Should i replace my CD player or are they about to become obsolete?

Album art in digital format just isn't the same as having your printed booklet etc. Some people still buy vinyl just for the artwork alone.

Personally I wouldn't download music unless it was an uncompressed format, I wouldn't even bother with "loseless" (I just wouldn't feel 100% on it).. so that makes me feeling a bit cold about only being able to buy my music online and downloading it as no doubt most music will probably be compressed one way or another.

That probably will be the future though, as you say. No stores :thumbsdow no physical media :thumbsdow no physical artwork :thumbsdow.

It's like buying a photographic print, only to be given a JPG :rotfl:
 
Sheepish -

Ah, but you see I made a craftily constructed qualified comment. I never said cheap audio card equal CD quality, only that the equal the CD spec. It was a comment about advancement in technology, not sound quality.

So, in general, I'm in complete agreement with most of what you said. My comment on PC vs Audio Computer, was not the degrade PC's, but to say that a dedicated Audio Computer, such as a Media Center, is really nothing but a PC in disguise. As multi-core high memory ultra-fast CPU's become more common, a standard PC should have no trouble keeping up with high quality audio. Now it simple becomes a matter of making a computer that is quiet enough and unobtrusive enough to sit along side your other audio equipment.

But where is the high quality audio? Audio File formats have massively exceeded both CD and available download file formats. The beauty of a PC whether a true PC, or a dedicated Audio computer, is that the software is easily upgraded. If a new and better file format comes out, or a new and better player comes along, getting functional access to either is simple enough.

But, indeed few of the available for download files formats equal CD quality. Some come acceptable close but I know of none beyond WAV that equal CD. Keep in mind there are file formats that equal or exceed CD, but I don't see them available for commercial download.

Also, and finally, just because you hear no difference doesn't mean there is no difference. However, if you can hear it, then is it really in any way significant?

YS. -

For the record, I have no digital file media other than a few sample files that have been loaded on to my computer by other software. I have 400 vinyl albums, and about 30 CD's. My cd collection is growing, but I'm not to fond of them, they are more for economy and convenience.

If I were in a position to go full audiophile with my equipment and music, the bulk of it would be modern vinyl albums.

I have had the opportunity to download for free various numbers of songs (50, 100, ...), but the file format is MP3, and to me that would be like listening to AM radio. So, I didn't bother. WAV as a download file format doesn't seem to be available, the best there is are the better iPod formats, and high bit-rate MP3 which might be tolerable, but why tolerate when I can have the real thing. If I have a vinyl album or CD, I can easily convert that into whatever file format is convenient for me.

The problem with the Physical Medium industry is that they can't keep up with changing technology. Even the invention of the more common file format that are available for download, are hopelessly behind the times.

The music distribution industry is failing and falling far behind. They can only think in terms of physical standards. The goal seems to be to limit and control access to music, and they are failing at both. I see a time in the future where the relationship between Music Distribution and Artist will be very very different. All the power will shift to the artist, and the distribution aspect will simply be a service company serving the artists, and in my opinion that is the way it should be.

The Music Labels and music distribution are becoming dinosaurs. They really aren't needed any more, and they are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their relevance even as it slips from their grasp.

But, back to the orginal question - are CD Players becoming obsolete?

The answer is yes, but not any time soon. The original poster has 1,000 CDs, so having a CD player is certainly relevant to him, even if he has converted them the computer files. Again, it depends very much what computer audio file format he is using, as to whether those formats equal the sound quality of the original CD.

So, yes, having a CD Player remains important and will for many years to come, but in its current form, CDs themselves are going to change. They are going to be more of a backup medium than a first play option. Though that won't be true for every one.

Personally, I like having things in physical format. I like sorting through the albums to see which one I want to play next. And I generally know physically where they are, so I can find them very quickly. Also, in the process of browsing through them, I frequently find albums that I forgot I had, or that hadn't entered my mind in a long time. It is sort of like Christmas, rediscovering old albums can be like a gift.

So, while I see the world moving more and more to non-physical music distribution, I like buying albums and CDs, and that isn't going to change.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Guys (I presume!)

Thanks for the many and varied replies so far to my original post. What did the Rolling Stones say? "You can't always get what you want". That kind of sums up where I'm at right now.

