Modernising... CDs to ??

[Deleted member 160668]

Hi folks,

I have a very extensive cd collection, prob couple of thousand or so...

i mainly stream stuff, but I do also own a very large number of CDs which are rare or nigh on impossible to get hold of (massive hip-hop head) and cannot be streamed or rarely can be bought and I’d never sell these but am wondering the best way to get my whole collection available instantly - with album covers, titles and easily browsable if pos. I also have a probable OCD in that I like to order and categorise them alphabetically, genre, period etc.

i have a laptop which I rarely use.

Whats the easiest way to get my collection to be available on my hifi, which will still sound awesome and will satisfy my ridiculous ocd tendacies.

Nb - not really up for a computer based solution. After a slick separate with a display that sounds good.

If it helps: amp is Arcam A29. Don’t have a dedicated DAC, guessing I might need one for the solution.

Budget is undecided, ideally not too expensive. Thoughts please.

Cheers all.

 

[paulkebab]

to rip say 1.4TB of data so round that up to 2TB+. There is a unit that will rip cd's when inserted and retrieve tags covers etc I can't remember its name but Brennan rings a bell. IIRC it has its own DAC so you can plug it straight into pretty much any amp and away you go. Somebody enlighten us ASAP please. I think there's also a Naim version. The other alternative is to go NAS etc.

I hope you have multiple copies of your rarities!

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

I’m not sure of question, what are you trying to achieve.

 

[Deleted member 160668]

Thanks for reply. No, stupidly I haven’t made copies of any of my CDs which is another reason I want them digitalised (if that’s the right phrase).

 

[Deleted member 160668]

To Quest...

my entire cd collection (a fair bit of it rare) on a hifi separate non-computer based solution which I can easily navigate.

Additionally that I don’t need to spend endless hours trying to find cd case/cover/graphics/info etc to categorise it all.

Plus - I must be able to order it all in my own way so it’s searchable how I want it to be. (Sad I know but a must. Lol).

 

[andyjm]

Assuming you only want to rip your CDs once, I would recommend against a proprietary solution - Brennan and the like. Trying to rip / store /replay in one device locks you into the hardware - which will eventually break and be unsupported.

Hold your nose and rip to a standard format (FLAC would be my advice) using a PC and a package like dBpoweramp that will do your tagging, error checking and art location for you. Make a couple of copies of the rips and keep one safe somewhere, you really don't want to do it twice. If you have rare CDs, then artwork may be a challenge no matter which package you use. As a worst case, you may have to scan the CD inlays. Using a network streamer and some form of storage (a cheapo NAS) will allow you to separate storage from replay, and will be much more flexible and robust than an all-in-one

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Yeah.I think you will have to incorporate a pc at some stage as that's quite a lot of space you need and most streamer/storage systems won't have that amount and also will be expensive....I'd look at ripping to a pc as previous posts suggest using dp powreamp.....it's very good at sorting artwork etc and then probably onto a nas drive/server based storage and then pass the files onto which ever streaming unit you choose.....once your music is in the nas....the computer no longer needs to be running and you can turn it off with just the nas feeding your streamer....but you're definitely looking at a considerable outlay not to mention the laborious task of ripping all those discs...as I can testify to that...I've only managed around 500 so far...oh and if your pc has inbuilt optical drive then I'd urge you to buy a cheapo external unit and use that for the extensive disc burning that you're going to be undertaken.

 

[MajorFubar]

Nb - not really up for a computer based solution. After a slick separate with a display that sounds good.

Would recommend a computer based solution to at least rip your CDs to start with to a network drive. To play the rips, there are any number of streaming solutions on the market. As others have suggested, I would steer clear of an all in one solution like a Brennan. Once it inevitably dies, you're screwed, and you have such a huge collection you only want to be ripping it once.

 

[Samd]

Nb - not really up for a computer based solution. After a slick separate with a display that sounds good.

Would recommend a computer based solution to at least rip your CDs to start with to a network drive. To play the rips, there are any number of streaming solutions on the market. As others have suggested, I would steer clear of an all in one solution like a Brennan. Once it inevitably dies, you're screwed, and you have such a huge collection you only want to be ripping it once.

You may well be right but doesn't Brennan use FLAC and they recommend copying rips to another medium?

