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  • Calling all audiophiles

    Lately, I've been thinking that I should give my whole audio world a going over, but I'm not even sure what the issues are, let alone what to do. Here's the deal.

    Right now, my audio collection consists of about 500 cds. I probably buy one or two cds a month, but rarely buy new music; mostly, I'm continuing to build my collection of midcentury jazz, and occasionally I pick up a piece of classical or world music. I haven't really gotten into downloading music, either, and probably won't, though I do have a flash player that I use when I exercise.

    The thing is, I move. A lot. As a cd weighs approximately 100 grams, that means I'm carting around 50 kilos (110 pounds) of music. And since I only listen to, on average, one cd per day, and since I tend to favor cds I've acquired recently, that means most of my music collection really just gathers dust. I'm ending my 2-year Philippines stint in July, and I'm certain that when I pack the collection up again, I'll be packing up a lot of music that never left its jewel case in Manila.

    I also have a stereo system that I haven't really given much thought to. The best component is probably the Rotel receiver, now 6-8 years old. The Bose bookshelf speakers, though older, also aren't bad, though they occasionally seem like a poor copromise between real speakers and truly small speakers. The CD player is a 16-year-old Sony tray-style player (5 cds).

    So what do I want? Well, I want to have all my music with me. I could live with some, maybe even most, of it being mp3s. But storing the whole collection on an iPod is undesireable; I want the jazz, at least, to be with me in cd form, because I consult the liner notes regularly when I listen. I also wouldn't mind a more compact stereo set-up, especially since my next two dwellings (Singapore apartment, Washington apartment) are likely to be rather small.

    Okay, you're me. What do you do here?
    "I have as much authority as the pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it." — George Carlin

  • #2
    I'm in the same boat more or less. I have about 500 cds, and they're becoming a management problem. I'm thinking of ripping all of them and storing them on a dedicated media computer, and playing them over a digital out in order to remove the computer motor noise. As for the liner notes problem, how much info is available online? I know you can get facsimiles of the album cover, what about the notes etc.?
    He's got the Midas touch.
    But he touched it too much!
    Hey Goldmember, Hey Goldmember!

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    • #3
      I have no idea what they were called, but a work associate of mine used a service that handled this exact need for him. He boxed up all his CDs and sent them to this company, the company made digital copies of all his music (in the format he specified, 320kps mp3s I think) AND made digital PDF's of all the liner notes for him. He also paid extra for them to take the digital liner notes of his top 50 or so CDs and create a nice little bound book for him.

      The service was not all that cheap, but he has been very satisfied ever since.

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      • #4
        You are thinking of throwing away CDs...

        That's just unholy. I have about twice as many as you and I'd die if even one went missing.
        Only feebs vote.

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        • #5
          Just imagine what your life would have been like in the 70's.
          What?

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          • #6
            I note that your whole CD collection could fit on a hard drive uncompressed. I'm sure that there are media servers that would do the job for you, but those can get heavy and fragile too.
            I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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            • #7
              I would recommend a Mac Mini plus an external hard drive, but I don't know the quality (jitter, etc.) of the Mac Mini digital out. Even an X-Box 360 plus external drive might do the trick.
              I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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              • #8
                Just burn them all to a hard drive, type up the liner notes and sell the CDs. If you sell them for $2 each, thats 1000 bucks. Not bad.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by DanS
                  I would recommend a Mac Mini plus an external hard drive, but I don't know the quality (jitter, etc.) of the Mac Mini digital out. Even an X-Box 360 plus external drive might do the trick.
                  If you get one of the new Mac Minis it has Front Row. You can browse your music on your television with that.

                  Or you could buy one of those Media PCs. They are a bit expensive though.
                  Only feebs vote.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by DanS
                    I note that your whole CD collection could fit on a hard drive uncompressed. I'm sure that there are media servers that would do the job for you, but those can get heavy and fragile too.
                    while true, buying a 300+ gigabyte drive isnt a cheap proposition
                    "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                    'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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                    • #11
                      Convert to mp3, and convert back to wav if you ever feel the need.
                      I get about 10 albums in mp3 format to a cd. DVD's , which I don't have, store beau coup music.

                      Ditch the stereo.
                      Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                      "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                      He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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                      • #12
                        Interesting input. Now, a couple more questions:

                        1) Am I right in assuming that, in mp3 format, the conversion is something like 1 minute of music = 1 mb? So 500 cds, containing probably 50 minutes of music each (on average), would take up approximately 25 gigs?

                        2) Ditch the stereo...and buy what? I probably should have mentioned that we mostly listen to music in our living room, while the computer is in the study (and moving a computer to the living room would be verboten). Plus, we entertain, sometimes professionally (the whole diplomat thing) so whatever is playing music has to be attractive, or at least unobtrusive. Are there such options?

                        3) The wife is not terribly techno-savvy, and I suspect would resist having her favorites in the CD collection converted to mp3s. She understands cd players, and they're good enough for her. Is there some kind of hybrid cd+mp3 thing out there? Aside from a pc, that is?
                        "I have as much authority as the pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it." — George Carlin

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                        • #13
                          Regarding #1, that sounds about right for a 128k bitrate MP3 file. I suggest you go uncompressed WAV, however. You will miss some of the sound if you go with compressed MP3. A compromise between the two would be a 256k bitrate MP3 or whatever.

                          Regarding #2, I think a stereo is fine. Or at least a receiver/pre-amp plus speaker separates.

                          Regarding #3, there are CD/DVD players (most of the new ones?) that play compressed MP3 files on CD or DVD. But even if you ripped uncompressed WAV files directly from CD and burned to DVD, you could store 7 or so albums on a single DVD.
                          Last edited by DanS; March 30, 2006, 19:43.
                          I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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                          • #14
                            I understand about the space-management issues, and have certainly considered ditching some of my less illustrious CD's, but I'm surprised how few people seem to care about fidelity.

                            Compressed audio simply isn't all there. I keep wanting to turn it up hoping that it'll sound right but it won't.

                            Ditch the stereo, people say? Ouch!

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                            • #15
                              x2

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