Hi-res: Giga Jukes
Sony recently launched two new Giga Juke hard disc hi-fi system models: the NAS-SC55PKE and the NAS-E35HD. People with a huge music collection can not only copy CDs quickly to their computers, they can also stream content to their home networks. Both systems are boxy, but sound pretty good.
The NAS-SC55PKE comprises two units: the central hard drive-enabled CD hi-fi and an all-in-one wireless hi-fi that streams from the main system. It has a hard drive storage capacity of 80GB (40,000 songs) and each song can be copied at up to 16x speed, meaning a one-hour CD can be copied in about four minutes. It can also transfer files to portable players at up to 50x speed.
Music files can be transferred directly from virtually any source and stored in MP3, ATRAC, WMA or Linear PCM audio formats.
This digital jukebox can also deliver music wirelessly to up to five rooms, with different songs, or the same music in each room.
The other new model, the NAS-E35HD, is a stand-alone system with 60-watt speakers and is recommended for studio apartments. It can store up to 20,000 songs on its 80GB hard disc, although it copies at only 4x normal speed from its CD player
The NAS-SC55PKE costs HK$7,980 and the NAS-E35HDE is $2,980.
