Brennan B2 music server

[Yesfan70]

I saw an ad for this on YT while watching some space stuff with my oldest son. Seems pretty cool, so I looked at it on Amazon. This seems pretty close to the long dead Squeezebox many of us here still enjoy, but at a steeper price. Has anyone seen or own one? How does it compare to other servers, especially the Squeezebox. I'm curious if more than one can be used and how 2+ would work together since the units have their own contained HDDs.

I'm not looking to buy, but just am curious about it. I have a Transporter and two Squeezeboxes, so I think I'm good. If anything, I'd buy another SB for a much lower price than what the B2 is going for. What I do like is the self enclosed HDD. No need for a separate PC for the music to be stored on. The downside I see would probably be the whole server, music and all, is lost if the B2 bit the dust for any reason. That might be a non issue if a back up drive can be hooked up. The B2 has 3 USB ports on the rear.

Seems like a cool looking device none the less.

Amazon Link

 

[Haywood]

This is an entirely different animal than a Squeezebox. It is an appliance for ripping CDs and managing a music library, as well as providing playback. I can see where this might be an attractive option for someone who wants the benefits of putting their music on a server, but doesn't want to mess with the hassles of dealing with a computer.

 

[Flint]

I kinda feel like technology has blown way past this sort of product and made it and similar products obsolete. Today there are so many services for either storing your CDs in the cloud (like OneDrive or similar) or licensing your music for streaming from their online database of songs (Amazon Music, Apple Music) or even affordable services giving you access to entire global libraries of great music (Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, etc.).

Really, the only time something like this is useful is when you want a perfect fidelity copy of your CD for critical listening - and based on the responses in my "do you sit and listen anymore" thread, most of us don't bother to listen most of the time anymore. Casual listening has replaced critical listening, and for those who still partake in critical listening, grabbing a CD off a shelf is often easier and faster than hunting through any user interface when you know what you want to hear.

To me, the need for any home digital music library is fading. I've got so much investing in my digital music library that I still add every CD I buy to it, but at this point it is just momentum driving that activity.

 

[Haywood]

I spent an incredible amount of time compiling and curating my music library to get it where it is, but I hardly ever use it. Amazon Music and Google Play Music are always with me and super convenient. I love being able to just walk into the house and tell a device to play a song.

 

[Flint]

I spent an incredible amount of time compiling and curating my music library to get it where it is, but I hardly ever use it. Amazon Music and Google Play Music are always with me and super convenient. I love being able to just walk into the house and tell a device to play a song.

Back at the S&V Forum I remember going on for years screaming at all of you that streaming audio was pointless and crap. That was based on the lack of ubiquitous connectivity and the shitty quality of nearly all the MP3 encoders and low bit rates. Since then encoders have vastly improved where a 150Kbps stream sounds great compared to the same bit rate 15 years ago. Also, we have reached the point where we damn near have universal coverage for our broadband services.

So, I have changed my mind on this issue.

 

[Haywood]

I have roughly 26,000 tracks at 320kbps on my server and I can access it from anywhere, but it is mostly used for three activities:

1. My wife sometimes uses it to listen to K-Pop tracks that she doesn't have on her phone
2. Using Plex's excellent Sync feature to download music to mobile devices for off-line use
3. Loading SD cards to use in the car.

 

[Flint]

I have roughly 26,000 tracks at 320kbps on my server and I can access it from anywhere, but it is mostly used for three activities:

1. My wife sometimes uses it to listen to K-Pop tracks that she doesn't have on her phone
2. Using Plex's excellent Sync feature to download music to mobile devices for off-line use
3. Loading SD cards to use in the car.

If you were to start from scratch today... would you still install Plex, master its use, create an intense custom configuration, and load all your CDs to it? Or, would you just get by with what streaming and online services have to offer?

 

[Bote]

Over here it is easier. The head fi store where i get my gears has a huge collection of flac music of almost all genre. All i have to do is get my hard drive and copy all i want then listen from my gears be it headphones or via home audio.

 

[Haywood]

If you were to start from scratch today... would you still install Plex, master its use, create an intense custom configuration, and load all your CDs to it? Or, would you just get by with what streaming and online services have to offer?

That was kind of my point. I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours buying, ripping, tagging, organizing, etc. The use cases I gave above are pretty thin. All of my wife's stuff is in the iTunes cloud. I can just as easily sync from Google Play to my phone. I haven't thought through the SD card bit. Any odd music that is not available on the services I use can be uploaded to them.

Would I do this all again? Of course not. I would pick a subscription service and buy the odd album or track I couldn't find there. I could cover a Google Play Music family subscription for more than 50 years for what I spent on CDs.

 

[Flint]

But you'd still want CD/SACD/DVD-A copies of your reference music, right?

I don't know if I can give up buying CDs altogether since I find the whole experience of owning the music, picking it out, putting it in the player, and so on, a critical part of listening seriously. Much like the many of the LP lovers who list the fact they have to take it seriously to put on an LP makes them take listening more seriously.

 

[Haywood]

Reference music might be 10% of my library.