OFF: Digital Music Server advice

[Keith Henderson]

Hi Folks...

Um...if I might interrupt normal programming for a second, and ask the techies here a simple (?) question.

We're moving house here in a month, and the new place has a nice, but fairly compact living room.  We would like to avoid cluttering up the place with racks of old CDs and such, and switch to all digital music listening (I have all my music in AAC already, so I generally listen tethered to the computer or on the fly with an old 8GB iPod, sometimes plugged into the car console through a male-male 3.5" headphone cable.)  So I'm talking about my Mom's music collection, which while only a tiny fraction of the size of my own, is still fairly extensive.

I don't follow tech. developments AT ALL except for very basic trends, so I don't even know where to start searching.

All I really want is a simple "Home stereo component version of a large-ish iPod."  I don't want it to be wireless, I don't want (need) it to have video- or game- functionality at all.  I don't want (need) it to have a drawer to load a CD (either for playing or ripping).  I just want it to be a hard storage unit with an ISB outlet that will allow for quick transfer of new files via memory stick, or semi-permanent read access from an additional larger portable external drive.  The storage doesn't need to be giant, maybe 100-200 GB.  What I want is just a really nice, simple, easy, interface for reading/searching through a vast library of music, with all the sorts of normal iPod features (playlists, shuffle play, organizing music by title/artist/style/etc), and a really nice display panel of some size that will face front and display current title/artist/album art/time-progress during play.  Presumably, the output would be a simple RCA pair going to
 the AUX port of a normal stereo receiver.  Maybe an optional 3.5mm jack in addition.  Maybe a simple remote to pause, change output volume, forward/backward, not necessary to have all the search functions on the remote (as would be on the module itself).  That is, I don't need a screen interface on the remote, but if it has that and is not ridiculously expensive, fine.

I'm afraid that many of these kinds of devices will be loaded up with EVERY POSSIBLE interface known to man and therefore be unnecessarily expensive.  King of All Media/Connects to everything in the whole neighborhood type nonsense.  I will do all my music library work on this desktop computer - I don't need this to link to anything that I haven't already prepared for quick playback.  I don't need it to stream anything ever.  I just want the interface to have a really nice display and be easy to use.  Otherwise, I want it to be stupid.  :)

Any hints?  Who makes this device?  Does it cost less than $400?

Thanks!   Keith H. (State College PA)


P.S.  Back on topic (HW):  Planning to hit Philly and DC, and then maybe Toronto and Cleveland, or perhaps one of the other NE instead (depending on timing/work).