How to build your own digital music library

[What Hi-Fi?]

If you've had enough of streaming services, or just want to make better use of the music you already own, here's how to make your own digital music library.

How to build your own digital music library : Read more

 

[Deano]

I have a simple streaming service with low cost, it consists of the latest amazon fire HD 8 that has bluetooth 5.2 cost £60, added a 1tb sd card £75, add a £50 5,2 bluetooth mii reciever to go between my marantz amp & streamed to from my amazon fire HD 8. I am not a genius but I achieved this with over 800 albums in flac at hand & it sounds great no drop out or hiccups in 4 months since created. Total price £185, time taken about a week in my spare time after work & its all in my hand.

 

[mr_sneff]

Mine's equally modest and low-cost.
Raspberry Pi3 running MoOde software into a DAC via USB.
Library stored on a USB SSD.

 

[Littlebird]

This is a very well written and constructed piece of writing and journalism. Well done. I do not like the thought of downloading music to listen. Unfortunately, I have found great new music on bandcamp.com, from foreign artists, especially Brazilian, which I love, however many of these artists do not release their material on cd or vinyl, probably due to the recording label's cost and margins. Obviously this leaves me bereft of such wonderful music. I would not even be attracted to the idea of purchasing cd ripping software, but if I downloaded onto a laptop, what are the pitfalls of gliches? How would I burn or rip a cd and which is the best machine to accommodate my idea of having a physical item from music downloading? Could i download directly to a Naim Unitit core, for example, but then would i not be anle to burn a cd?

 

[Dr-G]

This is a very well written and constructed piece of writing and journalism. Well done. I do not like the thought of downloading music to listen. Unfortunately, I have found great new music on bandcamp.com, from foreign artists, especially Brazilian, which I love, however many of these artists do not release their material on cd or vinyl, probably due to the recording label's cost and margins. Obviously this leaves me bereft of such wonderful music. I would not even be attracted to the idea of purchasing cd ripping software, but if I downloaded onto a laptop, what are the pitfalls of gliches? How would I burn or rip a cd and which is the best machine to accommodate my idea of having a physical item from music downloading? Could i download directly to a Naim Unitit core, for example, but then would i not be anle to burn a cd?

Sorry if this is stuff you already know, but just to lay out all the steps:
Once you have bought from Bandcamp, you will have the music files on your laptop. (usually one per song, in an album folder. Usually you put them all in the 'music' folder, just so they're easy to find)
These files, like any other, should be backed up in case your laptop dies.
Your laptop can play the file (using the free Media Player on windows, or many other apps)
As Verity says, you can also transfer the file to something like a Naim UNiti, or a network drive (NAS device) where other hifi devices (streamers, airplay and sonos speakers) can access it, if you have those.
If you have a 'CD writer' drive connected to your laptop, you can also use Media Player (or many other apps, iTunes used to do this as well, but probably not any more...) to burn an 'audio CD' that almost any CD player can play.
This is different to just transferring the file onto a burnable CD (a data disk). You need something like Media Player to make an audio CD in the format that music system CD players can read (it's called 'redbook' or Compact Disc Digital Audio' in technical jargon) .

Hope that helps...

 

[pat tap]

i just shop around the free streamer deals every couple of months and play cds i own or from the library....cost zero