Hard disk player

Fireman32

as a newbie to this site and limited of my knowledge i am asking for your help. I want to know if anyone knows of a player with a hard drive in it for playing music. Most of my music is on my computer and i only own a few cd's. I'd love to be able to play my music through my 2 channel system. If anyone has suggestions i would appreciate it, or let me know if i am building another computer and hook it up to the rig.

shack

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=39&Title=Azur+640H

Fireman32

Shack thanks for the advice. I think i will have to look into that more and then try to figure ot the conversion fee for the price on the website lol

cmy330go

Yamaha also makes a CD/HD player/burner. Here is a link to the current model

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/DVD_CD/CDRHD1500.htm

I personally have the older model, which is basically the same machine with a smaller hard drive. However you can install a larger drive if you wish.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/DVD_CD/CDRHD1300.htm

By the way. Forum member "Fireshoes" has the same model I have and I think he is considering selling it. (with over 100 albums on it). Just FYI.

Welcome to the Forum!
Dave

audiobliss

As it's been a while since I've done my research, I don't remember exactly what it was I didn't like about the Yamaha, but there was something about the way it converted the file formats while playing them. One instance I remember is that when you were the smaller music clients to the main unit to play music in another room, the main unit converts the signal to MP3 format before sending it to the music server.

I don't know anything about the CA version, though.

cmy330go

audiobliss wrote:

As it's been a while since I've done my research, I don't remember exactly what it was I didn't like about the Yamaha, but there was something about the way it converted the file formats while playing them. One instance I remember is that when you were the smaller music clients to the main unit to play music in another room, the main unit converts the signal to MP3 format before sending it to the music server.

I don't know anything about the CA version, though.

I believe what you are referring to is their MucisCAST Server. The CDR/HD machines are completely standalone units that store music in uncompressed WAV format.

Dave

Fireman32

Guys thanks for all of the advice. I will have to keep my eye out for fireshoes selling his and see about purchasing it.

peteran

or you can go this route
http://www.vwbinc.com/products.html

Skynut

I have a friend with one of these. I don't remember which one but I remember him telling me he could burn cd's on it but could not transfer the library off of it. he now has over 1000 songs that are stuck there.

audiobliss

Well, since you can just change out the hard drive for a larger one, I would think you could also just pop it in a computer and have access to all the songs that way. The Yammy rips CDs in .WAV format, right?

Hmm. I wonder if you could pop a HD into your computer, rip all your songs onto it, and then put it in the Yammy. Would probably go faster that way.

Anybody know how large of a HD the Yammy will recognize? Or if it's too big, can your partition it into different drives? I don't guess the Yammy would recognize that.

peteran

audiobliss wrote:

Well, since you can just change out the hard drive for a larger one, I would think you could also just pop it in a computer and have access to all the songs that way. The Yammy rips CDs in .WAV format, right?

Hmm. I wonder if you could pop a HD into your computer, rip all your songs onto it, and then put it in the Yammy. Would probably go faster that way.

Anybody know how large of a HD the Yammy will recognize? Or if it's too big, can your partition it into different drives? I don't guess the Yammy would recognize that.

What you should do is GHost the initial drive to a large capacity drive, then transfer the data.

audiobliss

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is 'ghosting'? And, are you saying that the HD the Yammy comes with is larger than what the unit 'sees' it as?

unc2701

peteran wrote:

What you should do is GHost the initial drive to a large capacity drive, then transfer the data.

doesn't always work. Look at Xbox.

BTW- Ghost is a program to mirror hard drives and can work independently of the OS.

Fireman32

audiobliss wrote:

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is 'ghosting'? And, are you saying that the HD the Yammy comes with is larger than what the unit 'sees' it as?

Ghosting is basicly taking a picture of the hard drive and then placing iton another hard drive. Fireshoes sent me a PM and im going to see if i can purchase his

audiobliss

I see what you're saying now.

Good luck with the purchase.

cmy330go

I have my doubts about ghosting the drive. According to yamaha you can't even take the hard drive from one of the CDHD units and put it in another without reformating. You know all that copyright protection jazz. I also had a rep tell me that you can't view the info on a pc due to some odd file system.

I have been meaning to search for any hacks or tricks to get around that. If I come up with anything I'll let you know.

audiobliss

I wonder if CA's music server is so proprietary.

ohskigod

Fireman32 wrote:

Guys thanks for all of the advice. I will have to keep my eye out for fireshoes selling his and see about purchasing it.

hoo boy.....I created a monster

go get em tiger!

unc2701

http://www.olive.us/

Pricey, but it was bugging me that I couldn't remember the name...

cmy330go

unc2701 wrote:

http://www.olive.us/

Pricey, but it was bugging me that I couldn't remember the name...

