Music Streamers

Pooh Bear

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I have been looking for a way to play files directly from a portable hard drive without the use of a computer or a network for some time. I was interested in the streamer tests in the latest edition and drawn to the Pioneer N50. I notice however that the manual states that the N50 is not compatible with USB hard drives and that the file System for the USB device must br FAT 32 not NTFS. Large hard drive (partitions) cannot be farmatted with FAT32 due to a windows limitation.

I am disapointed that the review seems to indicate that the N50 will play from USB HDD but this does not seem to be the case.

What device will do what I need other than the Cocktail X10 which seems a bit noddy to me.
 

Lee H

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Pooh Bear said:
without the use of a computer or a network

Sorry, maybe I'm being dim (probably) but what do you mean? Surely to "stream" you're going to need a network of some description
 

Crossie

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If you want to format a large disk using FAT32 you can use EASEUS Partition Master 7.0.1 Home Edition which is free to down load and gets around the Windows problem.
 

John Duncan

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FAT32 can be formatted up to about 8 terabytes. It's file size that FAT32 has a problem with; the limit's 4GB if I remember, which can be a problem with movies if that's your thing. NTFS removes these limitations beyond any practical concerns.

I'm surprised the manual says what it does though; let me have a look...

EDIT: the manual doesn't say that. It says it doesn't support USB hubs and may not power a USB drive, but that's about it...

EDIT AGAIN: Actually, I see what you mean now. "Only the FAT16 and FAT32 file systems are supported. Other file systems (eg NTFS) are not supported" and "This device does not support the use of external hard disc drives."

Most USB drives nowadays act as "USB Mass Storage Devices" (which has a specific definition), I know my 250GB Western Digital Elements does.
 

John Duncan

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A squeezebox touch will also do what you want by the way, and can act as a server for up to two other players, whilst my Cambridge Stream Magic 6 does it as well, as would an NP30. Even my 751BD (or the 651BD) will do it!
 

Pooh Bear

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Lee, you are right of course but most streamers offer the ability to play directly from USB without any apples being involved. There are other catagories of device that will also allow USB to be played but none that I have found that will play from a HDD. They all seem to exclude Portable HDD's but are OK with Sticks.

Many thanks John and Crossie re the Fomating software, I will look at that but the problem with device compatibilty with HDD's remains.

Thanks John, the manual on page 22 says "This device does not support the use of external hard disc drives". I assume this to mean that the USB device connected cannot be an HDD but I may be missreading. I know that Portable drives require a 5V supply from the USB and there may be issues with current available. I dont know whether this is the reason.

What is annoying is that the test article inh What Hi Fi seems to be saying that these "Streamers" can play files from an HDD but I am not sure that this is the case.
 

John Duncan

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Pooh Bear said:
What is annoying is that the test article inh What Hi Fi seems to be saying that these "Streamers" can play files from an HDD but I am not sure that this is the case.

Agreed, may be worth Mr Clough checking with the test team as to what they used...
 
A

Anonymous

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I'd certainly recommend you consider the Denon 720Ae - which is now going for circa £249. It's a great unit and works both wired and wirelessly ( a must for me!) - plus has airplay and a front USB connection

Can't recommend this product enough :wave:
 

Crocodile

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John Duncan said:
A squeezebox touch will also do what you want by the way...
Not something I'd recommend as it tends to be a bit flaky. The onboard resources in the Touch just don't seem to be up to the job of running the slimmed down Logitech software. It may work but equally may not.
 

Cypher

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marafunman said:
I'd certainly recommend you consider the Denon 720Ae - which is now going for circa £249. It's a great unit and works both wired and wirelessly ( a must for me!) - plus has airplay and a front USB connection

Can't recommend this product enough :wave:

I agree. A warm sound with lots of detail. For 249 pounds it's a real bargain.
 

dariushifi

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My Onkyo plays directly from USB hard drive Seagate GoFlex 350Gb No problem. It finds all folders, subfolders and plays

24/96 hi-rez files. And it is a great amp aswell. The same prise as Denon streamer sugested before.
 

Andy Clough

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John Duncan said:
Pooh Bear said:
What is annoying is that the test article inh What Hi Fi seems to be saying that these "Streamers" can play files from an HDD but I am not sure that this is the case.

Agreed, may be worth Mr Clough checking with the test team as to what they used...

I've asked our Tech Ed, Ketan, to clarify first thing tomorrow morning.
 

