Dark Turban

Thank you all - ah yes more mistakes in my nomenclature...and thought process. So I best start over with my ask it would seem. Archival Copy: bit perfect 1:1 / 16 bit, 44khz (redbook not 'high rez', yes) / FLAC Working Copy #1: (home stereo): ??? Working Copy #2: (iPod): AAC? With respect to the Airport Express I don't even know if I would end up using it at all - so I'm not married to Airplay, staying in the Apple domain and therefore using ALAC/AIFF for the home stereo source (am currently a PC guy & will likely stay there for some time yet to come). At present I have a Oppo BDP-95 which can be pressed into service as my DAC in the interim, though its interface if I go NAS direct will be bare bones - more food for thought. It might be upgraded to a BDP-105 in the future or I might grab an Audioquest Dragonfly, DAC Magic+, Wadia, Peachtree - something. Therefore, I want to have the first Working Copy data a lossless format that is going to sound the most optimal, be easy/complementary to use with the PC, lend itself well for Music Management, etc. Obviously my next stumble is having working access to the Archive Copy data for the iPod in a format that is o-k-a-y in terms of sound quality but gives me a decent ability to set more than a two dozen song playlist. So as my obtuseness continues I am figuring that I will need a convert of the original FLAC into AAC so that iTunes/nano can make the most of it. Flatmap mentions the synchro facility in iTunes - but based on my clarify on not being Apple married I am thinking hopefully I will be able to grab the software that will do this job as well. (Sheesh, I feel like an old steam locomotive trying to get up a hill. Any way...) I have been looking over the various Ripping Software and Music Management Software and at this point I still have a lot of figuring to do. dBpoweramp is in there as is MediaMonkey, J River, Easy CD-DA, et al. I guess I want the one that does a great quality ripping job, allows for multi-encoding given my dual needs, can be a robust & easy to use music server, etc. Again, this is where I get lost. No matter what, it looks like I will be paying for my product so that it can do it all. Recommends here are seriously needed. The whole metadata thing obviously I failed to grasp correctly from the outset. Embedded/non-embedded. All me want to do is see pretty picture of music guys and what name they make song on computer and iPod. However that is accomplished for my planned end uses of the data - home stereo/iPod again I have pencil and paper ready awaiting the skool bell to ring. Without I doubt I'm sure I have misspoken or forgot something to ask once more, but my second salvo has to stop somewhere. Thanks all who read this and respond for your patience as yet another total newbie comically starts flappin' his wings. Cheers, DT

%#&! Nube status confirmed per the FLAC vs. AIFF/ALAC slip up. Clearly I need some skoolin'. Thanks for the correction, please continue to do so - am here to learn.

Hi CA: Well I feel really fortunate to have stumbled upon this really solid site. I see there is a lot of care and attention put into the goings on here and an honest effort to make this a exhaustive clearinghouse for computer audio best practices. So, like so many first time computer audio noobs out there I have long suffered from the paralytic condition arising from the fear of 'Path Wrong Taken'-itis. For years now I have possessed most of the requisite materials to do something in this domain: the PC, the large media collection, the NAS drives, the Airport Express (gifted, not chosen) the iPod, etc. - but I have been very gun shy about investing in the huge time to rip my music library only to find I've done the wrong thing. While my afternoon spent looking through the site has already yielded alot of good direction, I find that I still have yet to find the one answer I am really after. The easy to grasp guide written by TCA helped alot (www.computeraudiophile.com/content/309-computer-audiophile-cd-ripping-strategy-and-methodology/) as did reading all the posts - but being slow on the uptake I still need counsel. So, here's the thing... GOAL: Create a high-res, lossless, embedded metadata digital library of my collection which can be used in my two channel system AND have access to said library by my nano iPod in a format that affords a decent compromise between acceptable sound quality and maximized content. From the ripping guide above I know that I will be grabbing the necessary software (dBpower or EAC), creating an 1:1 FLAC Archival Copy and a FLAC Working Copy for future playing through my stereo (once properly outfitted), ensuring that embedded metadata is captured. QUESTION(S): What I am wondering is do I need to create a third 'Edited Copy' of all my files yet again in AAC so that it can be the source accessible by iTunes --> nano iPod? Is that best done by one of the above rippers or iTunes or other? And what should be the protocol for doing this entire process from scratch - to accomplish both objectives and do it right (i.e. time, effort, end result)? An older post (www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/advice-itunes-uk-starter-359/) seemed to speak to the AAC issue part way down the thread - and so I seem to have both halves of this touched on, but like so many first timers before me I want to be absolutely crystal before I set out. Sorry for the lack of brevity - clearly that's the noob part showing through. I look forward to hearing from anyone who might weigh in on this for me. Regards, DT