...newie - questions about moving from CD to ???

[ethan417]

Hi

 

so i'm a little bit older and all of this stuff is pretty new to me

 

i'm writing to ask for advice.

i would like a simple - cost effective solution for ripping CDs - improving sound quality DAC?? - and playing music on my Windows desktop PC and my Stereo (RCA connectors) -

i would like to spend around $500

 

following - is a little more detail

 

i have a collection of about 600 cds

 

i would like to rip them (retain really good quality) and play them through both my Windows 7 desktop and my stereo which is about 20 feet away in my living room

 

Rip - what format

i'm not sure what format i should use

some of my cds are ripped in WAV to my PC

i have heard that FLAC is a good choice

please also know - that i often copy a cd or make a compilation for the car - my Honda, as far as i know, only plays cds

 

Ripping Software - Tool to rip and manage my files

i have heard good things about JRiver

i have also heard good things about DBPoweramp

do i need 2 different software packages - one to rip and one to play - what do i give up if i just get JRiver

 

DAC??

i've heard that i need a DAC to improve the quality of the sound

i started looking at the different sites - reading the articles - and got really confused.

some of this stuff is really expensive

i have a very limited budget - about $500

can i get something with good sound?

remember - i want to play music on my PC and my stereo

 

Stereo equipment

i have a Krell amplifier with RCA connections

B&W speakers

yes - i know they're good - but that was a long time ago and i no longer have those kinds of resources

 

Storage

do i need a network storage device?

when offering your thoughts - no need to bundle the cost of the NAS with the DAC solution.

i have heard that the WD Cloud 4 T is a good solution for about $225

 

i want to thank you for your thoughts and advice.

 

-Ethan

[Paul R]

Welcome Ethan - this is the place to get the right information.

 

A couple of things, you did not specify what version of Windows you have on your PC, and whether or not it is dedicated just to music, or if you are using it for many other things at the same time.

 

Also, it makes a difference if it is a relatively new PC or any old one - the solutions available to you are different if you have a 3ghz i7 in that PC, than they are if you have a Pentium II.

 

This is a very good time for DAC shopping, since there are several under $200 DACs that "do it all" and do it very well, and may fit right into your budget. I think you will be very pleased at the almost overwhelming number of choices you have today, and will be able to pick and choose just what you want.

 

Yours,

-Paul

[ethan417]

Welcome Ethan - this is the place to get the right information.

 

A couple of things, you did not specify what version of Windows you have on your PC, and whether or not it is dedicated just to music, or if you are using it for many other things at the same time.

 

Also, it makes a difference if it is a relatively new PC or any old one - the solutions available to you are different if you have a 3ghz i7 in that PC, than they are if you have a Pentium II.

 

This is a very good time for DAC shopping, since there are several under $200 DACs that "do it all" and do it very well, and may fit right into your budget. I think you will be very pleased at the almost overwhelming number of choices you have today, and will be able to pick and choose just what you want.

 

Yours,

-Paul

 

Hi Paul

 

thank you so much for your note

 

I am running Windows 7 - 64 bit

the processor is an AMD Phenom ™ x 4 965 Processor 3.40 GHz

RAM = 4 gig

 

this is not a dedicated computer

that said - it's use is limited to email, web surfing, word docs, no games,

 

HTH -

 

thank you

-Ethan

[Paul R]

Hi Paul

 

thank you so much for your note

 

I am running Windows 7 - 64 bit

the processor is an AMD Phenom ™ x 4 965 Processor 3.40 GHz

RAM = 4 gig

 

this is not a dedicated computer

that said - it's use is limited to email, web surfing, word docs, no games,

 

HTH -

 

thank you

-Ethan

 

Ah- that makes it rather easy then. Here's some suggestions of where to start:

 

RIP Format: RIP into either AIFF or ALAC format. Both formats support what is known as metadata tagging very well, and this will help prevent issues in the future. AIFF is not compressed, and takes about 600mb per CD, not really a problem given you have 600 CDs and the size of today's drives. ALAC is compressed, but similar to the way "zip" operates, you get every bit of the data back when it is expanded at the time you play it. I think either format sounds the same, but other folks have different opinions on this.

 

To RIP the disks, I would suggest dbPowerAMP. It is a little complex, and costs $39, but it works very well. The time you spend learning how to use it will be well spent. The link for dbPowerAmp is here.

 

Alternately, some playback software, like iTunes and JRiver Media Center (JRMC) have ripping capability built in and are perfectly OK to use. They both work great.

 

DAC: I would look at these DACS -

AudioQuest DragonFly v1.2 for $149. It is available from many sellers, so chose a place you are comfortable with.

 

iFi iDSD Nano for $189. I have been listening to this DAC for the past week, and you can color me impressed. I have not found anything wrong with it yet. But take that with a caution.

 

I would not change your stereo equipment - it is already good stuff.

 

For storage, I would purchase a 1.5tb or larger USB3 disk. Whichever one catches your fancy the most. I like these little guys, but pretty much any unit is going to work. I would store the music, or a copy of the music, whichever you prefer, on this disk. I would not even begin to worry about a NAS unit yet, unless you need one for other reasons.

 

I would also look at JRMC for playback, as it supports just about everything and does a good job, but costs $50. You could also use iTunes for Windows, which is free. Both are easy to setup and configure, and both will manage your RIPed CDs very well.

[ethan417]

Paul

 

thank you

 

the two questions you didn't answer

how do i connect to my stereo from the hard drive

and - do i need 2 DACs - one for the PC and the other for the stereo?