I've read with interest the replies and I'm as confused as ever, albeit in an informed manner! It has clarified one thing, I think, and that is I don't really want a computer-based system. It's half time in the match, and I think I'll play a couple of tunes rather than listen to the pundits waffle on. So, if I'm reading right, with a computer system I've got to go to the other room, switch my pc on, type in my password, wait for Vista to wake up, wait for the anti virus software to do its stuff, then go back to the other room, fiddle with whatever device I've got in there, and if I'm lucky I may be in time to play a tune before the teams kick off again, and if I'm really lucky I'll be able to hear it in lossless quality if I've ripped it correctly. I don't leave my computer turned on all the time so I'm guessing that is what I would have to go through?

There also seems to be a lot of links in that chain that can go wrong. My pc is only a couple of years old and seems to have a mind of its own, and my router needs unplugging and plugging in again every so often.

The posters who said just get on with it and buy a replacement CDP are probably persuading me at the moment. Sure, the future is probably going to be different in some way shape or form but it seems like there are too many variables at the moment. Like I said before, I have about 1,000 CDs so to me I guess I'm coming down on the side of buying a new CD player for now. If it costs me £500 or whatever, and it's 5 years before whatever new technology is really astounding us and isn't fiddly to use, then it's cost me £100 per year, or less than 30p a day, to have audiophile hassle-free play. That I can live with.

I'm also with a lot of the posters who physically like to hold a CD, open the case, look at the booklet and so on. I like to give/receive CD's as presents. Is it the same giving an itunes voucher? On a similar note I saw a promotion the other day for an electronic reading device - the Amazon Kindle. I do a lot of reading and you can store thousands of books on there. I was kind of intrigued and interested - a new gadget after all - but I love to hold a book, and pass it around, and feel it. Will it be the same in electronic format? Probably not. There is a tangible intrinsic value, in my opinion, to holding an LP, a CD, a book which you don't get electronically. The opposite side of that coin though is that what you lack in being able to hold/look at something you can make up for in flexibility - the ability to mix and match music, make playlists etc.

So...I'm still confused as to what the future holds but I'm probably thinking stick with CD for now - at least until whatever "new" technology is out there settles down and becomes a bit less fiddly.

David
 
The Squeezebox Touch (when it's launched) should be as simple as it gets for now, as it hosts it's own server software. All you need it a USB disk plugged into it & you're away. No PC required.

Apart from the sheer convenience of having all your music available instantly, it's great to simply flip into random mode & hear tracks you'd forgotten you owned.

Then there's the whole world (literally) of Internet radio stations that these devices can play. Whatever genre(s) float your boat, there will be a station or 20 dedicated to it.

Oh, & if you're anything like I was when I approached 1,000 disks, your half-time scenario will be spent entirely scanning the collection from A to Z & back again trying to decide what to play! Or knowing what you want to play but realising it's in the car - & it's raining.

You could always do both. Buy a less expensive or used CDP & dip your toe in the streamer waters.
 
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Hi there, this is an interesting thread and felt like chipping in. Personally I think the days of the CD player as the default device of choice for playback are numbered. I have loads of CDs but they are now all ripped to flac on an external hard drive which I then playback from my laptop through an optical passthrough from the soundcard to the amp. I don't own a good CD player but to my ears the flac files through the laptop sound better than the CDs do through the old marantz. It is of course entirely possible that a really good CD player would blow my present setup out of the water, I don't know. It wasn't easy to set up what I considered to be high quality sound using the stuff I've got, but once I managed it - thanks in no small part to the advice found on this and other forums - I'm more than satisfied.

The other thing is that, once you've sorted out how to get a pure digital signal from your PC to a DAC, finding and playing music is just so incredibly convenient and easy. You can play individual tracks from albums with zero hassle, you can queue stuff up, you can construct playlists, you can randomise (to a degree) playback, so many things that just aren't available with CD players.

I think the storage and distribution revolution taking place at the moment is probably as much of a paradigm shift as the invention of the phonograph was all those years ago.

I think the future of audio, if we have one at all, is undoubtedly in computing power.
 
You can of course do both 'old and 'new' style. As I still regularly buy CDs (well - 1 or 2 a month), I use a CD player as well as a digital media player. In my case the latter is a WDTV plus 320GB external hard drive with all my media files on. I can also play MP3s through my Denon DM37DAB.

