I have voted for number 1, but that does not mean that I will buy one soon.

I am very happy with my CDs and my BS9000. I actually think the BS5 is superior to the BS9000 in terms of use, but I would like to enjoy my 9000 for as long as possible. I am sure, that when I get a BS5, the 9000 will only be use occasionally, and that is a pity.

I would vote number 1, but spending £3700 on a hifi seems a little excessive as a student! Either way, it's my favourite bit of B&O kit.

I could have voted 2 or 5.

 Eventually decided on 2 as I know myself: Even if it would only have "only" matched the functionality that my combination of AppleTV/Beoport/iPhone currently provide - I would have considered buying one (I just love B&O too much for design) ... But this product sadly gives less functionality at greater price - so it's a definate NO

(Not saying that if there'll be any second hand units around eventually at reasonable pricing, I would not go for one ;-) )

Alex:

I would vote number 1, but spending £3700 on a hifi seems a little excessive as a....

As a consumer Alex. Wait until you start earning. £3700 is a lot for anyone earning even £50,000 a year, particularly for a digital media player. It's hardly a 'hifi'.

Absolute!!!!

Is there any compression (and therefore loss of information) when transferring to digital media?

I still like my LPs and CDs (simply as the latter avoid the crackle and clicks with the former)

Brian

There are three types of 'encoding' you can use:

• Uncompressed - basically what you find on a CD, or what WAV and AIFF files usually contain (referred to as PCM from a technical point of view)

• Lossless - sounds identical to the above, and no information is lost, instead it is effectively 'densely' packed. Works in exactly the same way as a ZIP file. Examples include Apple Lossless, FLAC and WMA Lossless

• Lossy - information is lost, and you hear a drop in sound quality. Examples include MP3, WMA, AAC and MP2.

EDIT: Although I should mention that not all of the above formats are BeoSound 5 compatible.