Brennan B2 (1 Viewer)

[Diabalo]

Thinking of ripping all my CDs to a storage device to save space. Is anyone using a Brennan B2 if so I would be interested in pros and cons, or recommendations for a similar device. I know I could do it on my laptop but the Brennan looks the dogs wotsits for ripping easily.

 

[TheMachMan]

Interested to follow this. They look really smart, but surprised no one else makes something similar. I always buy CD’s then rip to a Mac. My thinking is that I’ve got a high quality version saved on the CD and I actually own a something physical.

 

[Gellyneck]

Thinking of ripping all my CDs to a storage device to save space. Is anyone using a Brennan B2 if so I would be interested in pros and cons, or recommendations for a similar device. I know I could do it on my laptop but the Brennan looks the dogs wotsits for ripping easily.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but are you looking to rip your cd collection to play in your motorhome through the media system if so why not just rip them to an external hard disc \ usb stick \ mobile phone (sd card) and connect that to the media player?

 

[Diabalo]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but are you looking to rip your cd collection to play in your motorhome through the media system if so why not just rip them to an external hard disc \ usb stick \ mobile phone (sd card) and connect that to the media player?

That's what I normally do but the Brennan looks so much easier and with the app you can control it via a smart phone. It's bleedin dear even for a rich southerner

 

[Ingwe]

I was planning to do the same and did some research.
I found this thread helpful.
Not sure what I’ll end up doing but I’d certainly look at other things besides the Brennan.
https://forums.whathifi.com/threads/alternative-to-brennan-hard-drive.98030/

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[Gellyneck]

That's what I normally do but the Brennan looks so much easier and with the app you can control it via a smart phone. It's bleedin dear even for a rich southerner

Yeh I wouldn't be paying £500ish to rip cd's for playing back in the motorhome! Particularly if it's an AT!

We've got 500(?) cd's ripped to an sd card in a mobile and connect to the media unit via A2DP. Album selection, playback, volume, etc, etc all controlled by mobile (or media unit). Even got it set-up to show the album cover, track playing, etc on the mobile and the media centre.

 

[joe and sue]

Family bought me a Brennan JB some years back, holds my entire CD collection, 4,000 plus and all seachable with ease, only the sise of a good hardback book .
We take it away in the MH and paly through the MH radio,
Brilliant piece of kit, and i believe the latest ones are even better, but I am banned from the Brennan website,
Go for it
BTW, you don't even need an amp, jjust hook their speakers up to the unit, excellent sound quality
Joe

 

[Niall B]

I got the BB1 and a cheap cd drive from Amazon (as recommended on the Brendan site) and found it a good way to rip CDs. Works really well as a bathroom radio and I have all my music ripped to lossless. I expanded the storage by swapping out the supplied memory card.

 

[Langtoftlad]

It's a solution to a problem that doesn't exist since the advent of modern mobile phones & high capacity sd cards.

It's why the iPod died, except for a small niche of enthusiasts.

Certainly ripping cds to digital storage is a good idea.

 

[TheMachMan]

The biggest benefit IMHO is loss less quality for playing at home through good speakers. And then being able to put all my CDs in the loft!
For the van I’m not sure you’d hear the difference with MP3. But it is portable and small so hardly a hindrance.

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[robnchris]

Can't see why anyone would bother ripping cd"s, Spotify is the perfect answer, all my music collection and almost anything else I want to listen to for a tenner a month all on my mobile so easy to take anywhere in the world.

 

[Diabalo]

Looks like I will sitting down at me puter to do all of them and save me pennies.

 

[Langtoftlad]

tenner a month

...is the reason. For music you have already paid for...

 

[Gellyneck]

The biggest benefit IMHO is loss less quality for playing at home through good speakers. And then being able to put all my CDs in the loft!
For the van I’m not sure you’d hear the difference with MP3. But it is portable and small so hardly a hindrance.

CDs ripped to mobile is probably as portable as you can get given you'll probably be carrying that anyway.

 

[Gellyneck]

Looks like I will sitting down at me puter to do all of them and save me pennies.

Common sense or cheapskate!

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[robnchris]

...is the reason. For music you have already paid for...

