allow iTunes onto my machine once, but
I don't think it even lasted the day before I had kicked it off again
for being arrogant and rude. For example I have a few audio books in MP3
form, and it wouldn't let me put them in the audio books department -
insisted they were unknown music. I won't put up with that kind of thing.

d

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Don Pearce wrote:
Rob wrote:


I'm not interested in genres, playlists etc. It is my music, and I
know what I have. All I need is a simple, logical way to find it. A
directory structure of my own devising is precisely that.


I've now lost track of my digital music - well over 1000 artists.


Are there that many artists? The number I consider listening to doesn't
exceed a few dozen, I think.


Well, I'd imagine the number that count *themselves* as artists probably
runs into millions ;-)

I have quite a few compilations - the Stiff record set is probably 40
artists for example.

I find iTunes a good method of organising, lossless compression and a
Mac Mini a good way of storing/serving, and an iPod Touch a good way
of accessing. The Touch is also a good portable device, although
storage is limited.

Rob

I just have this thing about software that tries to take over control of
me. I dislike it instantly. I did allow iTunes onto my machine once, but
I don't think it even lasted the day before I had kicked it off again
for being arrogant and rude. For example I have a few audio books in MP3
form, and it wouldn't let me put them in the audio books department -
insisted they were unknown music. I won't put up with that kind of thing.


Yes, it does have some highly irritating habits, and I've just had a
look and my audio books are podcasts apparently. But for listening to
music at the end of the day, about now in fact, I think it's great. I
can access anything by name in seconds. The latest update looks good,
and the Genius feature really does work (for me, so far, YMMV etc).

Rob

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Rob wrote:
can access anything by name in seconds. The latest update looks good,
and the Genius feature really does work (for me, so far, YMMV etc).

Yup, Genius is pretty cool. But, pray hope it don't continue it's
self-awareness feature and start World War Three as in the movie!

BTW There is a similar program called MusicIP. Haven't had the balls yet
to let *that* loose on SqueezeCenter (the software behind my
Squeezebox), but it does work on other PC MP3 collections for
'intelligent' auto-play.

--
Adrian C

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Okay, thanks everyone.

I think what I had in mind was something along the lines of the Arcam,
although I think that 400GB is a little bit mean when you consider that
160GB iPods have been around for a while. Surely if something is that
much physically bigger than an iPod it could be made with much more
storage space.

The Sooloos thing looks a good system, but I wouldn't be happy to invest
in a machine that didn't let me import my own CDs. (Am I reading that
right... you have to buy tailored 'packages' of music from them?) I
would want it to be rip-enabled.

I must admit, I really thought that the type of machine I'm thinking of
would be far more common in the world of hi-fi, especially in the light
of the iPod phenomenon. Surely it can't be too difficult to design a
hi-fi sized box with a CD reader, at least 1TB of storage space, and
some sort of operating system similar to an iPod... can it? How come the
major players aren't churning them out at a rate of knots?

Regards,
Meehan

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:
Okay, thanks everyone.

I think what I had in mind was something along the lines of the Arcam,
although I think that 400GB is a little bit mean when you consider that
160GB iPods have been around for a while. Surely if something is that
much physically bigger than an iPod it could be made with much more
storage space.

The Sooloos thing looks a good system, but I wouldn't be happy to invest
in a machine that didn't let me import my own CDs. (Am I reading that
right... you have to buy tailored 'packages' of music from them?) I
would want it to be rip-enabled.

I must admit, I really thought that the type of machine I'm thinking of
would be far more common in the world of hi-fi, especially in the light
of the iPod phenomenon. Surely it can't be too difficult to design a
hi-fi sized box with a CD reader, at least 1TB of storage space, and
some sort of operating system similar to an iPod... can it? How come the
major players aren't churning them out at a rate of knots?

