Rip or Copy?

"I should have stated I wanted to make a copy of CD's,DVD's and Blu-Rays; but keep the copies on some type of storage and management device, not make more CD's,DVD's. And be able to play off the storage device with excellent quality. I imagine a computer would do this but I thought those fussy about sound would be using something better."

That's how we took it. We knew that you would most likely be storing your ripped music on something like a hard drive.

Go to this website and download and install EAC.

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

After that, go to this website for step by step instructions on how to set EAC up to get the best sound quality.

http://www.angelfire.com/magic2/hq-audio/l/eac-setup-all.html

For CD's, at least, that's all you need to do. You can't get any better quality as long as you follow the instructions. The best part is that EAC is free. Give it a try. I think that once you setup and use the software, you'll see the value in it almost immediately.

Thanks again. I have about a 3/4 yr old Lenovo laptop. I'll check the model and details tonight. Isn't iTunes just for apple? I do remember reading about Berkely dac using JRiver or something upgradable within their dac, something used in computers. I really gave this area no thought until now. Now retired with the Stingray music service on cable it's become very interesting. The Baroque and chamber music channels have so much I've never heard. I'd like to make it easy for me to create my own playlists and easily categorize and access just what I want.

iTunes comes in versions compatible w mac or pc. There are DACs that accept a USB input from your pc and many of the smaller/less expensive ones like the AQ Dragonfly or the HRT II+ offer very good SQ. You can try computeraudiophile.com for more information.

Thanks Swampwalker. I will check it. (Ive been an avid backcountry hiker +skier; if there were swamps here I'd be out in them, fishing and hunting. I'm assuming your name is related.)

It seems that exactaudiocopy is for Windows only.

JRiver and XLD are for Mac and easy to use.
(I only found exactaudiocopy in beta test).