3 Ways to Manage your Music

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Someday your Oppo Blu-ray player is going to break. Those amazing little silver discs are bulky and not really needed anymore. Streaming in HD is killer but audiophiles hate change. Any kind of change. Here’s an article that gives a roadmap to the people who don’t really understand how to deal with their digital music collection be it on CD, on a NAS or streaming.
1. Physical Media
2. Network Drive
3. Streaming

We discuss the pros and cons of each and how to get the best sound and convenience going forward.

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Read: 3 Ways to Manage your Digital Music
 
killdozzer

killdozzer

Audioholic Samurai
I love my NAS and preach to others to get one. It's accessible wireless over my modem. Now I'm just looking for a way to slap some DSP between the NAS and my amp and hook my NAS directly to the amp. That way I'll use my laptop from wherever in my apartment to switch files as an interface. I ripped my old CDs, with new CDs you often get a code to dl and I use that to save it directly to NAS and I also buy digital files every now and then.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
I mean, there are many vinyl enthusiasts around here and a few are still recording their favorite FM broadcasts onto cassettes for crying' out loud.:D
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
LOL while I have vinyl, it kinda fits where it wants to. Nothing as fun as alphebetizing your LPs! Wait, there is, moving them from house to house.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Apple Music Lossless is pretty good. No point in copying files when you can stream 98% of what is out there for only $9.99/mo

I do still use my Sony UBP-X800m2 for SACD and DVD Audio and DVD or Blu-ray Concerts. Anything in multichannel. I even have some DTS music discs and Dual Discs too. :)
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Same here, though I use an X800 and do spin an LP every once and awhile. While I do have some ripped, I cannot bring myself to rip tubs full of CDs yet since I can stream just about anything at any given moment with an app. I ain’t shittin’ you all, Qobuz hi-res tracks are great and some atmos albums via Apple Music and Tidal are somethin’ to hear as well.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I do stream a fair amount via Spotify, just because it's so easy to do on a variety of devices, but I'm a well trained consumer and have been buying my media for a long time so I can "own" it and not rely on another provider. When it was just vinyl for the most part I satisfied my portable needs with mixtapes on cassette but ditched that fairly quickly once I could do it digitally instead. I am not always able to play music with the internet's help where I live, particularly in the car as I'm mostly surrounded by a wide area of no service for phones. I can download a file in advance from Spotify on a portable device if I think about it, but just easier to copy from my own collection on a thumb drive and change the selection once in a while.

These days I do immediately rip my cds rather than play the disc for the most part (other than to make sure it plays, as I do with used discs I often buy now) but stream or play those files from a variety of devices (pc, pad, phone, thumb drives) on various systems around the house via wifi. I do buy some download-only stuff if I can get a lossless copy (my preference). I do still play my multich discs that are a pain to rip, a variety of DVDs, SACDs and blurays. So far my several players (including an Oppo) are doing fine with doing that as well and will probably last until I kick it. I did not know about that multich SACD ripping service but for that cost/pain I'll just play the disc. I even play some vinyl once in a while for nostalgia or just something I don't have a file of or isn't available on Spotify, the tt has been fine for a long time but doubt I'll ever wear out my current stylus at the rate I play those. I wish there was more actual multich music available to download or stream (rather than that manufactured by upmixing to Dolby Atmos, which I have no capability of anyways).

My ripped cds do reside in binders for the most part, I haven't caught that up for cd purchases for a while, tho so I still have some in jewel cases (or those nicer paper based ones where liner notes are not so easy to save as with a jewel case). I do keep the cds as a backup, not for the legal reason, and I figure whoever survives me can donate my collection to the local library, I know my younger sister think its ridiculous I still have physical media....but then she still has a large number of books, go figure. Are we supposed to also go fully digital with books now, too? :) I have bought my last few books digitally, tho....and no longer use print media much altho for many many years you couldn't separate me from my need for the morning paper to read with my coffee :) but there isn't much of that left....

