This is a slight cheat because this is playback equipment rather than Recording Equipment …
I was wondering if any of you out there had any experience of owning/playing one of these Brennan JB7 digital Jukeboxes?
I have been searching for a while now for something like this to plumb into one of the inputs on my hi-fi amp (Quad 33/303).
Or is there anything else out there? What I’m really looking for is a mains powered iPod in a hi-fi sized casing. It’s always amazed me that Apple doesn’t make one with an iPod/iTunes interface. That way I could just replicate it with my iTunes library on my PC.
Aside: I also dream of having a car radio slot device which behaves like an iPod and can be temporarily removed to synch with my iTunes database - but I don’t see any of those anywhere …
WC
Is there any reason you’re not plugging your actual iPod into these services?
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2117891
I use mine for line-level testing all the time. The headset connection turns out a delightful line level to the sound system of your choice. Plug the power adapter in and you’re good to go for as much music as you want.
Radio Shack makes a far cheaper one of those cables, or you can go down to Frys Electronics for cheaper yet.
Koz
Hi Koz,
cctually yes - the reason is that the JB7 supports a maximum disk size of 500Gb (The website says 320gb max - but you can order the bigger size on special order). This will enable me to load my classical collection and favoured other CDs as lossless WAV files with the others ripped at high bitrate compression. Actually I could really do with a 1 or 1.5Tb disk then I think eveything could go in as WAV. Also it would be mains powered and not battery-powered like the iPod.
I have had my iPod plumbed into my hi-fi to test it (I actually need minijack to 5-pin DIN to connect) fed into Quad 33/303/ESL 57 electrostatic loudspeakers - the trouble is that even with my ageing ears I can clearly hear the difference between the compressed iPod AAC file and the equivalent track played from CD.
One of the key downsides of the JB& is that it only supports seven playlists - colour-coded with rainbow colurs - and there is no genre support.
One other option I am considering is to use my laptap and connect that through a Behringer UCA202 plumbed into the Quad kit. The advantage of that is that my laptop is the machine which holds my my iTunes library already - so there would be no second library to load (and backup) on the JB7. Plus with the laptop I get the fill iTunes interface, including full-screen album art, genres, many playlists.
So as I said I my earlier post in this thread - I really wish that Apple produced a mains-powered “iPod” in hi-fi unit dimensions - so that I could easily synch that with my iTunes library - but they don’t …
I have dreamt of a software driven hi-fi jukebox for many, many years now - the frustration is that we are so close with most of the components available now - but still tantalisingly not achievable or built by any manufacturer.
WC