What to do with my legacy CD collection?


I am about to dive head first into Hi-Res Digital Audio streaming.  My current situation is complex, though.

I have 6,000 cds in my collection.  I am beginning a project to rip my favorites ~ 2,000 cds, which are mostly special editions, rare and collectible, to FLAC files and play them on my Innuos Zenith mk3 server and Qutest Dac using an ipad and Innuos Sense app as my UI.  

The whole rig will be backed up to a  2 drive Synology Nas using RAID 1 plus an icloud back-up.  

I will keep these as many are Mofi Gold, DCC gold, SACDs, DVD-Audio Disks in 5.1 surround, HDCD encoded, etc., to occaisionally play them on my Oppo 105 universal player where they sound marvelous.

That leaves me with 4,000 CDs leftover.  Most of them can be Hi-Res streamed via Quobuz or Tidal, both of which are native to my Innuos server.

Some of these are in original jewel cases (about 1,500) that I will sort through and keep, sell (haha), donate or toss.  

The remaing 2,500 are in binders without artwork.  I really don't know what to do with this group: keep as back-ups or toss.  Any suggestions?

I would appreciate any opinions or feedback on my plan, so far.

TIA!

Ag insider logo xs@2xdrlou77

To all, 

my motivation is primarily one of convenience for redbook CDs that are readily available on Tidal or Qobuz.  If I want to listen to Sacds, Dvd audio, Mfsl, and DCC gold disks, I will use my Modwright Oppo 105.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, you could contact the San Francisco Audiophile Foundation.  I don't know if they're actively soliciting donations, but they are a 501c3 organization, so it would be deductible.  I haven't been to a meeting in a while, but they always had boxes of donated CDs & LPs for sale.  I don't recall any w/o the original packaging, though.  They may also accept equipment.

At least you'd know that the first people to get a crack at them would be card-carrying audiophiles!

Also, with respect to the public library, I think they need special licensing from the publishers, and can't use items that were privately purchased.  However, there may be an affiliated "friends of the library"  group that can accept donations and holds periodic sales locally.

Since you are just starting to rip your collection, you should listen to the same files in FLAC and WAV downloads. Completely to my surprise, I could hear a difference. It might be the DAC I'm using (Bel Canto 2.8) or my imagination, but I preferred the WAV copy. I only have about 300 CD's but storage is so cheap these days WAV was the way to go for me.

Jim S.

I started buying those Sony Mega storage units. Mostly the 200 and 300 disc ones.

I use the optical output into a quality DAC via splitters. It is fun to have people over to my house when they discover these "juke box" players. They are amazed.

The primary reason I enjoy these machines is each disc is readily available. No digging thru piles of jewel cases and the resultant mess.

I almost made the mistake years ago of ditching the discs like so many other people did when this "amazing" mp3 format came out. So glad I didn't.  Now, like 35 years and 3,000 discs later, I realize they are a real piece of my personal history. Oddly, I can actually remember the time I bought each disc! A lot of the music is truly awful but it was a "thing" at that moment in time.

I stream via Qobuz and love it but from time to time, I still buy a CD. Often times to support a new or unrecognized artist. I toss the jewel cases once the disc has been entered into one of my machines, never to be touched again. 

Personally, I do not see the reason to rip my CDs. Qobuz and all the other services have done it for me. What a lot of unnecessary work. 

All formats can coexist in one house. 

Decluttr.com

I sold mine there when I switched to streaming. Bits are bits. There's no reason to keep them.