[ffocused]

Has anyone ever heard of a seperates sized hard disk mp3 player that can be hooked up to an a/v system that works independantly of a PC? iwant one that i can rip my entire cd collection on to that works like a cd player.

[clockworks999]

The closest I could find when I was looking was a Netgear MP101. It doesn't have a built-in disk, it gets the mp3s from a PC server over a wired or wireless network.
You can have the PC in a different room so that the noise doesn't intrude.
It is "midi" sized with a large fluorescent display, and a remote control.

You could use a multi-CD changer that can handle mp3 CDs.

Many DVD players can play mp3 DVDs.

There was a player that, IIRC, had a hard disk and DVD drive, on ebay. I can't remember the brand. I think the seller (a dealer) was in Germany?

You could just use a normal portable mp3 player. Most have a line out to connect to a hifi.

All these have disadvantages, so I built a quiet PC to do the job. If you go for an ITX motherboard/EPIA processor, external PSU and laptop HDD, you can build a suitable PC that is almost totally silent (no fans!).
Add a remote and a VFD panel, use Winamp, and it would do the job perfectly.

Steve

[monkeysoup]

Quote:

one that i can rip my entire cd collection on to that works like a cd player.

Of course, a couple of other things to watch for if you really want to simulate a CD player:

1. Sound quality - mp3 low bitrates work fine for headphones or pc speakers, but start to show on a decent stereo, you may need to go higher than 160/192kbps, which could mean a large hard drive.

2. Gapless playback - many mp3 playing programs (iTunes a good example) work brilliantly as a jukebox but not very well when playing tracks which are meant to run together as part of an album. Workarounds like crossfading don't work but properly written software usually does. Something which might be worth bearing in mind if you are setting up a PC as a home server, depending on what you listen to...

[mikeydb]

Another alternative is to use a Netgem/BT-Iplayer freeview box and connect it to a USB hard drive. There are disadvantages, you need a TV to see what you're doing, and the box isn't too stable so expect it to crash occasionally.

Otherwise, cheapest way to get mp3 as a hi-fi separate is to use a DVD player that plays mp3 CDs.

[chiliblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffocused

Has anyone ever heard of a seperates sized hard disk mp3 player that can be hooked up to an a/v system that works independantly of a PC? iwant one that i can rip my entire cd collection on to that works like a cd player.

There was this but I would imagine the only place to find it would be on eBay these days. It ran these networked up but you could also connect those to a PC with some server software. I have one of these, they are all US products but the Rio Receiver is 100-240v (although it isn't exactly hifi size)

Then there is this which is also discontinued but is hifi sized (doesn't have a harddrive though it requires a PC server)

There are some modern versions of these which tend to use a 802.11 wireless connection to the server.

The only other option I can think of is a Neo Jukebox/car thing, which isn't the prettiest thing in the world and the fan is loud. http://www.neomp3.com.tw/index1.htm

I have that rio-receiver and it works pretty well and is also very cheap on eBay last time I looked, these days I tend to use my Rio Karma in its charging cradle hooked up to my hifi amp...not a perfect solution but it works for me.

[philbert]

try

SONY HARD1000 or SONY HAR‑LH500
uses ATRAC like minidiscs not mp3 though (I wouldnt have a problem with this personally)

also the Yamaha CDRHD1300MKll
not sure if this compresses the audio


/also look for a : Escient FireBall E-120

[chiliblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philbert

also the Yamaha CDRHD1300MKll
not sure if this compresses the audio

No it doesn't it would only actually hold 30-40 cd's worth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philbert

Escient FireBall E-120

Wow, now that is nice...but probably the most expensive Mp3 player i have ever seen.

Hang on this maybe more, it is also pretty neat.

Here

[kev]

I've been looking into these things (for a really good graduation present from my parent) and there don't seam to be any (at sensible prices anyway) that can play from their internal discs or ethernet NAS.

Why do they all need server software installing, surley some form of Samba (aka SMB/Windows Networking) support can't be too hard to implment?

Even better would be a sync with iPod (et al) facility....

[chiliblue]

[quote=kev]Why do they all need server software installing, surley some form of Samba (aka SMB/Windows Networking) support can't be too hard to implment?QUOTE]

The Rio Reciever I have uses NFS but it also needs a database and I think that is basically the problem, the server software tends to included the o/s for the box itself. It net boots.

I know what you mean though, it would be nice to have something that was silent, gave you access to your media files but also worked as a network file server.

I am sure there must be products like that out there. I know you could make something like that but unless you were really into modifying an old hifi seperate case to use as a pc case it would just look like a PC sat by your hi-fi. The Rio Central (no longer in production) basically ran a cut down version of linux, I imagine if you could get hold of one (they were selling them off at about $600 in the end) you could no doubt hack into it and install samba.

[ffocused]

Just read my email and Richer Sounds are selling a 40Gb mp3 player for EUR480 www.perceptiondigital.com/audio/480/

[MitsiTurbo]

I would have to say that a squeezebox/slimp3 is easily the cheapest, best and most expandable solution to mp3s on a hifi system, although i would be biased as we have 5 units in our house but take a look anyway!! http://www.slimdevices.com

[chiliblue]

The EUR480 looks like the best deal, I think RS are actaully selling the older 40gig model. But for £300 I think it is about the best you can get that is truely stand alone.