Digital Audio Primer Help Needed


After searching, reading, etc., I'm totally lost, so I thought it best to start from the beginning.
I want to re-rip my cds and vinyl, at the best quality. I would then like to save them to a device such as an ipod, or computer hard drive, and play them through my 2 channel stereo.
I do not need to stream the audio through my home network. A device plugged into my amp is fine.
File size is not important, as space is cheap.
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks.
parisphoto
OK, I'll try to lend a hand in answering some of this. I'm not GeekSquad level, but can give you a handle on the basics:

Ripping CD's and Vinyl will require two different devices (rather the vinyll will require an intermediate black box). If you don't care about space, then rip all your files to either WAV, FLAC or AIFF. Any of those will render a full resolution file. Make sure the software you use to rip the files with (EAC is great if you are using a PC) is set to rip with Error Correction turned on.

Ripping files from Vinyl will require a black box; an A>D convertor (you need to take an analog signal from the output of your turntable - via the RCA connectors - and convert that into a digital signal (zeroes and ones) that a computer or digital device can understand). This type of black box can range in price for about $99 on up to whatever you want to pay for it. It will be useful only in converting analog sources to digital files (turntables, cassete tapes, reel-to-reel).

With CD's the music is already being output as zeros and ones from the CD reader in your computer, you simply need some software to extract, store and organize them into files that become your music library. You just need a computer with a CD drive and software that can rip files from a CD. iTunes and EAC are two popular versions of that software. iTunes is actually a very good storage interface for music, whereas EAC is solely a file ripping program (it will not provide a database interface to store your music - you will need to use iTunes or some other interface to organize the files that EAC rips. If you rip directly in iTunes then it's all there under one roof. Arguably, EAC has better error correction. Also, you will want to store your library on an external hard drive for safety and convenience, and it is a good idea to back up your library onto a second drive on a regular basis as you add to it.

Once the files are ripped and organized in your music library you can play them on your stereo. If you are not interested in a home network, and your computer is close enough to your stereo to have a wired link, you will be able to play your music from your computer. Since the music will be in zeros and ones, and your amplifier wants an analog signal, you need an intermediate device called a DAC that will convert those zeros and ones to analog. There is probably a DAC built into your computer and the simplest, most direct route would be to use that DAC. Unfortunately it is not the best sounding solution as it is probably cheaply made with a piss-poor power supply that it shares with a very noisy computer. Most people who want good sound use an external DAC. From your computer you'd need to send the zeros and ones that are your music files to the DAC via a cord. That cord can be USB if you are using a USB DAC, or Toslink if your computer has an optical output for digital signals. With that connection of computer to DAC, you connect the DAC to your integrated amplifier and it will feed it the analog signal it wants. Viola, you have music!

That's pretty simplistic, and there's lots more to read up on in terms of options and opinions. But I think that should give you a start. I'll let someone else take it from there.

Good luck!