Confession: I love buying CDs. Still. I know that says certain things about me, but I just can't get past not having a tangible thing in my hands to represent my music purchase. Problem is, I have fewer and fewer devices that play CDs (just our home stereo and cars).
So, I need to get ripping. I just don't have an optical drive anymore. I'd done plenty in the past (usually through Windows Media Player), but sometimes the results weren't the best.
I'd love recommendations on an external optical drive, file formats, software and possible playback device. The technical details:
So, I need to get ripping. I just don't have an optical drive anymore. I'd done plenty in the past (usually through Windows Media Player), but sometimes the results weren't the best.
I'd love recommendations on an external optical drive, file formats, software and possible playback device. The technical details:
- I'd be ripping mostly from a Macbook Air. A bonus would be if the optical drive worked with PC, but that would apply to only my work laptop (which has some security restrictions that may render all this moot anyway).
- I have a decent external hard drive to which I can back up/store all the files.
- Playback would happen through a decent audio player (16GB HiFiMan HM700) and my iPhone 7 (256GB). I'd prefer a file format that works for both Apple and non-Apple playback devices. That's less of a big deal if I can get a nicer device that covers a wider range of audio formats.
- Audio quality is important, but it doesn't have to be super-pristine. File size isn't super important, but it can be a factor. The 16GB player does limit things a bit.