As MP3's, FLACs etc. not to mention video formats are becoming more commonplace and will no doubt replace CD in probably the very future, it's wise to get used to the new formats and embrace them even. I'm hanging onto my 1000 or so CDs and occasionally play them. The new ones get a few spins in the CD player before ripping, and then join the rest of my collection on hard drive. Meanwhile I've still got the original disc and booklet - very important as I most buy 'classical' CDs with highly informative liner notes (usually)

Works for me, but if I had to choose between the CD player and the files - probably the files would stay.
 
Crocodile - thanks for the reply. You've got me interested in the squeezebox if it doesn't mean that I have to have my pc turned on all the time. Am I reading you right in that I can just plug in an external harddrive to the squeezebox and it works? I currently have all of my CD's ripped to a 360GB stand alone hard drive anyway for back up - if I plug that into a squeezebox does it play them? Do you then plug the squeezebox into your normal hifi amp and speakers as with any other piece of kit?

And, crucially I guess going back to my original question, is the consensus that I can get hi-fi sound from this set up at least equal to a good CD player?

Interesting!
 
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Crocodile - thanks for the reply. You've got me interested in the squeezebox if it doesn't mean that I have to have my pc turned on all the time.
That's my understanding of the Touch model. That's the only one to have it's own onboard server software. The others still require the software to be running on a PC or a compatible NAS. There's a thread in the streamers forum I linked to previously dedicated to the Touch but hopefully, Autopilot will be along shortly as he's been beta testing one.

Depending on the bit-rate of your existing rips, you may have to re-rip to get the best out of it. But you don't have to do that all at once. Just do a few for A/B comparison to start.

Edit
Pressed submit too soon! Yes, you can connect the Squeezebox straight to an amp with analogue RCAs or via an outboard DAC if your not satisfied with the DAC in the SB.

As I said earlier in the thread, a lossless rip from CD should be a bit perfect copy. The only differentiating factors then should be the quality of the DAC in the CDP versus that in the SB.
 
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That's my understanding of the Touch model. That's the only one to have it's own onboard server software. The others still require the software to be running on a PC or a compatible NAS. There's a thread in the streamers forum I linked to previously dedicated to the Touch but hopefully, Autopilot will be along shortly as he's been beta testing one.

Depending on the bit-rate of your existing rips, you may have to re-rip to get the best out of it. But you don't have to do that all at once. Just do a few for A/B comparison to start.

Edit
Pressed submit too soon! Yes, you can connect the Squeezebox straight to an amp with analogue RCAs or via an outboard DAC if your not satisfied with the DAC in the SB.

As I said earlier in the thread, a lossless rip from CD should be a bit perfect copy. The only differentiating factors then should be the quality of the DAC in the CDP versus that in the SB.

Indeed, the SB Touch will play your music directly from a USB drive. But not only that, its a full on music server - so you can add Squeezebox Boom's, Classics, Radio's etc to rooms in your house and the Touch will serve them - just like when you have the server software running on a PC or NAS - if you want a ful on muti-room audio system.

As for sound quality, if you rip your CD's to FLAC, you will have to spend a lot of money you find a CD player to beat it, especially when using S/PDIF. Like the £1000+ Transporter and Linn models, it does native 24/96 - so in theory, if using 24/94 material, there is not a CD player that can match it (but obviously there is a lot of other factors at play).

So you get seriously top notch sound quality, all your music at the touch of a button, plus lots of other fun stuff like Internet Radio, BBC iPlayer, Napster (unlimited music on demand - £5 a month), Last.FM - all for about £300 and no PC in sight.

Another solution would be something like a Squeezebox Classic + Cheap NAS. Plenty of other options too, but as you can see from my sig i am a Squeezebox man. It will change the way you listen to music and discover old favourites. You will find you listen to more music too.

PS, ignore people when they say FLAC is not as good as the original CD because its compressed. It's absolutely perfect bit-for-bit. You wont hear a difference because it's impossible, its the exact same audio data - just a different container. If anyone claims they can hear a difference (an people do) they are imagining it (placebo effect), or something else is happening which they have no accounted for.

In fact even "lossy" 320kbps MP3 is so close to CD quality, 99% of the time even on a decent system it impossible to hear a difference. Many on-line retailers sell downloads at 320kbps, but lossless (FLAC etc) downloads are becoming more common and by the time the likes of HMV are closing there door and CD's really are dead, lossless will be the norm. Unil then, buy CD's and rip them. The increase in download quality is accelerating faster than the demise of CD, shall we say. Quality is really becoming a mute point, the only benefit left in CD's will be the collecting value (and thats overrated imo and the benefits vastly out way a naff bit of album art and sleeve notes... unless you are talking about lovely vinyl :)).
 
