Hard Disk Player

[Bazil]

Is there on the market a HD Deck.
At present I have my ipod in a dock which bypasses the ipod DAC hooked up to my DAC .
I would like a full/half size deck that doesn't have a ripping capability,not a streamer, no amp.
I can use the PC to transfer files only, a screen and a dedicated remote would be nice.
In other words an ipod "deck".
Whats out there, not Naim too costly.

[Stratmangler]

http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-9971-olive-3hd-networked-music-server-with-cd-recorder-internet-radio-opened-box-silver.aspx

[Bazil]

Cheers Chris , I'm aware of the Olive 3 it is the nearest thing to what I want but I don't need the Cd recorder, network capability plus you cannot connect to an external DAC.

[Mark Grant]

Dune make a few models that might be suitable.

http://dune-hd.com/index.php?do=players

scroll down the list and look for the hard drive logo on the various models.

[Stratmangler]

You could get a Squeezebox Touch and a Zyxel NSA310 for under £350.

[Ali Tait]

Or a Touch with a USB stick would be cheaper.

[Bazil]

The Dune products are interesting but they all do a bit more than I need, it looks like the Touch is the way to go.
Thanks everyone.

[howardc1951]

Don't know whether a Dvico TViX player would do. Optical and coax digital outputs which I use into a Caiman, as well as analogue. You add and remove files using USB - as you would an external HD so the file directories are the same as a PC. The top line of the 2 line display shows folder/file names while you're searching and then switches to elapsed time while they are playing. It's all controlled by a normal sized remote control but the main controls are also on the front panel if you lose, break or prefer not to use it. I like it because it does all the things I want it to do without having to pay for loads of features I don't want. It plays WAV and mp3 files and I think some play FLAC files as well. The only thing that might put some people off is that the fan runs continually and sounds rather like the fan in a PC - although they may have improved that in the latest updates. You can get them from various places, including Amazon, but I incuded the link below as it has a comparison chart of the various models - not because I have any connection with the company - I got mine from Ebay.

http://www.kjglobal.co.uk/acatalog/TVIX.html

[bobbasrah]

FWIW I had the Tvix 6500A in the lineup that Howard mentions, and confirm it plays FLAC no probs along with MKV files etc. and comes with remote as stated There is an optional terrestrial receiver to enable program recording but I never used mine. Gave this to my daughter who is delighted with it.
Prices should be noted as not containing a drive which would have to be added, and I found they were cheaper from Holland.
2 USB ports on the back can expand storage to additional drives or be used for a memory stick, etc..
Need any info just ask.

[Bazil]

Thanks Howard and Bob I'll have a look at the Tvix.

[howardc1951]

An M3100U with 500GB drive + T amp + some reasonable cables = a 500GB 2 box Brennan equivalent for under £250!!

[Bazil]

An M3100U with 500GB drive + T amp + some reasonable cables = a 500GB 2 box Brennan equivalent for under £250!!

Absolutely :) but it doesn't support FLAC :steam:

[technobear]

Squeezebox Touch + USB Hard Drive = Job Done :)

[bobbasrah]

Absolutely :) but it doesn't support FLAC :steam:

Having said that Barry I did not recall FLAC implied as a requirement. Perhaps misread that....:rolleyes:
"I would like a full/half size deck that doesn't have a ripping capability,not a streamer, no amp. I can use the PC to transfer files only, a screen and a dedicated remote would be nice.
In other words an ipod "deck"."
Tvix is not an ipod deck, can be networked, no amp, no ripping, multi-media player, small screen and remote yes.
The Brennan is a iPod ready, a ripper, amp, small screen and remote yes.

