[rolly]

Can't think of a better forum than this to pose this question,or should I say,question(s).

First,I bought a Pioneer PDF1009 CD Player that will handle 301 cds.
It had the best reviews,and so far it seems to work great.
Read lot's of bad reviews on Sony and JVC.
But,that is a lot of cd's to burn.

I would like to use the files that are on my hard drive to play over my home stereo.
I have a Harlon/Kardon 3485 reciever.
This reciever has no PC inputs.
(I know,it's not the best out there by a long shot,but I like it )

I have been trying to find the best solution to this.

1.Use a portable .mp3 player,one with at least 4GB storage.
This would have a lcd screen where I could select the files to be played,and would also be able to decode the .mp3 files.
Most of the better ones also decode .ogg,which 90% of my files are in that format.
Simply use the headphone(not sure if there is a line out) output jack connected to the cd input of the amp.

This seems to be the most costly solution,but it may be the best.
I do not need to use my computer.

2.To use a device,that would connect to a usb port on my computer,and transmit an fm signal.
Then using an application on my computer to load up a playlist and decode and play the files.
The fm signal would then be picked up by my recievers tuner.
I know these devices exist,but haven't found a good place to buy one yet.
Any recommendations?

Only cost here is the fm transmitter,and from what I've heard,costs about US $15-$30.
But,I need to use my computer.

3.Using a spare computer,connnect a Y cable to the soundcards output,and to the amps cd input.
Same thing here,I would have to use an application on my computer to decode and play the .mp3's and .ogg files.

This is the very cheapest option,all I need to buy is the Y cable.
But,I need to use my computer.


I'm sure with all the audiophiles here,there must be one hundred different solutions,and I can only think of three!
Care to share your ideas,advice,opinions?

[squash54]

Originally Posted by rolly

Can't think of a better forum than this to pose this question,or should I say,question(s).

First,I bought a Pioneer PDF1009 CD Player that will handle 301 cds.
It had the best reviews,and so far it seems to work great.
Read lot's of bad reviews on Sony and JVC.
But,that is a lot of cd's to burn.

I would like to use the files that are on my hard drive to play over my home stereo.
I have a Harlon/Kardon 3485 reciever.
This reciever has no PC inputs.
(I know,it's not the best out there by a long shot,but I like it )

I have been trying to find the best solution to this.

1.Use a portable .mp3 player,one with at least 4GB storage.
This would have a lcd screen where I could select the files to be played,and would also be able to decode the .mp3 files.
Most of the better ones also decode .ogg,which 90% of my files are in that format.
Simply use the headphone(not sure if there is a line out) output jack connected to the cd input of the amp.

This seems to be the most costly solution,but it may be the best.
I do not need to use my computer.

2.To use a device,that would connect to a usb port on my computer,and transmit an fm signal.
Then using an application on my computer to load up a playlist and decode and play the files.
The fm signal would then be picked up by my recievers tuner.
I know these devices exist,but haven't found a good place to buy one yet.
Any recommendations?

Only cost here is the fm transmitter,and from what I've heard,costs about US $15-$30.
But,I need to use my computer.

3.Using a spare computer,connnect a Y cable to the soundcards output,and to the amps cd input.
Same thing here,I would have to use an application on my computer to decode and play the .mp3's and .ogg files.

This is the very cheapest option,all I need to buy is the Y cable.
But,I need to use my computer.


I'm sure with all the audiophiles here,there must be one hundred different solutions,and I can only think of three!
Care to share your ideas,advice,opinions?

I am surprised you don't already own a portable player. I think you will find many (if not most) of the members here couldn't live without one.

If you have a use for a portable player, that is the solution I would recommend. Even a couple of gigs would do it - you just organise your PC music into playlists and sync the ones you want to listen to on your Hi-Fi (and on the move).

You can pick up 2 gig players on ebay for not much money as everyone wants the 4 & 8 gig players. But you can put a lot of hours of music on a couple of g's and changing playlists is a snap.

If you can afford it, go for a 120 or 160 gig player and backup your whole collection onto it - perfect.

Squash

[solaris]

Originally Posted by squash54

If you can afford it, go for a 120 or 160 gig player and backup your whole collection onto it - perfect.

Squash

I couldn't even have half of my collection on the "biggest" one of those

[squash54]

Originally Posted by solaris

I couldn't even have half of my collection on the "biggest" one of those

I can see a 'mines bigger than yours' off-topic sub-thread developing here.

[rolly]

If you have a use for a portable player, that is the solution I would recommend.

