Storing CDs on a Hard Drive: Part I

[johnb]

I agree FreeDB is a generally helpful but you need to check the length of filenames before importing the files. I have had files that go way beyond the number of characters permitted by windows and you cannot delete, edit or rename them in the normal way.

Very, very, very important - I totally agree.

It is very easy to write filenames that exceed the number of characters allowed in the Windows path. This is especially true with a heavily nested folder structure and with, say, Bach Cantatas or some Opera track names - as I know to my cost. I suspect that the files are allowed to be created because, at least with EAC, the FLAC encoding is done in DOS (or a command shell, to use modern parlance).

The maximum path length allowed by Windows is 260 characters. This includes 3 characters for the drive "C:\", all of the "\" characters and an invisible character at the end, so lets say 259 visible characters.

Before I realised what the problem was, the only was I could find to delete the 'illegal' files was to delete the folder containing them.

[Resurrection Man]

You might be able to connect via your mains supply, Mike.



http://cdn-two.connecteddigitalworld...-23.jpg?76a6e8

Please be aware that these wretched things, while working for you, are probably causing interference to someone else.

.....
The maximum path length allowed by Windows is 260 characters. This includes 3 characters for the drive "C:\", all of the "\" characters and an invisible character at the end, so lets say 259 visible characters.
....

Maximum path lengths ? Not really an issue with that 'proprietary' system, Apple

[mikealdren]

I hate to say it but, IMO, this is one of the first things that anyone considering playing music from their PC should consider, possibly by ripping a few CDs and then testing out various alternatives (iTunes, Foobar, JRiver Media Centre, etc,etc). :

How I agree. It's a lot of work to rip and tag a CD collection so think it through carefully before starting and definitely try a few options.

I have already catalogued my CDs (and LPs over many years) so each CD has a number. I store the data on my PC under CD no/composer/composition/track title which easily fits in the Windows naming.

I then use the Musichi tagging to build the database of tags. I can sort and select by composer or title or artist or combinations thereof of other tags. Having input about 500 CDs so far (all violin music to date), I have quite a lot anomolies in the titles of the works. Musichi has an integral database composers (and artists although it is less comprehensive) and that keeps the data consistent. It has a clean up function which also sorts out the format of Opus nos etc.

Having input lots of data, I can then go to the Musichi Player, sort the data by composer/composition and click to select pieces that should have the same title but don't. I can edit them manually in a single transaction to get a common name. As a result, I am doing a basic clean up on entry and I'll then go back to clean up the entries from the index, a really straightforward solution.

The next stage will be to take the tagged data and try using it with playback solutions. My brother has Sonos so I'll try that to see how it picks up the various Musichi tags that Sonus doesn't have such as composer, composition and multiple artists per track.

The issue of getting data to another room is more a matter of what I use to play it than how I network. I could use wireless or wired but I don't know whether the Sonos/Squeezebox or other solutions would work with my tagging. I may end up with another PC in the living room or a tablet controlling a remote player and streaming through a DAC into my amplifier. More fun ahead.

Mike

Mike

[Resurrection Man]

Can anyone please recommend a reasonably priced DAC (USB or Firewire) for use with a Mac? I've tried a couple relatively low-budget from Keene and found on both that after a while the audio was distorted (fixed by powering down).

[Stunsworth]

Can anyone please recommend a reasonably priced DAC (USB or Firewire) for use with a Mac? I've tried a couple relatively low-budget from Keene and found on both that after a while the audio was distorted (fixed by powering down).

Can you define reasonable?

i use an Audiolab MDAC connected via USB which is around £600. I use it as the pre-amp in my system as it has a volume control, and all my sources are digital.

[richardfinegold]

Can you define reasonable?

i use an Audiolab MDAC connected via USB which is around £600. I use it as the pre-amp in my system as it has a volume control, and all my sources are digital.

There have been many reasonably priced DACs of great quality released in the past several years. You should decide a budget first and also what other features that you may want to have. Many CD players now allow digital inputs so that you can use the DAC stage of the player for other digital sources. They may also offer USB ports that will interface with your MAc or that can play files from a USB stick. They may also have Ethernet connections to allow them to function as a streaming digital hub.
Make sure the DAC is a synchronous USB. USB accepts data in packets, not continuously as other digital interfaces. An older non-asynchronous USB Dac will flatten orchestral images and make pianos sound brittle.
FireWire Dacs have basically dissapeared. Pity, because they sound much better IMO than USB. The Weiss Minerva is an excellent FireWire Dac that cost 6 grand US.
I use a converter with my MacBook that will convert USB to SP/DIF and reclock the USB signal. It is made by Musical Fidelity, called the V-Link, and cost under $200 US. You can then send the sinal to the digital input of any Dac or CD player
That will accept the input.
Good inexperience Dacs that will work with your Mac are hrt streamer, Cambrdige Audio Dac Magic, Musical Fidelity V Dac, or Audioquest Dragonfly, all of which should be a few hundred pounds. More $ will bring more choices and quality

[Resurrection Man]

Can you define reasonable?

i use an Audiolab MDAC connected via USB which is around £600. I use it as the pre-amp in my system as it has a volume control, and all my sources are digital.

£600

I was thinking well under £100!

[MrGongGong]

£600

My reaction as well

for about £380 you can get a hybrid (USB / Firewire) pro interface which is quite likely to be what many of your recordings used in the first place !

http://www.thomann.de/gb/motu_ultralite_mkiii_hybrid.htm

though a bit overkill for simple domestic listening

for £160 one of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Echo-Audiofire-Firewire-Recording-Interface/dp/B001AHZOJE

Firewire etc etc

[BBMmk2]

The main problem that afflicts external hard drives is lack of effective heat dissipation, leading to the hard drive being at higher than optimal temperatures which, in turn, leads to early failure. This is less of a problem these days due to the availability of "green" hard drives which use less energy (and less energy = less heat). Some manufacturers might not choose to use "green" hard drives, of course, as they are slightly slower.

I tend to buy a hard driver enclosure and the actual hard drives separately, so that I can decide on the hard drive that I want - always a "green" drive, usually WD or Samsung.

However, if I was buying an external hard drive I would go for one that can stand vertically (to allow better heat dissipation) and to get a 2TB drive. It might be larger than you ever think you will need but, for the small additional cost, the extra capacity is well worth having.

Some external drives come formatted as FAT32. I would definitely reformat FAT32 drives as NTFS (very easily done).

Also, some external hard drives come with freebie software which the manufacturer encourages you to install. My preference is to never install that software - a USB hard drive will work, by default, without any additional software.

Sometimes the software includes a programme to backup your PC. Some people might find it useful but my preference is to use known, established and proven backup software such as Acronis True Image.

There is also some merit in using a programme to monitor your external hard drive's temperature (and state of health) such as 'Hard Disk Sentinel'. It will also monitor your PC's hard drive, of course. (You can try out a slightly limited version of HS Sentinel before deciding whether to buy.)

Thank you ever so much, johnb, for this most informative post!