2. pc-audio
  3. 1314497634

Computer Audio – Help Getting Started

I want to add a computer based audio source. My goals are to store a majority of my music collection on a computer accessed hard drive (with back up) and have the ability to easily play those digital files through my main system. I would also like the ability to copy selected music from the hard drive onto a small portable hard drive (or a thumb drive?) so I can play it at remote locations such as an office system. I will consider playback hardware (DAC's etc.) at a later time.

Before I start ripping desired CD’s to my computer, I suspect I will need to first decide which type of computer and operating system I will be using (Mac or Windows). Since I already have a home desktop and work laptop that use a Windows based OS, given that I am not interested in i-tunes, and knowing that Windows based laptops are about half the cost of a MacBook Pro, are there any compelling reasons why I should consider purchasing a Mac over a similar featured Windows based laptop as a dedicated computer for my audio?

Once this first decision is made, then I am sure to have more questions about specific software I should use for ripping and playback to preserve the highest quality sound possible, hopefully to match my CD source components. Thanks for any help provided.
mitch2

Showing 2 responses by dtc

dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
The Berekley Audio AlphaDAC is also well regarded. I would add it to your list to consider.
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
Rwwear - I use both. For most new, good quality CDs they rarely show rip errors. J River will rip them fine. It gives a report that tells you if it had to retry any reads. If there are no errors, I just use that. dBpoweramp is better at reading damaged disks and it adds the option to have your rip checked against a database of rips of the same disk by others (AccurateRIP). I find the convenience of using J River for both ripping and playback to be worth it. Using dBpoweramp is easy, but it does mean you have to import the files into J River Also, sometimes on some classical CDs the tagging can get a little complicated. When ripped with J River, the tags are clean and consistent in the library. If you want the absolute best rip with the best checking, use dBpoweramp. If you are OK with an occassional issue, you can use J River for most cases and dBpoweramp when needed.
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