2. digital
  3. 138230-115924

CD ripping for the lower end.

I have a decent hifi system. I listen to CDs mostly. Thinking about going modestly digital just to test the waters. Right now I have an old iMac that will be my server. It is too old for all current ripping and cataloging software so it will probably be iTunes for ripping and playing. I will use Apple Remote on my cell phone which is a fairly capable remote at this level and works with the older version of iTunes on this old iMac.This is all probably commensurate with the entry level DAC I just got used off eBay, a Schiit Modi 2 Uber. I’ll get a Monoprice USB cable for it. I’ve got some high end RCA cables for DAC to Pre-amp.

If this works out okay and the SQ is tolerable I might step things up and use my MacBook Pro in which case I could get dBpoweramp for ripping and something to bypass iTunes for playback. Might even upgrade the DAC.

The first question I have is that for right now, what format should I rip the CDs to? Space is not a big concern. I’ve only got about 150 CDs and won’t rip them all. The primary consideration would be sound quality and future ’portability’ if I move up to higher end DAC and all that.

The second question is should I use my MacBook or new iMac to rip using dBpoweramp and then move the files to the old iMac?

Thanks for your help.

George
n80

Showing 1 response by stevea11757

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stevea11757
130 posts
 
George, I understand where you are coming from as I traveled the same road not too long ago. The main difference is I am not using an Apple product to use as a server. I now use a NAS and run through window machines (several) running JRiver on them all.

After first ripping in a compressed flac I ended up re-ripping in a non-compressed flac files as space was not an issue when I went to the NAS. This option is not available to you (flac) with the powerbook. Whatever format you end up ripping to just make sure it is uncompressed as any can be convered later if necessary. It will be easier than re-ripping as I ended up doing...
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