Answered Moving cds music collection

[chaz]

Need some advice please I own a big collection of cds and usually play them on my Arcam CD92 player I had the motherboard upgraded when I brought it. I now own a media player which I am transferring my films to would I lose much Q of sound if I transfer my cds to a media player I would be using MakeMKV to do this or will be better to keep it on my Arcam 92

 

[BlueWizard]

The sound quality of the Digital Music will be what ever sound quality you save them in.

.WAV - is bit perfect with no compression.
FLAC - is bit perfect with compression
ALAC - (Apple) is bit perfect with compression

MP3 and similar are NOT bit prefect and have lots of compression.

At the moment FLAC is the most common format. And when you save the files, you have some ability to control the density of information. Most accept the default settings, but even FLAC files can be tweaked a bit.

With media storage being so cheap today, it only makes sense to use one of the Bit Prefect Formats, compressed or uncompressed.

Though I should look this up again, I think you can get something like 2000 ALBUMS per 1Tb of disc space. And 2Tb and 4Tb hard driver really are not that expensive.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[ShanePJ]

If you are just starting out, you could look at setting the PC up for a multi-boot option, one for movies, another for your music and finally the remaining part for archiving your CD's and movies. (you will need Window's 10 Pro for this as you can install the same copy of Windows on each boot without any extra cost.

Also look at a couple of programs - AudiophileOptimizer and Fiderlizer (opt for the paid version as it supports the developer )

With HDD, look at quiet ones, Western Digital 5400rpm's seem to be one of the quietest ones on the market.

For archiving your music, dBpoweramp is a good place to start. It's simple to use. Try a few formats to see which one best suits your system and your ear. They're not supposed to sound any different, yet people can hear the differences between musical formats.

WAV is an original uncompressed format. ALAC is Macintosh's and FLAC seems to be very universal with the ability to tag information unlike WAV If you opt for WAV, then dBpoweramp will tag most of the information for you, If not, you can ask it to search the disc and it will add that info.

For playing, use a program similar to jRiver as it understands the tag options for WAV files (if you choose that option) and if it cannot find the cover, you can simply add it in that program and it will then copy it to each of that albums tracks.

You can also look at the AudiophileOptimizer user manual PDF as it has some further information on how to set up your PC for musical playback

For Movies, I use PowerDVD 18. I did try Kodi for a time and just didn't get on with it. Both PowerDVD and jRiver have remote control options via compatible smart phone/tablet devices too.

I shall let others explain how to archive movies as they may know better than me as I do not play anything other than HD movies and have not moved over to 4K even though I have a 4K TV

If you do select to create a multi boot PC, then just install the bare-bones regarding software as the lest amount of programs on it means the least amount of background threads and processors running which all help musical playback. I've been doing it for many years (since USB DAC's became good) now and would never look back at a conventional CD player unless something very special came along

 

[chaz]

So does that mean I will not miss much q of sound from my expensive CD player (at that time it was ) as my media player is conected to the TV do i have to have the TV on to listen to my music ? or have tv when I have to chose the Album

 

[gibbsy]

Your sound quality is going to come from the DAC, amp and speakers if you save your collection on the best possible file format. Personally I love my CD and SACD collection and would never consider burning them to a file no matter how good.

 

[Hillskill]

Personally I love my CD and SACD collection and would never consider burning them to a file no matter how good.

Why?

 

[ShanePJ]

I had a CD36 and when I got my Teac Dac, it showed up the weaknesses in the Arcam and when I upgraded to a purpose built PC, the upgrade was remarkable. I think when you do it right, no CD player under 4K-5K cans touch a well designed media pc

I still have all my cd’s, they’re just out of side now and although you loose the event of interacting with the CD, the sound improvements makes up for it without it trying to hard

 

[gibbsy]

Why?

I like the tactile feel of picking out a disc to play as well as listening to a whole album and I've not much interest in making a play list. Not that I'd know what to do anyway. I've got a good SACD player which gives excellent reading abilities.

I'm going to start a campaign Save the Silver Disc.

 

[dannnielll]

So does that mean I will not miss much q of sound from my expensive CD player (at that time it was ) as my media player is conected to the TV do i have to have the TV on to listen to my music ? or have tv when I have to chose the Album

I would generally agree with Shane , although I use different software. Using FLAC and even a cheap PC and an outboard USB DAC,the quality of the analogue music is as good as that DAC can deliver. If you read back over other strands and threads on this website ,you will pickup beliefs that DACs matter or don't matter . My view is that they don't matter A LOT, but do matter a little. ..and that little can matter a lot to some people.
Now if you had a stereo system with a computer feeding a DAC and the DAC the analog input of the amplifier. Of course you do not need a TV.