Ketan Bharadia

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Just to clarify. In the Pioneer N50 review we talk about streaming from a computer hard drive. We mean streaming from a computer that has music stored on its hard drive.
 

Cypher

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I don't think the pioneer N-30 and/or N-50 can read from USB HDD. I read that in another review.

Pretty lame if you ask me...............
 

Pooh Bear

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The Cambridge NP30 clearly states in the manual that an HDD can be used but states that the current limit from the USB connector is 500mA, which is to the USB specification. The manual states that the FAT file system only is supported not NTFS.

The Pioneer N50 states that it is not compatible with HDD on the USB as I said before.

The Marantz 7004 does not rule out HDD as far as I can see but clearly states that "A COMPUTER CAN NOT BE CONNECTED TO AND OPERATE THE UNIT VIA ITS USB PORT". This is contrary to what Ketan stated. The Marantz just has a get out of jail clause that says that it does not guarantee that all USB devices will work. The File system has to be FAT as with the others.

The headline and various points in the article clearly emphasise the use of Hard Disc Drive Storage being used with these devices but I think this has not been investigated fully and thus I believe the article is misleading and could lead to people buying a device that is not suitable for their needs. Sorry!

To me the Cambridge NP30 and possibly the Marantz 7004 looks like it may meet my requirements from the units on test. The Pioneer clearly does not and I very nearly bought one on the basis of this article.
 

John Duncan

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Pooh Bear said:
The Cambridge NP30 clearly states in the manual that an HDD can be used but states that the current limit from the USB connector is 500mA, which is to the USB specification. The manual states that the FAT file system only is supported not NTFS.

I tried an NTFS drive in my 751BD last week and it worked, would you like me to try it in the SM6 (which IIRC excludes NTFS compatibility explicitly in the manual)?
 

nads

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Pooh Bear said:
The Marantz 7004 does not rule out HDD as far as I can see but clearly states that "A COMPUTER CAN NOT BE CONNECTED TO AND OPERATE THE UNIT VIA ITS USB PORT". This is contrary to what Ketan stated.

nope. He said they played the music that was on the computer HDD. no where did he say they controlled the player via the PC.
 

Pooh Bear

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John, thankyou for your reply. The manual does state that the file system should be FAT32 as you say. I think it will probably just come up with an error message but please dont break anything on my behalf. It would be very interesting though!
 

Pooh Bear

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Seems like the Onkyo 8055 the Denon 720 as well as the Cambridge NP30 and possibly the Marantz 7004 maybe good options, thanks for those suggestions. I was also wondering whether there may be a semi portable or all in one solution with a decent sound quality. For a example a device such as the B&W Zeppelin air which I believe will not do what I need (to many apples) but I use it as an example.

I have a Rogers Stream 83i which I have made a battery pack for but that says it is not compatible with HDD even though it does seem to work with a 1.8" portable which came formatted with the FAT file system. The sound from that is nowhere near good enough for more than very casual listening however.

I have seen the CA StreamMagic 6 advertised in the latest edition of What HI-FI, doe s look nice but I wonder if the price will come down a bit.

No response from Ketan, it would be nice to have a more detailed response as to what they actually did on the test and what devices actually support what input devices. I really think this needs more detailsed clarification.

Looking forward to the result from the Sream Magic.

Cheers all.
 

def lugs

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Pooh Bear said:
The Marantz 7004 .... clearly states that "A COMPUTER CAN NOT BE CONNECTED TO AND OPERATE THE UNIT VIA ITS USB PORT".

The no computers rule applies to the front USB only.

Connect a PC directly to the rear USB B input. The PC will then see the unit similar to a sound card.
 

Pooh Bear

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No word from Ketan then.

I have tried formatting a 1TB Portable drive with FAT32 on a Vista Machine using the DOS command line and although it appeared to be working after about 12 Hours it came up with a message that the Volume was to big for FAT32 and the Volume is now formatted as RAW whatever that is. I will try the other methods as suggested with with thanks now but I am loosing hope.

I have a feeling that I am not going to be able to have a Juke Box on a Portable Drive that I can use to store all my CD's and transcribed vinyl and play them at will either on a semi portable or Fixed existing HI-FI system at all without a computer involved at the listening station.

This does not seem like a tall order to me. Why music enthusiasts need to be computer experts to be able to do something as simple as this is beyond me.
 

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