Q for the SB/computer savvy

... does this make sense to you? It's gotten a couple of good write-ups in the German press and the price seems attractive.

 

Hi Markus.
My first thoughts/questions are:
1. what does the device actually look like (beyond the images in the "backlit display" page)?
2. what's the price?
3. is there any data redundancy? (eg. mirrored disks) I cant see any suggestion of it.

In principle, this type of device makes a lot of sense, but whether this exact device is "the one" I'm not really sure from the info there.

Personally if I was going to commit an electronic library of music to a device I would want a) at least 300GB of space and b) RAID storage (2 mirrored disks would be ok). On the basis that downloaded music doesnt have the CD original in the attic that I can re-rip, I would want to be sure I wasnt going to lose my collection if a disk goes and I would want to be sure I could expand my storage easily.

For these reasons a SB2 using a PC as the actual storage device makes a lot of sense as I could build the PC to my exact requirements regards storage and use it to cut CD-R's.

However the current crop of 160GB HD video recorders with DVD writers are quite compelling to many of my friends so perhaps my response regards capacity, etc of this device might not be reflective of many people's views.

 

i'd also like to see what it looks like in the flesh. also the 80 / 160 gb hdd capacity seems very small considering they list flac as one of the codecs it supports (and why would you not use it if it's there?). the other thing that would prevent me from going the 'all in one; route for this kind of thing is that i already have 4 pc's so why should i want another one - my server machine is a p2 400 and you can pick one of them up in the local rag for 40 quid cos no-one wants them - i seem to remember someone selling some linux boxes perfectly capable of being used as a music / print server for 25 quid a few days ago. add a squeezebox and a bit of patch cable and you've got the equivalent for 200 / 250 quid (depending on the hdd you can find) and i bet it's gonna cost more than that.
on the whole i'd say that this is the best of it;'s type i've seen so far (as it allows flac to be used) however it still seems a pretty pointless excersise - maybe i'm just not the target demographic.
cheers


julian.

 

From the pictures in the PDF on the site I think it looks quite nice, just like a CD player. A quick search threw up a cost of 509 + VAT from Hermstedt here which even though it includes a HDD and network switch isn't cheap.
That's for the 80Gb version.

 

There is a photo gallery on the website. The device is also available in black.

It is hard to see the market for it though. The people who might have a use for something like this will likely already own a computer and so a Squeezebox could deliver the sounds to the hifi at less cost. The Hifidelio may sound better though. It has a linear power supply for starters (one of the reasons for its price). It has nice case work too (another reason for its price). If it can muster the sonic performance of at least a £400 CD player then it looks like good value to me. I too would want a bigger hard drive though - 250GB at least.

 

I only have a (4 year old) notebook at home with a totally inadequate HDD. I don't really want to have another computer at home, but this device could go on the hifi rack and take the place of the CD player.

 

Hi,

I looked at this too. But as my A & V is integrated, here is what I did instead:



http://xpmce.com/forum/mce-for-me-so-far-vt93834.html

As a result I now have a universal Player (minus SACD yet) /HDD Recorder which is very good for audio and rather exceptional for video, 300GB Media storage and an extra 50+GB free on the system disk should I need them. Windows Media Center is incredibly slick, especially for here the "MyMusic" part with covers and all, browsing your collection on a big screen TV is pretty cool.

For backup I use an external USB Disk, rather than RAID, in that I'm the same as HiFidelio.

For anyone wanting a "buy it, use it and forget" solution the HiFidelio seems a good choice though.

Ciao T

 

You are using the stereo widening Thorsten?

 

Hi,

Yes, at low frequencies only. It tends to give a much more even feel to acoustic spaces...

Ciao T

 

That would be me, still have them available and can get plenty more if needed, at the moment I have 3 x larger Viglens (PII 400Mhz) and 3 x small quiet HP's (400Mhz celeron).

3D Sonics- I have exactly the same case minus the display in use as a PVR and slim box, loaded up with 2 x 200Gb drives for storage and 1 x 80Gb for the OS

Andrew

 

Hi,

Looking at the inside shots, the Audio Outputs seems to be a generic (AD by the looks, but I'd not take an oath on it, the picture seems purposly blured - compare the Pro one) PC Codec Chip. This means that most likely MOST cheap CD Players have a better audio output. Use of an external DAC would seem neccesary for best quality.

