I use a ‘retired’ Mac Air as my dedicated Roon core and burn cds in AIFF format using iTunes using the Mac portable usb drive. It integrates perfectly with my Roon streaming library thru tidal etc (though I only bother doing this for cds not available through the streaming services).
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Hi, you have a couple of requirements here
- Accurately ripping the CDs efficiently
- Accurate Metata that is Roon friendly helping Roon to identify the disks
Use an Acronova Nimbie with dbpoweramp to rip in bulk seems the best solution for 1 because you don’t want to have to feed in the CDs one by one, and DbPoweramp does a good job of accurate ripping.
As part of this DbPoweramp will add metadata for CD’s that it recognises and this will help Roon to identify the CDs in its library. But DbPoweramp metadata is quite limited, and the metadata is not added in a consistent way so it will only get you part way there.
I would recommend using my SongKong tagger after you have ripped your CDs to bulk tag your metadata because it will add more detailed metadata in a consistent way. Importantly when a match is found it adds MusicBrainz Ids, these are recognized by Roon and allows it to easily identify those albums, but we can also match against Discogs a database that Roon does not use. But also it adds metadata in such a way that works well with Roon, because there are a few gotchas with how Roon handles existing metadata, it has an an inbuilt profile especially for working with Roon.
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@David_Tsui Sounds great! does it save files in a way that lets you export them anywhere (so you are not stuck in their ecosystem)?
The ripped files and all other files that you store on the built-in SSD can be viewed, modified, copied, moved around and deleted on any computer on the same network, In my case, I named the drive on my network “Statement” for easy identification and in there are a few folders among which is one automatically named by the Statement as “cd quality”, the name of which you can change. That’s where the ripped files are stored.
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Thanks very helpful!
You can try Poikosoft Easy Extractor & Audio Converter. You can use any format you like, easy and reliable.
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Hello, have read with interest your entry.
First:
Also with me it was so that I have searched a longer time to find a workable solution.
Starting with the first purchase of a CD on 14.06.1984 I have collected over the years a multiple of 500CDs. During this time they were rescanned several times, because the process here requires the right software, the right CD reader, the quality of the scan (drive speed and fluctuations, vibrations) as well as the storage quality (FLAG, AIFF etc.), and the pre-treatment of the CD surface (cleaning, treatment, temperature, centering in the drive etc.). Alone the difference of a proffesionell burned CD from 1984 to approx. 1994 against the quality of the pressed CDs from 1990 or a gold-coated with special reflection layer is serious and unfortunately actually audible if one wants this.
I have unfortunately not yet found a ready solution that is still configurable. Usually the settings are fixed and can hardly be changed. Multiple changers are currently not supported by the known software packages (eg dBpoweramp) correctly. Selecting a higher speed when ripping leads in any case to a considerable reduction in quality.
Second:
I personally use here more and more Qobuz / Tidal, and build myself a library in HigRes / master quality. Very time-saving, the file are also in a very good Qulität zu verfügung. In any case, still better than ripping with a cheap drive and higher reading speed.
Would this be a basic approach for you?
Greetings
Harald
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I’m not sure there is a better way. The human has to be involved in this process. You have to insert a CD. Nothing else will do that for you. You have to push a button on dBpoweramp to start the ripping process. When it is done you have to remove the CD and insert the next one. Don’t know how you shortcut, or make easier, that process. You can have presets in dBpoweramp, such as where to store the ripped file, to save yourself 3-4 clicks of the mouse. Other than that perhaps you can pay someone to do the manual parts for you. I got my son to rip a bunch for me at one time.
I like dBpoweramp. Works for PC and Mac. I rip everything in FLAC. I’ve compared my ripped files to what streams from TIDAL and it is 50/50 which sounds better. Most of the time it is close enough that it really does not matter much.
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Generally agree. But there are robotic CD auto loaders that can work with dbpoweramp. I have not personally used.
If there is a malfunction though… 
, its like those old rotary CD carousel’s, if something messes up it can screw up the affected CD or stop working altogether. And, they are not cheap… heres one on Amazon
I guess you can always sell it on after you have finished your project.
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Thanks @Rugby - this seems to be the one solution, except something like an Innuous all-in-one compoennet, to do this kind of bulk ripping. Definitely considering…
I got a free used one for cost of shipping a few years ago. Ended up not using and giving away. I have ripped 5 or 6 thousand CDs with dbpoweramp. One at a time. Usually when doing other stuff. The pandemic and extra time at home allowed me to finally finish the last 1000 disks.
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Doing that now………………DBPower straight to Roon internal SSD. Working well. Just a couple of glitches with DVD audio, Dolby etc
I have been very happy with the SonicOrbiter solution from Small Green Computer. This will rip CDs, as well as Roon server. From the website-“ The sonicTransporter i7 CDR replaces your desktop, laptop, Mac mini, etc… And acts like a NAS to store your music and other files.”
There are advantages to having a dedicated device separate from your laptop or pc.
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Thanks @Dan_Bode That’s an interesting solution, I have not come across it before.Will check it out!
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I’ve found myself in a similar situation, with going on 800 CDs. Years ago I created a CD playback system comprised of 2 Sony CD megachangers and one CD/DVD megachanger controlled by a Nirvis Slink-e device. This setup enabled the user to activate an auto-lookup routine whereby it would work through the inventory of the changers, accessing an on-line database to populate a local Access database with the disc’s titles, tracks, durations and the like. It worked by leveraging Sony’s S-link control buss. Although I no longer have this system working, I have held onto the hardware and software in hopes of someone one day leveraging this into a system to automatically rip CDs. I guess we’d know if someone has accomplished this, but I think it would certainly be worth the effort. Although I don’t have the skills to modify the software (or the rights), I’d love to work with someone to perfect this.
I used JRiver to rip my main collection of CD’s when I started, as I was using JRiver to play in those days .
I ripped loads of CD’s while I was doing other things. The time consuming part if you are going to do it is scanning the covers . That said there are many sources of covers out there . Many people scan the whole booklet , these are quite difficult to find to download let alone the copyright issues.
JRiver does not use Accurip , JimH believes “its a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist”
I use SongKong as well which is good for mainstream albums. It has issues where there are classical compilations where a track could be available on several sources. I can often identify an album as several albums based on track. For Rock it works perfectly. Its not a SongKong issue rather the metadata Paul is using .
I also occasionally use CUETools and find it perfect. Avoid Medieval Splitter as I have seen it has some issues in splitting FLAC/CUE. CueTools can be used in bulk mode, point at a folder and wait . It can make work sorting out the final output but it certainly avoids the need for mass keyboard action
Just my 2p
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re: Covers. dbpoweramp typically provides high quality covers (1000x1000). I also like this link for high quality covers.
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