Where do I go from here?

[Al110]

Hi,

Up until now my digital music(ripped from CDs in Apple lossless) has all been on my Ipod classic(160gb)but it's finally full and while my complete iTunes library is on a Sony laptop with plenty of extra storage it's used by the rest of the family.So I need a solution where I can store all my music in one place and leave it permanently connected to my Hifi ,I'm not interested in any form of wireless steaming to unreliable and to complicated for a computer novice like me,I have my iTunes library on a Nas but I have never been able to get it to work with my Marantz AV amp and also the melody system I used to own.

So I need some recommendations for what to do next?All I've come up with is getting another laptop or maybe a 2nd hand MacBook Pro or Mac mini,is this my ony option or is there something I'm missing,

A few other questions while I'm here-

if I have my iTunes stored on a PC and then swap to a mac can I transfer them over or have I got to re-rip all my CDs to the mac?

Is there a sound quality difference between pcs and mac ?(hope I'm not re opening a can of worms here,That's not my intension)

If I use a Mac mini can I use an ipad as the display?

My total budget for this is £500 to £800.

My present system is - iPod Classic,Onkyo ND-S1 dock,Oppo HA-1 headphone amp & Dac,Musical fidelity M1CDT,Rega Brio-R and Dali Zensor 3 speakers.Whatever solution I go for must integrate with this system.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated,Thanks.

 

[tino]

You could get a Sony HAP-S1 ... 500GB storage. 40W amplification. Colour LCD screen. If you sold the iPod, dock, headphone amp, amp you could buy this one box that does all you need.

 

[Overdose]

Hi,

Up until now my digital music(ripped from CDs in Apple lossless) has all been on my Ipod classic(160gb)but it's finally full and while my complete iTunes library is on a Sony laptop with plenty of extra storage it's used by the rest of the family.So I need a solution where I can store all my music in one place and leave it permanently connected to my Hifi ,I'm not interested in any form of wireless steaming to unreliable and to complicated for a computer novice like me,I have my iTunes library on a Nas but I have never been able to get it to work with my Marantz AV amp and also the melody system I used to own.

So I need some recommendations for what to do next?All I've come up with is getting another laptop or maybe a 2nd hand MacBook Pro or Mac mini,is this my ony option or is there something I'm missing,

A few other questions while I'm here-

if I have my iTunes stored on a PC and then swap to a mac can I transfer them over or have I got to re-rip all my CDs to the mac?

No re-ripping required, but given the effort that goes into collating a comprehensive library with all the correct artwork and metadata, I would seriously look at getting yourself a backup disc to make regular copies/backups.

Is there a sound quality difference between pcs and mac ?(hope I'm not re opening a can of worms here,That's not my intension)

Some people suggest so. My observations are that those that feel this way mainly use Pcs and Mac users by and large don't have the same issues. There is a term 'bit perfect' Macs do it quite happily without the need for extra software. However, it is my belief that various software addons are uneccessary and I would recommend that you pay it no heed, your sound quality should be fine regardless.

If I use a Mac mini can I use an ipad as the display?

Yes, it works a treat.

My total budget for this is £500 to £800.

My present system is - iPod Classic,Onkyo ND-S1 dock,Oppo HA-1 headphone amp & Dac,Musical fidelity M1CDT,Rega Brio-R and Dali Zensor 3 speakers.Whatever solution I go for must integrate with this system.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated,Thanks.

You have many options, but ultimately what you need is a media player that will playback all of your music. In this situation, a Sonos Connect would seem to fit the bill. It will connect via ethernet (hardwire) and being a media player, will be able to access your music on the NAS and play it back. Control apps for the Sonos via iPad are available also.

I curently use a Mac mini for multi media playback and my NAS is for backup. It works really well as a server and media player, but you really don't need to go this route as you already have most neccessary components.