Computer-based digital audio repository system

MAC just released iTunes for windows, it's a free download, should easily do all that....you will need massive storage if you have many discs at all. I use my MAC for this, but save them in MP3 or AAC @192bps and use over 40 Gigs for a couple hundred CD's. In raw formet (what you propose) you will need something in the range of TERRa bytes!

That's OK, we'll (many of us) do that soon....until storage comes down a bit and OS's handle the faster drives better, I'll stay the way I am...

I've done something very similar, if not exactly, to what you are contemplating. I, too, use Music Match. I store all my digitized music on a dedicated external hard drive on my PC. With the use of an Audiotron (from Turtle Beach), my audio system accesses the MP3 or WAV files off the computer via an Ethernet network. Though the Audiotron does have analog outputs, I would recommend using its toslink jack to output a digital signal to an external DAC.

The beauty of the Audiotron is that it allows the user to control it from either its front panel (like any other component in your system), or from the computer itself. Any computer, actually, that is on the network. I have a wireless LAN at home, and with the Audiotron's thin net version of the software interface for PDA's, I'm able to control the music from anywhere! Not only that, but if you have multiple Audiotrons (for multiple rooms) the PDA or computer can centrally control them all, independently.

Hope this helps.

H

I am currently in the process of trying to do what you are describing. Additionally, I'm trying to use an external audiophile transport to avoid the "slippery" quality of all PC cd drives I've come up against.

I'm feeding the transport via a S/PDIF coaxial output to a M-Audio (Midiman) Audiophile USB units' S/PDIF coaxial input. The Audiophile USB then sends the digital signal to the computer via it's USB connection. I store in WAV format.

I play the WAV files back (using the Music Match Jukebox) from the hard drive through the USB cable to the Audiophile USB then out the RCA outputs to the pre-amp.

The nice things about the Audiophile USB are :
1) It has a S/PDIF coaxial digital input and output
2) It has a stereo pair of unbalanced RCA inputs and outputs
3) It has a stereo pair of balanced 1/4" inputs
and most of all:
4) It is also a 24/96 DAC and 24/96 Analog to Digital converter.

On the other side of the coin:
1) The manual sucks.
2) The install was not easy.
3) The unit is controlled by software. This is because it is actually designed to convert your PC into a digital recorder. (The music demo cd that comes with it sounds great).
4) Support varies from bad to great but atleast they always answer the phone 9-5PST

Get an Apple G5 and an Apple iPod. Together with the supplied iTunes software this system will meet all your goals. The G5 has built in optical (Toslink) digital I/O; iTunes will organize your music into playlists and the iPod will allow you to take that music wherever you go. This system will be fully integrated and very easy to use. The sound quality will be determined by the quality of the external D/A converter you use. As a stand alone unit the Apple is equivalent to a very high quality CD transport.

When outfitted with twin 250Gb internal hard drives the G5 can hold approximately 800 CD at full 16bit/44.1kHz resolution. Firewire hard drives can be easily added if you require additional storage capacity. Depending on exactly how you configure it, an Apple setup will cost approximately $2,500 to $3,000.