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Music server recommendations needed.

I have a large CD collection (4000 - 5000+) and so far I have only been managing my digital music files on my MacBook Pro through Apple Music only. (Partially digitized from my CD collection, partially commercially bought digital music files.) The music is largely an exhaustive jazz collection totaling some 6000 albums, by my estimate.

 

I need to digitize and collect all of my music on a music server. Ideally I would like to do this in just 2 components - a CD player and a Music Server, or a Music Server that comes equipped with a good CD player. The ability to effortlessly digitize the CDs, and then properly catalog, search and listen to my digitized music is the end goal. The CD player must be able to play SACD media. Would be nice if I can keep the DAC out of the music server. I'd like to keep the cost reasonable, but at some level I don't know what is reasonable either. Whatever I pick, I want it to stay for the long haul. What would you knowledgeable folks suggest as a solution?

I currently own a Jay's Audio CD player connected to a Benchmark Audio DAC3 HGC and Galion Audio TS120 SE integrated tube amp and Triangle Antal speakers.

 

Thanks,

Amit

 

amitb
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,764 posts
 

Mr. Prentice you have forgotten one  the greatest advantages of building a ripped library:

most people are visual and by seeing a library you are reminded about  the artists you like.

so with a great server you have access to your existing cd library plus streaming win win.

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,481 posts
 

I'm new to streaming but I think it's the way to go. I still play my CDs but spend more time streaming.

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,377 posts
 

“The ability to effortlessly digitize the CDs, and then properly catalog, search and listen to my digitized music is the end goal.”

I chose Aurender ACS100 for its superb library management and expandable storage. I wanted to steer clear of laptop/desktop in my day to day use. There isn’t anything else that comes close to what Aurender offers in terms of ease and convenience. All you need is a iPad to run ACS Manager app. App experience is the most critical part of managing and curating digital content and there is none better than ACS Manager. Take a test drive and decide for yourself. 
 

I recently tried Zen Mini with 1TB storage to see how it stacks against my ACS100. All it took was few hours of ripping and playback with Zen to see how much superior my ACS100 was as a content server. 
 

I am not aware of any server that will also play SACD discs. These are two different techs. I suggest you hang on to Jay’s Audio player for SACD playback. 

tkrtrb125
214 posts
 

Zenith MKIII will be perfect for your setup. Love my Zenith. 

v-fi
50 posts
 

I have to echo what others have said about trying out the streaming services. I ripped a few hundred discs at one point and it really gets old even when the device has a pretty easy ripping feature. Decided to keep my CD stash and try streaming lossless music from Tidal and Qobuz which I found to both be really great. Adding Roon as a user interface helped as it has very approachable library management compared to everything else I tried. 

I picked up a new transport and I still play a disc once in a while. A lot less often than I thought I would though. It's usually when I have something special like a DCC gold or XRCD release. I feel like those just sound better from the original disc but I might be crazy. 

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