i'm moving house at the end of may and want to take the opportunity to get back into listening to music instead of always having the TV on, but i want a system that will be integrated with the TV's surround sound system for simplicity and clean lines. to add to the clean lines i will probably be buying a good quality 'virtual surround' sound bar as this avoids loads of wires and speakers everywhere. i realise that it wont be as good for films as a true surround sound system, but will be pretty good for audio.
the ideal scenario for me would be to have a nice TV stand with TV (32" Panasonic viera), Satellite box, sound bar and CD/music player all together without any other wires. i rarely watch DVD's, but there would be room for a blue ray player
my main question is about anyones experiences with CD/HDD players. i hate searching shelves for cd's and would like them all on one device (uncompressed for best quality). there are several devices available like the Brennan JB7 or the Imerge soundserver.
i like the sound of the Brennan as its small and compact with 500gb HDD and can rip in compressed or uncompressed formats. it has a clear display so you can use the remote to find anything within a few seconds.
the Imerge is pretty much the same, but can be used as a server for other rooms as well which is not something that interests me, but you can use a PDA as an advanced remote control which makes seeing the display that much easier.
to get disc info for the Brennan it comes loaded with the most up to date info and you can get an updated CD every 3 months for a few pounds wheras with the Imerge and others like it you need an internet connection to get the disc info just as you do with a pc.
i dont want to spend a huge amount of money on an audio system so if anyone knows of other devices like this or have experience with the 2 mentioned i would greatly appreciate it. also recommendations for sound bars would be helpful. i'm looking towards Yamaha at the moment.
thanks in advance
Graham