 

[dannnielll]

I like the tactile feel of picking out a disc to play as well as listening to a whole album and I've not much interest in making a play list. Not that I'd know what to do anyway. I've got a good SACD player which gives excellent reading abilities.

I'm going to start a campaign Save the Silver Disc.

..I will support your Silver Disc campaign,100% ..Its a great way of ensuring pristine copies of the data files for making FLAC copies, and ensures that there is tangible evidence should the copyright police arrive.

 

[ShanePJ]

I like the tactile feel of picking out a disc to play as well as listening to a whole album and I've not much interest in making a play list. Not that I'd know what to do anyway. I've got a good SACD player which gives excellent reading abilities.

I'm going to start a campaign Save the Silver Disc.

I certainly don’t want CD’s to disappear either (I’m 100% in too), I couldn’t live without those shiny little flying saucers as they bring so much joy to my ears

 

[Hillskill]

I like the tactile feel of picking out a disc to play as well as listening to a whole album and I've not much interest in making a play list. Not that I'd know what to do anyway. I've got a good SACD player which gives excellent reading abilities.

I'm going to start a campaign Save the Silver Disc.

I love streaming but I agree there is something about the ritual. I'm actually always on the look out for job lot CD collections being sold at the right price. Incredible value to be found. The discoverability that online services offer however are unrivalled.

 

[gibbsy]

I love streaming but I agree there is something about the ritual. I'm actually always on the look out for job lot CD collections being sold at the right price. Incredible value to be found. The discoverability that online services offer however are unrivalled.

I'll browse You Tube for artists that I like and then probably buy the CD. At the moment though I'm buying quite a few SACDs from artists that somewhat reflect my age, Beach Boys, Dylan, Moody Blues. Even the old CDs when I can find them as they are usually devoid of the loudness war compression and sound a hell of a sight better. Just don't tell my missus on how much I spending on those SACDs.

 

[Hillskill]

I'll browse You Tube for artists that I like and then probably buy the CD. At the moment though I'm buying quite a few SACDs from artists that somewhat reflect my age, Beach Boys, Dylan, Moody Blues. Even the old CDs when I can find them as they are usually devoid of the loudness war compression and sound a hell of a sight better. Just don't tell my missus on how much I spending on those SACDs.

I think a Tidal free trial would blow your mind. From the curated playlists to discovering genre's like retrowave.

 

[Deleted member 24354]

I am in both camps. I love CDs and playing one, but I have also ripped my entire CD collection to FLAC and it lives on my NAS. I generally use PLEX to access my music as it is convenient and I can access it on various platforms. I also buy HiRez audio from Qobuz. My media PC has optical out which feeds my MRX500 in my office, which I use daily. I still advocate a NAS over a PC for storing music, just for the sheer convenience that a NAS brings, but each to their own.

 

[chaz]

I am totally getting confused here What I want to do is copy my cds to my hard drive which is in my media player but do not want to lose to much of my sound Q from when I use my CD player I have a top of the range Hi Fi system.If I convert cds to the hard drive in my media player I think what it supports is this which I have taken from the Manual is the decoding format MEPEG1/2 ,LPCM,PCM,FLAC,AAcC,OGG, FLAC,APE,CUE Then Followed by File format M4AMP1/2/3 MPA WAV, OGG FLAC APE CuE Now all the are double Dutch to me as my computer skills are very basic indeed so i need something simple to use. and touching 70 my back aches a bit that is the reason I want to put the CD on the hard drive. The other thing I use is Make MKV for my films which is easy to use do I use this for my cds as well or is there something simple to do my music with out losing to much sound Q or should I forget It all and carry on using my CD Player

 

[gibbsy]

What you have to do is to put the CD player right by a comfortable armchair. A short reach over will allow you to put the CD into the tray with very little stretching or bending. Then it's a short walk to the chair that has the best position for actual listening. OK you will have to get back up and do it all again once the CD has finished but hey you have to keep mobile.

The other benefit of having the CD player close to the armchair is that you can sit there with your headphones on and not have to move at all. See these youngsters don't have these problems with mobility and aching backs and you have to come up with these solutions when new technology scares the pants off you.

 

[Deleted member 24354]

Sorry for causing confusion. Have a look at Exact Audio Copy. It is very easy to use and will allow you to convert your CDs into FLAC files (which is what most people use if you want to retain the quality of your CDs). Once you have converted the CD to FLAC it is just a case of copying it over to your media player.

 

[Sonic67]

Take your CDs and rip to FLAC. Then you have all the music, with no loss of sound quality and more convenience. More convenience is more playing.

I have FLAC on a USB and in my car, on my phone, on a NAS drive, on my laptop etc.

