Best Way to Upgrade Digital

I ripped my 2,000 CDs over a period of years. Then upgraded my streamer and no longer listen to my CDs or ripped CDs. Copying files from a CD allows them to be streamed (ripping). So, this is basically making them available to a streamer. So if you buy a CP player, you are taking away funds that could go to a streamer. With good equipment there is no difference between a CD, ripped CD file on a server or local storage, or streamed from a service like Qobuz. Actually Qobuz frequently sounds better and costs about what the purchase of a single CD per month, $14.99), while your library goes nearly to infinite.


So, if you understand the term sunk cost… that is your CD collection. Mine is now used for wall sound dampening. So, instead of investing more in a transport, better to invest in the highest quality streamer. Which of course requires an appropriate DAC, but then so does a CD transport.

Replace the benchmark with a neutral sounding dac, the benchmark was known to be far too cool sounding (shrill), I would walk into a music room at a show and I could tell they were using a benchmark and walked right out

Not much you can do about changes in technology, but you already have a decent DAC with the Benchmark and player in the Bluesound Node.  The Node has a DAC as well, it isn’t terrible, you should compare it to the Benchmark if you haven’t already.  Buying a Vault would consolidate everything under one component but it doesn’t make sense you already have the Node which doesn’t have a great resale value.  Also it is difficult to transfer files from the storage in the Vault to a different hard drive should you wish to go in a different direction—not impossible, but more difficult than it should be.
  What the OP needs is a place to store files and a way to rip them.  The simplest 
solution is to use a PC to edit metadata,as others have recommended.  You may need to purchase an external optical drive to rip the files if your computer doesn’t have a CD ripper.  Then store them to an external Hard Drive, which can be attached to the Node, or else played directly from the computer into the usb drive of the Benchmark.  If you play from the Node you can use the BlueOS interface, from the PC a separate program.

To my understanding, the data contained on CDs is limiting….please correct me if I am wrong, but no expenditure to update your playing of those CDs is ever going to equal what you can hear from HD digital, presuming that the HD digital files are created from a good master….of course, if the master was crap, no type of LP or digital reproduction will be great ….if you want easier access to those CDs go ahead and rip them, but all you will gain is convenience. Streaming HD from Qobuz, etc potentially will give better sound

So, if you understand the term sunk cost… that is your CD collection. Mine is now used for wall sound dampening. So, instead of investing more in a transport, better to invest in the highest quality streamer.

I like having and will keep my software (CDs)... the vinyl folks love owning their media and CDs are the same, just smaller and shinier! I have ripped 600+ CDs to my Small Green Computer Sonictransporter Roon server, and now I stream them. I haven’t fired up my good CD player in months, but I will keep it. I still buy CDs but I rip them straight away. I do love having the discs in my listening room as a fallback source. I can’t think of a reason to spend $1000-4000 on a CD player now, when server replay is so good (I have heard that the T+A and other high-end players are amazing though).

I'm reading reviews of top end streaming gear and DACs getting truly amazing playback from standard Redbook CDs. I don't hear much if any difference between most of my CD rips and MQA or Qobuz hi-res streams, but my system is "only" an $11k system, so not the highest resolution. My 64 year old ears aren't the highest resolving anymore either, to my dismay.