Regards,
Meehan

Cambrdige do a music server with CD riping, and there's this:

http://www.3ga.org.uk/shop/

For me it was always a case of difficulty accessing music via the tiny
displays, and I have a growing number of videos, so I use a Mac Mini
connected to the TV and hifi. I find the software fine, although the
alternatives mentioned also look good. The Mini just about perfect
*except* for HD space (same with Brennan) - I can just about squeeze
everything on to a recently installed 250GB (laptop) drive - I can but
would prefer not to daisy chain USB drives. I'll face that hurdle when I
come to it but I'm sold on the Mac thing so that'll limit my options. A
mac Mini with a 1TB external HD would do you (if you can connect it to a
display) and cost £500.

On the PC route a problem is noise. We've just has Dell Optiplexs
installed at work and they seem very quiet, and can be had for not much
more than a Mac Mini and have the advanatge of taking full size drives.

I suspect the Arcam stuff would meet your needs if they'd fit a larger
HD, and Linn could certainly kit you out. I think hifi branded kit of
this kind carries a bonkers price premium.

Rob

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Don Pearce writes:

Meehan Mydog wrote:
Apologies if this has been raised before... this is my first visit to
the NG.
snip
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.
Does one exist yet?
Regards,
Meehan


My main wish for an iPod is that it should have no associated pc
software - just appear as a hard drive, so I can do my own managing.

Forget about iPods then.

But there are other makes that do exactly this. I have an iAudio U3
(Korean stuff, several years old) that works like any USB-stick as
far as the computer is concerned (Windows, Linux and quite possibly
MacOS). It plays mp3s, oggs and more.

--
Martin Schöön

"Problems worthy of attack
prove their worth by hitting back"
Piet Hein

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Meehan Mydog" not@all wrote in message
...

I must admit, I really thought that the type of machine I'm thinking of
would be far more common in the world of hi-fi, especially in the light of
the iPod phenomenon. Surely it can't be too difficult to design a hi-fi
sized box with a CD reader, at least 1TB of storage space, and some sort
of operating system similar to an iPod... can it? How come the major
players aren't churning them out at a rate of knots?


I simply use Windows Media Player running on a PC; the SPDIF output from
which is connected to a very high quality DAC, bought (new) as an unboxed
PCB from some guy in Hong Kong for about £20 on ebay. As much storage as I
like in the form of external hard drives. Files are either lossless wma
ripped via WMP, or wav files ripped via nero, or recorded from analogue via
CoolEdit.

Maybe a bit more hassle than those boxes that've been mentioned, but every
bit as good as those in "HiFi" terms and, since I already have the PC,
virtually FOC.

David.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:

Is there is a hi-fi unit sized machine available on the market yet which
has the capacity to enable digital storage of several hundred
_uncompressed_ CDs? I think I'm talking in TBs here.

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

Does one exist yet?

Regards,
Meehan

Not too hard to make a PC based unit with a good sound card. 1TB of
storage can cost less than $200 these days. You can rip to lossless
formats like WAV. The main problem is the software but there are some
options available.

Some people even reckon that the sound off a PC is better with less
jitter than straight off a CD, personally I think that there are
excellent opportunities to create jitter in the PC.

I am in the early days of designing a unit for myself using embedded
processors and solid state storage together with a good quality DAC. The
solid state storage will be in the form of a number of SD cards which
can be replaced as the price comes down to increase the storage
capacity. It is not intended to hold a complete collection but to be
used in conjunction with a PC server holding the main collection and the
files being downloaded for use. 32 Gigs of storage would hold about 40
uncompressed CDs which would cover the majority of listening for most
people, with a delay of a few seconds if a CD has to be called up from
the server across the LAN, certainly a lot quicker that manually loading
a CD.

Keith

Keith

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Rob wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:
Rob wrote:


I'm not interested in genres, playlists etc. It is my music, and I
know what I have. All I need is a simple, logical way to find it. A
directory structure of my own devising is precisely that.


I've now lost track of my digital music - well over 1000 artists.


