Mp3 and flac files what to do

[loo]

Thanks for the help chaps, yes Marc I have an old ipod but wouldn't want to use it for anything but the car ,
thanks Dave that looks like a bargain dac but I would still need a storage/player?
and John I like the sound of keeping it simple but I really don't want to have to connect my laptop to the stereo, and I don't own a CD player other than the changer in the car, what I am really after is a unit that I can transfer files to and leave on there and play from that unit directly to either my preamp or a dac then preamp, an alternative to having the files on the unit would be having them on a memory stick and pluging that into the said unit to play them. Do such machines exsist and if so got any recommendations for a good value one
thanks Paul

[synsei]

Thanks for the help chaps, yes Marc I have an old ipod but wouldn't want to use it for anything but the car ,
thanks Dave that looks like a bargain dac but I would still need a storage/player?
and John I like the sound of keeping it simple but I really don't want to have to connect my laptop to the stereo, and I don't own a CD player other than the changer in the car, what I am really after is a unit that I can transfer files to and leave on there and play from that unit directly to either my preamp or a dac then preamp, an alternative to having the files on the unit would be having them on a memory stick and pluging that into the said unit to play them. Do such machines exsist and if so got any recommendations for a good value one
thanks Paul

Perhaps this might be a good and cheap solution for you although if it were me I'd look into installing a larger hard drive into it...

[loo]

Cheers Dave that looks like the sort of thing I am after ,not to sure about that unit, seller seems a bit abrupt , but now I know what I am looking for ,
do those things really cost 2.5k new?
thanks again
Paul

[John]

Or get a blue ray player with a usb input connect to a external drive like a USB memory stick or sata hd and you away That's what I do these days simple and great sounds but still need a good dac to get the best out of it. Will beat the pants out of most cd players
Lots of choices from a cheap Sony to Oppo

[loo]

Thanks John that sounds like a good option and I presume I could even watch movies on that ,excuse my ignorance, no I don't have a dvd player either
Paul

[bobbasrah]

Thanks John that sounds like a good option and I presume I could even watch movies on that ,excuse my ignorance, no I don't have a dvd player either
Paul

Indeed you can.
John is spot on, there is a thread somewhere on the forum possibly Reid Malefant and an Oppo BD95(???), and several others where such a solution was working well.
Only one caution on that is that setting up an external drive so that it is properly structured and tagged first (using a computer) so the machine can read the files properly saves a lot of frustration. I recall that was Reid's problem in that thread, easily fixed, a breeze to use thereafter...
Good luck with it Paul.

[loo]

Thanks for the confirmation Bob I am starting to get quiet excited about my foray into the world of digital audio. I will search out that thread
Cheers Paul

[twickers]

Or get a blue ray player with a usb input connect to a external drive like a USB memory stick or sata hd and you away That's what I do these days simple and great sounds but still need a good dac to get the best out of it. Will beat the pants out of most cd players
Lots of choices from a cheap Sony to Oppo

John

Is there a limit to the size of hard drive you can use connected via usb to a blu-ray? Also does it have to be self-powered or does the blu-ray's usb power the drive?

Cheers

[John]

From my own experience using a USB memory key works better in terms of sound quality rather than a SATA drive but think SSD might not have the same issues as like the USB no moving parts
No limits to size of external drive (I used 500gb) just difference in SQ depending on what options you use
Yes you can watch movies on Blue ray or even stream use the external drive and you get a serious transport in the bargain.
I had the Oppo and Sony in my system and no difference in sound quality using both as transports which is the best way to hear both. The Oppo is however a lot better movie player if you got big screen and that important
To use this method you need a screen so you can see what file you getting
Can be either self powered or powered by the blue ray player I generally use USB memory keys with 64gb of memory. Worth picking up a good quality one rather than a cheap one as cheap ones develops file errors

[twickers]

Are the Sandisk memory sticks any good? If not, any recommendations.

Cheers