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When did you digitize your CDs and LPs? I still haven’t...

I’m a 46 year old guy who came up on LPs and cassettes, got into CDs and then stumbled into the world of online music where I’m still trying to figure out what to do.

20 years or so ago when people started getting excited about digitizing their CD collections, I never bothered. I have maybe 900-1000 CDs and the idea of having to “rip” them never appealed to me. Heck, I never even liked the word “rip” and the action seemed time consuming and boring as heck to me. Same for LPs.

These days, I still have all my obsolete media but I’m a Tidal HiFi subscriber and have come to love streaming. Still, there’s a lot I have on CD and LP that Tidal doesn’t have and I’m wondering if it’s time to step into the present and get something like an Innuos Zen Mk III so I can stream, rip, and store at least all of my CDs.

Is it time to step into the present, or will I be fine rocking my Nakamichi CDP-2A until it dies and then just buying another CD player or transport? That certainly seems less expensive these days than a fancy streamer/server/“ripper”.
pip_helix
mahler123
3,648 posts
 
I think you are done.  I use a 2011 MacAir in one on my systems as a streamer, it’s a great use of an aged PC.  I would burn the files to hard drive with the PC and play them with the Node2, since you already have it, but if you sour on the Node the Mac&DAC will do the job
falconquest's avatar
falconquest
1,108 posts
 
I just completed ripping all of my CD's to my newly acquired Aurender ACS10. I can't explain it but I get more detail than from my CD transport. I could hypothesize why but that would be a different thread. I used a high end transport btw.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
I can’t explain it but I get more detail than from my CD transport
Impossible, it can’t make extra bits that are not there.

Probably hearing some form of hf colouration/distortion or maybe even even jitter or more error correction if that’s possible.

Cheers George
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,477 posts
 
I can’t explain it but I get more detail than from my CD transport
Transport connection to DAC can add more jitter (noise) and also scratches on CD can force CDP to interpolate data since CDPs, working in real time, cannot re-read each questionable sector again, like ripping programs do (often hundreds of times).  Ripping program can effectively renew old scratched CD making it sound better - like new.  Even CD-R made from such rip will likely sound better than original CD.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
 
Ripping program can effectively renew old scratched CD making it sound better - like new. Even CD-R made from such rip will likely sound better than original CD.
Not correct sorry, I can hear the difference between the original and the burnt copy I make for the car.
Also if you search there is a lab test disc you can buy I think it was the Pierre Varney double disc test disc suit, that has all the usual cd bench test tracks, but it also has a piece of music on it and then the same piece but 10 x generation copy. And you can clearly hear the degradation on the 10th copy.
  
Cheers George
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