Are there that many artists? The number I consider listening to
doesn't exceed a few dozen, I think.


Well, I'd imagine the number that count *themselves* as artists probably
runs into millions ;-)

I have quite a few compilations - the Stiff record set is probably 40
artists for example.

I find iTunes a good method of organising, lossless compression and a
Mac Mini a good way of storing/serving, and an iPod Touch a good way
of accessing. The Touch is also a good portable device, although
storage is limited.

Rob

I just have this thing about software that tries to take over control
of me. I dislike it instantly. I did allow iTunes onto my machine
once, but I don't think it even lasted the day before I had kicked it
off again for being arrogant and rude. For example I have a few audio
books in MP3 form, and it wouldn't let me put them in the audio books
department - insisted they were unknown music. I won't put up with
that kind of thing.


Yes, it does have some highly irritating habits, and I've just had a
look and my audio books are podcasts apparently. But for listening to
music at the end of the day, about now in fact, I think it's great. I
can access anything by name in seconds. The latest update looks good,
and the Genius feature really does work (for me, so far, YMMV etc).

I don't find itunes as irritating as many people, although it does some
interesting things when you exceed the capacity of your iPod. I haven't
tried the "Genius" thing yet, it sounds a bit suss, a way to get you to
buy more from their store.

I have had a Mk 1 Nano (it is still the coolest of them all) for a
couple of years, it is great for long car journeys, run through the
favourite playlists, and if they run out stick it on random play. That
gives some interesting juxtapositions - Mozart bracketed between Pink
Floyd and ACDC. I recently bought a Touch, just before the Mk2 came out
:(, I see it as a completely different device, good for running apps and
multi-media stuff like video podcasts and carrying photos around.

Keith

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Meehan Mydog wrote:

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

www.slimdevices.com

Check out the Transporter. Get a NAS with SqueezeCenter (formerly
SlimServer) on it. Rip everything to FLAC (lossless compression). Copy
to NAS. Connect Transporter or Squeezebox to wired or wireless network.
Enjoy.

No, devices like this tend not to have a built in hard drive. Better to
get a NAS (or install SqueezeCenter on your PC) and store all the music
centrally, no worries with syncing stuff then.

Although personally I wouldn't bother with FLAC... MP3 at VBR upwards of
224kBit sounds pretty much indistinguishable from the original WAV when
played through the same kit.

--
Squirrel Solutions Ltd Tel: (01453) 845735
http://www.squirrelsolutions.co.uk/ Fax: (01453) 843773

Registered in England: 05877408

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Meehan Mydog" not@all wrote in message


Is there is a hi-fi unit

The better portable players are essentially the same quality as a CD player,
if they are not playing uncompressed audio or audio that is compressed, but
not lossy-compresssed. IOW, if you avoid the potentially innocuous sound
quality losses in MP3 or other modern lossy compression schemes, there is
simply no possible loss of sound quality.

Moderate compression using modern techniques still give you benefits on the
order 8:1, or more with no reliably perceptible loss. MP3, WMA, and MP4
files have a bad name because many people have turned the compression way
up, which need not be done. Discursion is still the better part of valor!
;-)

sized machine available on the
market yet which has the capacity to enable digital
storage of several hundred _uncompressed_ CDs?

If you're talking pop CDs, the average CD has about 400 megabytes of audio
on it, or less.

Lossless compression, which most portable players support one way or the
other, will reduce that to about 200 megabytes. Lossless compression has
zero audible impact no matter how you look at it, because the data that goes
into the digital-to-analog converters in the player is the same.

200 CDs @ 200 megabytes each = 40 Gigabytes. Totally uncompressed that's
still just 80 gigabytes. Even the original iPod supports uncompressed audio
files (WAV or AIFF).

I was working on a job site lately and noticed that one of my co-workers was
carrying an 80 GB iPod.

So, your basic requirement of "several hundred _uncompressed_ CDs" is not
out of reach.