$2,999???? OUCH! Cool, but OUCH!

audiobliss

Oooh, now I'm in love with the Olive Opus. Four Burr-Brown 24-bit DACs?! Man...I don't think you'd be able to tell the difference between it and a high-end CDP! And with 400gb for storage, I'd have enough room.

I'm ready to win the lottery now!

EDIT: Man, I'm really loving this unit. It will play:
MP3 and MP3 VBR
MP3 streaming (multi-room)
RAW: AIFF, PCM, WAV
OGG/Vorbis
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
AAC (MPEG4)

And will record onto CDs:
RAW: AIFF, WAV (1411.2 kbit/s)
FLAC (800 to 1411 kbit/s)
MP3 and MP3 VBR (128 to 320 bit/s)

Audio performance.
Frequency response
10 Hz – 20 kHz (+0dB / -0.3dB)

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD + Noise)
< 0.003% @ 1 kHz, 0dB

Dynamic range
96dB (10 - 22kHz)

Channel separation
Better than 100 dB

Output level
2V single-ended

Digital to analog conversion
Dual-differential 24-bit DACs

Conversion rate
352.8 kHz, 24-bit

Analog filter
3rd-order Bessel

Output impedance
100 Ohms

Direct Digital Output, TOSLINK
S/PDIF, 650nm, -21 to -15 dbm

Direct Digital Output, COAXIAL
S/PDIF, 5 Vpp, 75 Ohms


And it weighs 15.3 pounds!

I really need a job. :cool:

unc2701

I think the street price is more like $2,000, but yeah. That hurts.

peteran

cmy330go wrote:

I have my doubts about ghosting the drive. According to yamaha you can't even take the hard drive from one of the CDHD units and put it in another without reformating. You know all that copyright protection jazz. I also had a rep tell me that you can't view the info on a pc due to some odd file system.

I have been meaning to search for any hacks or tricks to get around that. If I come up with anything I'll let you know.

A hard drive is a Hard drive, you don't need to boot off it.
Only think you need is a ghost boot disk and force clone it to a new HD, propritary software or not.

unc2701

peteran wrote:

A hard drive is a Hard drive, you don't need to boot off it.
Only think you need is a ghost boot disk and force clone it to a new HD, propritary software or not.

Unless you have the software check the hard drive brand & size. Seriously, you ever try ghosting an xbox? That's why you have to have mod chips. Same thing with DVD's- the encryption has to be cracked to copy it or you have to change the hardware to run unsigned code.

Now, they might not have put all these precautions into the box, but with as touchy as DRM is these days, I'd bet money that it wouldn't work that easily.

peteran

unc2701 wrote:

Unless you have the software check the hard drive brand & size. Seriously, you ever try ghosting an xbox? That's why you have to have mod chips. Same thing with DVD's- the encryption has to be cracked to copy it or you have to change the hardware to run unsigned code.

Now, they might not have put all these precautions into the box, but with as touchy as DRM is these days, I'd bet money that it wouldn't work that easily.

A friend of mine did the xbox 360, installed a bigger HD, of course it was moded.
Allso he did repalce the HD of a HDDVD recorder, initial size 80gb-new size 400gb, I believe it was a samsung.
All that by attaching the HD's to his computer use ghost boot disk and clone from one to the other.

peteran

peteran wrote:

A friend of mine did the xbox 360, installed a bigger HD, of course it was moded.
Allso he did repalce the HD of a HDDVD recorder, initial size 80gb-new size 400gb, I believe it was a samsung.
All that by attaching the HD's to his computer use ghost boot disk and clone from one to the other.

I meant Xbox not the xbox 360. Sorry.

Fireman32

yes lou you created a monster

unc2701

peteran wrote:

I meant Xbox not the xbox 360. Sorry.

Still takes a mod chip to do it. As for the DVD recorders, I imagine this is a function of the manufacturer. TIVO's are wide open (or they used to be back when I had one), but other gear varies. I'm not saying it's impossible, but they can keep you from copying stuff even with ghost.

ohskigod

Fireman32 wrote:

yes lou you created a monster

game is on tomorrow by the way

I got some goertz 1, copper interconnects i'm not using, remind me to give them to you

Fireman32

Thanks again for everyones advice. It looks ill be purchasing for fireshoes

cmy330go

Congrats. You'll enjoy it.

Bob (fireshoes). You can thank me later!:D