[AmpDesigner333]

We have a one-of-a-kind Cherry USB in a red/red case.  Special price.  Email Support@DigitalAmp.com for the price.  Thanks.

[Wind Chaser]

What does it do and why do I need it?

[AmpDesigner333]

What does it do and why do I need it?

It’s a USB to isolated coax SPDIF converter for driving your audio system (DAC) with a PC/Mac.  (:

Details here:
https://www.cherryamp.com/usb-to-spdif-converter

[Wind Chaser]

I still spin silver discs and stream. No computer audio for me. 

[AmpDesigner333]

I still spin silver discs and stream. No computer audio for me. 

I started on computer audio by stacking my CDs and ripping one every time I passed by my computer.  No, not THAT kind of ripping (:  .... I mean lossless copying into a hard drive. This went on for weeks, but eventually, I had a nice library built up.

These days, I recommend lossless streaming (only Qobuz has true lossless high-res/high-rate) because you can play just about any song you think of in a matter of seconds, with clarity only limited by your hardware.  That’s the beauty of digital audio.  Being able to listen to any song is amazingly liberating. ....and you can do it from the comfort of your listening chair.  It actually changed my life!  It’s that profound, if you love music like I do.

[Wind Chaser]

I totally agree. And I'm glad my Aries Mini can do it without having to involve a PC or a Mac by feeding the stream right into my DAC DAC. Sometimes it can be very frustrating when things run amok but it as you say, it's well worth it when you can access pretty much anything you can think of without having to leave the comfort of your chair.

Qobuz isn't available here yet. It was supposed to have arrived here in Canada last year but we're still waiting.  I'm not buying anymore CDs though so maybe I should rip most of them to a SSD? How big of a drive do I need to rip 500 CDs?

[FullRangeMan]

500x650Mb=3.25Tb

[Wind Chaser]

I guess that explains why people still buy HDs.

[jseymour]

If you use FLAC the size will be much smaller.  My main music library has 1344 albums, almost all in FLAC.  333 of the albums are hi-res, meaning 24 bit with being 24/96 or 24/192.  All of this along with jpegs for album covers fits in 868G.  Examples of album sizes:  Revolver 16/44 is 208MB, Abbey Road 24/96 is 980MB.

[AmpDesigner333]

I guess that explains why people still buy HDs.

Most CDs take less than 650MB.  This is through lossless compression (like a ZIP file).  This does NOT affect audio quality.

A few examples (WMA format, 44kHz sampling, 16-bit data, 2-channel)....
  Diana Krall / From This Moment On / 312 MB
  Dire Straits / Brothers in Arms / 258MB
  Neil Diamond / The Jazz Singer / 244MB
  Metallica / Master Of Puppets / 372MB

So, 500 CDs will probably take about 300MB x 500 = 1.5TB

Intel 2TB 660P NVMe M.2 Internal SSD (fast as hell !!), <$220:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1437036-REG/intel_ssdpeknw020t8x1_660p_2tb_ssd_sata.html

To save space, I deleted songs on some albums that I'd never listen to (some one hit wonders "rest of the album", etc.).  That can really make a difference, but takes lots of time.

After subscribing to Qobuz, I have listened to my ripped CD library only a few times (getting close to a year now).