 

-Ethan

[Paul R]

Paul

 

thank you

 

the two questions you didn't answer

how do i connect to my stereo from the hard drive

and - do i need 2 DACs - one for the PC and the other for the stereo?

 

-Ethan

 

Sorry, I missed that. No, you need one DAC. From your PC to the DAC will be a USB-B cable, from the DAC to your stereo you just need a set of RCA cables. You can treat it like you would the output from a phono-amp.

 

The DAC's job is to turn the digital information from your computer (i.e. the music in a digital format) into analog signals your stereo system can work with. The two DAC's I suggested have volume control, but you would be better to use the preamp section of your current stereo system for volume. Just set the volume controls on the DAC to max and forget about them.

 

Yours,

-Paul

 

P.S. If you choose something like the DragonFly, it plugs directly into a USB port, and you need a stereo mini to RCA cable to attach it to an audio input on your stereo.

[ethan417]

Paul

 

you're amazing

 

the distance between the PC is about 20 (they're in separate rooms)

is there a way to connect them wirelessly?

 

-Ethan

[Paul R]

Off hand, I cannot think of any way to do that without probably going over your $500 budget. You might try putting the DAC with the stereo, and running a USB extender to the DAC.

 

There are some wireless DACs that will do the trick, this one from NAD sounds pretty good actually. Not quite as nice as the DragonFly for example, but it does sound good. However, at $250, it is half of your budget.

 

-Paul

 

 

 

Paul

 

you're amazing

 

the distance between the PC is about 20 (they're in separate rooms)

is there a way to connect them wirelessly?

 

-Ethan

[realhifi]

Use the ripping software Paul recommends and then hook one of these up to your computer and stereo. http://audioengineusa.comi/Store/Wireless/D2-24-Bit-Wireless-DAC

 

Or conversely you could simply buy a used Marantz NR7004 network player (should be less than $500) and play all your files on your computer over your network and your NAS drive to the stereo using something like Assett UPnP server software for Windows.

It also will play any internet radio station, is Apple AirPlay enabled, plays Pandora, Spotify, etc. and will sound superb doing all of this. Great starting piece and maybe ending piece too! Marantz US | NA7004

[Mark Manner]

Ah- that makes it rather easy then. Here's some suggestions of where to start:

 

RIP Format: RIP into either AIFF or ALAC format. Both formats support what is known as metadata tagging very well, and this will help prevent issues in the future. AIFF is not compressed, and takes about 600mb per CD, not really a problem given you have 600 CDs and the size of today's drives. ALAC is compressed, but similar to the way "zip" operates, you get every bit of the data back when it is expanded at the time you play it. I think either format sounds the same, but other folks have different opinions on this.

 

.

 

Paul, why aiff or alac for a windows based user, rather than flac?

[Paul R]

Paul, why aiff or alac for a windows based user, rather than flac?

 

Essentially, ALAC and AIFF are pretty much supported everywhere, while FLAC is still not always easily available on Apple or a few other platforms. I don't see any advantage to FLAC, sonically or otherwise, in comparison to ALAC, so I usually recommend ALAC or AIFF.

 

Actually, I usually recommend that someone RIP a CD into AIFF, then transcode it to ALAC, FLAC, WAV, and whatever else they are interested in. Then listen to it via their favorite software. If one sounds better than the other, choose that one.

 

But in this case, I suggested the two that are most universal at this time.

 

-Paul

[christopher3393]

Hi Ethan,

 

You've already received some good advice. I don't at this point use a dedicated music computer and I've ripped around 500 CDs in the past 2 weeks using dBpower amp. I use JRiver for playback and am very happy with this combination. I found ripping went significantly better with dBpoweramp than with the JRiver ripping software, so the extra $ is well worth it for me. My collection is mostly classical and I care about the metadata. Nice that you can do trials with both JRiver and dB, so you could test ripping with JRiver first, then compare.

 

I rip to FLAC.

[ethan417]

Hi Christopher

 

thank you so much

 

i was wondering - could you give me insight as to a DAC solution and will support both my PC and stereo?

 

thanks

-Ethan

[jcbenten]

Hi Christopher

 

thank you so much

 

i was wondering - could you give me insight as to a DAC solution and will support both my PC and stereo?

 

thanks

-Ethan

 

The solution I come up with is set the DAC on your desk and run analog outs all the way to your preamp. I assume this would have to go through a wall and have to worry about signal loss over the distance, multiple analog outs, etc.

 

At your price point this has to be two separate solutions. Get the wireless for the main system (Crutchfield has 6 solutions) and then put a Dragonfly, or similar, on your desktop. You have not mentioned the need for hi-rez so desktop DAC choices are plentiful. Look on ebay and you will have quite a few choices at reasonable prices. I think the standard at under $200 is the Dragonfly although a couple of others are well thought of.

 

chris

(different Chris)

[christopher3393]

Hi Christopher

 

thank you so much

 

i was wondering - could you give me insight as to a DAC solution and will support both my PC and stereo?

 

thanks

-Ethan

 

Hi Ethan. Just want to clarify: when you are listening to music while at your pc, and not using your stereo system, what speakers (or headphones) are you using?

[ethan417]

for now - i am using M-Audio 40

but i am considering upgrading (suggestions??)

 

-Ethan

[christopher3393]

The only thing I can think of that will keep you within your budget is this: NuForce Air DAC uWireless System™ Wireless USB digital-to-analog converter at Crutchfield.com

 

Add an additional receiver unit and you should be good for CD-quality playback, but nothing of higher resolution than that.