Start with a Tidal subscription and your smartphone. There are a number of ways to get the files to your hifi, the easiest being wireless internet. If you have an iPhone, an old Airport Express works great, if android, buy a used Chromecast audio. Both well under $100 and can stream CD quality. You can always use a cord.
The older Airport Expresses, older Apple TVs, and Chromecast devices have digital out, which you can hook up to a better DAC. A Schiit "Modi" for $100 would be a fine place to start, but there are hundreds of options, and a google search will quickly have you tunneling down the rabbit hole. I say get the Modi and enjoy it while you are sorting all this out. Most likely, as the designer of the Modi says, it will end up being all you need.
Forums like this one will drive you to audio-nervosa in short order. For what it’s worth, an Airport Express and a Schiit Modi will get you better digital than most anything that was available 10 years ago; any reasonable person should be quite content with that. Move on from there.
As far as your collection of media, you may well find that 95% of it is available on Tidal (Idagio if you are a classical buff; I have both). I have a collection about the same size as yours, and I hardly ever touch it. If you have a lot of rare and esoteric recordings, you might digitize those, but from where I stand why digitize, store, and fret over something when I can just pop it up on Tidal.
Now if you want to go "better than CD" Hi-Res, MQA, DSD or have $tens of thousands to spend, don’t listen to me. If you are a vinyl record enthusiast, I’m guessing you already know how to make that work.
Most important, have fun and enjoy the music!
The older Airport Expresses, older Apple TVs, and Chromecast devices have digital out, which you can hook up to a better DAC. A Schiit "Modi" for $100 would be a fine place to start, but there are hundreds of options, and a google search will quickly have you tunneling down the rabbit hole. I say get the Modi and enjoy it while you are sorting all this out. Most likely, as the designer of the Modi says, it will end up being all you need.
Forums like this one will drive you to audio-nervosa in short order. For what it’s worth, an Airport Express and a Schiit Modi will get you better digital than most anything that was available 10 years ago; any reasonable person should be quite content with that. Move on from there.
As far as your collection of media, you may well find that 95% of it is available on Tidal (Idagio if you are a classical buff; I have both). I have a collection about the same size as yours, and I hardly ever touch it. If you have a lot of rare and esoteric recordings, you might digitize those, but from where I stand why digitize, store, and fret over something when I can just pop it up on Tidal.
Now if you want to go "better than CD" Hi-Res, MQA, DSD or have $tens of thousands to spend, don’t listen to me. If you are a vinyl record enthusiast, I’m guessing you already know how to make that work.
Most important, have fun and enjoy the music!