If you can afford it, go for a 120 or 160 gig player

I knew all my other ideas would get laughed at.
That's alright.They aren't very professional ideas.

Ideally,I'd like have a digital player that really didn't fall into the "portable" category.
With something like a 160GB hard drive.
(But I am thinking that I "need" a portable anyway.
Maybe this is my excuse to tell the wife!)

It seems like a device that would contain a hard drive,with a touch pad and lcd screen,that was built for the sole purpose of playing digital files over a home entertainment center should have be devised somewhere?

Something the size of a basic laptop computer would be sufficient and appropriate.
But the further capabilities of an actual laptop computer are so overkill for this purpose,it is unimaginable to use one just for this purpose.

The price of this device could be well within reason,after all,a very cheap lappy for around $399 will do the job just fine,and it came with all the overkill computing capabilities.

All it needs to do is send the digital signal to an output port,be able to select and create playlists onscreen,and have the ability to decode the digital files.
Both a lappy and a portable do more than this.

I couldn't even have half of my collection on the "biggest" one of those

bragger!!

[gluteus maximus]

Originally Posted by rolly

I knew all my other ideas would get laughed at.
That's alright.They aren't very professional ideas.

Hi rolly

Well, I'm not laughing I don't have a personal mp3 player either. I don't want one. I have a media server with a wireless link to an old (P500) laptop that cost me nothing, running Windows 98/WMP9 and doubling as a newsfeed reader. Then there's a cable running from the headphone jack on the laptop to line-in on the amp. Works great for me, though I imagine the audiophiles here would cringe.

gm

[Hirs Ute]

Originally Posted by rolly

2.To use a device,that would connect to a usb port on my computer,and transmit an fm signal.
Then using an application on my computer to load up a playlist and decode and play the files.
The fm signal would then be picked up by my recievers tuner.
I know these devices exist,but haven't found a good place to buy one yet.
Any recommendations?

Hi Rolly, I haven't read this in detail but, at least it might point you in the right direction:

Freecom MusicPal Media Player
# Streams MP3 music from your computer or network
# Works seamlessly with Freecom network solutions such as the Data Tank Gateway
# Thanks to the built-in speaker you can listen to the MusicPal anywhere you want
# No wires needed; MusicPal has built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a Ethernet port
# You can even connect the MusicPal to your HiFi / stereo system or amplified speakers and enjoy the stereo sound through these speakers!

Buy Freecom MusicPal Media Player MusicPal from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2007

[solaris]

Originally Posted by squash54

I can see a 'mines bigger than yours' off-topic sub-thread developing here.

Pics - or it didn't happen...

[squash54]

Originally Posted by rolly

I knew all my other ideas would get laughed at.
That's alright.They aren't very professional ideas.

Ideally,I'd like have a digital player that really didn't fall into the "portable" category.
With something like a 160GB hard drive.
(But I am thinking that I "need" a portable anyway.
Maybe this is my excuse to tell the wife!)
It seems like a device that would contain a hard drive,with a touch pad and lcd screen,that was built for the sole purpose of playing digital files over a home entertainment center should have be devised somewhere?

Something the size of a basic laptop computer would be sufficient and appropriate.
But the further capabilities of an actual laptop computer are so overkill for this purpose,it is unimaginable to use one just for this purpose.

The price of this device could be well within reason,after all,a very cheap lappy for around $399 will do the job just fine,and it came with all the overkill computing capabilities.

All it needs to do is send the digital signal to an output port,be able to select and create playlists onscreen,and have the ability to decode the digital files.
Both a lappy and a portable do more than this.



bragger!!

I'm not laughing at any of your ideas Rolly - just suggesting my preference for the various options you outlined.

Maybe you could buy your wife the portable as a present

Now, if Solaris started to listen to his music collection today, and listened for 10 hours a day, approximately how long would it be before he got to the end

[rolly]

Following the link you gave me,I stumbled onto this.
It is starting to look like what I'm after.
I'd rather not use wireless if it isn't necessary,but the option is still good to have.

Simply drag and drop your audio and video files from your PC to the MediaPlayer 35, take the portable MediaPlayer 35 to your living room, connect it to your TV of HiFi and you’re ready to go!....
Music Player: store and play back MP3,WMA,OGG Vorbis music files

I haven't followed any "buy now" links yet,but this site doesn't seem to originate in the US.
A quick search for "Freecom Network MediaPlayer35 400GB" in the best price search engines I use turn up empty.

Maybe you could buy your wife the portable as a present

Yeah!I'll tell her she needs it,then ask to borrow it.