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Sorry for possibly a very 'noob' question. Does the Squeezebox Touch have a volume control? Basically I'm very tempted to buy one instead of a Quad 99 CDP-2 but only have the Quad 99 Stereo Power Amp at the moment so if the output from the SB was fixed I'd need to invest in the Pre Amp as well which would ultimately push me to buying the CD player. :D
 
I wish I'd never heard of these squeezebox touches! With or without a volume control I now really want one - think of the money I'll save by not having this laptop on... never mind all the hassles with ASIO, kernel streaming and etc etc ...:rolleyes:
 
So.. they're not out until December over here I gather?
 
Does the Squeezebox Touch have a volume control?
Again you're going to need the input from AP but I'd be surprised if it doesn't. Previous SBs have variable analogue output.
 
A little off topic, but how would one go about ripping an LP to FLAC? I have a Pioneer CD recorder I have used to copy a couple lp's to cd-r's which I could then rip, but is there a quicker way?
 
Yes it has volume control (and everything else), which can be accessed via the touch screen, included IR remote, iPhone remote (if you have that), optional Squeezebox controller, web interface (via a pc) or you can set the volume to fixed for when you are using an amp.
 
Yes it has volume control....which can be accessed via ....web interface (via a pc)
Just to be pedantic, from the Touch thread I was under the impression that the built in server doesn't have a web interface?
 
Just to be pedantic, from the Touch thread I was under the impression that the built in server doesn't have a web interface?

Your right, it does not, which is why I said via a PC. Should have said with SBserver running.
 
Just for the benefit of potential purchasers who are wondering what on earth we're on about:

All models of Squeezebox prior to the new Touch required an open source server package (currently called Squeezebox Server) to be running on either a PC or NAS. This software has a web-based GUI which can be used to control every aspect of the player(s) & music library. It can be accessed from any browser enabled device - PDA, netbook, laptop, smartphone, etc.

The new Touch has a stripped down version of this software onboard but the GUI has been lost to keep the software manageable on meagre resources. The Touch can still be pointed at a PC/NAS server for full functionality if required.
 
Guys (Crocodile and Auto especially)

Thanks for the replies. I'm getting more and more interested in the squeezebox touch as it sounds like it will do what I want it to do. Given that I only heard about it as a result of starting this thread a few days ago I've still got a few questions. Apologies if these are a little stupid/obvious or have been asked before. I've read the squeezebox threads and so I'm only asking the questions that I haven't been able to find answers to.

OK, imagine this is my set up. Some kind of hard drive sat on my hi-fi stand with squeezebox software on it, plugged into a squeezebox touch, plugged into my Harman Kardon integrated hifi amp (either directly or via a DAC), plugged into my speakers. My wireless router on the shelf next to it (not sure what I do with this - that's one of the questions!) My PC out of sight and turned off in another room. Me sat on the sofa with a squeezebox remote control and a beer. Right, questions...

1) Lots of posts/discussions say plug your squeezebox into your home network either with ethernet cable or wirelessly. I can do this but why do I need to. (It's not a problem it's just that the penny hasn't dropped with me yet - maybe it will as I write these questions, lol!)

2) How do I get my CD's onto the hard drive. I'm guessing that this is where my PC comes into play. So is it the case that for initial set up I sit at my PC with my new hard drive plugged into it and rip my CD's, and then when it's done I unplug that hard drive from my PC and plug it into the squeezebox? Do I need to do this everytime I get a new CD or can they be sent across my wireless network?

3) I've got lots of music (13,000 songs) currently on my PC in itunes. (I know I've got to do some of them again to do them in better quality but ignore that point for now). Can I transfer those to the new hard drive which I'll buy to go with my squeezebox as a bulk operation? In other words, does the squeezebox software like the itunes software? Or do I have to start from scratch?

4) I've read that the squeezebox software finds album art/ track info etc. (I understand that this is only as good as the database as I use this facility on itunes). But on itunes I can edit this information, rename tracks if they are wrong, replace the artwork etc. Can I do this with squeezebox? (It really annoys and frustrates me if this kind of stuff is wrong, lol!) If so, how do I do it given that the new hard drive is going to be stand alone from my PC? Is it the case that I "see" the interface on my PC over the wireless intranet and edit it from there?

