Thank you, Head-Fi'ers - and what I'd like

[piano jazz]

Let me say thank you to the people who run this group and especially to thecontribitors. My story: My old Panasonic PCDP broke, I went looking for a replacement at BestBuy, and imagine my surprise at the junk I found. Googled 'best quality portable cd players, found this group, and it has been a great experience. I bought a Sony D-FJ401 on ebay, some HD-595's (also XP-100's) and an Airhead from Headroom, and now can listen to John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins at anytime of the day or night without triggering a migraine in the spouse. I'm just loving it, and wanted to say thank you.

Now here is what I've been thinking about: I'm old enough to remember a time when 'portable' meant the radio had a handle and batteries. You took it to a picnic or listened to it on your patio. Since they weren't very heavy or bulky, there was no particular advantage to making them smaller. Then they started putting cassette players in them, and they became 'boom-boxes'. Day-glo colors of the casings, "Star-Wars" looking stuff designed for skate-boarders. I'm sure that's a large market judging from the shelf-space it has at the retailers. But try to find a piece of quality gear in this category that looks right to a middle-aged person who likes better things -- where is it?

I have an idea for a product, that if marketed like the Bose Acoutic Wave has been, would, I thnk, be successful. (That means I'd buy one)

It would be about the size of the older portable radios, AM-FM-Weather Band, good capaity Hard Drive, a CD Drive, good amp, good internal speakers, a headphone jack with a nice set of headphones. This would be something that the entire music collection could be stored in, it would go with me to the mountains, on trips in the RV, and would replace the Sony/Airhead set-up I have now for portable use around my home. If I want to fill the room with music or if I want to listen privately, I'm covered. Point is, not every user wants portable gear to jog with, or to take to the mall.

BTW, there's no reason why I might not also want something like an i-pod for other occasions, but if I had to pick one of the two, I'd go for the old-school portable.

 

[bundee1]

You could get a cheap HD players and hook it up to a Tivoli Model One Radio.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/customer/...161&cat=&page=

 

[Elephas]

A product like you describe would have to have several features that may be problematic to implement.

With a CD drive and hard disk, users are going to expect to be able to rip CDs. You would need software for this. What formats would it support? Is the hard disk removeable? Does it have USB or FireWire? Does it have wireless or networking capabilities?

Then you would need a decent-sized screen and an interface to access the music on the hard disk.

All these features will increase the manufacturing cost considerably.

The product would have to have significant advantages over mini-systems and boomboxes that are just paired with iPods.

 

[Elephas]

.

 

[piano jazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bundee1 You could get a cheap HD players and hook it up to a Tivoli Model One Radio. http://www.tivoliaudio.com/customer/...161&cat=&page=

The i-PAL looks really good, Tivoli makes really great-looking products, and you get 30 days to see if you like it. Though I would still need to hook my PCDP up to it to play CD's. Still, it is a good option for what I had in mind. Thank you for showing me this.

 

[piano jazz]

A product like you describe would have to have several features that may be problematic to implement.

You make a number of good points. I had not envisioned the product eliminating the need for a computer. I'd probably just prefer ripping CD's to my PC. But you are right, as far as a built-in HD, a 'port' for an HD player would do the trick, reduce the cost, and add flexibility.

But for me, the stored (compressed) music would simply be a great option that would add variety and convenience when I'm away from my library of CD's for an extended stay. Playing a CD would be my prefered mode.

There has been a good deal written here about loss of SQ in the newer PCDP's due to anti-shock spooling, battery-life concerns, and no more 'line-out' jacks. My thought was you could overcome all these obstacles for people who want something that can be easily moved around, yet need not be moved while in use, and have the added feature of being able to store music. I'd spend $400-500 for something like that, but I'm not at all interested in a $100 dollar boom box to hook up something external to.

 

[Elephas]

Without the CD ripping features, connectivity, and attractive interface software, this product would have trouble competing against what's commonly used today:

iPod (or another DAP with built-in radio)
PCDP
Powered speakers

It's main advantage over the above setup is integration. How the integration is done and at what price point are the key issues.