2. digital
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CDs to harddrive to DAC wtihout a PC?

I've been trying to get this all straight. Digital seems very confusing what with all these names like airport express, squesebox, transporter, sonus, Flac, EAC,RAID,SATA, etc. But is it possible to download music from an audiophile transport directly to a harddrive without a cumbersome computer? I've not tried a Mac, but slugging it out with anything made designed for Windows does not sound relaxing at all. (If Microsoft and friends were held as responsible for their products as say the automobile industry is they'd recall every product I've tried!) I don't want the sound distributed all over the house, (at least not now) but the idea of my music library played from a harddrive and memory buffer (which many insist can sound better) through my own DAC does sound appealing. I'd like the chain to be something like this. Output from transport, to a harddrive, then from the harddrive to my DAC with a backup and of course a remote control display like I've seen with the squeezebox by my chair as an interface? What would I need to do this? Or is it possible. I'd rather buy the CDs than download. Can anyone help. Thanks in advance, and maybe I'm wishing here. . .
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Showing 2 responses by ckorody

ckorody
643 posts
 
Quick answer - no way to go from a CD transport with having a computer in the middle.

Easy answer - no need for a CD transport anyway. Get a Mac, insert the CD in the CD drive and import to iTunes - done.

If you don't have a DAC, get a USB DAC. If you already do, you can set it up to work with SPDIF (via USB) or Toslink.

If you are too overwhelmed to deal with any of this, purchase a prebuilt music server from Olive or McIntosh and leave the driving to them...

All the details are here on the site
ckorody
643 posts
 
Sound quality will be better then all but the very best CDPs

There are a myriad of ways to access and organize your music

Cost will vary - go to an Apple Store to see the various models and pick the one best suited to everything you want to use it for. Lots of guys are doing Mac Minis. If you have a large CD collection you will need two large external hard drives (one primary and one back up) Lots of choices in DACs - unless you already have one, look for a USB DAC.

Read a bit - plenty of posts here and on Audio Asylum's PC Audio Forum. If you spend an hour you will know the answer to every question you are likely to have and be able to make an informed decision - certainly easier and faster then trying to figure out the right CD player =)
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