Ipod product question

[Mr Peabody]

I am not one who downloads music and in fact I prefer to keep my computer and hi fi totally separate. Some of this may be due to my computer illiteracy. I was wondering if there is an Ipod or similar product that would allow one to record directly from your home stereo?

[Mike Anderson]

If I understand correctly, you want something you can plug into your stereo, and digitally record music, e.g. like an iPod with an input for recording?

[paul_pci]

What exactly do you wish to accomplish by digitally recording music directly from stereo?

[Mr Peabody]

That is correct Mike. Or, I'd even settle for an analog connection.

What I'm trying to accomplish is the same as every one else is, putting some of my favorite songs in a portable database to carry with me. EXCEPT, I don't want to use my computer to do it. Some of us have music collections not of the internet.

[noddin0ff]

MrP- I don't think such a thing exists. I could be wrong.

If you don't have/want a computer I can see your reasoning. But if you do have a computer to use for this you should reconsider. There's many advantages to using a computer as a go between. It can hold more than the device so you can reload the device with any subset of your collection. It will likely last longer than the device so you can replace the device without haveing to re-rip your music. It allows more flexibility in formats and format conversions. There are many user friendly interfaces to choose from. It provides more routes to making back ups. There are more software and hardware packages to choose from.

I do not own any downloaded internet music. But, I would never put all my music on an iPod (or other) with out having a copy backed up on the computer (and soon backed up on multiple hard drives).

Getting your music collection on a computer is very liberating in ways that are hard to appreciate until you make the leap. You can get lots of help and advice here!

[teledynepost]

You could probably get a computer pretty cheaply if all you're using it for is ripping music from CD (internet not required)

[Mike Anderson]

Do some searching, I bet this sort of thing exists.

Here's something, but it's expensive:

http://www.core-sound.com/pdaudio_system/1.php

I don't know if that's exactly what you're looking for though.

[Mike Anderson]

Note that it's also possible to hack an iPod to record in hifi; it involves installing Linux on it, not sure if you're up for it:

http://ipod.hackaday.com/entry/1234000147025394/

[Mr Peabody]

I do have a computer. It's a flippin' Dell. It came with some kind of Software for the CD & DVD burner and I was going to make a comp soon after I got the computer and it was so much a pain in the butt compared to just recording from my stereo. It's probably like everything else though, it takes getting used to.

I'll check those links.

Thanks dudes

[noddin0ff]

I'll first qualify my statement by admitting to being Mac/Apple biased.

Check out iTunes for the PC.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Certainly one of the barriers to any task on a computer is figuring out the user interface and all the jargon mumbo jumbo. I think apple does a pretty good job of making their products easy to use.

Install it. Open it. Set one or two preferences about what format you want your files in. Pop in a music CD. And hit the import button. It's free.

If you have a portable player other than iPod, import the files as MP3. They exist on the hardrive in organized folders and you can likely drag-and-drop to whatever player you have.

[paul_pci]

Yeah, if you have a substantial music collection it could be a time consuming pain in the ass to transfer music to a computer and then to a mp3 player, etc. I don't think there's a way around it. People are even making a living by doing the transfer for you. I believe they charge per CD.

[HAVIC]

If you want the only mp3 with optical in/out they were made by IRiver, either the h120 or h140 models. They are no longer made by them but you can still get them brand new on ebay. It is a very highly coveted mp3 player for its capabilities. I've owned one for over a year and love it.

Reason it is better than an ipod. Seperate line out, either analog or optical. analog line in/optical line in. No proprietary software to use. Better battery life by over 4 hours. FM Radio built in that you can save directly to mp3. No computer necessary to convert any audio input to mp3 or wav. Built in voice recorder.

Mr.P this is exactly what you want plus you can use rockbox.org software as well on it a freeware program that the rockbox people gave to the world it is awesome.

[Mr Peabody]

Thanks

[Mr Peabody]

Hey, I found a good selection of Iriver on www.overstock.com. I ordered a ??895. Most of the models are refurbs but they had them at a pretty good price and I really didn't want to jack around with Ebay. I'm looking forward to seeing what this baby will do.