200 CD's onto an MP3 player, possible? If so, which one?
Discussion
Tyre Smoke said:
So, having redecorated the living room, I have put my foot down and refused to get rid of my Hi-Fi separates, but my sear wife doesn't want CD's cluttering up the room.
Is there any recommendations for an MP3 player and is it even possible to get all the discs onto an MP3 player?
Buy yourself a Ipod classic. I couldn't live without mineIs there any recommendations for an MP3 player and is it even possible to get all the discs onto an MP3 player?
Whatever you do, rip it to a lossless format as above, and not .mp3. (I used and would recommend .flac, but you could also use .wav, apple lossless, etc)
.mp3 will not sound brilliant but if you rip them to a lossless format you do not lose any sound quality, and they can then be converted to .mp3 or other lossy format for portable listening as required.
200 CDs will take up less than 100 GB in .flac format. I use a nas to stream the .flac files across the wireless network to a couple of Squeezeboxes. This way I don't need to have the computer on to listen to music (or watch DVDs, which are also on the nas.)
Mike...
.mp3 will not sound brilliant but if you rip them to a lossless format you do not lose any sound quality, and they can then be converted to .mp3 or other lossy format for portable listening as required.
200 CDs will take up less than 100 GB in .flac format. I use a nas to stream the .flac files across the wireless network to a couple of Squeezeboxes. This way I don't need to have the computer on to listen to music (or watch DVDs, which are also on the nas.)
Mike...
Tyre Smoke said:
Once again in Thickese please mate.
Sorry! If you want to use it in the house only, the best thing to do would be to copy all the music onto what is basically a really big hard drive at full CD quality. You'll need something like this:http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/17408158/Western-Dig...
(there are others available of course)
which can be plugged into the Hi Fi.
mike_knott said:
Whatever you do, rip it to a lossless format as above, and not .mp3. (I used and would recommend .flac, but you could also use .wav, apple lossless, etc)
.mp3 will not sound brilliant but if you rip them to a lossless format you do not lose any sound quality, and they can then be converted to .mp3 or other lossy format for portable listening as required.
200 CDs will take up less than 100 GB in .flac format. I use a nas to stream the .flac files across the wireless network to a couple of Squeezeboxes. This way I don't need to have the computer on to listen to music (or watch DVDs, which are also on the nas.)
Mike...
You may as well rip them to MP3 - very very few people will be able to hear the difference between a good mp3 (320kbs, or a good VBR copy) and lossless format. Those who can will need to hear it on a stupidly expensive system to do so - your average man with even a good home system wouldnt have a clue. .mp3 will not sound brilliant but if you rip them to a lossless format you do not lose any sound quality, and they can then be converted to .mp3 or other lossy format for portable listening as required.
200 CDs will take up less than 100 GB in .flac format. I use a nas to stream the .flac files across the wireless network to a couple of Squeezeboxes. This way I don't need to have the computer on to listen to music (or watch DVDs, which are also on the nas.)
Mike...
Condi said:
You may as well rip them to MP3 - very very few people will be able to hear the difference between a good mp3 (320kbs, or a good VBR copy) and lossless format. Those who can will need to hear it on a stupidly expensive system to do so - your average man with even a good home system wouldnt have a clue.
I run a nakamichi amp though decent Kef speakers. I can't tell the difference between VBR MP3 at high quality (probably 192-224kbps) and the CD it came off for 99% of the stuff I listen to.If I was ripping for archive, I'd rip FLAC and then convert to MP3 for the iPod. As I'm keeping the CDs as an archive, I don't bother.
Tyre Smoke said:
Right so I need a hub thingy with a 1TB memory?
I only want to archive my CD's and be able to pick albums/shuffle?
Surely a big memory MP3 player is going to be okay?
How are you planning on connecting to the amp?I only want to archive my CD's and be able to pick albums/shuffle?
Surely a big memory MP3 player is going to be okay?
How are you planning on controlling the player?
How much money do you want to spend?
Mr E said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Right so I need a hub thingy with a 1TB memory?
I only want to archive my CD's and be able to pick albums/shuffle?
Surely a big memory MP3 player is going to be okay?
How are you planning on connecting to the amp?I only want to archive my CD's and be able to pick albums/shuffle?
Surely a big memory MP3 player is going to be okay?
How are you planning on controlling the player?
How much money do you want to spend?
Haven't thought about that, can I do it remotely?
I'm open to suggestions. No real budget in mind. Not hundreds and hundreds though.
The hi-fi is silver and Sony - cost about £750 ten years ago for amp, CD and tuner separates so has to match, but clearly not be hugely expensive because the quality will be lost.
Unless you have the ears of a hawk and a dedicated listening room, the easiest way of removing 200 CDs from the lounge is to buy a 160GB iPod classic, an iPod dock and a 3.5mm jack to rca cable that will connect the dock into your Sony amp's aux line in. Should be about £230 all in and will sound fine through your Kef speakers. This way the iPod is plugged into your HiFi through the sync socket and will charge whilst docked and you can use it as a "Walkman" as well.
