How do you listen to music?

[Luvtoride]

A couple of times a week, I will sit and listen to one of the 400+ CD's that I accumulated over the years, often with a glass of wine. I also have about 6 hours of digital singles, and listen to them mostly while walking.

Dr Roy, how would I digitize CDs that I took out of my local library? I have a decent CD player but not sure what device to connect it to (and how) to capture the songs so I could listen without the CD.

 

[Koolau]

Dr Roy, how would I digitize CDs that I took out of my local library? I have a decent CD player but not sure what device to connect it to (and how) to capture the songs so I could listen without the CD.

I don't understand the process you're referring to. Are you trying to listen CDs from the library in a different manner? Or are you wanting to copy the library's CDs to listen to later? That would likely be illegal but I'm no expert on that subject so YMMV.

 

[Luvtoride]

I’m trying to copy the CDs I borrowed from the library so I can listen to them digitally. I don’t have a portable CD player nor a car CD player. These are for a course I am taking at a local University. Sorry to offend anyone about legality. I plan on deleting the digital version when I return the CDs to the library.

 

[Diogenes]

My car has no radio/stereo. It's a convertible with a loud exhaust, and would be too loud to listen to music anyway. Thus I only listen to music at home.

At home, I have a very modest stereo system, with two small (crummy) speakers and an integrated CD player and amplifier. The CD collection is nothing worthy of boasting, but it covers the principal compositions from Baroque to modern (orchestral). Yes, I only listen to so-called "classical music"... no pop, jazz, rock, or whatever it is, that's played in LA Fitness or the supermarket. From Bach to Shostakovich, by way of the giants of the 19th century. There is insufficient evidence to claim that the sound quality of CD playback is necessarily superior in my system, nor do I make any audiophile pretenses. But I prefer this format, and see no appeal to changing it.

Given the demographics of this forum, it's quite surprising, how eagerly folks have adapted to "modernity".

 

[Koolau]

I’m trying to copy the CDs I borrowed from the library so I can listen to them digitally. I don’t have a portable CD player nor a car CD player. These are for a course I am taking at a local University. Sorry to offend anyone about legality. I plan on deleting the digital version when I return the CDs to the library.

Not offended in the least. Just wanna be certain that the legality is considered. It can be at issue under the right circumstances.

 

[rembrandt]

This is my stereo system.

 

[Jerry1]

I’m trying to copy the CDs I borrowed from the library so I can listen to them digitally. I don’t have a portable CD player nor a car CD player. These are for a course I am taking at a local University. Sorry to offend anyone about legality. I plan on deleting the digital version when I return the CDs to the library.

Try this. How to rip a cd using Microsoft media player.

Burn and rip CDs - Microsoft Support

Learn how to rip (copy) and burn (create) CDs and data DVDs using Windows Media Player.

support.microsoft.com

 

[Luvtoride]

Jerry, thanks for the information. My only issue is that a don’t have a Windows computer with a CD drive to rip the CDs from. Maybe I can use a computer at the library and bring a USB thumb drive to be the destination for the songs and audio files.
I’ll give it a try.
Thanks,
Brian

 

[Jerry1]

Jerry, thanks for the information. My only issue is that a don’t have a Windows computer with a CD drive to rip the CDs from. Maybe I can use a computer at the library and bring a USB thumb drive to be the destination for the songs and audio files.
I’ll give it a try.
Thanks,
Brian

If it’s something you think you’ll be doing a bit more often, a usb plug in cd player for your computer is about $20.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Never heard of WiiM before. Looked it up. Struggling to find how I would add it to my setup. In a room where I already have a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV) with a TV, it would not make sense for me. In a room where I had no TV or streaming device, I see it could be useful. Is that about it?

 

[triangle]

Never heard of WiiM before. Looked it up. Struggling to find how I would add it to my setup. In a room where I already have a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV) with a TV, it would not make sense for me. In a room where I had no TV or streaming device, I see it could be useful. Is that about it?

I think its primary appeal is its support for wide variety of streaming services through a relatively easy to use interface. Where the focus is getting a better quality experience (whether one is an audiophile or not), convenience, and getting one's music played on something other than one's smartphone + earbuds. I got one as a way to play my local collection of music, stream from spotify and youtube music through my existing stereo system.

Your streaming through a Fire/Roku stick on the TV is fine, though the audio quality (speaker system) of the TV/soundbar and the digital-to-analog conversion of the music is not as good. But is more than good enough a lot of the time.

 

[More Cowbell]

OP: DH recently built this Raspberry Pi 5 with 2T NVME stick Plex server. It’s faster, cheaper and uses much less power than the NAS with the music library master copies (FLAC and MP3).

