Have any of you guys got one of these? I've been reading their site and it looks like a nifty little device. I am struggling to see any downsides TBH, but would appreciate direct user feedback if any of you own one?
TIA.
TIA.
Brennan B2
- Thread starter George Hincapie
- Start date
expat_mike
Well-known member
I don't have one, but i remember that brennan was mentioned in one of the threads about music storage, maybe a week or two ago.
Indeed.
However it is very specific in what it will or will not do, best to think of it as a device that 'stores' your cds and lets you access them as if they are 'real' cds.
Ie, you can select a cd or a track and it will play, what it does not do is allow you to setup a play queue or to build a playlist, it is not an iPod. Check the functionality carefully as to what the B2 will and will not do, Brennan are very clear and upfront about this.
Sound quality wise, performance is good within it's limits, comparable to a decent mini system. Easily improved though, the line out is in fact a pre-out, allowing you to use a pair of active speakers, something in the £200-300 price range will add a lot to the system at modest cost, bearing in mind that you have to buy speakers anyway.
However it is very specific in what it will or will not do, best to think of it as a device that 'stores' your cds and lets you access them as if they are 'real' cds.
Ie, you can select a cd or a track and it will play, what it does not do is allow you to setup a play queue or to build a playlist, it is not an iPod. Check the functionality carefully as to what the B2 will and will not do, Brennan are very clear and upfront about this.
Sound quality wise, performance is good within it's limits, comparable to a decent mini system. Easily improved though, the line out is in fact a pre-out, allowing you to use a pair of active speakers, something in the £200-300 price range will add a lot to the system at modest cost, bearing in mind that you have to buy speakers anyway.
Excellent, thanks. I really like the idea of storing so many CDs in one place, no changing needed etc.
George Hincapie said:
As you cant make play lists it sounds to me (without checking) no good. Im using jriver and you can select genre and play random. Play whole collection on shuffel. Select artists. Basically anything you want and its only about $40. Cant go back to a device where i have to select a cd or track then when its finished go and select another one.
If thats the case you may as well just stick with a cd player.
It shows how to upload tracks you buy, but I am still not sure that you can build a playlist from a collection of ripped CDs and downloads.
Brennan are always updating and moving forward, but this was the case last time I checked it out.
Brennan are always updating and moving forward, but this was the case last time I checked it out.
I haven't really looked at the B2 for a while, so maybe you are correct.
Not something I follow closely, though I know that Brennan are updating and improving all the time. Not really my thing, I use streaming services exclusively these days, I recently gave away about 600-700 cds.
Not something I follow closely, though I know that Brennan are updating and improving all the time. Not really my thing, I use streaming services exclusively these days, I recently gave away about 600-700 cds.
Freddy58
Well-known member
I'd be a bit concerned though about it's relatively low output, 15wpc. I've never tried/heard them, but I think that Dave's suggestion of looking at 'actives' is an excellent one.
Good point, but I'd just be using it as a digital source so that's not a concern for me personally.
The Brennan B2 looks to be an improvement on the original (MP3 ripping IIRC).
Second time around, and much ado is made of FLAC ripping, which is much more preferable state of affairs.
I personally am a bit sceptical about all these "all in one" boxes, as you can achieve so much more with a little bit of education and a little bit of application.
You could buy a laptop for relatively little money, install Foobar and the remote access plugin, and control it all from a Smartphone app, and feed it via USB into an external DAC. Storage could be almost any NAS you care to bring up in conversation (so the laptop could be a low powered fanless netbook if you wanted).
You could go the RasPi route (which is something I've yet to explore - I have used Squeezebox for an age, and as Logitech stopped making them the RasPi route looks to be a great way of making clients to run on my home network.
Second time around, and much ado is made of FLAC ripping, which is much more preferable state of affairs.
I personally am a bit sceptical about all these "all in one" boxes, as you can achieve so much more with a little bit of education and a little bit of application.
You could buy a laptop for relatively little money, install Foobar and the remote access plugin, and control it all from a Smartphone app, and feed it via USB into an external DAC. Storage could be almost any NAS you care to bring up in conversation (so the laptop could be a low powered fanless netbook if you wanted).
You could go the RasPi route (which is something I've yet to explore - I have used Squeezebox for an age, and as Logitech stopped making them the RasPi route looks to be a great way of making clients to run on my home network.
gowiththeflow
Well-known member
Chris Firth said:
The original was awful. MP3 only and the cataloging and indexing was very clunky and very poor.
While the B2 now uses multiple formats, including FLAC, ALAC and AAC, I'd be rather suspicious about it's cataloging, indexing and metadata capabilities, so check it out properly before committing.
For a similar all-in-one device, the latest Cocktail Audio device looks to be a better bet.
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The Brennan B2 is Rasberry Pi, which is the point. It appears that the B2 was launched with limited functionality, to get it 'out there' in the market place. Regular updates increase functionality and allow Brennan to respond to customer's 'wish lists'.
It is clearly aimed at people who want a hi-fi system that looks and works like a regular hi-fi, the fact that is a single box solution works too. Users who do not want to be 'bothered' by anything to do with computers, they like to be completely insulated from the RasPi that runs the D2.
It is clearly aimed at people who want a hi-fi system that looks and works like a regular hi-fi, the fact that is a single box solution works too. Users who do not want to be 'bothered' by anything to do with computers, they like to be completely insulated from the RasPi that runs the D2.
I took the plunge and bought one late last year and haven't regretted it. I was looking for a convenient, easy way of ripping and accessing my CD's without the complexity of needing a degree in computer science.
