Luisin

I can try it both ways and see which works best. It would be useful to have the album cover that matches the album I have, so having to choose might be ok. I will check it out! Louis

I will give it a try. Thanks!

Thanks, Eloise, your comments were very, very helpful. I would appreciate some clarifications – I am new at all this. Suppose that I use AIFF. Then I can set up iTunes so that, any time I pop a CD into the Mac Mini, iTunes automatically rips it and adds the meta data (if any) it has in its files. Now I download XLD and EAC Secure RIP. Can I also set them up so that, when I pop a CD into the Mac Mini, the iTunes/XLD/EAC SecureRIP combination automatically rips the CD, collects the meta data from the internet, and stores the lot in iTunes (unless there is a problem that I have to fix)? Or do I have to process each CD individually? Would using dbPower Amp (in Windows via BootCamp) substitute for both XLD and Secure RIP? My inclination is to keep things simple. I understand that Pure Music provides a more sophisticated management of the music stored in iTunes. Does it interact with either XLD or SecureRIP? Thanks! Louis

I have read your thread on a music system based on the Mac Mini. That helped me settle on an Airport Extreme, a 2.53GHz Mac Mini, and – I think – an iPad. I would appreciate some help, however, on the software, keeping in mind that I have a good hi fi system (DAC: Bryston DBA-1; preamp: McIntosh C 2200 tube; amp: McIntosh MC 402; speakers: Martin Logan Prodigy). Is there some good software that, used in conjunction with or instead of iTunes, would allow me to rip CDs into either WAV or FLAC and automatically download metadata? I have about 1,600 CDs, mostly classical and jazz, and iTunes has the artwork for very few of them. I have trawled the internet and the best bet seems to be the GD3 encoder & tagger at $0.10 per look up. Would that work? Is there a better alternative? Eloise in your thread on music software for the Mac Mini suggests Channel D’s Pure Music to correct some of the limitations of iTunes. (She also mentioned Amarra). That seems like a god idea. Any compatibility problems with the software to import metadata? I would appreciate any suggestions, comments, … Thanks! Luisin