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Help -- need Idiot's Guide to music server system

Squeezebox, FLAC, Mac Mini, lossy, lossless -- help, what does all this mean? I'm trying to find out more about taking a CD collection onto hard drive music server. Can anyone recommend a Beginner's Guide, whether online or in print? I'm not completely computer illiterate but I can't figure out the basic hardware needed. My main interest is not to broadcast music wirelessly to different rooms but to get a thousand-plus CDs into some more convenient and secure data storage system without loss of CD audio quality -- can it be done, and with what? If you can point me to an Idiot's Guide, I'd appreciate it.

If it matters, my current system (set up in a small listening room) is a Naim Nait 5i amp and Naim CD5i-2 player driving a pair of Spendor S3/5s. The rest of the room is filled with CDs. Thanks.
jhold
kleech
129 posts
 
How long does it take to copy and categorize 1000 CD's to a hard drive? Many years ago I tried to scan 35mm photo slides into the computer and gave up because it was so tedious. Are there any tips for doing this efficiently?
4est
507 posts
 
Imacs appear to be the easiest to set up. When compared to the prepackaged servers, they are still very competitive. Go to the benchmark site and check their wiki on computer audio set up. I started out with a $50 stand alone mac G3 with an added hard drive and extra ram. Occasionally it would hang up due to the 1000+ cd's and the bloated library and os (come on, it is a 9 year old box). It sounded great though, and I'll never go back to a stand alone player for the sonics. My guess is that Slikric may have had his settings incorrect as windows can have complex settings- macs are much easier. It is not vinyl, but it does have some advantages over vinyl sonicly.
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Chasmal and Kijanki,

You might be surprised. I'm a vinyl first guy -Oracle,Graham 2.2, Graham Nightingale - but I also use a QSonix/Benchmark digital system. Now, my hearing isn't what it was 10 (or more) years ago, but IMHO this is a very good sounding souce. In direct comparison, the vinyl still sounds a bit rounder, but the best cds sound awfully close to their LP counterparts. You might find the gap more significant than I do, I'd be surprised if you liked the sound of a good LP on my system and disliked the digital presentation of the same recording. Of course, I've been surprised before!

Marty
slikric3000
638 posts
 
Kleech, the way to make it easier is to do a specific number/day say 10, 20 or whatever.
mcgarick
277 posts
 
Great question, love the post! I want to know too.
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