Ciao T

 

i'd like to know how they are doing the decoding too - the original squeezebox had an off the shelf processor / firmware that caused horrible problems with the digital output (it was optimised for mp3's so flac / pcm didnt; come out as exactly 44.1khz)

 

What puts me off the SB is that the interface is still too much like a computer. The appela of the Hifidelio is that it seems to be a computer disguised as a CD player. You push a button, and the machine does what you wants without you having to write playlists with lots of %/%25{% gobbledygook in it.

For an example of waht I don't want, I downloaded the SB emulation from Slim Devices and tried to make my computer play internet radio, which, according to the website, it should have been able to do. It didn't.

Now, I am sure that it could have been made to work somehow, but my point is, I don't want to have to make something work, I want to have a nice, simple interface where I put in a station name or whatever, and the device looks for that station by itself. Or it gives me a list of possible candidates, or something. Surely it should be possible that SD strikes a deal with Google or something as long as there is no directory of internet radio stations or something.

There must be a real market opportunity for a company making computer audio for people who hate computers (or, to be more exact, those goddamn software designers).

 

Hi,

I know what you mean. MCE (Windows Media Center), while needing a TV or Monitor is just super in terms of usability, shame there is no way to bypass the windows K-Mixer (digital volume control and resampling). Winamp is okay, but not as easy to use with a remote only....



Ciao T

 

FYI, the Hifidelio and related subjects were covered here in October:

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=10705&page=1&pp=15&highlight=hifidelio

 

I had to open ports in my Windows firewall to get Softsqueeze to work which did defeat the plug n play concept of the slimserver.

It's not the simplest of interfaces but the best way to access (Shoutcast) internet radio is with Winamp I've tried lots of players and that one has the least amount of work involved. My experience is that you either have a PC with 'high res' screen and have point-click access... but I don't want the screen on blinding me when listening. Or you use a client device, less complicated but comes either with a small unreadable screen or a big readable screen that only carries a couple of lines of info.

Like previous posters I'm building a HTPC (in Silverstone LC-11 case) and Windows MCE has installed onto it with no problems other than downloading drivers. I'm now about to venture into the 'exciting' world of getting it to play .flac and access networked storage.

 

Thanks, I hadn't seen that thread.

 

BTW the uk retailer's site is no longer accessible (upgrade in progress apparently)

 

Markus - I think you're absolutely right. I think the demand for a good quality (not necessarily high-end) device to allow people to utilise their new love of downloaded music in a manner akin to a CD player is probably substantial and growing.

I expect over the next two years many people may not really continue buying CD's anymore, so to them it will all be about how they manage, transfer, delete and add their music. The emphasis on ripping CDs may be less of an issue than managing/transferring downloads. But if this is the case - if there isnt data redundancy then when (if) a HD goes what does the owner do about their lost content (assuming it isnt also stored on their PC)?

However what about downloading? Are we assuming they need a PC elsewhere to get new music? If so we are back to all the issues of faffing - getting the device to talk to the PC, wireless router problems, etc. etc. So then does this device offer much over the SB? Surely being just a front end to the PC rather than storing music on its own HD the user has the ability to expand and backup their storage and not have to move/remove music on the player?

The key being the Hifidelio is not really a standalone device unless you can use it to download to itself - is this possible? (I may have missed the obvious). In this regard I personally would prefer not to have to move music on or off the player if I could simply front end my PC. I'm not saying the SB is perfect, but I would also expect if demand increases the SB product and slim server software would improve (though I grant you the slim server is coming from the PC user/faffing around end rather than the consumer electronics end).

Microsoft and Sony are two examples of significant orgs looking to define how digital content and content management will reach the living room. Sony of course are coming from the consumer electronics end and MS from the software end. Yet neither has as yet proposed a device or concept which convincingly shows the transition from content and functions of the PC as is (located in the dining room or spare bedroom) to consumer (ie. robust and simple) digital content management in the living room for audio and visual. Again, how content is browsed and downloaded is difficult to standardise in order to use the tv as a browser.

One option is potentially a separate expandable storage device to serve all devices and to allow storage of video, audio, pictures, etc. Then all devices would need to be compatible which is unlikely. The other argument is each device has its own storage. Whilst the "killer" all-in device is still being conceptualised (and may never be defined), smaller single purpose devices have free reign to capture market share, so now may be a very good time for devices like the hifidelio

The PC is not what people want in their living room, so that option is out. Regards audio The SB front end to a PC elsewhere still involves some technical faffing, so for many the Hifidelio would be there or thereabouts (but again what about downloading?). For rich functionality there is always the question of a display device so the TV is the natural choice, but probably not for a standalone audio device so I guess the small/simple display paradigm would suffice. I think I'd have to use one for a bit to decide myself.