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Computer Audio Asylum Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies. |
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In Reply to: Computer Hard Drive/Music Server back to CD player? posted by chocolate_lover9999@yahoo.com on June 10, 2012 at 09:32:59:
What induced me to select Windows Media Audio Lossless files is that WMAL is amazingly simple to use, provides an excellent file storage setup and GUI, and is fully capable of resurrecting the CD as a WAV file (which may later prove critical). I tried the resurrection process by ripping CD’s to, then burning them from WMAL files; the results indicated transparency within the limits of resolution of my equipment. I have been quite satisfied having used these files for over 3 years now, with almost zero actual physical discs.
I also conducted careful listening tests of the WMA-9 player, running on a well-behaved PC with Win XP / SP2. First I made CD recordings from well-loved vinyl using a studio-quality HHB CD recorder and my big turntable rig (Denon DP75 / VPI / Denon 401 / Dynavector XX, Threshold Forte). These recordings compared very closely to the vinyl, most seemong indistinguishable on A/B/Forgotwhich testing. My final goal was to compare file playback to the “original” vinyl, and the “good” home-recorded CD’s played back on the HHB, and the commercial Redbook CD of the same recording. This was an attempt to isolate the contribution of the inexpensive and probably jittery USB digital playback kit.
The WMAL file playback sounded indistinguishable from the good home-recorded CD’s (very low jitter), and both sounded very close to vinyl (zero jitter, baby!); both were superior in depth and “livelier” sounding than the commercial CD.
I was surprised by this result but sufficiently convinced to proceed to rip almost 700 CD’s to WMAL, all the time uttering Alan Shepard’s prayer in the Mercury capsule: “Dear Lord, please don't let me f*ck up.”
Were I to undetake this today, I’d buy big cheap hard-drives and rip everything to WAV files from the start. I do keep a 99% complete backup of the external music HD in a fireproof safe, and you should too.
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- Irreversibly - mr.bear 00:31:32 06/11/12 (0)
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