Computer audiophiles using Windows 7 based music servers have a plethora of configuration and application choices for music management and playback. A quick look at Wikipedia's list of applications, Windows, OS X and otherwise, can overwhelm anyone. Over the years I've tried more operating systems and applications than I can remember. Many of these have show stopping flaws that rule them out as contenders immediately. Applications that can't play certain file formats or all required sample rates don't receive much attention from me. That was the case over one year ago with J river Media Center 13. I tried to play some of the Reference Recordings HRx 24/176.4 material and had nothing but problems. No doubt the problems could have been worked out, but with so many options available elsewhere I didn't see any reason to spend time with the application. Since this initial underwhelming experience J River has released Media Center version 14. In addition many colleagues in the industry have encouraged me to give it another serious look. One colleague even backed up his suggestion with measurements showing JRMC's playback bit transparency. I started to see the light at CES this year and realized it was finally time take another look at J River Media Center as well as time to get serious about Windows 7.

The Computer Audiophile CD ripping strategy and methodology article has been one of the most popular writings on the site to date. Some readers have implemented the methodology exactly how it was written while others have put their own spin on it by changing file formats and the number of file copies. Other readers are still searching for a less time consuming way to rip their music collections. Over the last few weeks I've been using a CD ripping approach that's likely to satisfy those who want to get the job done but don't have a couple months of free time to rip 3000 CDs. The approach consists of an automated ripping robot in combination with Get Digital Data's Encode Center and GD3 Tagger software and its GD3 database. The experience was actually enjoyable from beginning to end. I'm willing to bet few if any readers have ever enjoyed ripping CDs.

Today Ventis Media announced the release of MediaMonkey version 3.2. Over 200 improvements have been made to the new version. The most exciting improvement is the free version of MM now monitors music folders for changes and has the capability to add the changes to a library automatically. Ventis Media is touting the ability to sync MM with many new smart phones as the biggest part of this release. Some Windows 7 features are now supported and CA readers using Lynx AES cards should be able to use this official release instead of hunting for a pre-release beta version in the MM Forum.

At first blush ripping a Compact Disc with a computer seems like such a simple task. So simple that it can nonchalantly be done by someone from eight to eighty years old. Putting a CD into a Macintosh computer automatically launches iTunes. By default iTunes can automatically start ripping the CD to the hard drive and eject the disc when it's finished. Listeners seeking the ultimate in convenience and immediate results should select this method of ripping. Note the two words "in" and "convenience" next to each other in the previous sentence. That choice of words was not by accident. Using the aforementioned ripping method will lead to major inconvenience, lost music, and hours of precious time wasted. Ripping CDs, like everything in life, involves many choices and well thought out decisions if one wants to do it right the first time. There are simple ways, there are hard ways, and there are many ways in between the two extremes to rip a CD collection. What follows is the Computer Audiophile CD Ripping Strategy and Methodology. This manual details the Computer Audiophile strategy and method of ripping a CD collection and explains why this method is recommended.

Windows 7 has been available for about two days. Here is a quick update for the Computer Audiophile readers about my last 48 hours spent with the new operating system. First and foremost I have to admit I really want Windows 7 to succeed and be a great music server platform. I'd like nothing more than to wave goodbye to Windows XP, a legacy OS that is tough to find (legally) these days. My first 12 hours with Windows 7 were filled with frustration and disappointment. Everywhere I clicked I received an error message at best and more blue screens than I've seen in the last three years. In the last 12 hours I've made major headway and I'm pleased to say I like what I hear thus far.

I am absolutely amazed by the new Nine Inch Nails iPhone application. Seriously, watch this video and you'll be amazed as well. You'll want to watch the whole video for all the app's features, especially at about 3:20 into the video. I'm really speechless and I hope more of our favorite forward thinking artists follow NIN's technological leadership.

Sharing a single iTunes Library among several users is not difficult to setup if you know what you're doing. If you're a newbie it can be an exercise in frustration when error messages about read only directories pop up. The term Sharing in the context of this article does not equate to the built-in iTunes library sharing feature. Rather, sharing in this situation means using a single iTunes library and music folder location for several different users of the same computer. (Note: This will also work for several users on different computers if the appropriate files are placed on a network drive visible by all computers.) After setting up the shared library all users should be able to sync their individual iPods with their own personalized settings as well. Here is a video showing how to setup a single iTunes Library for use by several users, followed by some basic instructions that go along with the video.

Moving an iTunes library is one of the simplest tasks around. Yet, many people are hesitant to move their library for fear of losing all their music. Plus, many people who have attempted to move their library have run into problems and error messages that appear to indicate their music has disappeared. Frequently these problems lead to frantic forum posts where readers plead for help like their dealing with a life and death situation. I think most of us have been there at one time or another. Even if for a split second, the thought of accidentally deleting your whole library is terrifying. Sure much of the music is replaceable but the time spent to rip a couple terabytes worth of music is gone for good. Fortunately Apple has made the process of moving an iTunes library very simple. In fact it's so simple that many people quickly look over-think the process and assume they need to recreate the wheel to accomplish the task. There are a few more ways to move a library that are not covered here. I've selected the easiest method of moving from point A to point B for this article. What follows is a short Computer Audiophile Academy how-to video and the official Apple documentation about moving an iTunes library.

Computer Audiophile readers using Mac OS X are very familiar with the sample rate ritual required to play high resolution material through iTunes. In the near future Sonic Studio's Amarra hardware/software package will render this ritual obsolete. Amarra has built-in auto sample rate recognition, in addition to many other great features, that enables listeners to switch between sample rates without touching Audio Midi Setup or closing iTunes. The output from Amarra remains bit perfect at every sample rate up to 24/192. However, Amarra is still being refined before its official release date fairly soon. Plus, the current global economy has most people exercising restraint before shelling out money for items that don't keep the heat on or keep the roof over their head. In the spirit of saving money and increasing convenience I now present CA-SampleRate my semi-automatic sample rate solution. Did I mention it's free? (As in beer)

It's finally here! Songbird version 1.0.0 was released to the public yesterday. Songbird is the first real contender to challenge iTunes in the music playback department on a Mac. Sure there are other applications like Play and VLC but neither one is a contender in my opinion. Right now Songbird is available for Windows, OS X, and Linux. Songbird without a doubt has the most potential of any available music application today. The single reason is that Songbird is open source and has the world developing add-ons and improvements for the application. Currently in it's "new born" state Songbird does have some drawbacks. On the positive side Songbird is bit perfect!