 

[robnplunder]

I find myself using YouTube Music, Amazon, Spotify more and more.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

OP: DH recently built this Raspberry Pi 5 with 2T NVME stick Plex server. It’s faster, cheaper and uses much less power than the NAS with the music library master copies (FLAC and MP3).

Great. Don't know that I would have the patience or skills to do that. But if it works....

 

[Jerry1]

I ended up biting the bullet and signed on to Apple Music for $110 for a year. I like Pandora, but I wanted access to a robust library. Bonus is that Apple Music works well with my phone and Apple Car Play. Important since I listen most in my car.

 

[Al18]

There are no skills needed to assemble the Raspberry Pi 5 setup mentioned above, aside from ordering the parts online and plugging them together. On the software side, you'll need to learn how to use Plex.

Most home computers made since 1995 either have a CD or DVD drive or one can be added. There is no difference in sound quality between a CD ripped in 1995 or 2025 - it's all digital. If you're modern computer doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, Best Buy sells USB CD/DVD drives for about $30

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

OP: DH recently built this Raspberry Pi 5 with 2T NVME stick Plex server. It’s faster, cheaper and uses much less power than the NAS with the music library master copies (FLAC and MP3).

OK, now I'm curious....if you're running a NAS anyway, what's the advantage of using this as your Plex server? Or did you decommission your NAS after setting this up? I have my NAS running automated backups, but other than that my main use for it is my Plex server, I have a little over 4.1TB in files, though, I might need to re-rip my shows and movies at a lower bitrate.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

There are no skills needed to assemble the Raspberry Pi 5 setup mentioned above, aside from ordering the parts online and plugging them together. On the software side, you'll need to learn how to use Plex.

Most home computers made since 1995 either have a CD or DVD drive or one can be added. There is no difference in sound quality between a CD ripped in 1995 or 2025 - it's all digital. If you're modern computer doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, Best Buy sells USB CD/DVD drives for about $30

Oh, I could slap that hardware together pretty easily. So, for only a Plex server, I agree with you. And More Cowbell did say the Raspberry Pi was only for a Plex server, so you are right.

My concerns are related to the unknown issues with using that configuration for a complete NAS.
Having a 2nd NVME for redundancy/Raid? I guess there would be some software that creates a Raid configuration.

I imagine Plex runs well on a Windows operating system. I just don't have confidence with Windows smoothly running a server application.

I also use my NAS for PC, cell phone and photo backup. Some of this is automatic. Some is ad hoc. I wouldn't know how to do this, especially outside of my network.

 

[swakyaby]

Although I currently subscribe to Tidal music for their extensive album catalogue and better sound quality, lately I am enjoying the free version of Amazon Music. They have these ad-free genre playlists that transport me back to my young adult days.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I had forgotten that my friend and I have shared our Plex servers with each other, and the soundtrack to The Book of Mormon came up in our chat group, so I was able to listen to it on the train last week, which was nice Hilarious, and very good music, too, now I want to see a production of it! I'll have to see what else he has, he and I have a lot of overlap in musical tastes.

 

[More Cowbell]

OK, now I'm curious....if you're running a NAS anyway, what's the advantage of using this as your Plex server? Or did you decommission your NAS after setting this up? I have my NAS running automated backups, but other than that my main use for it is my Plex server, I have a little over 4.1TB in files, though, I might need to re-rip my shows and movies at a lower bitrate.

The master music database NAS is mostly offline now that there is a Plex server RPi. There’s a separate backup NAS.

DH has another RPi with moOde Audio player. It accesses the FLAC files on the Plex server RPi.

 

[More Cowbell]

We’ve also got Sonos speakers around the house. (Sonos amps driving mostly non-Sonos in-wall speakers.) DH is contemplating moving away from Sonos. He’s just added a Wiim Ultra and a Wiim Vibelink Amp to replace an old Pioneer AV receiver. We’ve streamed music from the Plex server, Sirius XM and Apple Music on it. I haven’t tried Apple Classical on Wiim yet.

 

[Gumby]

How do I listen to music? With my ears, of course. I tried using my tongue, but it wasn't to my taste.

(You can groan now. But you must admit it's a pretty good dad joke.)

 

[Koolau]

How do I listen to music? With my ears, of course. I tried using my tongue, but it wasn't to my taste.

(You can groan now. But you must admit it's a pretty good dad joke.)

While a good dad joke, it might have been a bit more effective at post 2!

 

[statsman]

We own close to 1,000 music CDs. When in the house, it's the stereo (well, stereo mode on the 25 year-old home theater system). I have a USB thumb drive for the main vehicle with whatever ripped music we want. Currently about 1,400 songs.