I think I'm talking in TBs here.

No.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message

"Meehan Mydog" not@all wrote in message


Is there is a hi-fi unit

The better portable players are essentially the same
quality as a CD player, if they are not playing
uncompressed audio or audio that is compressed, but not
lossy-compressed.

Correction:

The better portable players are essentially the same
quality as a CD player, if they are playing
uncompressed audio or audio that is compressed, but not
lossy-compressed.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Glenn Richards" wrote in message
...
Meehan Mydog wrote:

What I am thinking of would be a sort of non-portable 'grown-up' iPod,
which would have all the convenience of the iPod combined with the sound
quality of a genuine hi-fi unit.

www.slimdevices.com

Check out the Transporter.

Indeed, check out the price - $2000!

When I see something overpriced my usual remark is "cheap at half the
price", but this one would still be expensive at half the price.

David.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

In article , Arny Krueger
scribeth thus
"Meehan Mydog" not@all wrote in message


Is there is a hi-fi unit

The better portable players are essentially the same quality as a CD player,
if they are not playing uncompressed audio or audio that is compressed, but
not lossy-compresssed. IOW, if you avoid the potentially innocuous sound
quality losses in MP3 or other modern lossy compression schemes, there is
simply no possible loss of sound quality.

Moderate compression using modern techniques still give you benefits on the
order 8:1, or more with no reliably perceptible loss. MP3, WMA, and MP4
files have a bad name because many people have turned the compression way
up, which need not be done. Discursion is still the better part of valor!
;-)

sized machine available on the
market yet which has the capacity to enable digital
storage of several hundred _uncompressed_ CDs?

If you're talking pop CDs, the average CD has about 400 megabytes of audio
on it, or less.

Lossless compression, which most portable players support one way or the
other, will reduce that to about 200 megabytes. Lossless compression has
zero audible impact no matter how you look at it, because the data that goes
into the digital-to-analog converters in the player is the same.

200 CDs @ 200 megabytes each = 40 Gigabytes. Totally uncompressed that's
still just 80 gigabytes. Even the original iPod supports uncompressed audio
files (WAV or AIFF).

I was working on a job site lately and noticed that one of my co-workers was
carrying an 80 GB iPod.

So, your basic requirement of "several hundred _uncompressed_ CDs" is not
out of reach.

I think I'm talking in TBs here.

No.


And if you do commit All the precious audio make sure its on some sort
of RAID arrangement or backed up on another disk somewhere...

Lost a lot of nice old Prom concerts when a Seagate disk went tits up
the other day,..

Seagate!, I ask you, supposed to be the dogs wotsits!...
--
Tony Sayer

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

So how do you all cope with tracks that run into each other?
Do you just put up with a moment of silence followed by a click,
do you audit each album and manually copy the sets of continuous tracks,
or copy the whole album as a single file? The last is preferable for
serious listeners who wouldn't dream of listening to less than a whole
album in one session.

--
Eiron.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"tony sayer" wrote in message


Seagate!, I ask you, supposed to be the dogs wotsits!...

IME, all brands of drives can break.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

"Nick Gorham" wrote in message
...


On a similar line, can someone suggest a cheap PC sound card with digital
out, don't care if its optical or not.


Apollo PCI 5.1 Sound Card, £19.99 from Maplin (code A65BK). It has co-ax and
optical SPDIF in and out.

Or if you prefer an external USB connected device there is the little £17.99
also from Maplin (A56AK) which has optical SPDIF and stereo analogue outputs
(no inputs).

I've had no problems with either.

David.

Is there a 'grown-up' iPod device out there yet?
 

Arny Krueger wrote:
"tony sayer" wrote in message



Seagate!, I ask you, supposed to be the dogs wotsits!...


IME, all brands of drives can break.




On a similar line, can someone suggest a cheap PC sound card with
digital out, don't care if its optical or not.

--
Nick