The Brennan JB7
Sat, Oct 30 2010, 4:44PM
#2
RE: The Brennan JB7 RE: The Brennan JB7
I know this particular question is a bit off topic - but would someone please tell me how to sign up for email alerts.
Hi Geoff, I think once you've added a thread to follow, log in then click on 'my account' (top right) then click on the 'my watched posts' tab. Next to the threads you've listed is an option to turn on email notifications.
Hope this makes sense.
Richy
Sat, Nov 6 2010, 10:05AM
#3
RE: The Brennan JB7
I have been thinking about buying a Brennan JB7 for use as a convenient way of copying vinyl and cassettes to CD because it is not practical for me to have my desktop PC and hi-fi both in the same room. However it would be an expensive way of doing it when I would otherwise just need free Audacity software to do it on the computer.
So, a silly question but I don't know the answer. Does the quality of the PC soundcard affect the digitising of vinyl and cassettes or is it only relevant to playback? If it's of no consequence then I could use my laptop with on-board sound for the transfer and even copy the files to my desktop, if necessary, to burn the CDs.
It does seem to me that I am hoping for the impossible but worth asking. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Roger
Sat, Nov 6 2010, 6:05PM
#4
RE: The Brennan JB7
Sun, Nov 7 2010, 9:13PM
#5
RE: The Brennan JB7
Thank you. I'm really trying to find out if I can achieve a satisfactory result by doing it with my existing equipment. I already have a turntable and cassette deck which I can hook up to my laptop, but the laptop only has on-board sound rather than a decent sound card. What I want to know is what part the sound card plays in the transfer process and how its quality, or lack of it, will affect the end result.
Roger
Fri, Nov 12 2010, 7:59PM
#6
RE: The Brennan JB7
Further to my earlier posts I've not gone further with the JB7. Instead I bought a perfectly reasonable JVC UX-SG5 micro hifi system. While this is hardly top of the range and may not suit people who demand really superb reproduction of string sound, etc. it is fine for me and I've had good experience of the quality of JVC/Technics products in the past (you'll have to trust my integrity when I say I do not work for JVC in any capacity!).
As someone with a lot of music, the key features I wanted were the ability to run and update playlists and shuffle play. The system I've bought does both via the USB memory stick interface. All my downloads and content ripped from vinyl and CD are on my PC and can be transferred this way to a device that cost (sorry Brennan, here it comes) just a third of the price of the JB7 320GB model.
The only correction I'd make to one of my previous posts is that in spite of the arrival of iPod Nano, etc. the original Classic devices seem to have held their value pretty well. A new 160GB Classic costs around £175 based on prices on Amazon/eBay but you may have to pay £130 to find a comparable second hand unit from people selling via the same sources. So maybe this solution isn't quite as competitive on price as I first thought.
Fri, Nov 12 2010, 8:17PM
#7
RE: The Brennan JB7
Just also read the earlier post by Roger.
I have used an ion deck and Audacity to transfer vinyl to WAV / MP3. I don't know whether this is a sound card issue, but one thing you need to watch out for is that sometimes the forward/backward balance of individual musicians is poor.
I have not noticed it on classical tracks (eg. bringing a concerto soloist further forward or backward in the mix compared to the original vinyl balance). However I have a couple of Santana albums on which Carlos's guitar was so muted it sounded like he'd been banished to a different studio down the hall from the rest of the band. This has happened on a number of albums and really spoils your enjoyment of anything that's familiar.
I can't offer a solution as I tried to correct it using several of the options in the 'Effect' menu in Audacity (including 'Normalize' and 'Equalize') but had no joy. I would be interested to know if anyone else has found a solution.
To be fair this overlooks the very large amount of material I have successfully transferred with the ion+Audacity set up.
Sat, Nov 13 2010, 1:27AM
#8
RE: The Brennan JB7
I have a Sony CMTBX77DBI mini hi-fi with iPod dock which appears to be the Sony equivalent of Peanut's JVC. I bought it because I believed it would serve well as a compact music station in the sitting room where listening to music is not the main activity. I use it with my iPod and as a CD player and it's fine for that.
