Best way to convert CD to mp3 & play on a portable device in the home?

close2u

I don't keep up with all the latest tech at all ... my TV, laptop, ipod, computer etc are all years old and so long as they work  I don't buy new.

Therefore, I'm a little ignorant about new products. So, I put this out there for some advice.

My sister wants to get rid of her CD collection to free up space.
She wants to convert to mp3.
She then wants a small device she can play them in the kitchen mainly, or around the house.
What are the latest / greatest ways of:
1] converting on a computer?
2] playing them?

In other words .... which software would you recommend for ripping? What mp3 player would you recommend? Wat device would you recommend for connecting it to to play through speakers?

Budget is modest.
And Gb capacity will also be fairly modest by today's massive Gb standards.

ICBM

Any cheap PC - iTunes - any iPod - some sort of iPod dock/powered speaker combination. Possibly not the cheapest overall (iPod in particular) but the easiest, hassle-free and not requiring any technical knowledge route.

Just to be pedantic, she does know that ripping all her CDs to mp3 and then getting rid of the CDs is illegal, right? If you rip your CDs (even that is technically illegal at the moment, unless the judgement has been appealed and I missed it) you must keep the physical copy, or it's the same as if you'd illegally downloaded the music.

close2u

close2u said:

My sister wants to get rid of her CD collection (and store them in her loft) to free up space.

Edited on legal grounds.
Thanks @ICBM ;

close2u

I have a Sansa clip mp3 which is ok.
So I know there are mp3 players which aren't ipods.

Any recommends that are not ipod?
Do other mp3 players have docking stations available for them or has Apple monoplised the after-market market?
Would they need to connect via a cable?

Fretwired

Use Windows Media Player. Insert a CD and press rip - you can decide on the quality (low quality equals a smaller file size). As for MP3 players many people just use their smart phones. Failing that check out what's for sale on Amazon for some ideas.

close2u

@Fretwired
Thanks ...
My sister is even further behind in the tech age than I am.
She doesn't have a smart phone!

TTony

close2u said:

My sister wants to get rid of her CD collection to free up space.
She wants to convert to mp3.

How many CDs has she got?  If you're talking hundreds or more, then it'll take a little while to rip them all.

Once ripped, store them on at least two physically separate discs.  Get a couple of USB drives (cheap) and keep one of those somewhere else - even if it's just in a garage.  Discs can fail, and she doesn't want to have to re-rip all the CDs if a disc fails or gets corrupted, or there's a user (or iTunes!) error.

Rip at a decent quality level (bit rate).  The higher the quality, the bigger the mp3 file.  256kbps is a sensible compromise between decent quality and file size.

close2u said:

Do other mp3 players have docking stations available for them or has Apple monoplised the after-market market?
Would they need to connect via a cable?

Other mp3s will typically connect via a 3.5mm jack socket (headphone out on the mp3 player into aux-in on the speaker) or via bluetooth.

close2u said:

She then wants a small device she can play them in the kitchen mainly, or around the house.

In which case, she probably wants a small battery-powered device rather than something that has to be unplugged and moved around to the nearest power socket.

Fretwired

Sony Walkman's are quite good.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-audio/audio-and-headphones/audio/ipods-and-mp3-players/747_7168_70215_xx_xx/xx-criteria.html

close2u

@TTony

Less than 100 CDs I reckon.

3.5mm cheap and easy to get.

She has lots of easily accessible mains outlets - her husband does electrical work - so that is not an issue.

chrispy108

Just get Spotify, some google chromecasts and some cheap speakers.
I can send music around my house from my smartphone. Chromecast audios are about £25, then whatever you want for speakers.

ICBM

close2u said:

close2u said:

My sister wants to get rid of her CD collection (and store them in her loft) to free up space.

Edited on legal grounds.
Thanks @ICBM ;;

lol

It's pedantic I know, and I doubt anyone has ever got into trouble over it. The ripping issue is a political football anyway - it does appear to be illegal to rip even for your own personal use at the moment, but the government was trying to get the EU to change the rules, so who knows what's going to happen now!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/12021607/Why-in-2015-is-ripping-CDs-still-illegal-in-the-UK.html

RandallFlagg

Rechargeable bluetooth speaker and iPhone/iPad

TheBlueWolf

The Bluetooth speaker I use was about a tenner and has done me well the last couple of years.

Cheap( ish ) MP3 players are easy to come by and you can get one with a fair bit of memory for up to £50, assuming there's a tight budget.

I got a 4GB MP3 from Argos for about £20 and you can use an SD card to increase the memory size. I'll find a linkie

EDIT

Linkage http://www.argos.co.uk/product/1839414

Sporky

I'm with Chrispy. Get Spotify subscription. Sell CDs legally. Never risk losing your collection, and discover vastly more music than you would otherwise.

chrispy108

I should add you don't need to do the Chromecast but, you could just get a cheap android tablet and plug it into a set of speakers.

crunchman

Rip to MP3 format because any player will play it.  This is especially important if you choose to use iTunes to rip it as it defaults to the Apple format.  You have to change the settings to rip to MP3.  Personally I just use Windows Media Player to rip.

Given the difference in price I'd go for a non-Apple MP3 player.  I bought a Sansa Clip plus a Micro SD card for extra storage for around £50.  The cheapest iPod would have cost well over £100 and had a lot less storage.  The sound is also better than the iPod Nano I had previously.  To be fair to Apple, the battery was on it's way out on the Apple. If the voltage was a bit lower than it should have been it might have affected headroom on the amp driving the headphones.

Given that the batteries aren't easily changeable on any of them I'd just get a cheap MP3 player rather than spend lots as you aren't chucking a lot of money down the drain if the battery dies in 4 years time.

NickL

If any of the CDs were bought from Amazon in the last few years, they can probably be downloaded in MP3 format without having to rip them, then copied from the computer to the portable device.

close2u

Too many good comments to thank individually.
lots of ideas I can put to her.
And some maybe for myself.
Thanks all