 

[dannnielll]

What you have to do is to put the CD player right by a comfortable armchair. A short reach over will allow you to put the CD into the tray with very little stretching or bending. Then it's a short walk to the chair that has the best position for actual listening. OK you will have to get back up and do it all again once the CD has finished but hey you have to keep mobile.

The other benefit of having the CD player close to the armchair is that you can sit there with your headphones on and not have to move at all. See these youngsters don't have these problems with mobility and aching backs and you have to come up with these solutions when new technology scares the pants off you.

Hi gibbsy, I think from previous postings , I may have a couple of years on you. So less of the gereatric angst!. Flac and usb sticks or harddrive gives everything your CD player provides. And keeps those silver discs safe in the event of a usb malfunction. Look horses for courses.

 

[dannnielll]

I am totally getting confused here What I want to do is copy my cds to my hard drive which is in my media player but do not want to lose to much of my sound Q from when I use my CD player I have a top of the range Hi Fi system.If I convert cds to the hard drive in my media player I think what it supports is this which I have taken from the Manual is the decoding format MEPEG1/2 ,LPCM,PCM,FLAC,AAcC,OGG, FLAC,APE,CUE Then Followed by File format M4AMP1/2/3 MPA WAV, OGG FLAC APE CuE Now all the are double Dutch to me as my computer skills are very basic indeed so i need something simple to use. and touching 70 my back aches a bit that is the reason I want to put the CD on the hard drive. The other thing I use is Make MKV for my films which is easy to use do I use this for my cds as well or is there something simple to do my music with out losing to much sound Q or should I forget It all and carry on using my CD Player

A 2 to 4 Tbyte usb hard drive costs between 40 to 100 quid. It will store many thousands of CDs with no loss of fidelity at all in FLAC format. Now I do not know what media player you have,but if your high end system has a DAC input , then you are sorted.
I have written a long posting about ripping CDs recently ...so I won't repeat it.

 

[gibbsy]

Hi gibbsy, I think from previous postings , I may have a couple of years on you. So less of the gereatric angst!. Flac and usb sticks or harddrive gives everything your CD player provides. And keeps those silver discs safe in the event of a usb malfunction. Look horses for courses.

Quite honestly I don't think anything will convince me to download and store my discs although I think the wife would welcome the idea as I'm storing CDs and films all over the house. But I just like browsing through them too much.

I've had one go at digitalising black and white film. I bought a really good Canon negative scanner and promised the missus I would put all her important negatives onto disc. The last count there were over 300,000 negatives to be scanned. I lost the will to live after six months. I cannot, for the life of me, get them to look anywhere as near as good as she could print them in the dark.

 

[chaz]

A Big THANK YOU to you all and the nice bit of comedy from gibbsy will have a think on about it

 

[dannnielll]

Quite honestly I don't think anything will convince me to download and store my discs although I think the wife would welcome the idea as I'm storing CDs and films all over the house. But I just like browsing through them too much.

I've had one go at digitalising black and white film. I bought a really good Canon negative scanner and promised the missus I would put all her important negatives onto disc. The last count there were over 300,000 negatives to be scanned. I lost the will to live after six months. I cannot, for the life of me, get them to look anywhere as near as good as she could print them in the dark.

I can feel for your position regarding digital photos... When I retired I was in a similar position and like you my will rapidly evaporated. ...
But the CD situation is different, not least because the process is much more automatic,and the resulting files extremely useful.
The idea of digitising multiple DVD videos would freak me out. .. whereas I might listen and enjoy music multiple times, If I were to view a video twice in the one year, it would be to often.

 

[BlueWizard]

...

I'm going to start a campaign Save the Silver Disc.

Isn't it up to The Silver Disc to save itself. Though it is perhaps coincidental, I notice the decline of CD coinciding with the decline of the quality of the content on CDs.

I have a vinyl copy of Winwood/Stills/Kooper "Super Session" -

Al Kooper, Michael Bloomfield and Stephen Stills' ‘Super Session'

I must have bought is used because it is completely beat and battered. Though they dynamics of it are exceptional. Because it is so beat and battered, I bought the CD of the same "Super Session", it is dull and lifeless. Even being in rough shape, "Super Session" on an original pressing of vinyl is captivating. On CD, it is just background music.

So, given this, were is my incentive to buy more CDs when it is pretty much a given that any new CD is going to be compromised? In fact, very likely any new Vinyl of older music is also going to be compromised by modern re-mixing philosophy.

Like many aspect of life, CDs aren't dying a natural death, they are committing suicide.

Buying Physical, and for that matter digital music, today has become a crap shoot. Very likely some Record Company Executive who can't play a lick of music has made marketing decisions that compromise the sound quality in favor of simply creating the illusion that the music is loud.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard