DCAudioDIY.com

It all sounds kind of complicated...both storing/cataloging, and playing back.

The good thing is that the way I treat my music collection is kind of like the way I use my computer in the sense that I cull my collections and files pretty regularly. If I don't use things regularly I usually get rid of them pretty quickly, so I would guess that if I was going to go through the trouble of preserving some of my CD's on a drive, it would only be my favorites. It also wouldn't be for the purpose of collecting more stuff in a smaller space, it would simply be to extend the potential longevity of a recording on a CD that could get scratched, damaged, or even just misplaced.

I'm not sure if other people understand this too, especially the way acquiring and playing music has changed recently, but I kind of depend on being able to stare at a rack on my wall, with a whole bunch of colorful CD spines and album titles, just to get the inspiration to pull one particular one out and play it. I also like to have a CD cover with a list of all the tracks so I can look at it while I listen. This is the key to my creativity, but it seems like some of this stuff is disappearing.

What is the easiest way to simply duplicate a disc, without any degradation from the original? It might just be a lot easier for me to just have a couple back up discs for selected favorite recordings (assuming the ability to play them back isn't going to vanish from the market

Chris

If you are using linux asunder works well and it looks up the cd information from the internet. If you are really picky you can save the audio in .wav format which is how it is stored on the original cd. If you want lossless compression it can do .flac.

http://littlesvr.ca/asunder/

In the rare cases where I rip my own CDs I use dbPoweramp CD ripper. It is easy to use and has quite a bit of flexibility.

I ripped about 1000 CDs losslesly and stored them on a SSD. Both JRiver and Roon has library searches that identify them and list track and cover art etc. They probably covered about 90% of the CDs I ripped.

no matter what method one uses for music file storage it would be prudent to back up to multiple devices.
SSD's are reasonably stable theses days but they do have EOL like all electrical devices.
Mechanical HD are very susceptible to drops on hard surfaces.
I have no less than 3 backups of 12TB of files. Two here and one at DaveR

As an alternative, you might find a streaming service that would work for you. As a classical music fan, I really like Qobuz.

Ray

If I was going to start over I would go with Qubuz.
Heck I might chuck the whole mess, analog and didgital software and go with Qobuz anyway

It's doubtful that there will be no way to play your CDs in the future, at least in our lifetimes. Even if your current CD player gives out, you can still use a good BluRay player and an external DAC to achieve something close or perhaps even better than the level of sound you're enjoying now. So I wouldn't worry about that. A question you might consider is how long the physical CDs themselves will hold up--they can bronze (the reflective layer turns a gold color and the CD no longer plays properly) or experience other forms of damage and decay. Collectors of historical classical music will tell you how hard it is to find a non-bronzed, playable copy of many of the old Pearl resissues.

I ripped most of my collection years ago and it was a giant PITA but once it's done, it's done. I simply didn't have space for it anymore, and having dragged them across the country once, I'm not doing that again. I'm also committed to downloading music now and rarely buy CDs online, only if the music is not available for download. But the switchover is a big commitment. I wish it were as simple as throwing your discs into a drive and, voila, they're ripped. It takes a lot of time. A thumb drive won't do it, you want a good-quality USB drive or NAS, and you want to back that up with another drive that you can disconnect and keep on a shelf so it doesn't risk getting corrupted with a computer crash.

Then there's the issue of playback quality. Computers are noisy and glitchy. A lot of people will tell you it doesn't make a difference. Perhaps it doesn't but I would beg to differ. And you've got to have decent software that let's you find the music and control the playback. Then you've got to get it to the speakers, and that means an external DAC of good quality.

And finally, back to the ripping. If you have a lot of import CDs or historical stuff you're going to come up blank on the metadata when you try to rip it. If it's standard big-label stuff there shouldn't be a problem.

I would suggest you get a trial copy of JRiver Media Center for your PC and experiment with ripping and playing back some CDs and see what the experience is like for you.

In addition to a backup in your house, consider another backup copy kept elsewhere by a friend or relative. It's a huge amount of work getting your collection digitally organized to your satisfaction and you don't want to do it more than once.

If you do try Jriver, try a couple of dozen CDs and work out how you are going to organize them. For classical, include a variety of genres and just a few composers such as Beethoven,Mozart, Verdi for Opera and also some CDs by individual artists like Horowitz and Renee Fleming. Then decide what works for you.

Ray

I agree with Grover that ripping lots of CDs yourself is a PITA. The commercial ripping services take care of that and the meta data problem unless you have some custom recorded stuff like I do. All that comes at a cost and you have to decide what your time is worth. It works either way.

As far as storing off site, that is a good idea for all your data, In addition to a NAS for all my data at the house I have two USB drives with my music and other data. One sits in my safe deposit box at the bank. No worry about hacking the data there. The other gets my latest backups and then replaces the one in the safe deposit box on a routine basis. That way there is always one copy at the bank. I also have another USB drive with just my music I can take wherever I go. Try going somewhere with your whole CD collection.

I disagree about computers being a noise problem. With Roscoe's invaluable help I built my latest music server around an Intel NUC which is very small and unobtrusive. It works great. Since it is on my network I can access it wirelessly with any computer, smart phone, or mostly in my case with a small tablet. I use the USB out connection to the USB in connection on my DEQX processor but could also go to any external DAC. BTW, if you have not tried it yet, the Khadas Tone Board DAC for under $100 is amazing. That is the one I took over to Walt's house and he also was favorably impressed.