ripping music CDs??

[marko]

Slightly off-topic, but I ripped 300 of my CDs several years ago. Put them all on Google Music (now YouTube Music).

BUT!
I still have all the CDs in my carousel CD player and nicely cataloged on Excel...which I haven't used in almost ten years! I just can't part with them. They're all up in my attic now, awaiting our niece who will likely toss them all out in 30 years.

 

[athena53]

Resurrecting this discussion because I'm looking to replace my lost iPod nano. Fortunately I have most of the CDs that were on it and also have backups of the music in various places on my computer.

I typically listen to this music on long road trips so I want something portable and Bluetooth-enabled. I do NOT want to stream or use a device that requires Apple Music. I've had large chunks of my saved music disappear from my iTunes library a few times, including some I'd bought as downloads from the site.

I don't need the cheapest- just something that will store a lot, work with my car system (it's a 2020 Honda Civic) and have high-quality playback.

 

[easysurfer]

Resurrecting this discussion because I'm looking to replace my lost iPod nano. Fortunately I have most of the CDs that were on it and also have backups of the music in various places on my computer.

I typically listen to this music on long road trips so I want something portable and Bluetooth-enabled. I do NOT want to stream or use a device that requires Apple Music. I've had large chunks of my saved music disappear from my iTunes library a few times, including some I'd bought as downloads from the site.

I don't need the cheapest- just something that will store a lot, work with my car system (it's a 2020 Honda Civic) and have high-quality playback.

Can your car play MP3 files off a flash drive? That's what I do. Having ripped a good portion of my CDs to MP3.

 

[Ramen]

@athena53, SanDisk makes some Bluetooth models. Last weekend I was browsing MP3 players to replace my old Sony. There are some SanDisk models with 16GB and 32GB, plenty for road trips. I haven't bought one yet but will eventually.

 

[mountainsoft]

I've had large chunks of my saved music disappear from my iTunes library a few times, including some I'd bought as downloads from the site.

If you're on a Windows machine, you can right click any downloaded track in your library and "copy" it, then "paste" the track into the folder of your choice. iTunes saves downloaded music on your computer, buried deep in your users folder. But I find copying from iTunes directly is easier for me.

I then use EZ CD Audio Converter to convert the .M4A files from iTunes (which nothing I have will play), to 320kbps CBR MP3 files (which will play on virtually anything). I can then save, organize, and backup my music files as I wish.

I don't need the cheapest- just something that will store a lot, work with my car system (it's a 2020 Honda Civic) and have high-quality playback.

Most car stereos these days can play MP3 files from a USB flash drive. I would investigate that route. You can fit many hours of music on a flash drive, certainly enough for a road trip. I like compact USB drives that don't stick out of the player very far, like this one from PNY: https://www.amazon.com/PNY-Elite-X-256GB-200MB-P-FDI256EXFIT-GE/dp/B01LFV52Y6

My VW car stereo also takes micro-SD memory cards which works better in my case.

 

[Sunset]

Can your car play MP3 files off a flash drive? That's what I do. Having ripped a good portion of my CDs to MP3.

+1
works really well with my 2015 Toyota

 

[Ramen]

Re USB flash drives, the request was for something with Bluetooth.

 

[jimbee]

I use my cell phone, storing mp3 files on a microSD card. The mp3 files were ripped from CDs. I play them on the phone using Pulsar+, an Android music app. I use a bluetooth connection to earphones or my car's audio system.

If you want a dedicated player, you can use an old cell phone and dedicate it to music use.

 

[athena53]

Re USB flash drives, the request was for something with Bluetooth.

I'd like a little bit of interface because I have some playlists and like to switch back and forth.

 

[Ramen]

I'd like a little bit of interface because I have some playlists and like to switch back and forth.

I'm the same way. When my old Sony finally gives out, I'm going to try a SanDisk model. The Sonys are four times the price.

 

[athena53]

I just looked at the on-line manual for SanDisk- looks like what I need! Thanks for the recommendations- there's already plenty here on getting my music from various places to the new device so I've got an idea where to go from there.

 

[jim584672]

Exact Audio Copy is good...
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

 

[someguy]

I don't need the cheapest- just something that will store a lot, work with my car system (it's a 2020 Honda Civic) and have high-quality playback.

I know you specify BlueTooth enabled, but I second those who said copy files to a USB flash drive if your Honda has a USB port for that. Bluetooth isn't bad audio quality, but on my decently high-end OEM stereo system, Bluetooth isn't the best quality. In particular, I notice muddy, overblown bass versus other media/formats.

 

[Major Tom]

Exact Audio Copy is good...
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Agreed. That's what I use. Free, and you can set the level of rip accuracy you want. I ripped around 5,500 CD's to FLAC using this software, before getting rid of them. If I'm going to get rid of a CD, I need to ensure that I have a good quality digital copy.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I know you specify BlueTooth enabled, but I second those who said copy files to a USB flash drive if your Honda has a USB port for that. Bluetooth isn't bad audio quality, but on my decently high-end OEM stereo system, Bluetooth isn't the best quality. In particular, I notice muddy, overblown bass versus other media/formats.

I concur. I would also say if you go with the USB flash drive option I would find out if your vehicle is able to play FLAC files. If so, I would use that format and not use MP3 format. But that's just me. (And yes, I can hear the difference.)

 

[RunningBum]

I'd like a little bit of interface because I have some playlists and like to switch back and forth.

On my 2014 Subaru I can set up playlists, and also albums and artists. Basically organized by folder on my USB stub. It's really easy to switch to a different playlist/artist/album.

I bought a cheap head unit for my 97 Miata that basically just plays everything on my the memory card I put in, so it's a single giant playlist. I don't drive that for long distances so it's good enough.

I'd bet most newer cars are more like my Subaru, or better. The bluetooth phone interface is probably just as good. On a previous phone I just found issues with it not always connecting to the car, and also randomly starting to play music on the phone when I wasn't in the car, so I went with the USB memory stub. The older Subaru doesn't have the integrated phone interface anyway.