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Digital Audio for Dummies

As I have stated before, I'm a bit of an audio dinosaur.  I love simple.  I love reliable.  I love a high performance/price ratio.  So no surprise I'm still happily spinning discs.  Give me a nice CD player direct to an integrated and I'm good to go.

But it is 2018.  Reading on this forum about the demise of Oppo was a bit of a wake up call. Also the Lyngdorf 2170 has inspired me.  An elegant all in one box product that is ready to connect with many of the digital options now available.  So I'd like to get educated on what's out there and what you suggest.  Basically I would want to know about ripping all my CD's--exactly how that is done.  Dedicated audio computer?  How big of a hard drive/other considerations?  Wired vs. wireless.  And then what streaming services are out there?  Cost, quality, ease of use?

PLEASE keep things simple and don't assume the reader knows, for example, what Roon is.  I've seen it mentioned, but would want to know exactly what this does, how it functions, etc.

THANKS!
corelli
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
So are wav files currently "the best" way to go as far as SQ is concerned?
Yes. However, just because its a wav file doesn't mean the origin of the file isn't lossy, and doesn't mean its as high of a bit depth and sample rate as it could be. That said, assuming lossless and high-res, then yes.
nutella
223 posts
 
I have a question regarding flac.  Steve states he can hear the difference between compressed flac and wav on his setup.  dBpoweramp gives you the option of flac conversion of your wav files uncompressed.  It appears that the uncompressed flac file size is the same as the wav file size. Has anyone explored this?
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
nutella .....It appears that the uncompressed flac file size is the same as the wav file size. Has anyone explored this?

Yes. In my view this is pointless *unless* you need to make use of the additional file attributes that flac can accommodate. Otherwise, no need to convert. Just use wav.

audioengr
3,282 posts
 
It appears that the uncompressed flac file size is the same as the wav file size. Has anyone explored this?

Yes, I found that uncompressed FLAC still compromised the SQ.  Likewise with AIFF.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

juke4u's avatar
juke4u
50 posts
 
I would put myself in the same position as corelli trying to go into streaming but the computer language is confusing. Hopefully it is OK to ask a question. I do not have a large cd music file. (250 cd') I have all the music on a thumb drive. (lossless) I was wondering if I buy a Lumin streamer (D2) or similar, can I just plug the thumb drive in the usb rather than getting a NAS? Also, how important is MQA looking down the road?
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