Hello Everybody.

I have been essentially AWOL from the GE forums for the last few months. In January, I made the decision to convert my entire music collection to Lossless FLAC files so that I could store my music collection on a dedicated computer with an external hard drive large enough to handle the files. The process of converting all of my 1500+ CDs to FLAC files was a time consuming task which required a dedicated commitment from me to finish.

I am happy to report that this massive project has been completed and that I am enjoying my music in a whole new way. Since completion of this project, I have been listening to music with my setup, anchored by my Triton Ones and fine-tuning the FLAC files, using the software I have to catalog, store, play and clean up files.

After a great amount of experimenting with various setup options, I have finally settled upon a configuration which reproduces music to my satisfaction. I am still using the same gear I have reported upon previously. My T1s are driven by my Onkyo NR 3009 AV Receiver, set to Pure Audio for music, with the Analog Bass feature turned ON to provide bass signals directly to the TIs sub inputs. My Triton Sevens are in the rear of the room, being driven by a Sony STR DE 885 Receiver and connected to the receiver as Rear Surrounds. My Altec-Lansing Boleros are being driven by a separate Sony STR DE 897 Receiver and connected to the receiver as Side Surrounds. I have two additional subs, a Paradigm DSP 3400 in the rear of the room and a Klipsch SW 112 sub on one side of the room.

This setup also works well for movies, with the addition of front high, side high, and rear high small surround speakers, plus twin center speakers (the center speakers are driven by another separate Sony Receiver). All of this gear is interconnected via both analog and digital cables to provide the various listening options.

I am using a separate DacIT AD converter to take the FLAC files from my computer and convert them to audio to feed my Onkyo.

My next project will be to convert selected LPs to FLAC files, using my software to clean up the LP sounds to remove clicks, etc. I have been stripping music audio files from several of my Blue Ray DVDs, converting them to high-resolution FLAC files and storing the FLAC files in my music collection. Finally, I have purchased several high-resolution music FLAC files from commercial sources (96 Khz, 24 Bit files). There is definitely a difference in the sound with high-resolution audio. In general, I plan for future audio purchases to be direct downloads of high-resolution files, rather than CDs. If I buy a CD, I immediately convert it to FLAC and store the files in my system.

At present, I do not contemplate purchasing any new gear unless something breaks.

Happy listening to all,

Art

Hey, Art!

I'm happy to hear from you! We've missed your thoughtful posts.

Good for you for ripping your music to storage. A huge project.

I too prefer HD (or multi channel) audio, and stream any 2 channel stuff I want via DEEZER/FLAC (and listen to in Dolby surround) . I am still purchasing and storing Blu-ray, SACD, HD etc. discs as is. I really like what you, and eiffel62 are doing to organize and store the disc and/or vinyl libraries we all collect. I need to cross the "how to rip and store multi-channel/Blu-ray stuff" bridge at some point.
Just not right now .

Happy listening!

Rick

Greetings, Art! It's great to hear from you. I hope you deck is all finished along with any other big projects you tackled this Summer and that you were still able to hit the course frequently before Fall kicks in down your way.

Congrats on finishing that massive task in transferring your music. Do you have your CD changers packed away somewhere or are they still hooked up? I would imagine you've removed them and cleared away a lot of gear and cables. Do you find the sound quality of your transfers just as good as you disks? Didn't you have a PeachTree DAC at ont point?

I'm still using my Paradigm DSP-3400 but am considering an upgrade. Since we last corresponded, I think my only upgrades have been cables for my stereo setup and now my theater gear. While I am enjoying my music as much as ever, I find myself more and more curious about setting up a music server to make playback more convenient.

I hope you and the family are all well and that we hear back from you a bit more regularly.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the compliments. When you are ready to tackle converting your discs to FLAC files, I'll be glad to share what I have learned about the process.

Best,

Art

Hi T!

Yes, my CD changers are stored away. My setup is considerably simpler now. I am still using my Peachtree DAciT DAC. I consider lossless FLAC files to be at least as good as CDs and the high-resolution FLAC files I have downloaded or created myself to be noticeably better. FLAC files take up considerably less storage space than lossless WAV files. I can convert FLAC files to other formats as needed for other applications outside of my system.

One of the great benefits from my conversion efforts is that, when we travel, I can now take my entire music collection with me on my new Toshiba "Business" laptop (which replaced my older Toshiba laptop which I dedicated to my music system).

As for golf - not much interferes with my daily rounds. The weather has cooled off now, so it is much more pleasant to play. I'm still walking and still carrying my clubs. Not too bad for a guy who turns 75 on November 1.

And, of course, we're now into college and pro football. So, I'll just sneak in a "Roll Tide!" and "Go Pack".

Best,

Art

Welcome back to the other guy who gets a Senior discount on the forum!!!!
Glad to hear of all you are doing with music files, walking and golf!!!!
Well done Art!!!!
God Bless,
Wayne