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Ditch the CD transport and go with computer?

restorer-john

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Keep the Sony. The 777esD is a lovely machine and you will miss it if you sell it.

They will only continue to appreciate in value as time goes on. In the last 10 years, they have gone from $500 used, to $1500+. Apart from replacing three loading mech belts every 10 years or so and lubricating the loading mechanism, it will outlast you and I.
 

RayDunzl

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I'm playing a CD right now.

In my CD "player".

And when it is through playing, it won't suggest I listen to something I don't want to listen to, nor flash an advertisement, nor send me an email about stuff I don't care about, nor bill my credit card again.
 
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Jmudrick

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You can jump two steps, get a subscription to a music service and never deal with a CD! I rarely playing anything from my ripped library anymore.

Plugging in the V30 to the car stereo is about it for me. Qobuz doesn't pester me , nor does Audirvana or USB Audio Player Pro they just work. CDs are under the beds and in closets where they belong.
 

restorer-john

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I'm playing a CD right now.

In my CD "player".

And when it is through playing, it won't suggest I listen to something I don't want to listen to, nor flash an advertisement, nor send me an email about stuff I don't care about, nor bill my credit card again.

No menus to navigate, no updates needed to keep listening, no compatibility issues and they never lockup, crash or require re-booting. :)
 

Asylum Seeker

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I'm playing a CD right now.

In my CD "player".

And when it is through playing, it won't suggest I listen to something I don't want to listen to, nor flash an advertisement, nor send me an email about stuff I don't care about, nor bill my credit card again.

All of that can be easily turned off and avoided altogether. Except for the monthly bill. But $5.50 per month ( for a Spotify family plan) is hard!y onerous. And it doesn't have to be either or. Spotify or the like to sample music. Then you buy the CD.
 

Asylum Seeker

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D
Tossing around the idea of possibly moving away from (selling) my CD player and just going with a dedicated computer for my music source.
The plus's are that it would free up space...and if I could get a decent price for it, would fund other upgrades. It would also be much more convenient being able to have all my audio so readily accessible (vs CDs)
If curious, it's a 1991 Sony CDP-X777ES (near perfect condition, very low use)

Just thought of this today so haven't had much time to ponder. Would love to hear thoughts from others.

Do one or two better. Rip to FLAC your CD collection onto a MicroSD card, and play it through a tiny DAP or a smartphone. Desktop PCs are so 20th century. You don't get around still in a horse-drawn carriage, do you?
 
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digicidal

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I recommend everyone rip all their CDs and then put them on ebay in bulk lots for me to purchase and add to my own collection. Naturally I also have all of mine ripped the moment I get them... but they never go anywhere and I've got 4 BR players and 3 CD players in which they can be used... not to mention all the computers. The advent of streaming is wonderful! I don't plan on going that route... but it makes people dump their CDs cheap... so I support that. :p
 

restorer-john

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Do one or two better. Rip to FLAC your CD collection onto a MicroSD card, and play it through a tiny DAP or a smartphone. Desktop PCs are so 20th century. You don't get around still in a horse-drawn carriage, do you?

Be kind.

Some of us aren't remotely interested in listening outside the home. I certainly have zero interest in a DAP or smartphone and earbuds and I'm not the only one. As for Desktop PCs- my numerous laptops are rarely used anymore- I went back to desktops long ago. Simply better in every respect.
 

restorer-john

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I recommend everyone rip all their CDs and then put them on ebay in bulk lots for me to purchase and add to my own collection.

Once people sell and dispose of their CDs, they have no business keeping the ripped files as they are no longer a fair-use backup of discs they own...
 
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amirm

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No menus to navigate, no updates needed to keep listening, no compatibility issues and they never lockup, crash or require re-booting. :)
When you take your horse and buggy to the local convenient store, would you pick up some milk for me too?
 

JeffS7444

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Yeah, if I went this route, that would be a whole other project - trying to figure out what sort of platform I want to go with. RPI4 or some other SBC? Or just build a more standardized mITX system...

The platform decision is pretty trivial: Ripping the CDs and tidying up FLAC tags (and FLAC is fine file format to choose) and album artwork is the bulk of the work, but you don't need to redo any of this if you change platforms.

I've changed my own mind several times: Sometimes I just don't care for the UI, skins or apps available for one environment and want to try something else.
 

Asylum Seeker

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Be kind.

