Hi,

I am after a hard drive based music streamer to store all my cd's on.
I want something that will also maintain good sound quality (I won't be compressing music into mp3 etc) as it will be used in a resonably hi quality system.
What do you guys think of the Hermstedt Hifidelio and Cambridge audio 640H?
They both seem to offer a lot for the money, and seem to be a cut above the opposition on music quality.
(www.cambridgeaudio.com & www.hermstedt.com if other's havent had a chance to look at these items yet).

All advice appreciated.

No experience with the ones you mention, but we use the Escient Fireball (E2-300) and the Audio Requests...

The Linn Kivor is by far the best if music quality is what you are after. The Linn is however very expensive.

I would hold off on he Cambridge, as although they do CD Players and amplifiers very well, I'm not thrilled with any of the units that have internal software.
We are meant to be getting one soon to try out, but until then I would definately stay with one of the big three (in my opinion) Imerge, ReQuest, Escient.

If you buy a unit with a digital output, either coaxial or optical, the audio performance of the unit becomes a non issue. If you are using the digital output, the audio performance is decided by the D/A converters in your receiver. Why spend money on a good D/A converter in a digital music system, when you've paid good money for it in your receiver? (That was a rhetorical question.)

If you buy a unit with a digital output, I would choose an interface that you like, and make sure it supports the CODEC's that you will use.

Agreed