Nucleus working with Acronova Nimbie Autoloader NB21

Support
1

Roon Core Device

Nucleus

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Will be on WiFi.

Connected Audio Devices

dCS BartoK

Number of Tracks in Library

None yet.

Description of Issue

I just ordered a Nucleus and want a compatible CD reader which I would prefer to be an autoloader.

I am considering the Nimbie, which list Windows and Apple compatibility.

Any suggestions?

3

The nucleus cd ripping is very basic and I’m pretty sure it won’t control an autoloader. You need dedicated ripping software like dbpoweramp - or whatever the autoloader manufacturer recommends.

4

And you won’t be able to install dbpoweramp on a nucleus. You’ll need to install on a different computer.

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5

Ha, good point - i never even thought to comment because… assume etc.

6

I cheated. :wink: I also responded to his query on the dbpa forum asking whether dbpa could be installed on a nucleus.

7

I expected this but was holding out a little hope because the NImbie works on * Apple™ OS X 10.6 / 10.7 (for QQGetTray software only).

If I rip with dBpowerAmp to Windows is it easily imported onto the Nucleus?

8

Yes they would just be normal audio files.

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9

that is probably my best bet - thanks

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10

HI,

The Nucleus itself has no WiFi built in, a USB WiFi adapter could be used but it’s not something Roon recommend doing.

Devices running the Roon Core should be hardwired to the LAN.

11

I don’t have it yet but I knew that :slight_smile:

Also I ordered the regular one not the plus. I thought with having everything local on a 4TB SSD, that would be fine. As it will turns out, I will probably rip with the Nimbie on Windows and import to the Necleus. If that is done from the Nucleus, would the Necleus plus be better? If I can export from Windows, it shouldn’t matter.

12

there would be nothing special about ripping CDs on a Nucleus. In fact, the Nucleus is a basic sort of ripper, missing many important features (in my opinion). I’ve ripped over 5,000 CDs with dbpoweramp. It is excellent, and uses AccurateRip to both confirm and speedup rips (the creater of dbpa also created AccurateRip database, used by many other rippers as well).

Bottom line, use windows or mac running dbpoweramp to rip your CDs securely. Then simply transfer those files to the hard drive used by your Nucleus. Easy!

2 Likes
13

how many CDs do you have to rip? if only a few thousand, i’m not sure the messing about with an autoloader is worth it. Summer of 2020 during COVID lockdown, I managed to rip about 1,000 CDs over the course of 3 weeks, while doing other stuff on the computer (i.e., my actual work). Most of the ripping time is about getting your metadata correct. And if you use autoloaders, etc., you’ll still have to go back and fix about 30% of your rip’s metadata. Instead, doing it manually, I can either clean up the metadata before the rip, or clean it up with a tagging program (I like mp3ttag, and yes it does FLAC, etc.) while ripping some other CD.

14

and hey, we Gary’s need to stick together. It’s a dying name.

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15

You are so right about the name… I appreciate the advice about ripping. I have under 1K of CDs. I am disappointed that I have to correct the Metta, I though I could start it, forget it and be done. The autoloader may not be a practical approach.

Do you have a regular Necleus or Plus?

16

1%, if that, of the metadata metadata would need correction if:-

  1. You have mainstream releases to rip
  2. For any classical you aren’t obsessive

Box sets can be a bit weird in roon so they may need a tweak or two.

If you have a streaming service the other way is to just add the equivalent albums.

If your library is going to grow to well over 100k tracks you may need a nucleus plus but not otherwise.

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17

Also bear in mind that the Nucleus rips are designed for Roon , AFAIK the metadata isn’t too standard for other library apps

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18

I have neither unit. I use a NUC running ROCK for Roon server. I have about 8,800 locally ripped CDs in my system. A few thoughts following up on other’s comments:

  1. I am not OCD about metadata but I do like it to be mostly correct. Plus I have approaches I use with ALBUMARTIST and ARTIST that make sure related artists show up together (Miles Davis, Miles Davis Quintet, Miles Davis Sextet, etc.).
  2. As noted by others, metadata not that critical WITH ROON, as Roon is smart enough too automatically categorize things (well, in many cases, but not all).
  3. But when I rip my CDs I want them to work generally with ANY streamer. I may or may not always use Roon. So having proper metadata and file organization (folders) is important to me.
  4. Once you get dbpa setup the way you want, with the right settings and ‘naming string’ for file organization, it is pretty much insert a CD hit rip and everything takes care of itself. Probably 95%+ of my metadata is correct (only because I don’t have lots of classical). But I tweak the genre on almost every CD.
  5. My recommendation is to get dbpoweramp, run it on your Windows or Mac computer and rip your CDs. You can easily rip 50-100 CDs in a day once all is setup, all while you are doing other things.
  6. Once ripped, you can easily transfer these files to the HDD of your Roon Server (whether a Nucleus or NUC with ROCK, or a windows or Mac machine, or whatever)
    7.And you’ll want SEVERAL backups of all your files anyhow.
  7. you don’t have to wait until you’ve ripped all 1000 CDs, to get started with Roon. You can always easily add new rips to your Roon HDD.
  8. the dbpa/illustrate user forum is typically very helpful and friendly for new users. But also lots of threads there on how to get started, that contain good info.
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19

plus, even with a secure rippoer like dbpa, a small percentage of your rips will have errors (and by the way, this could be true on a brand new CD just removed from the packaging; it is not only scratched or abused CDs). many of these can be fixed by cleaning the CD and reripping, or trying to rip on a different optical drive. I often do the latter with success. and these optical drives don’t need to be expensive (that’s the beauty of the ACCURATERIP matching). I use several cheap drives connected via USB3 to my windows computer for ripping. A CD that won’t rip without error on one drive may rip perfectly on another drive.

(and all this is why I didn’t want to do bulk ripping with autoloader…I wanted to deal with problem CDs ‘in the moment’.)

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20

Great point. Rip some, see them in roon. Make sure you can find them, they have the right metadata for your needs. Then you can go back and tweak the dbpa settings if needed.

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21

And in general, I tell new users of dbpa, to rip a few different type of CDs (compilations, multidisk CDs, popular vs classical, etc.) and then see how you like the way things are named, which metadata is saved, how your server uses the files, etc. Often new users will want to tweak the ripping settings after then see the results. Better to tweak early on, than to rip 1000 CDs, and wish you had added a metadata field that you didn’t think you’d need but now you want it.

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