5) Slightly off topic but Auto (I think) mentioned that there are better products than itunes to rip info from CD's. I'm curious about this as it's never entered my head to use anything else. Why are other products better?

6) What can/can't I do with the squeezebox remote? I've looked at the pictures on the website and they show a remote control with album cover art lit up on it. Can you scroll through albums, songs, artists, playlists etc without getting up off the sofa (not that I'm lazy of course).

I'm sure I have more questions but any help on these would be gratefully received.

Cheers

David :lease:
 
Hi David, I can answer "some" of your questions, I'm sure others will be able to answer others.

First, as far as I can tell itunes is rubbish, it takes control of your music! And it doesn't do playback so well. You'd be much better off IMHO with something like Media Monkey, widely thought of as the best app for organising your music. Media Monkey is also good for ripping CDs, to flac or mp3, will convert and etc, though I think EAC (free download) is considered best for ripping flawlessly. You would have to do all this on your PC though.

Another thing is that I don't think you'd be able to run your itunes software on the touch? I don't see how that would work really.

Personally I don't allow any apps to organise my music for me, I put it all in folders named generically, and then in subdirectories for bands, composers, whatever. Media Monkey is great for this cos you can browse a folder view in a sidebar and easily select the files or folders you want to play.

From what I understand about this SB touch it will read the contents of a FAT32 storage device without the need to interface with a PC, so you don't 'have' to connect it to a router, I assume that doing so would allow you to access the touch remotely from your PC & other squeezeboxes and visa versa - which opens up some additional options I suppose. From my perspective it's the idea of not turning on this laptop that is most attractive to me though.

I'm not sure if you would be able to physically move files across your network from your PC to a drive connected to the SB touch, but to be honest if you have a portable Hard Disc I don't know why you would really need to desperately. It would be easy enough to move the drive for a short time? Still, if the touch can stream music from a PC over a wireless network it might be easy enough for it to write the same data to a connected drive - I suppose? It would maybe make life a little easier too.

I'm sure if any of this is wrong someone will say so. In the meantime uninstall itunes and get Media Monkey :)
 
Firstly, with the Touch you wouldn't have any software on the HDD, just the music files.

1) You need the current range of SBs connected to your network in order to communicate with with the server s/w. This is not necessary with the Touch.

2) I think I've read in the Touch thread that the drive attached to the Touch can be shared on the network. Have a re-read but bear in mind that the product is not yet finalised so things could change either way.

3) Someone else will have to answer this as I've never used iTunes. Can't thik of any good reason to use it unless you are forced to by owning an iPod.

4) The SB only plays the files. You can use s/w like MP3Tag to make the sort of adjustments to the tags you refer to.

5) All a matter of opinion but the two leading contenders I guess are the free Exact Audio Copy (EAC) & chargeable dBPoweramp. Again plenty of reading available in the MP3 Forum. Start with the stickies.

6) Not sure what you've seen but I'm guessing it's the Controller. This isn't the standard IR remote but an optional Wi-Fi device that communicates directly with the server software. You need the s/w running on a PC/NAS to use this.

The standard IR remote will allow you to fully control the SB but has no display. You can browse/search Artists, Albums, Genres, Playlists, Internet Radio, etc.
 
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Guys (Crocodile and Auto especially)

Thanks for the replies. I'm getting more and more interested in the squeezebox touch as it sounds like it will do what I want it to do. Given that I only heard about it as a result of starting this thread a few days ago I've still got a few questions. Apologies if these are a little stupid/obvious or have been asked before. I've read the squeezebox threads and so I'm only asking the questions that I haven't been able to find answers to.

OK, imagine this is my set up. Some kind of hard drive sat on my hi-fi stand with squeezebox software on it, plugged into a squeezebox touch, plugged into my Harman Kardon integrated hifi amp (either directly or via a DAC), plugged into my speakers. My wireless router on the shelf next to it (not sure what I do with this - that's one of the questions!) My PC out of sight and turned off in another room. Me sat on the sofa with a squeezebox remote control and a beer. Right, questions...

1) Lots of posts/discussions say plug your squeezebox into your home network either with ethernet cable or wirelessly. I can do this but why do I need to. (It's not a problem it's just that the penny hasn't dropped with me yet - maybe it will as I write these questions, lol!)

