Computer based music replay

iTunes on a Mac has always ripped everything to lossless without incident for me. The settings I have allow me to feed a CD at any time, it rips then ejects having found the artwork and track info.

Some (mostly classical) I have had to manually complete due to the Grace database not being on the ball - but it really is no problem. Some of the stuff on modern re-releases I like to change the running order to original albums anyway.

I have had PCs and used EAC but the lossless rips sound no different. WAV, FLAC and Apple Lossless rips of the same CD sound identical which is what you would expect. Lossless - without loss.

All this other stuff I'm sure works fine but does seem an awful faff compared to one lappy (MacBook - you don't need a "pro") and iTunes.

Steve

 

Good grief! How many more steps are required?

I think I'll file this under "something to do when I am incapable of getting off the sofa to change the CD"

Seriously, why do any of you bother with this counter-intuitive nonsense?

 

Buy a mac plug it in.
Keith.

 

OK, but the Mac is horribly, scandalously expensive for what it is. And it comes with all that irritatingly-cheerful iBaggage. Plus, my kids would think I was a bit of a tosser if I bought one (I've checked).

Why can't someone just write a program for PC called "CD storage & replay manager", or somesuch?

There's one item in my life which is a source of almost daily irritation, and that is the computer. If any car behaved like a computer, you would take it back to the shop (iDrive excepted).

 

Because the infrastructure behind a Squeezebox or Linn DS or ANOther Streamer provides benefits beyond simply putting in a CD and playing it.

For example I can search my music. 'Rolling Stone' gets me five different versions of 'Like a Rolling Stone'. 'Respect' gets me Aretha and Otis, 'I feel love' gets me the needledrop Rob Holt uploaded the other day and the original. I'd never have found the original on CD, it was on free Sunday newspaper compilation.

But it can be complicated and requires forethought. The Mac/PC/NAS stuff is just noise. Is the benefit worth the effort? In my case my CDP was creaking, so some action was indicated, I made the effort and now I have benefits. Both hifi and in other more useful ways.

Paul

 

They call that iTunes.
Also runs on PC.

 

foobar2000 & itunes don't want to play these FLAC files at all, and winamp sounds horribly distorted.

Why can't I manage this? Why does it have to be so difficult? I am an extremely intelligent human being, but I just can't do it.

 

Of course you can.

Use iTunes and set the import settings to lossless as in the screen shots I posted. Also turn off any EQ and sound enhancer functions.
You'll then be able to rip and playback without problem.

 

As Rob said, if starting out from scratch and doing it 'the' simplest way possible, use iTunes on your pc, change the settings in the screeners Rob posted then sit back and enjoy. Get a SB, external HD to put your tunes onto and plug the lot into your existing pre. Job done albeit right down at the fundamental stage. There's no need at all to go buy another computer.

 

I feel your pain, brother. The real problem is that computer software is written by computer geeks. Someone like Nokia should write a user interface. The author of any software that would not work with that user interface should then face the gallows.

 

I think this is one of the main problems of computer-based audio at this time. If you make any statement supporting any format, any codec, any music client software or any type of computer, there will always be those who disagree with you 'on a fundamental level', leaving those who are just starting on this venture confused, concerned and completely hacked off at the concept. Here's the egalitarian version.

1. Any modern computer (modern enough to have a USB port) will be good enough to act as a source for computer-based music

2. There isn't a great sonic difference between types of music client software. Try a few out to see which one you like from a user perspective

3. Different music client packages 'prefer' different lossless codecs. Fortunately, lossless codecs end up being functionally identical sonically, if not identical in terms of file compression. If one works native to a client program (ALAC and iTunes for example), stick with that option

4. There will always be a few hoops to jump through configuring your computer to play audio files correctly. These depend on the operating system. None of these hoops would challenge anyone who's registered for a forum, and their requirements are clearly published on line

5. To get back to your original post, you need a DAC (usually one that supports USB) and a computer and that's it. You could even do without the DAC, but common perceptions in audio suggest the analogue outputs of a computer are below par in this context. Similar common perceptions suggest any lossy compression format wears a black hat, lossless compression format wears a white hat and direct .WAV to .WAV ripping wears a white hat, gets the girl and rides off into the sunset. Things in reality aren't that simple; loads of .WAV files will eat HDD space at a truly shocking rate, while many argue that 320kbps (and beyond) AAC or MP3 files are effectively musically identical to their lossless counterparts