My main hi-fi comprises Technics separates with 35-year-old B&O speakers and the combination produces a very satisfactory sound quality so far as I am concerned. That's in a different room where the components, which my wife regards as obtrusive, do not upset domestic harmony.
I wouldn't change the iPod for a Brennan because the former is so easy to use and provides a convenient storage medium for day-to-day use. If the Brennan offered the same level of information management as the iPod I might go for it but, as it is, for me the only attraction of the Brennan is the convenience it offers in transferring vinyl to CD.
I note what you say, Peanut, about the apparent limitations of Audacity and thanks for that advice.
Can anyone please answer my original question about the sound card?
Mon, Nov 15 2010, 10:13PM
#9
RE: The Brennan JB7
Hope it helps though sadly I've had to deal with the balance problem the expensive way: ie. buying CDs to replace vinyl that didn't transfer to my satisfaction.
Returning to the Brennan for one last time, put it on a shelf alongside my JVC and the JB7 wins absolutely hands down in the "I want one of those stakes". It looks superb, especially the blue model. But I don't see the space-saving benefits that Brennan major on as a benefit.
Be honest: do you put your CDs on display to show everyone what a great music collection you've got (in the same way as people put books on display to show how well-read they are) ... and for ease of getting to them, of course?! Come on - do you begrudge that space - really?
However, if space-saving is the niche they're aiming at then I wish them luck.
Sun, Nov 21 2010, 6:45PM
#10
RE: The Brennan JB7
listen, guys. i have a problem... a love of music, a load of cds and.. have just been told my eye sight is failing. seems to me the Brennan might be the answer to my future problem.. ie i can load up my whole collection and then, when i no longer have much central vision, i will still be able to hear my music easily at the push of a button on the Brennan's remote.. a lot easier than trying to load cds in the normal way. BUT... although i am computer literate i am no geek... is it simple to load the cds? is it simple to play them back? could someone like me, a very un-technical person actually manage to work the thing....aaarrgghh it's a lot of money to pay out. your comments would be appreciated.
Wed, Nov 24 2010, 3:23PM
#11
RE: The Brennan JB7
Thanks everyone for your very useful comments
I've gone for it and bought one.
It's sure to make my life easier.
Please can someone recommend an external hard drive for back up as I've gone for the 500Gb model and I could do without faffing about.
I'd like to take it out of the box, plug it in and 'BINGO'
Wed, Nov 24 2010, 4:40PM
#12
RE: The Brennan JB7
I recommend the Buffalo Tech mini drives or the La Cie drives. I have both and they are really easy to use.
Thu, Nov 25 2010, 12:39PM
#13
RE: The Brennan JB7
If anyone is thinking of going for a Brennan they would do well to at least have a dem of the Sonos system and in particular when controlled by an iPad.
It is more expensive, but in this case the extra is justified by a superb user interface; ideal for browsing when you are not sure exactly what you want to listen to. Another plus point is that it has digital out so that it is suitable for feeding into a high quality hifi system along with support of lossless formats such as FLAC and Apple Lossless. Fairly easy to set up but to make the most of the user interface tagging classical CDs requires some effort.
It may not be for everyone but worth looking at before investing.
Sun, Nov 28 2010, 3:12PM
#14
RE: The Brennan JB7
thanks parisboy42
I take it these drives like the 500Gb Brennan?
Sun, Nov 28 2010, 6:22PM
#15
RE: The Brennan JB7
Notech,
Here is the link from the Brennan JB7 website on the make of hard drives they recommend and have tested:http://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/help#Q2
Regardless of the drive you buy, it needs to be reformatted to FAT32 format, using the Windows formatting feature. Some drives may already come formatted in FAT32, while others may come formatted in NTFS format in which case you need to reformat them. Hope that helps.
Returning again to the thread I launched some time ago, and picking up all the ensuing replies, I am even more convinced that the Brennan has shortcomings for most CM enthuasists, especilally the lack of a straightforward access to tracks. Peanut's suggestion of the Classic iPod with 160 Gb capacity seems very sound: I find the 320 kps option available for ripping CDs meets my listening requirements, and apart from the odd occasion when the Gracenote facility cannot trace a work I have little difficulty in tracing a work on my iPod.