2) How do I get my CD's onto the hard drive. I'm guessing that this is where my PC comes into play. So is it the case that for initial set up I sit at my PC with my new hard drive plugged into it and rip my CD's, and then when it's done I unplug that hard drive from my PC and plug it into the squeezebox? Do I need to do this everytime I get a new CD or can they be sent across my wireless network?

3) I've got lots of music (13,000 songs) currently on my PC in itunes. (I know I've got to do some of them again to do them in better quality but ignore that point for now). Can I transfer those to the new hard drive which I'll buy to go with my squeezebox as a bulk operation? In other words, does the squeezebox software like the itunes software? Or do I have to start from scratch?

4) I've read that the squeezebox software finds album art/ track info etc. (I understand that this is only as good as the database as I use this facility on itunes). But on itunes I can edit this information, rename tracks if they are wrong, replace the artwork etc. Can I do this with squeezebox? (It really annoys and frustrates me if this kind of stuff is wrong, lol!) If so, how do I do it given that the new hard drive is going to be stand alone from my PC? Is it the case that I "see" the interface on my PC over the wireless intranet and edit it from there?

5) Slightly off topic but Auto (I think) mentioned that there are better products than itunes to rip info from CD's. I'm curious about this as it's never entered my head to use anything else. Why are other products better?

6) What can/can't I do with the squeezebox remote? I've looked at the pictures on the website and they show a remote control with album cover art lit up on it. Can you scroll through albums, songs, artists, playlists etc without getting up off the sofa (not that I'm lazy of course).

I'm sure I have more questions but any help on these would be gratefully received.

Cheers

David :lease:

All great questions. Others have answered, but just for clarity i will also answer to :)

1) You will need a network connection for the initial setup for downloading the latest firmware (although this can be avoided) but once set up you dont need a network connection if you dont want one, it will operate as a fully self contained unit. However, it's way WAY better to have a network and internet connection for a number of reasons - it makes updating much easier, it give you access to loads of online music services (Napster, Last.FM and soon Spotify etc), internet radio, album reviews and artist bio's, blah blah. It will also allow you to connect other players to it, such as, for example, a Squeezebox Boom in the kitchen and SB Radio in the bathroom (playing the same music in perfect sync, or different tunes).

Also, yes it WILL allow you transfer music to it wirelessly from your PC without physically dragging the HDD over every time you get a new album...

2) As i say above, yes you can tranfer the files over to the Touch over your home network. Dead simple, its just a bog standard windows share (samba). No special software needed. Basically, the Touch+HDD becomes a NAS (network attached storage), so you can store anything on it - backup photos, movies etc (i have streamed a DVD from my touch and watched in on my TV using a video streamer).

3) For best quality, re-rip it with a decent ripper to FLAC. There are hundreds of ripping packages - iTunes, Media Monkey, Windows Media Player... But the gold standard are indeed EAC and DBpowerAMP. EAC is a bit techy and DBpowerAMP is by far the best IMO - it's easy to use, grabs album art automtically from the net and have a very acurate ripping engine (especially great with damaged CD's). Another great tool for the box is MP3tag, for cleaning up and editing tags, as well as finding and adding missing album art. Why iTunes is not the greatest is a whole other can of worms best kept for another thread (search the streamers forum).

As for your existing iTunes music, YES you can if you want just transfer your library of music and playlists from iTunes over to the touch and they will play fine (although some albums purchaced from the iTunes store will have DRM and wont play on any non-apple product. Thanks Apple). Your CD rips should be fine, they are just AAC (or MP3) files, with the Touch will play (not much it wont TBH).

4) The Squeezebox system is just a server+players, music management needs something else. Like i say, all you need is DBpowerAMP and MP3tag for ripping, adding artwork etc etc. The squeezebox cant rip or modify your collection - this is a GOOD thing (that said there is a plugin for finding missing artwork).

5) As above. The reasons for not using iTunes for ripping are well documented and going a bit off topic for this thread. Google, search the forums. But it basicaly comes down to poor error corrrection and format support. It's not the end of the world though, many Squeezebox owner do happily use iTunes for managing there music.

6) The remote you have seen is the Squeezebox Controller. It works with the Touch, but it's an optional extra. The Touch has a Touch screen and standard IR remote for couch time. If you have an iPod touch or iPhone you can get remote control apps for Squeezebox. The best IMO is iPeng (£4.99). Another good reason for a network connection, as these work over WiFi.
 
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Thanks for the replies guys - I'm learning so much! I'm sure i'll have more questions soon:thumbsup:
 

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