So far I have ripped 1100 CD's in FLAC format to the Brennan's 2TB harddrive. I run the Brennan via it's digital output (which also doubles as a regular line output) via optical cable to the built-in DAC in my Cyrus 6XPD amp and must say I'm delighted with the results. So much so that my trusty Cyrus CD transport rarely gets used nowadays!
Yes, the Brennan's controls and interface are a little clunky and a screen that displays album art work would be nice, but having all my CD's at my fingertips has helped me rediscover my music collection. I can't say what the sound quality is like with the Brennan's own amp hooked up to speakers, but used as a means of piping FLAC files into a good quality DAC/amp combo and played out through my Focal speakers, I think the quality more than holds it's own.
And yes, you can create playlists...
So far I have ripped 1100 CD's in FLAC format to the Brennan's 2TB harddrive. I run the Brennan via it's digital output (which also doubles as a regular line output) via optical cable to the built-in DAC in my Cyrus 6XPD amp and must say I'm delighted with the results. So much so that my trusty Cyrus CD transport rarely gets used nowadays!
Yes, the Brennan's controls and interface are a little clunky and a screen that displays album art work would be nice, but having all my CD's at my fingertips has helped me rediscover my music collection. I can't say what the sound quality is like with the Brennan's own amp hooked up to speakers, but used as a means of piping FLAC files into a good quality DAC/amp combo and played out through my Focal speakers, I think the quality more than holds it's own.
And yes, you can create playlists...
I bought one in January and I love it. I have ripped 500 CDs to it so far and love the sound quality. It has completely got me back into listening to music again. I use it purely as a stand alone system buying the speakers that are also available from Brennan.
It can be operated via the menu directly on the unit itself, by the remote control or via PC, lap top, tablet or smart phone using wifi.
It gets regular software updates and has just had a major revamp to its playlists to make them really flexible. If using a lap top etc the playlists are set up simply by dragging tracks, or whole albums into the playlist.
The search facility (using a laptop) is easy to use and it can be used to search for and listen to internet radio stations.
It's possible to download MP3 files as well directly from a PC using wifi.
It can be operated via the menu directly on the unit itself, by the remote control or via PC, lap top, tablet or smart phone using wifi.
It gets regular software updates and has just had a major revamp to its playlists to make them really flexible. If using a lap top etc the playlists are set up simply by dragging tracks, or whole albums into the playlist.
The search facility (using a laptop) is easy to use and it can be used to search for and listen to internet radio stations.
It's possible to download MP3 files as well directly from a PC using wifi.
Definitely no connection to the company whatsoever. I became a new member literally because some of the posts here were either wrong or behind the times, particularly regarding playlists. Yes, the company is still going, just Google Brennan B2.
I have a collection of over 500 CDs but over the years I ended up with none of the separates I used to have (only being able to listen to CDs through my PC or car stereo) and quite frankly didn't want to spend a lot of money getting decent gear. I also wanted something which meant I didn't have to keep getting up to change CDs. The B2 fitted the bill and so I decided to treat myself after Christmas. If I want to get really serious about separates again I can connect up the B2.
The company releases software updates regularly so it is constantly evolving its features.
I liked the product and had great service from the company and so I thought people should know. That's all.
PS: I think they can be bought on Amazon but I bought mine through their website.
I have a collection of over 500 CDs but over the years I ended up with none of the separates I used to have (only being able to listen to CDs through my PC or car stereo) and quite frankly didn't want to spend a lot of money getting decent gear. I also wanted something which meant I didn't have to keep getting up to change CDs. The B2 fitted the bill and so I decided to treat myself after Christmas. If I want to get really serious about separates again I can connect up the B2.
The company releases software updates regularly so it is constantly evolving its features.
I liked the product and had great service from the company and so I thought people should know. That's all.
PS: I think they can be bought on Amazon but I bought mine through their website.
nopiano
Well-known member
. Good to hear some positive thoughts. Can you confirm you have no connection with the company, as erudite contributions from new members are rare. They usually ask a question, or tell us something about themselves.David Wilcox said:
The Gramophone forum had a long running and very negative thread about Brennan. Much was deleted. Then Richer Sounds began to sell them. Then nothing: I've seen no ads, for months. Are they still in business?
If you read the Brennan website intro you will see why Brennan designed the product. Is there a laptop you would want to load 1000+ CDs in lossless form you can think of?
nopiano
Well-known member
manicm
Well-known member
Daniel Ash said:
some of us don't want to use a laptop. And it's likely more expensive than the Brennan.
It seems extremely expensive-but Bennen do offer a free return after trying...
I do not ever use my J7 because it is so "clunky"
but a neat device. If the inbuilt, or ipad, user interface is clunky, it will not be a pleasure to own...
Alternatives to consider-
-Vortexbox flac ripper, control via ipad Squeezepad on ipad
-ipod, ipad or iphone, play through Rokit active speakers/atc 150a...
-jriver on xp laptop with huge harddrive, or netbook-the best inexpensive solution-spesoft free flac cd ripper
A refurb lenovo i7 plus a 2tb drive is about £250
I do not ever use my J7 because it is so "clunky"
but a neat device. If the inbuilt, or ipad, user interface is clunky, it will not be a pleasure to own...
Alternatives to consider-
-Vortexbox flac ripper, control via ipad Squeezepad on ipad
-ipod, ipad or iphone, play through Rokit active speakers/atc 150a...
-jriver on xp laptop with huge harddrive, or netbook-the best inexpensive solution-spesoft free flac cd ripper
A refurb lenovo i7 plus a 2tb drive is about £250
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