Quote:
Originally Posted by Parabellum
Hi Bill,
I was kind of late to the ripping CD party because I was still using a CD player not long ago and honestly I don't think I will ever go back to physical media anytime soon. For context, I am using a Bryston BDA-3 DAC with a Bryston BDP-2 digital player (will soon send to Bryston to upgrade to BDP-3). Before I had everything set up, I had many questions and was afraid to jump aboard until I had everything answered but I made that jump and got things quickly set up the more I was using the combo. James and others were helpful along the way to get the best of the combo. For your information, the BDP-2 has USB 2.0 and I am using the USB output to feed my BDA-3; it works just fine and I ripped all my CD in AIFF format, which is uncompressed so that makes the music files larger than FLAC for example. As you are in the MAC ecosystem, I would suggest AIFF or ALAC. But it depends on the playback software you are using on MAC.
As a starting point, you can do like many people were doing (and still do) by using your computer as playback machine. All you need is a *good* USB cable in that case. If you want less hassle, then a Bryston BDP is a very good option. If you go with the BDA-3.14, you will have both in one machine. That alone saves some cabling and shelf space (and costs while at it). The trend now among many audiophiles is to move toward online streaming platforms like Tidal and Qobuz (spotify too) and this requires audio grade LAN cables and switches. For this I am a bit behind the curve as I still prefer to own my music and rip my CDs. I like to manage my stored digital medias. This saves monthly subscription fees too. But if I still buy CDs, in the end it could be more costly than a monthly subscription; I have been thinking about this lately. Plus, I ordered a CD from Amazon and it took 1 month to receive it. If I have had a Tidal subscription, I could have enjoyed that CD within seconds. This is another thing to consider. If you have a large CD collection, it could take a while to rip everything. But if you look at your local craigslist, you will see entire CD collections sold for peanuts (about as low as 0.10$ a CD). Some friends and family members gave me their entire CD collection. For the most part most people are quite happy with spotify on their iPhone, and bluetooth radio.
At this point in time, and with a BDA-3.14 with streaming capabilities I would seriously consider online streaming as a viable option. There are pros and cons in each route and you have to consider all the options before making a decision on how you are going to playback music. Once your decision is made, you can gear up and setup everything.
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Thank you for adding a great post to the thread, as well,
Serge.
I see that you picked up on our USB 2.0 issue, but did you catch the part about not having civilized high-speed internet here? We live in the mountains, you see, and our little town government wants to keep us in the dial-up era. I know that it seems hard to believe, in this day and age, but the next town over -- which is much flatter, I admit -- has fiber optic transmission lines already installed.
Seriously, if we didn't have the smartphone hotspot signal provided by those satellites orbiting the planet, we would still be hearing a dial tone and, eventually, the phrase "You've got mail !" I mean, it's so ridiculuous that you gotta laugh about it.
Thanks again and I'd love to read more of your thoughts on this.
P.S. ~ it's great to know that there are others who've had the same kind of reticence on the forum.
