This is a topic I am interested in.
In the past, I tried multiple approaches, then settled down with dBpoweramp (Ripping CD) + Roon.
I have 10K+ CDs. It's, a lot, I mean...a lot.
Initially I used iTunes to rip the CDs to Apple Lossless files, but found many were ripped badly: too many cracks and pops. The worst part is: you don't know what the quality is until you listen to the files. I am also not satisfied with the metadata (tags) grabbed by iTunes.
After multiple other tries and failures, I ended up with dBpoweramp, which runs on PC, and costs ~$50.
The advantage of dBpoweramp over iTunes is quality and metadata; the advantage of dBpoweramp over free Exact Audio Copy is metadata: it allows you to access 4 online metadata libraries, 3 of which are not free otherwise.
Now I have Roon, which has eased some pains of metadata management of my music library.
My current workflow: 4 CD/DVD/BD-DVD drives ripping CDs simultaneously on a PC, then importing to Roon. Results: for the 13K CDs I have ripped so far, only 1.7K of them cannot be identified by Roon, which I don't blame Roon because I know most of them are brand new CD releases from historical recordings.
So, the costs for me are just ~$50 ripping software + 4 drives + an old useless PC + $500 lifetime Roon membership.
Last edited by SAPHANA; 02-11-2018 at 12:36 AM.
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