6. If the computer makes a lot of noise in its day-to-day operation, you might want to move it out of the room and find another way to connect it (through ethernet) to the system. This is where things like Squeezeboxes come into play

7. There is NO point seven

8. If you build up a large collection of ripped discs and downloads, you'll quickly fill up your computer's HDD, so it's a good idea to use external drives. It's also a good idea to back up these drives as the last thing you want is to find your music store crashed and you have to re-rip 2,000 CDs. If you use some kinds of Network Attached Storage devices, you can even use these as servers for Squeezeboxes without the need for a computer to control the system

 

Shameless plug warning, we offer a 'computer audiophile' service based upon the products we sell, we will install and configure, advise on storage and even rip your cd's if you require , but it is based on what we consider to be the best solution and as mentioned mac/dac will not suit everyone.
Keith.

 

iTunes now works, but won't let me get any album artwork without first opening an iTunes shop account, which involves me emailing them my credit card details. Why should I give them my card details?

So iTunes seems a bit dodgy, and I'm not too keen.

Thanks Mr S.

 

Dear Devil, Alans spot, on just a computer and a dac, thats what ive been using for ages now. Apart from not having thousands of CD hanging around (they're all in the attic) The best thing about it for me is the whole world of music that having the computer as a source opens up, Spotify, NPR, Last FM, iplayer etc...

Ive used Itunes so little since ive been using Spotify, i spend my music listening time discovering really amazing music, if i really like something i'll buy it on CD.

http://www.npr.org/music/


You can download the concerts (check out the list on the left in the link below), just types NPR into itunes or download them from the site, something for everyone here, some of the concerts are electric, thumbs up to the people who recorded them.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15681603

Watt from Pedro (Mike Watt, Thud staff genius) is another one of my favourites, starts every three hour show with a Coltrane track.

http://www.twfps.com/

also downloadable from itunes

 

Spot on, regarding Itunes, hence my signature on PFM.

Itunes seems all about charging for downloads.... a money making machine designed to make you spend money downloading tracks.

As a music program, it's signifcantly behind Media Monkey or even Windows Media player in the ways that are important to me - like being able to store FLAC's without ''having'' to turn them into an Apple Codec - or the silly album artwork restrictions it has.

Can't stand Itunes - only have it because I have an Ipod. boooo to Itunes


BOOOOOO !!

I reccomending ripping music onto your pc using 'media player' or similar, and just buy a squeezebox. There is a button on there ''look for music and make a library'' - you can then stream to your pc. You can use a wire if you don't want to get a wireless network set up.

Another point Bub while I think of it - I pay ''geek squad'' about £5 a month or some other piddling amount, and they answer/do any techy stuff for me by live computer interface - including 'remotely taking over my pc' in order to do things like install things I'm struggling with etc. There is no contract and they get you where you need to be. Reccomended...

 

Sorry bit behind, see your having a nightmare - which it is.

Your pc can be in another room, away from your hifi gear.

The squeezebox plugs into your hifi, either by digital or analogue.

Or straight into your powered speakers as it has a volume control.

You tell the Squeezebox what you want to hear, it pulls it via your network (wired or wireless) from your pc, and pushes it into your hifi.

I found it difficult to get it all working well, me and pc's don't get on Once the initial pain is over, its Wonderfull having your whole music collection accessable from a remote - as long as the wireless network holds up When I move it will be wired.

 

Bub,

For computer audio without the pain, take a look at Sooloos, now owned by Meridian. Fantastic user interface, iTunes-free. Pricy.

 

Hi James,

Hope you are well. It really is simple, I managed to do it in about 30 minutes on saturday. I already had iTunes with a couple of hundred CD's ripped. iTunes account is pretty safe. Once you have the account it will down load artwork. I've had an account since 2004 and had not problems with my credit card. I added an Apple Airport express and can now stream from my PC to my Hifi. Even this simple set up sounds pretty good. My CD's are not lossless so there is room for furthur improvement. I can control it using a free App on my iPhone.

Cheers

Graham

 

Hi Rob,

At the moment I'm just using iTunes on my PC streamed to an Apple Airport Express, controlled by my iPhone. Just sorted this on Saturday. Pretty impressed.

Question for you. I have all my CD's ripped to 320kbs AAC. Do you think a MF V-DAC will make much difference?

Cheers

Graham

 

Graham Hi, why not rip them again uncompressed?
Keith.