True, for the music I had in my collection but have since downloaded 1000's of Tracks and 100's of Albums which I never previously owned.
Spotify has broadened my music tastes and introduced me to so many different artists, their playlists are brilliant.
Not being a TV watcher, I will light the Log Burner, pour a glass of Red and listen to Spotify introduce me to music and artists all from the comfort of my Settee.
As said for £10 per month it's a no brainer.

 

[Langtoftlad]

...

True, for the music I had in my collection but have since downloaded 1000's of Tracks and 100's of Albums which I never previously owned.
Spotify has broadened my music tastes and introduced me to so many different artists, their playlists are brilliant.
Not being a TV watcher, I will light the Log Burner, pour a glass of Red and listen to Spotify introduce me to music and artists all from the comfort of my Settee.
As said for £10 per month it's a no brainer.

...or you could listen to Internet Radio for nowt

 

[jannyman]

Can't see why anyone would bother ripping cd"s, Spotify is the perfect answer, all my music collection and almost anything else I want to listen to for a tenner a month all on my mobile so easy to take anywhere in the world.

This. Looked at the Brennan a few years ago with the idea of doing what the o/p is thinking of. Ended up buying the NovaFidelity X12 and proceeded to rip my cd collection whenever I had a spare hour or so until the novelty wore off because it does take time. Long story short - the cd collection is in the attic, the streamer sits unused under the telly (although it worked faultlessly streaming via Sonos) and subscribing to Spotify (after taking up their free three-month trial) was a revelation - having access to the vast majority of my old favourites and enabling me to explore a lot of new material for a tenner a month. Each to their own though. Just my experience. Good luck.

 

[TheMachMan]

The problem I see with Spotify is that you will have to pay that subscription indefinitely, never owning any more music. Appreciate it broadens your music experience though, but so does some radio and YouTube channels.

 

[jannyman]

The problem I see with Spotify is that you will have to pay that subscription indefinitely, never owning any more music. Appreciate it broadens your music experience though, but so does some radio and YouTube channels.

Correct of course but do you really need to ‘own’ the music or just ‘sample’ it from time to time? It’s been years since I bought a cd and I used to buy quite a few! How many times did or do I ‘revisit’ cds in my collection? An inverse proportion to the size of the collection I fear but as I said - each to their own. Whatever suits your needs to enjoy what and when you want!

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[robnchris]

...

...or you could listen to Internet Radio for nowt

Yes you could listen to any radio station but then you are listening to someone else's choice of music and not your own.

 

[robnchris]

The problem I see with Spotify is that you will have to pay that subscription indefinitely, never owning any more music. Appreciate it broadens your music experience though, but so does some radio and YouTube channels.

Hey not every system will suit everyone, for me paying the £10 per month is less than I would payout for CD's through a year, not owning the music in solid form as a CD doesn't bother me as now I don't have 1000's of CD's to store, I don't have to sift through and load up a CD to only listen to a couple of tracks.
Without getting out of my seat I have all my music available at the press of a button wherever I am.
As for paying the subscription indefinitely well yes but that is how the world is moving, we've currently pay £159 a year for a TV licence, then on top people pay for Netflix and other pay for view channel, that makes the Spotify cost look a good deal.

 

[TheMachMan]

Yes you could listen to any radio station but then you are listening to someone else's choice of music and not your own.

True, but then Spotify use Algorithms to select music for you too. So that’s not your choice either. Interesting debate as the world is moving to subscriptions on so many things. I guess I just like to own my music.

 

[robnchris]

True, but then Spotify use Algorithms to select music for you too. So that’s not your choice either. Interesting debate as the world is moving to subscriptions on so many things. I guess I just like to own my music.

Good point about Spotify and their use of Algorithms, only the other night we were chatting about the choice of music Spotify was now playing after one of our own Playlists had finished.
The particular Playlist consists of tracks by Beth Hart, Joe Bonamassa, Leon Russell, Tedeschi Trucks etc etc. the tracks it chose to play were a spot on match for the music in our Playlist we were well impressed.

 

[Augusta08]

I've got one and it is a great piece of kit.......... But Brennan is a bit of Raspberry Pi nerd (like me) and his software is a work in progress rather than the polished professional finished article. But I'm an ex-CEO of a multinational software company and probably a difficult customer to please in that regard.

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