 

[abacus]

Get a NAS (Synology are easy to use) with 2 x 2TB (Or higher) HDD in a Raid 1 array, and a quality Network Streamer (Pioneer are good value or if you have an AV Receiver you can use that) to connect to your amp, (As you already stream music you may be able to use your current streamer to access the NAS rather than buying extra equipment) then use your computer with a ripping program (There are a number out there that will do all you need) to rip your discs to the NAS. Rip them to FLAC format (Its lossless) but don’t set it above 16/44 or 16/48 as otherwise you will just waste space for no benefit. (CDs are 16/44)

Be prepared to put some time aside to rip all the discs as it is laborious.

Bill

 

[nick8858]

To me thats an over complication. Many newer streaming boxes (I have Pioneer NC-50 DAB) will simply take a portable USB hard drive plugged directly into it? Much more convenient. Also once done it negates the job of copying or duplicating all your existing CD's. You can recreate the original CD using the FLAC files you burnt originally. For odd ball albums DB Poweramp is not quite so good in the file tags as far as I have experienced. MP3 Tag is a free download which gives many options for customising album art etc but be warned, its a labour of love and its no quick solution.

 

[rainsoothe]

Get a NAS (Synology are easy to use) with 2 x 2TB (Or higher) HDD in a Raid 1 array, and a quality Network Streamer (Pioneer are good value or if you have an AV Receiver you can use that) to connect to your amp, (As you already stream music you may be able to use your current streamer to access the NAS rather than buying extra equipment) then use your computer with a ripping program (There are a number out there that will do all you need) to rip your discs to the NAS. Rip them to FLAC format (Its lossless) but don’t set it above 16/44 or 16/48 as otherwise you will just waste space for no benefit. (CDs are 16/44)

Be prepared to put some time aside to rip all the discs as it is laborious.

Bill

What he said. But wait, how are you streaming your music already?

 

[insider9]

To me thats an over complication. Many newer streaming boxes (I have Pioneer NC-50 DAB) will simply take a portable USB hard drive plugged directly into it?  Much more convenient. Also once done it negates the job of copying or duplicating all your existing CD's. You can recreate the original CD using the FLAC files you burnt originally. For odd ball albums DB Poweramp is not quite so good in the file tags as far as I have experienced. MP3 Tag is a free download which gives many options for customising album art etc but be warned, its a labour of love and its no quick solution.

It's not if you want to protect the data. Especially as ripping this many albums will be extremely time consuming.

 

[rainsoothe]

To me thats an over complication. Many newer streaming boxes (I have Pioneer NC-50 DAB) will simply take a portable USB hard drive plugged directly into it? Much more convenient. Also once done it negates the job of copying or duplicating all your existing CD's. You can recreate the original CD using the FLAC files you burnt originally. For odd ball albums DB Poweramp is not quite so good in the file tags as far as I have experienced. MP3 Tag is a free download which gives many options for customising album art etc but be warned, its a labour of love and its no quick solution.

It's not if you want to protect the data. Especially as ripping this many albums will be extremely time consuming.

Yup. Raid (1 i think) does exactly that: you get 2 identical hard drives that are mirrored, so if one fails, you still have the data on the other one, and you simply replace the broken one, which mirrors the other, healthy one. + it's tidy (you can tuck it away somewhere, just with access to the router), and you can access everythign on it from any other device with capability - smart tv, laptop, pc, whatever.

 

[nick8858]

They are cheap now. I just have 2 drives, both exact duplicates. One at my mother in laws and 1 at home in case house burns down. My entire collection is thus protected. NAS for me was a pain in the butt personally and another load of cables and boxes that were unecessary. Each to their own. My solution is very tidy and fuss free.

 

[CnoEvil]

As a techno Luddite, I went for a RipNAS. You post the CD into the slot. It rips, stores and catalogues without input from you. It's much more expensive than doing it more manually....but I wanted something idiot proof. Either way, you still should make a separate back up.

It is uses dB Poweramp, is UPnP enabled and works off Windows Home Server.

https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/node/644

Ripcaster are also very helpful, if you have any questions about this, or any other alternatives.

 

[MajorFubar]

They are cheap now. I just have 2 drives, both exact duplicates. One at my mother in laws and 1 at home in case house burns down. My entire collection is thus protected. NAS for me was a pain in the butt personally and another load of cables and boxes that were unecessary. Each to their own. My solution is very tidy and fuss free.

Hmm I do see your point. I opted to go for a NAS because I wanted the freedom to access my files from multiple devices. In my household the NAS acts as a device for storing ripped CDs, ripped DVDs and as a Time Machine to three computers, but it's hard to disagree with the point of view that a USB drive is much simpler - and cheaper - if all you want to do is access your music from one playback device.

 

[Freddy58]

Innuos