How many CDs are you talking about ripping and what level of sound quality do you desire? Also does your system have a high quality D/A converter with external inputs? Your answers are important because you can configure a computer to achieve adequate to outstanding sound quality, it's a question of desire and money.
Making a PC into a digital CD Jukebox
I am thinking about getting a high end PC and using it like a CD jukebox. My plan would be to get a fast PC with LOTS of disk space and memory, then rip all my CD to disk. This way, I'd be able to create play lists using Real or something like it. I would connect the PC's audio output into my receiver's CD or AUX input. My question is - is the sound card in the PC capable of producing reasonably high quality sound reproduction? I'm not an audiophile, but I do want to make sure I'm not taking a step down from a regular CD changer.
Showing 3 responses by onhwy61
Computer based juke boxes are far and away the best way for a music lover to access their music collection. The key to such a system is the software and how well it integrates with your computer hardware. I believe the Apple iTunes software and any of their G4 or G5 computers is the current top of the heap. 100 CDs with no data compression will require approximately 65Gb of hard disk space. Loseless compression, a standard feature of iTunes, can cut this requirement in half. If you use a G5 model computer you can use the built in analog line output. If you want a step up you might consider one of the USB based D/A converter such as the M-Audio Transit. If you desire even better quality sound, then I would recommend using an external audiophile oriented D/A and connect it to the G5's built in digital optical output. The same comments apply to the G4 series except it doesn't have a bulit in optical output. The G5 model is substantially quieter than the G4. Each can come equipped with a DVD player/burner which can serve as an excellent DVD player in a HT setup. |