If you want to get complicated then servers and things will do the job as well for more money.
If you want to get complicated then servers and things will do the job as well for more money.
Before you throw away your money I'd have a listen first!!!! Despite the MP3 "Jocks" on here regaling you with how good MP3 "ripped" at high bit rates sound, I personally find all of them screechy, flat and boomy. It is possible to get the files on to a File "Server" without making them MP3 and you can then listen to what was on the disc rather than an approximation. At Most CD carries 700MB of data so it's about 140GB, a Terabyte disc will give you room to expand. The player solution is another problem.
Simplest and sexiest and that uses your existing hifi separates is:
1) 1 external Network Attached Storage - an external hard drive with an ethernet port in the back of it
2) 1 Sonos Zone Player 90
3) Either the Sonos remote or an Iphone/Ipod or Android 2.2 device with the sonos app installed.
Convert all your music into lossless flac format using a package called media monkey and then dump it all on the NAS, connect it to the zone player and get the sonos app to tell the zoneplayer where to look for the music.
I have this set up and I don't even connect it to the router as I don't use spotify or anything.
As an alternative, Sonos now do the S5 speaker box which sounds pretty good and works in fundamentally the same way and doesn't require the hifi separates - it's just one slightly bose looking speaker box with 5 speakers built into it. BestBuy do these, so do Costco or online through various retailers. I bought mine from Richer Sounds as I like their customer service.
1) 1 external Network Attached Storage - an external hard drive with an ethernet port in the back of it
2) 1 Sonos Zone Player 90
3) Either the Sonos remote or an Iphone/Ipod or Android 2.2 device with the sonos app installed.
Convert all your music into lossless flac format using a package called media monkey and then dump it all on the NAS, connect it to the zone player and get the sonos app to tell the zoneplayer where to look for the music.
I have this set up and I don't even connect it to the router as I don't use spotify or anything.
As an alternative, Sonos now do the S5 speaker box which sounds pretty good and works in fundamentally the same way and doesn't require the hifi separates - it's just one slightly bose looking speaker box with 5 speakers built into it. BestBuy do these, so do Costco or online through various retailers. I bought mine from Richer Sounds as I like their customer service.
telecat said:
Before you throw away your money I'd have a listen first!!!! Despite the MP3 "Jocks" on here regaling you with how good MP3 "ripped" at high bit rates sound, I personally find all of them screechy, flat and boomy. It is possible to get the files on to a File "Server" without making them MP3 and you can then listen to what was on the disc rather than an approximation. At Most CD carries 700MB of data so it's about 140GB, a Terabyte disc will give you room to expand.
Indeed. With the low cost of storage it is just not worth ripping to anything other than lossless these days IMHO.Mike...
telecat said:
Before you throw away your money I'd have a listen first!!!! Despite the MP3 "Jocks" on here regaling you with how good MP3 "ripped" at high bit rates sound, I personally find all of them screechy, flat and boomy. It is possible to get the files on to a File "Server" without making them MP3 and you can then listen to what was on the disc rather than an approximation. At Most CD carries 700MB of data so it's about 140GB, a Terabyte disc will give you room to expand. The player solution is another problem.
If you find them 'screechy, flat and boomy' then there's something wrong with your encoder/decoder, it is massively unlikely you would hear any difference if you do it properly. Besides, 'screechy, flat and boomy' sounds rather like 'trebly, midrangey and bassy', so it's not all bad news 
.However, as many have said, if it's for a home system just get enough storage to do it lossless. I seem to recall mike_knott (above) wrote a good ripping procedure in another thread on the same topic a month or two ago.
TheInternet said:
I seem to recall mike_knott (above) wrote a good ripping procedure in another thread on the same topic a month or two ago.
Use EAC. Tell it to lookup the CD info and then rip to <whatever>, ejecting the disc when it's done.Every time you walk past the machine and the disc is out, stick a new one in.
TheInternet said:
If you find them 'screechy, flat and boomy' then there's something wrong with your encoder/decoder, it is massively unlikely you would hear any difference if you do it properly. Besides, 'screechy, flat and boomy' sounds rather like 'trebly, midrangey and bassy', so it's not all bad news .
However, as many have said, if it's for a home system just get enough storage to do it lossless. I seem to recall mike_knott (above) wrote a good ripping procedure in another thread on the same topic a month or two
ago.
The "Bad News" is that it's out of control if it sounds like that!!!!!!!!! It also means that it's adding and subtracting bits where it shouldn't. I have also previously stated that the Encoding is done by my BiL who has been doing it a for a large number of years and himself prefers Lossless encoding. I haven't come across any "lossy" format I can be bothered to use because they all sound rubbish..However, as many have said, if it's for a home system just get enough storage to do it lossless. I seem to recall mike_knott (above) wrote a good ripping procedure in another thread on the same topic a month or two
ago.
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