HDD media player,accept it or not??

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Progress can't be stopped ;) Unfortunately quality is of less importance than features. On my search for such a device after positive experience with the Hifidelio device I found these MVIX mediaplayers. The types that are sold now lack a LAN port and thus always have to be transported to a pc for refreshing content.

This most recent type looks like a promising one, it has wireless and LAN possibilities. It will be about 269 Euro here without harddisk. It has the most recent and powerful Sigma Designs chip. Note the DVI output, it can playback content on a cheap computer monitor. To my knowledge no other one can. I am afraid DIY days are over with the introduction of these devices. It has a SPDIF out so external DACs will be a possibility.

http://www.mvix.nl/mvix_8621.pdf

It is not cheap, price even raised a few times while it is not even on the market now...
 
No need to build a "high-end HDD." A HDD is superior to any transport. In fact, going HDD-based should be considered going "high-end."

The kids have already accepted it. Why should they not? Why would anyone want to have a bunch of discs that only take up space? The CD is as obsolete as the steam engine. The SACD and DVD-A never were. It's the dinosaurs that have a hard time with change.

I frequently kick myself for jumping the CD bandwagon 3-4 yrs ago. Life was good before that. Life hasn't been as good since. Vinyl is so much simpler.
 
Segate are quite silent...


However the best part about harddrives is that you can have a RAID server somewhere in your basement :

- PC case, mobo with SATA, CPU, RAM, supply : $250
- 5x 250 GB disks : $67.99 (dammit !) each => $339
- A few network adapters ($5 each)
- Some cable ($1/m)
- Linux ($0)

So, for the price of an average CD transport you get a terabyte of redundant storage.

Now add a diskless, fanless PC in your listening room, and it's done.
 
Slower (esp. laptop) drives are generally quieter

The prices you post are pretty high. If you know where to scrounge and/or are not afraid of ebay, you can get the same terabyte anywhere from free to probably well under $100.

and everything takes power. IMHO batteries are probably way worse for the environment (not to mention the wallet) than a PC's switching supply....
 
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Stocker said:

and everything takes power. IMHO batteries are probably way worse for the environment (not to mention the wallet) than a PC's switching supply....

A standalone mediaplayer with just 1 harddisk does not need batteries nor a server ( in a basement few people have ) with 5 spinning energy consuming and heat generating disks in RAID configuration + a silent pc to control the server....

You can of course add the steep learning curve you will have to accept for learning an OS just to play music.

Things can be simple.
 
I think that using acomputer for the main source of audio is nota good idea. To much noise to much problems. jean-paul Didnt you and i talk about the olive audio player. It looks like a cd player but it rips the files to a hard drive inside ?

http://www.olive.us/p_bin/

I'd love to have one of these.



To me having a pc do this is way to much work..
 
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I had a Gateway Solo Laptop that had an Optical out. I could have put a large Laptop HDD in, and play lossless audio via iTunes and would be much like an Olive with a nice, fancy 15" GUI... this actually sounded quite good...

AND of course it also functioned as a laptop...all for less than $250 now.

I think if you take apart the Olive, you would find in it a basic, outdated PC - maybe a 500 mhz processor? Why would you need to go any faster?

Also with enough RAM, you could buffer all songs to RAM and spin down the HDD for reduction of noise.

But I also had a HTPC with a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz Sound card with output via Coax digital to my amp and did not sound very good compared to a dedicated CD/DVD Player...just sounded dead, blah, life less. Both ripped to HDD and CD Rom...
 
ill accept it ;)

no windows helps with the sound, o ya and digital out.and no need for a pull out drive. i can upload and downloads songs from my network.

2 180 gig serial ata drives.

the next version should be smaller


cheers
 

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a 180gig sata drive is alot louder and produces much more heat and reqires more power than the olive. Second the whole machineis about 5 x the size. 3rd the olive does not run windows.

With a windows you have to screw around with drivers and such things to get the digital working or optical. AND have additional hardware.

The olive is all in one on one small board.

AND is quieter. Plus i think it has a internal Battery so you don't have to have it plugged in.
 
only sound coming from this box is the floppy drive. on first power up. i gues it depends on the parts used.

it runs on linux or pure dos on disk. with mpxplay you can upload the source code and make your own drivers. it runs rock solid

sure its big, next one will be as small as a vcr.

i would love to get my hands on the new sandisk 8 gig flash ;)

http://mpxplay.cjb.net
 
Qty Part-No. Description Price Total
1 MS2080-B Symphony 80GB (Black) $899.00 $899.00
Royalty payment for digital audio recording device under Audio Home Recording Act of 1992: Provides you as a consumer an exemption for private, noncommercial home recording of analog or digital sound recordings. $8.00 $8.00

Subtotal $907.00
Shipping Cost
(includes tax on shipping & handling) $52.39
Federal tax of the state of California $0.00
Total amount charged $959.39


well im not sure about the $8.00 charge but im picking one up:cloud9:

to try out for myself and to have a look under the hood :D
 
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jleaman said:
I think that using acomputer for the main source of audio is nota good idea. To much noise to much problems. jean-paul Didnt you and i talk about the olive audio player. It looks like a cd player but it rips the files to a hard drive inside ?

http://www.olive.us/p_bin/


We did and I even had the 160 gb Pro version some time ago. The Olive Symphony = the american version of the Hifidelio. Honestly, operation can not be simpler than with these machines. Pc's or servers stand in the shadow of these machines in nearly all aspects.

However is the DAC a cheap AC97 computer type and I found the device made a tad too much mechanical noise ( optical drive + mains transformer ). An external DAC is a must with this one. Which is why I sold it and will wait for rev. 2.

The Olive Opus is what I really want but without that pricetag....
 
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Joined 2002
No, it is still an excellent product with a few drawbacks that are normal for a first version. It's not high end but it's very good hifi. Built quality of the hardware is good, operation is Mac alike and improving that will be a hard task as it really works like a charm. Since audio is my hobby I could get away with selling it with the argument I 'd be waiting for a second revision. I could have lived with it.

Be sure to buy the 160 gb pro version and not the cripled 80 gb version. The latter does not accept higher bitrates !
 
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