Old_Fart

A friend demo'd his Bang n Olufsen 3200? thingy for me. Great toy, the fact it writes the CD to hard drive as you play them is very cool ...especially as my discs are always going missing (stuck in car etc)
I'm not enough of an audiophile to get near justifying the B&O costs, so was looking for suggestions of other brands with similar functionality? I don't understand 'pooters, so some fancy-dan home network type thing is fairly unlikely...a one box solution is preferred.
Appreciate any feedback,
Chuck

ProperCharlie

there's a yamaha that does the same thing. supposed to be very good. afaicr it's about £600 for the cd player/copier unit.

ProperCharlie

see here

Old_Fart

Thanks, it's a start
Still, it's a big box, and a long way off the one box solution..amp/tuner etc Have a look at the B&O...mmmmmmmmm!
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/sw599.asp
Ta
Chuck

logiclee

Looks nice but you'll get a far better sound far cheaper if you go down the seperates route.
Does take up a lot more space than the "Lifestyle" systems though.

Lee

ProperCharlie

the B&O is nice looking but they tend to be over priced for quality they deliver. still, they have their place (just don't ask me where that is!)

Add a receiver and a decent pair of speakers and you've got yourself a, errr... 4 box solution!

wiltshire_boy

You could build a PC based one quite easily and cheaply.

Old_Fart

Yep, as I said I dont wanna pay for the B&O, but I am also loathe to give up room real estate to a big seperates system. Seems such an elegant idea that I thought Sony/Denon/Sanyo/etc would have followed suit with their own mini/midi systems.
Txs
C

Old_Fart

And the only PC I have is a dodgy old laptop..something I can pack away in a drawer when kids aren't using it for homework....
C

Neil Smalley

Get an Ipod and speakers such as JBL Creature 2's?

ProperCharlie

big is beautiful

Old_Fart

http://products.sony.co.uk/productde...p?id=7_40_3584
Another product like the Yamaha if anyone is interested
Cman

logiclee

Have to agree, lifestyle stuff is for the bedroom.



Cheers
Lee

PS looks like I need to tidy the cables up.

ProperCharlie

lee - how did you sneak that lot past the missus?



i take it that's a sub, not a coffee table, beside the sofa?

very nice in any case.

logiclee

My wife enjoys it too, although she wasn't too keen when I imported the DTS Cinema sign from the States

Yep, it's a sub not a coffee table.

Old_Fart

http://www.be-direct.co.uk/productDe...elkoo&id=13033
Here is a nice likkle 'lifestyle' type...teeny HDD though.
LOL@Lee's setup..dude, there was once a window in that room!
Cman

ProperCharlie

that's pretty cool, i must get one...















... looks like it would fit next to the bog-roll holder. speakers either side of the cistern.

logiclee

Which would sound better, the cistern or the JVC thingy?

Lee

logiclee

Can I just ask if anyone has ever heard a high quality PC based system.

The best I ever heard was at a local(ish) hifi dealer. They had a top spec PC with some sort of mega sound card which was hooked upto a £1k amp and £800 speakers.

The sound quality was about the same as when we hooked up a budget £80 CD player.

If that's the best you can expect I don't think it's worth it as far as HiFi goes.
If you just want some background music etc. then an ipod or mp3 would do.

Cheers
Lee

ProperCharlie

Lee - there has been a long running argument on one of the hi-fi bbs about that subject.

personally, i have never considered using a PC as a source for hifi, but that's just cos i'm a f*cking ludite, and PCs don't have the right sort of ***** on. i suspect it would be okay for your average nerd/geek or whatever.

Jye

I have a Shuttle PC in beside my seperates hi-fi system. It's great for using as a PVR and mp3's (higher quality ones anyway) sound passible fired though a decent amp and speakers. I use it like a musical juke box for parties etc and you cant beat internet radio for sheer choice and lack of waffle. If I'm listening to ambient or trippy stuff it's also pretty nice sometimes to have winamp visulisations bouncing away on my 36" Tosh

Old_Fart

LOL now stop getting all snobbish...it isn't about the money...it's purely the fact that I *do* just want background music. And convenience. Notice I asked about home stereo and not hifi, and also that I'm not an audiophile. All you 'my speakers are bigger than youse' lot can just go wibble.
Cman

Jye

Networked, internet connected shuttle PC then

logiclee

I'll hook up my laptop to my system to play a nights worth of background music when we have a party or BBQ etc. but that's as far as I've taken it. I've never heard anything PC based to change my opinion.

Cheers
Lee

logiclee

May as well go down the ipod or mp3 route for background music etc.

Cheers
Lee

ProperCharlie

Well, the JVC thing will prolly do the trick for you, then. however, IME those little units can be tricky to use (think 58 different menus and 1 button), and also don't tend to last that long. if denon made one, that would be the way to go. however, afaik they don't.

the yamaha is really a nice thing - i had it demo'ed when i went to listen to some other kit (the shop guy was so enthused with it that he insisted that i have a look at it).

each to their own, though.

Old_Fart

How would that work? I presume I can't use a remote to skip tracks etc...it'd just be plug and play? Burn the tracks onto iPod via PC?
Thanks, sorry but I really am that much of a thicko regarding this stuff...and it still sounds lots of work
C

Old_Fart

Thanks folks..I'#ll stop being lazy and find an ipod bbs
Chucky

Jye

You could also use somthing like Moodlogic if you go down the PC/mp3 route. It scans every mp3 on your system and will mix random collections of music depending on mood, date, tempo etc. Good brain off way to get background music. Also has Ipod support

http://www.moodlogic.com/

Neil Smalley

Chuck,

For ipod stuff
www.ipodlounge.com and for accessories www.ipodlounge.com

Connecting an ipod to the above jpl speakers is easy. Connect cradle to speakes, put ipod in cradle, press play on Ipod.

Itunes is pretty easy too. Create your playlist, import to Mp3's/CD's into it. Connect Ipod and wait.