Some of us aren't remotely interested in listening outside the home. I certainly have zero interest in a DAP or smartphone and earbuds and I'm not the only one. As for Desktop PCs- my numerous laptops are rarely used anymore- I went back to desktops long ago. Simply better in every respect.

Nothing is preventing you from using and listening from a mobile device at home. The advantages of mobile--size, weight, untethered mobility--work at home too. You are not obligated to take a mobile device or listen outside the home. As I type this, I am listening to Floyd on DT880 250 Ohm from mobile device (via DAC/Amp) splayed out in my living room couch. Spotify and UAPP with lots of ripped FLAC on tap on a touchscreen device. No mouse, no keyboard, no crashes, no antivirus or OS updates, no WASAPI/ASIO driver nonsense, no being tethered to the computer.
 
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Daverz

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Tossing around the idea of possibly moving away from (selling) my CD player and just going with a dedicated computer for my music source.

The most important thing is to ensure the integrity of your rips. You don't want to find out later when the CDs are in storage that thousands of rips had errors and there are skips or noise in the files. You'll need ripping software that checks the rips against an online database like AccurateRip or CueTools DB (CTDB). Then make sure that feature is on. dbPowerAmp supports AccurateRip. EAC and CueTools ripper support both AccurateRip and CTDB.

http://cue.tools/wiki/Main_Page
 

JeffS7444

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I will say this in favor of physical media: The very hassle of it meant that I had less music overall, and tended to know the nearest dozen or so albums really well from start to finish.

The endless-playlist approach of subscription streaming services is fine for background noise but I think it will be awhile before Spotify really surprises me with offerings like this:
https://archive.org/details/gaylifeindikanka-r.crumbsold-timefavorites
 

restorer-john

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When you take your horse and buggy to the local convenient store, would you pick up some milk for me too?

Around here Amir, we have plenty of horses (large acreage properties and some farms) and our local convenience store has a rural produce store right next to it. (see below). Plenty of people ride to the shop or the takeaway next door.

You can buy your hay, horse supplies and your milk and newspaper. I buy my free range eggs straight from their chickens at this store. You can also buy point-of-lay chickens and all the gear to setup your coops as well as bedding material for your horse's stable.

1581916265933.png


And sure, there's some idiots out here with Teslas, but guess what happens to a Tesla when it tries to go through 2ft of water? It's not pretty. Funny thing the other day, I took my son out to our local rock pools and falls after super heavy rain- in the half hour we were out there, the bridge went under by about 2ft of very fast running water. We and others in 4WD SUVs could drive straight through. About 70 cars were marooned unable to get across for several hours. Not the horses...
 
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Dimitri

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I'm playing a CD right now.

In my CD "player".

And when it is through playing, it won't suggest I listen to something I don't want to listen to, nor flash an advertisement, nor send me an email about stuff I don't care about, nor bill my credit card again.
Geez, you turned listening to music into a personal, non-monitored, antisocial endeavor with no one else benefiting from your ongoing listening habits! How will <data aggregating company> know what mood you are in today so they can predict what you might want to buy tommorow?
 

RayDunzl

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How will <data aggregating company> know what mood you are in today so they can predict what you might want to buy tommorow?

They should be quite adept by now at analyzing my credit card purchases.
 

Wombat

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An old friend who was recently 'widowered', and is moving to smaller accommodation, came by with a box of CDs(100 or more) mainly 60s and 70s Various Artists compilations. I have sorted them into must keep, giveaways, parts and sell{for a pittance) categories. Maybe I should keep them all and use them in the carousel cd player 12/7.
The surplus old original 80's case inserts with the original disc retention spider are most welcome for spare parts. More CDs to come he said.

Bonus: They are all in excellent condition. :)
 
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restorer-john

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The surplus old original 80's case inserts with the original insert spider are most welcome for spare parts.

Absolutely they are valuable as spares. The Polygram insert trays are getting hard to get- it's prudent to buy discs (you don't like or want like Spice Girls or something equally as crappy) for the cases when extremely cheap and just throw out the discs and liners. At 20c a pop, it's a good way to stock up on good cases.

Some of the very early Japanese and early German cases and inserts are extremely rare. The rarest of all are the trays with "patent pending" on the rear inside and the smooth edge, 4 clip fronts with "patent pending" raised on the rear bottom right of the clear tray back.

Rare and desirable discs need their original cases.

I was lucky back in 2000. I bought from Universal Music several hundred quality (clears and blacks) cases in master cartons at cost, but I am running out now.
 
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