On 04/07/2010 15:23, Serge Auckland wrote:

"Gordon MacPherson" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Hit in the face by the Brennan JB7 ad in Radio Times, I would like
advice about electronic CD storage. I play CDs via a Cambridge Audio
D500 player, a NAD C326 BEE amp and Monitor Audio Silver RX6 speakers,
and listen mainly to classical music. The amp is also fed from a Sony
Bravia TV, and I have a Dell PC hooked up to work via the TV
(including sound) by a non-VGA link (HDMI?).



I do find playing my CDs inhibited by the labour of getting them out
of a cupboard etc etc and am starting to think about storage, either
on the computer or on an external device such as the JB7.



I would be grateful for advice:

1.. Does such storage result in significant loss of audio quality?
2.. I have ripped CDs for my MP3 player using the built-in Windows
program but are there better rippers available?
3.. Are there alternatives to the JB7 that have advantages?
4.. Any other advice/comments?


Many thanks,



Gordon

I have recently purchased a Squeezebox touch, so that I can control
downstairs, the music I have on my PC upstairs. I use ITunes as a
library organiser and rip my CDs using Apple lossless, although I have a
number of CDs ripped some years ago as 320kbps MP3s. It works flawlessly
using my wireless network, but how successful wireless connection will
be depends on your personal circumstances and house layout.

I have ripped over 1000CDs, (and am still ripping!) and find I now play
a lot more music than before. The sheer convenience of my whole
collection on one control is very seductive, and by keeping the PC
upstairs, I don't have any issues with fan or hard-drive noises. One
further point, you MUST back up the music library to a separate hard
drive, as the drive you have you music on WILL fail one day, not may,
but will!

Go for it, I don't think you'll ever regret it....unless you forget to
take a backup.....

S.

I have also ripped all of my CD collection onto my PC, but to MP3 256k.
Backed up on an internal shadow drive and also to an external drive.

AS I am 55 yrs old now, I really dont miss anything above 16KHz and the
compression isnt noticable (to me anyway).

You may find a programme like EasyCDDA Extractor useful, as it will look
up the CD data from CDDB online, or one of several other sources.

I also use Tag and Rename to make sure all my files are ordered and
named properly (if EasyCDDA fails to recognise a disc).

To playback, I must admit to being a bit of a dinosaur and just use
Windows Media Player !

It all works fine for me

DH