Dodgealum- Sorry, dude, what you are talking about IS a computer. Optical drive to read the data, check. Memory to store the data, check. Internet connection to download metadata (unless you want to manually enter the album, artist and track names), check. Microprocessor to run the whole show, interpret the bits in storage and direct the data stream to a digital to analog converter (or as my digital native son calls it, a sound card), check. No matter what the manufacturer calls it,it's a computer. Some call them music servers,
some have other names, but make no mistake about it, it is a computer. If you want a one box solution, then you are talking about something like a MusicVault or an Antipodes among others. The MusicVault has lots of internal storage, the Antipodes, IIRC, requires external storage. Not sure about the Sony HAPZ or whatever it is. You can control most of these from a smartphone, which of course is also a computer.
Does This Machine Exist?
OK, not really up on the whole digital audio revolution and haven't really cared BUT....thinking about how I can maybe free up some shelf space and simplify things a bit. Currently using an Esoteric X03SE. Very happy with it and do most of my serious listening to vinyl with the XO3SE reserved for background music unless I have a very good quality CD or SACD recording that merits greater attention. I'd like to maintain the ability to play CD and SACD and hang on to the 50 or so very good quality issues of these that I own--I like having the booklets and physical medium. BUT, I do have a whole bunch (maybe 200+) CDs that are simply run of the mill--great for the car or for background music but which I would be fine letting go of IF I had a copy stored digitally somewhere. SO--is there a machine out there that will playback CD/SACD with fidelity equal to my Esoteric BUT which will also record/burn my run of the mill stuff and store it on a hard drive within the same unit so I can toggle through with a remote and play these back as background music when I want to hear them? I haven't looked too hard but I don't think I've seen anything like this on the market. If it doesn't exist, why isn't someone making this machine? To be clear--I do NOT want to burn my CDs on to a computer and connect THAT to my audio system--it just FEELS VERY WRONG to me. Computers are for work, not for play.