One thing that does bother me some is the little money artists get from the streaming services so I do try and buy discs/downloads directly from artists if I can....
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Say what you want about the French, Qobuz pays the most. You’d think it would be Spotify. Also, labels f#%k artists all the time and huge album sales don’t necessarily mean huge money for artists. They’ll make more off an emo kid playing a sad song on a loop from a service than they will from somebody who bought a disc or download once. Though, the real money comes from touring. But, the last couple of years sucked for them.

One CD costs more now than a month’s subscription to a service so one can by one album per month and have access to about a dozen new songs or have access to millions of new songs per month from a service. It’s a no brainer when it comes down to dollars and cents and some folks don’t have ‘em to throw at lots of new physical media.

Streaming is not what it was in the 90’s. Anyone who says All CDs sound better than ALL streamed content is simply wrong. Many here have nice receivers with built in streaming apps or nice phones with access to many streaming apps that can be cast to their receivers. Every service offers a free trial and most with lossless audio and some with hi-res. Hurry up already Spotify! So, go for it. Try ‘em all! Oh, and get a f#%kin’ library card. The books are free!
 
D

Danielcharles

Audiophyte
Hello Everyone,

The music industry is racing towards streamed distribution, but many of us have built up sizeable music collections. I certainly have, and I spent weeks ripping my old CD library a few years back (and then repeated the job when I realized that 128Kbps MP3s weren’t going to cut it). And if you prefer to own your music, versus renting it in perpetuity via a streaming service, you’re likely still either buying (and ripping) CDs or purchasing digital downloads.

But like your neighbor’s well-kept garden, the secret to a strong music library is regular maintenance. Untagged or unnamed tracks, missing artwork, duplicate files, music scattered across a swathe of folders and devices—these are the “weeds” that must be found and uprooted before your collection goes to seed.

If your music library is devolving into an audio jungle, there’s no better time to wrestle back control. I’ll walk through some simple jobs and handy tools that’ll keep your collection in good order and help you save valuable storage space. I have tips for both PC and Mac users.
  • Reorganize your music folder structure
  • Identify and relabel unnamed files
  • Update music metatags
  • De-duplicate your music library
  • Upgrade and find missing cover art
Thanks
Daniel Charles (Duniakagyan)
 
MaxInValrico

MaxInValrico

Senior Audioholic
I mean, there are many vinyl enthusiasts around here and a few are still recording their favorite FM broadcasts onto cassettes for crying' out loud.:D
Interestingly enough, I found cassettes I recorded for my mother and father in the late 80's this past weekend at my mothers house. Maxell XLSII 90s. They literally looked liked the day I recorded them.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Interestingly enough, I found cassettes I recorded for my mother and father in the late 80's this past weekend at my mothers house. Maxell XLSII 90s. They literally looked liked the day I recorded them.
Looked like? How did they play?
 
MaxInValrico

MaxInValrico

Senior Audioholic
That would be the test....if the old player still functions properly.
It did when I put it back in the box and stowed it up there. I'll also have to find something to plug it into here at my folks house.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
I think people need to get away from the use of the term OWN YOUR MUSIC. It was never yours to own and physical media provides a long term lease of a performance of music that is owned by a group of artists, publishers and so forth. The industry wants a pay per play model and attempting to buy every new album on the market is far more expensive than using a monthly streaming service.

Hell, one can orchestrate free trials almost indefinitely and your local library has CDs on the shelf one can check out and rip. Thrift stores and yard sales are good places to get CDs for pennies and there are still a few record shops dealing in used media.

So, I guess I do need to get crackin’ on those rips but Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora and Qobuz are just a few taps of a touchscreen away from filling the house with music so I’ll pass, for now. If I’m feeling nostalgic about it all, I’ll spin a crackly record.
 
J

jeffca

Junior Audioholic
Or, use a combination of all 3. I have over 3K songs on my laptop and phone. I have 3 huge racks that are almost filled with CD's and concert videos (DVD & Blu-Ray).
While I haven't gotten into streaming yet, it seems that the quality has evolved to the point that it's a true hi-fi option so I will be doing that, too.

I understand why kids aren't buying discs of any kind anymore when you can have millions of songs at your beck and call via streaming. I, though, like having a physical library.

Also, since the racks are at the rear of my listening room, they are fantastic when it comes to dispersing the reflections from the back of the room. You can't get that from files and streaming!
 

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