Brennan B3 Plus Puts Your CD Collection In One Box
A shelf full of CDs gives you plenty of music to choose from, but finding a particular track can mean searching through cases. Brennan’s B3+ takes a different approach: it copies music from your discs onto an internal drive, letting you browse the collection without loading a CD each time.
The £799 model combines CD playback, music storage and a built-in amplifier. It can drive a suitable pair of passive speakers directly, or connect to an existing HiFi system. This is an established product in Brennan’s range, rather than a newly announced model.
Quick Reference
- Product: Brennan B3+ CD player, ripper and music storage system
- Current Listed Price: £799 including tax on Brennan’s UK product page
- Storage: 2TB hard drive, rated for around 4,400 CDs in FLAC
- Amplifier: 20W per channel RMS
- Connections: Speaker outputs, 3.5mm analogue output, optical digital output and USB
- Other Listening Options: Sonos playback, Bluetooth, internet radio and Spotify Premium
- Control: Front panel, Brennan app or a web browser
From Discs To A Searchable Collection
Copying audio from a CD to storage is usually called ripping. The B3+ can keep the music in FLAC, a lossless format that reduces file size without discarding audio information. Once stored, albums and tracks can be searched for and added to playlists.
Brennan estimates that its 2TB drive can hold around 4,400 CDs in FLAC, or 9,000 in MP3. Those are capacity estimates rather than fixed limits: the length of your albums and the format you choose affect how much will fit.
The company quotes ripping speeds of up to 40 times normal playback speed. Actual loading time will vary, so that figure should be treated as a maximum rather than a promise for every disc.
Add Speakers Or Use Your Existing HiFi
The internal amplifier is rated at 20W per channel RMS and can power suitable passive speakers. Speakers are a separate purchase, so include them in the total cost if you are starting from scratch.
The plus version adds a 3.5mm analogue output and a Toslink optical output. These give you ways to connect it to an existing amplifier or an external DAC. That distinction matters when comparing B3 models: the standard B3 does not have the same built-in line and optical outputs.
Listening Beyond Your CD Collection
The B3 family can send music to compatible Sonos speakers on the same local network. Brennan also lists Bluetooth playback, internet radio and streaming from the Spotify app for Spotify Premium subscribers.
You can operate the system from its front panel, use Brennan’s iPhone or Android app, or open its control interface in a web browser. The app and browser controls work on the same local network as the Brennan, allowing you to search your music and organise playlists from a phone, tablet or computer.
Keeping A Copy Of Your Music
USB import lets you bring in existing music files, while the backup facility copies music and playlists to an external USB drive. A separate backup is a sensible part of the setup: rebuilding a large collection would take time if the internal drive failed.
Brennan lists WiFi and Bluetooth dongles as included with the B3+. These are small plug-in adapters used for wireless connectivity. Its specifications give cabinet dimensions of 330mm wide, 73mm high and 240mm deep.
Price And Availability
Brennan’s UK B3+ product page currently lists a price of £799 including tax. Some introductory pages still show older B3 range prices, so check the selected model, storage option and delivery availability before ordering. The B3+ was originally introduced in September 2023.
What The Terms Mean
Ripping: Copying the audio from a CD into digital files for playback from storage.
FLAC: A lossless audio format that saves space while retaining the original audio data.
MP3: A compressed audio format that saves more space by discarding some audio information.
Passive Speakers: Speakers that need a separate amplifier. Here, that amplifier is inside the Brennan.
DAC: A digital-to-analogue converter, turning digital music data into an analogue audio signal.
Toslink: An optical connection that carries digital audio using light.
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