Personally I would hate to rely on mp3 alone, but each to their own.:cool:

[Bazil]

Sorry Bob I never mentioned file formats, but I want lossless and the ipod even though its doing a grand job is not meant for the Hi-Fi rack.
This is my convenience listening btw, the vinyl is for the concentrated sessions ;)

[bobbasrah]

Sorry Bob I never mentioned file formats, but I want lossless and the ipod even though its doing a grand job is not meant for the Hi-Fi rack.
This is my convenience listening btw, the vinyl is for the concentrated sessions ;)

Well in that case Barry, I can confirm that flac plays aok, but not sure whether hirez did. How well it plays FLAC compared to other devices however I cannot say. The SBT seems to score highly on this forum, but have not used it myself.
What I enjoyed with the 6500 was the ability to play audio or video from the same box, all menu selectable on the TV screen via hdmi. The unit display is limited in that you can only see effectively the line where your cursor would be on the tv screen, but still usable in a pinch.;)
The HTPC does everything the Tvix did and more, hence it's retirement, much to my daughter's delight....:cool:

[howardc1951]

The M4000P plays FLAC and with a 400gb is still under £250!!

[Bazil]

Squeezebox Touch + USB Hard Drive = Job Done :)

Does the SBT read any external USB hard drive?

[technobear]

The following is pulled from here (http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=93517):


Touch and USB / SD Troubleshooting and getting the best performance out of the limited onboard Touch server.

USB or SD card devices

- Check the formatting of the device, Touch supported formats: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, ext2, ext3
- Touch can only see/use a single partition, format as a single partition, or use only the first partition for all relevant music files
- Remove any included USB/SD device “utilities” as these can cause issues
- Make sure there is at least 10% free space (20% even better)
- Remove any non-music related files (videos, documents, programs, pictures, data, etc…)
- Or, if removing such files is not an option, place a . (dot) in front of folders that are not music related (folders not containing music files, album art, playlists). A simple (dot) in front of a folder means that TinySBS will ignore these and (hopefully) greatly speed up scan times.
- Attach device directly to your computer and run basic maintenance utilities (disk cleanup, error checking, defrag)
- Storage unit must be writable (Touch’s server must install files and be able to write to these files)
- Quick Test: Place a small, single folder of music on the device for initial testing (why have it scanning for hours if it isn’t going to complete the scan)


USB HD

- Try an external USB power source, HD power supply or a powered USB hub. (Touch may not have enough bus power to power the USB HD)
- Try a different USB cable
- HD Sleep mode can cause issues (may have to completely rescan HD every time it “wakes”)
- If you turn OFF Touch or HD, or unplug HD, Touch must completely rescan the entire HD

Very useful tutorial & configuration ideas to get the most out of the very limited Touch inbuilt server:
http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=82070

[Bazil]

Thanks for the above Chris , I'm away at the moment I'll have a good read when I get back.

[Miraboy]

Forgive my ignorance but how does your dock bypass the DAC in your iPOD?

I was under the impression that the line out socket on the bottom simply allowed you to bypass the headphone amp stage. If there's a way to bypass the DAC, I'd love to be able to do it.


Is there on the market a HD Deck.
At present I have my ipod in a dock which bypasses the ipod DAC hooked up to my DAC .
I would like a full/half size deck that doesn't have a ripping capability,not a streamer, no amp.
I can use the PC to transfer files only, a screen and a dedicated remote would be nice.
In other words an ipod "deck".
Whats out there, not Naim too costly.

[howardc1951]

The Onkyo NDS1 is an ipod dock with both optical and co-ax digital outputs, so unless they're doing something really bizarre like converting the analogue output to digital, they must be able to bypass the ipod DAC.

[technobear]

The Onkyo NDS1 is an ipod dock with both optical and co-ax digital outputs, so unless they're doing something really bizarre like converting the analogue output to digital, they must be able to bypass the ipod DAC.

The Onkyo and one or two others do indeed bypass the iPod DAC. The problem with these devices is that, while they are very simple and cheap to make, they are eye-wateringly expensive to buy because there is a hefty Apple Tax to be paid for the privilege of using your iPod as a bit source.

[howardc1951]

£119.90?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=onkyo+nds1&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=9029548265&ref=pd_sl_6s5wu0fx7w_e

[technobear]

£119.90?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=onkyo+nds1&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=9029548265&ref=pd_sl_6s5wu0fx7w_e

Precisely! Worth about £20 max :rolleyes: