IFA 2006: Denon launch HDD based D-F103 mini Hi-Fi

3 September 2006 14:15 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Denon has announced its first hard drive based music system at IFA 2006 in Berlin, Germany.

The mini components system called the D-F103, will allow storage of up to 10,000 audio files or around 700CDs with the ability to rip CDs directly from the included CD drive.

The unit will also allow users to stream directly from a computer via an LAN interface or connect a USB stick or Apple iPod to the unit.

At the heart of the system is the company's DRA-F102 stereo receiver which allows users to control the rest of the unit.

In the middle of the solid aluminium front there's a two-row display, showing the radio text of the RDS FM/AM tuner and the title information from the Apple iPod.

Denon has copied the top-quality 2-way compact loudspeakers virtually unchanged from the D-F102.

The bass reflex loudspeakers (SC-F 103) developed in Germany for European listeners have a highly polished black appearance.

Denon say that copying is easy as the Compact Discs are ripped at up to a 12x speed and stored on the hard disk. The option of starting music playing from the hard disc during ripping abbreviates the time needed additionally so that this Store Monitor function permits recording monitoring. Apart from lots of storage space for your music archive the hard disc also includes a comprehensive CD database (CDDB) from the operator Gracenote.

The internal offline database incorporates the most frequently requested 350,000 CD titles. Should a CD not be included then the recorder uses the Ethernet interface to access the online database on the Internet, which has virtually all available published CDs (about 40 million!) on record.

The CHR-103 can also be used via router/modem and a fast Internet connection (DSL) to access the vast programme range offered by the over 2500 web radio stations all over the world.

The new system will be available in September for around £900.