Brennan B2 (480G SSD Black) Hifi - Hard disk CD ripper & recorder, storage and player with Bluetooth, Youtube, Internet Radio, Stereo Power amplifier, NAS, Wav, Lossless (FLAC) and MP3.

I really like this unit, which has let me have a good choice of music in a part of the house that was previously more limited.With a few changes, it could be absolutely wonderful.The remote control is compact, which is a mixed blessing. It's easy to mislay It's also not very easy to use, so I make more use of the computer interface to control the unit. The orientation of the remote is not very obvious, and it you hold it upside-down and press where Play would be, you get a very confusing result.It's great to have loss-less compression, which preserves recording quality while providing lots of capacity.Minor improvements would make the B2 as easy to use as iTunes. For example, one needs to be able to sort by Composer, as well as by artist and album -- one gets the feeling that the designer expected users to be limited to pop music.The database of CD descriptions is far more limited than when importing CDs to iTunes. One can get round that by loading iTunes files to the Brennan, but then you lose the higher quality of the B2's lossless compression. I prefer to type it all in at the computer.My unit came with a defective CD reader, for which Brennan promptly arranged a replacement. I cannot fault their responsiveness.The internal CD is pretty slow, to the extent that Brennan suggests plugging in an external unit. That might also address the problem I've had where the odd track is not properly imported, causing playback to stall at the end of the previous track.The concept is so brilliant that I really hope future software/firmware updates will bring the execution up to the same high standard. Obviously that won't improve the remote control, but I'd happily pay extra for a remote of the quality that Sony includes with its small audio equipment.I am addicted to the B2, and will be looking into Sonos speakers to spread its wonders around the house.

I'm a bit of a techie, but after going all in on various audiophile systems, I realised that all I really wanted was something clean, simple to use, well made and that fits in with a more minimalist approach to music appreciation. I've had my eye on the Brennan B2 since it came out, and now that I have one in my possession, really wish I'd bought it years ago.First things first, this is really well made - it's small but perfectly proportioned, feels good in hand. The size is incredible - I wanted something discrete that won't draw the ire of she who must be obeyed, and this ticks that box. Equally the quality of the display is generations beyond what I'm used to - beautiful, clear, with very nice fonts.Functionality-wise, and especially now that it supports direct streaming to Sonos, this hits the mark for me in so many ways. Yes it's got the CD player function, and yes it'll rip to the hard disk in a matter of minutes - but it's also got internet radio, it can output via bluetooth, optical, 3.5mm aux, or directly wired speakers. I've got mine hooked up to the Naim MuSo in my dining room (where I work!) via optical connection, but then through the web interface connect it to the living room Sonos setup (ARC + sub + two satellites), and it's now making me think of having another Sonos in the bedroom. So for anyone with a Sonos home setup, this B2 can live anywhere in your house and give you access to your ripped CDs!Overriding feeling with this purchase is one of extreme satisfaction - it's more than I expected, Brennan's approach to continuous improvement is to be commended and as someone who won't let go of CDs as a musical format, this makes me very happy.

Glad i read the reviews and FAQ before buying this. Upon powering up mine didnt fire up but id read the memory card sometimes didn't contact properly, so the case was straight open to refit the card, its easy and i plugged a ribbon ethernet in whist it was open. I read one review saying its glitchy , only other problem was over the space of several hundred discs i loaded , two or three wouldn't read but read and loaded using an external drive but by the same token there were a couple that the external drive wouldn't read that the internal one did read so that sort of evens it up. The database doesn't have all the covers but you can either get them off the net or scan and load yours. The sound of Flac to my ears is as good as any system ive heard. Couple of months down the line and several hundred cds loaded and would i still buy it again ? Yes definitely.

I have only had my B2 about a month and have ripped around 100 cds It sounds good I have connected it via the optical out through a cheap DAC as my exposure amp doesn’t have a optical in. I have compared it against my exposure CD player and I can’t tell the difference and that’s only using a £10 DAC , so very impressive sound wise. Navigating around the B2 is a bit clunky at times especially using the tiny remote which whilst it does what’s needed is too small and fiddly. Also I have found after ripping maybe 10 cds it stops finding the song information but is easily rectified by switching the machine off and on and it’s really quick to reboot. Also it sometimes gets stuck in a certain position and seems a bit confused which can be a bit frustrating which again needs a reboot. But all in all impressive and I would recommend.

Having had a great experience with the 'original' JB 7 unit,I was attracted by the additional features to be found onthis, the latest iteration.Unfortunately, I found the user interface to be very non-intuitive, not helped by a tiny remote control .From a brief trial, I couldn't find fault with the in-built databaseand the sound quality from the internal amp.However, as ease of use is top of my priorities, I returned theunit for a refund.

I had some issues at first with my unit but the help and customer service from Martin BRENNAN WAS SECOND TO NONE, My unit now has about 150 albums stored and I am able to play via a wireless amp and a wired amp, sound is as good as the CD through my Cambridge unit, use the forum for help and tips,early days but I love it