Any audiophiles out there? How do you manage your music collection? NAS/Server? Etc

Chris.B

I have been using a Drobo NAS for many years and found it to be very reliable.  CDs are ripped and stored as FLAC files on the NAS and it just works.

Spotify is noticeably worse sound quality than my FLAC files. Perhaps it would be better if I had a Spotify premium account, but using the free account does not provide a good musical listening experience. 

rlw

My albums are in a cupboard and my CDs are in a cupboard.  Simple really.

ToneControl

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd love to dedicate to Spotify, @Grumpyrocker and @octatonic, but some obscure recordings that I'm quite fond of don't exist on the platform and I always find that a source of frustration. How do you negotiate that?

you can add local files to your spotify account

viz

alphabetically on the shelf

roberty

Chris.B said:

I have been using a Drobo NAS for many years and found it to be very reliable.  CDs are ripped and stored as FLAC files on the NAS and it just works.

Spotify is noticeably worse sound quality than my FLAC files. Perhaps it would be better if I had a Spotify premium account, but using the free account does not provide a good musical listening experience. 

Spotify free is 160kbps and premium is 320kbps OGG. Anyone who says they can tell 320kbps OGG from lossless is either kidding themselves or an actual dog

Chris.B

roberty said:

Spotify free is 160kbps and premium is 320kbps OGG. Anyone who says they can tell 320kbps OGG from lossless is either kidding themselves or an actual dog

Thanks roberty, 160kbps compared to 320kbps for premium Spotify explains the poor listening experience I have with the free account.  For the time being I will stick to ripping CDs.  

I really ought to get my old but excellent CD player repaired but it's going to be a many £££ fix.

Grumpyrocker

ToneControl said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd love to dedicate to Spotify, @Grumpyrocker and @octatonic, but some obscure recordings that I'm quite fond of don't exist on the platform and I always find that a source of frustration. How do you negotiate that?

you can add local files to your spotify account

Yeah. I just can't be arsed.

the_jaffa

viz said:

alphabetically on the shelf

This, although I have pretty much run out of room so need to build another shelf. LPs take up a lot of space though.

ToneControl

Grumpyrocker said:

ToneControl said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd love to dedicate to Spotify, @Grumpyrocker and @octatonic, but some obscure recordings that I'm quite fond of don't exist on the platform and I always find that a source of frustration. How do you negotiate that?

you can add local files to your spotify account

Yeah. I just can't be arsed.

eh? you just click one button I think
Seems fiddly though to play back 

steveledzep

the_jaffa said:

viz said:

alphabetically on the shelf

This, although I have pretty much run out of room so need to build another shelf. LPs take up a lot of space though.

On shelves for me also.  LPs not only take up a lot of space, they're bloody heavy too !

Jonathanthomas83

Mainly talking digital, guys, but thanks

Freebird

USB 3 hard drive > Flac > JRiver Music Player > CanOpener > Morphit > HD600

Jonathanthomas83

Freebird said:

USB 3 hard drive > Flac > JRiver Music Player > CanOpener > Morphit > HD600

Can opener and Morphit? Hmm. Off to do some googling!

Edit: plugins only :-[

Freebird

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Freebird said:

USB 3 hard drive > Flac > JRiver Music Player > CanOpener > Morphit > HD600

Can opener and Morphit? Hmm. Off to do some googling!

Edit: plugins only :-[

JRiver is a software music player that lets you use VST plugins. CanOpener is a crossfeed plugin while Morphit is for headphone correction. It sounds pretty good on the HD600 headphones.

As a bonus, this is how I learn selected reference material before trying to mix my own stuff.

Jonathanthomas83

Freebird said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Freebird said:

USB 3 hard drive > Flac > JRiver Music Player > CanOpener > Morphit > HD600

Can opener and Morphit? Hmm. Off to do some googling!

Edit: plugins only :-[

JRiver is a software music player that lets you use VST plugins. CanOpener is a crossfeed plugin while Morphit is for headphone correction. It sounds pretty good on the HD600 headphones.

As a bonus, this is how I learn selected reference material before trying to mix my own stuff.

Does it sound authentic? Is it worth the hassle?

Grumpyrocker

ToneControl said:

Grumpyrocker said:

ToneControl said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd love to dedicate to Spotify, @Grumpyrocker and @octatonic, but some obscure recordings that I'm quite fond of don't exist on the platform and I always find that a source of frustration. How do you negotiate that?

you can add local files to your spotify account

Yeah. I just can't be arsed.

eh? you just click one button I think
Seems fiddly though to play back 

You underestimate my levels of "can't be arsed".

Freebird

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Freebird said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Freebird said:

USB 3 hard drive > Flac > JRiver Music Player > CanOpener > Morphit > HD600

Can opener and Morphit? Hmm. Off to do some googling!

Edit: plugins only :-[

JRiver is a software music player that lets you use VST plugins. CanOpener is a crossfeed plugin while Morphit is for headphone correction. It sounds pretty good on the HD600 headphones.

As a bonus, this is how I learn selected reference material before trying to mix my own stuff.

Does it sound authentic? Is it worth the hassle?

It makes a difference to my ears. Download the demos and try them in Reaper. The plugins are designed for mixing on headphones, but I wanted to have the effect on my entire music collection after the Sgt Peppers 50th anniversary mix blew my mind. I was using an old pair of ATH-M50 headphones at the time, which made it even more impressive. YMMV.

PS I noticed they have an app for Apple & Android devices.

guitartango

Check out rune audio on a raspberry pi , I use a ssd card as storage , you should hear the 24bit version of DSOTM ! 
From the pi I connect the sound via HDMI to my 5.1 sound system. 
Then use my mobile to browse the music.

fields5069

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Mainly talking digital, guys, but thanks

But you also said "audiophile".

viz

When you say digital, does that include compact discs or is it just solid state or “streaming” or whatever these things are?