CD ripper and Muso compatibility?

As someone with a Muso and Muso Qube who is not a techi I would appreciate advice from those who know. Whilst delighted with my purchases I do have hundreds of cd’s I want to keep digitally if possible.
I think the answer is to buy a uniti core? However, I have seen a unitiserve 2012 for sale which is much cheaper than the current model but not a bargain if it won’t play through my Muso’s. Will this work directly or do I need more equipment? Grateful for any help

The Core is certainly an answer, but at a price. I’d forget the Serve as it’s not properly supported my Naim.

I rip my CDs on my laptop and copy them to a nas. It’s not hard to set up and it can all be done for under £500 and sounds just as good. Whatever solution you choose you need a backup for your files, for which a portage drive is fine and not expensive.

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After buying the Muso, i did exactly what you suggested and bought the Core, and it worked just fine. If you have a classical music collection many on the forum are dissatisfied with how the Core handles metadata and indexing of Classical collections. The cheapest option is how Nigel suggests.

100% for ripping with laptop as HH suggests, install dBpoweramp ripping software on the laptop for faultless rips.

If you really do want a ripper/server, then look for something like Innuos Zen Mini

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Thanks guys,
I will save my money today by not purchasing the unitiserve. I use an iMac so will check out your suggestions for compatibility.
Thanks again to everyone.

Also worth looking at the Audiostore servers, which start at around £400. Plus Martin gives good advice.

I use one of the higher spec models to run Roon and I prefer the sound from it compared to the Zen mini.

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I’ve got 4TB Zoneripper Max which does the job and is a full size width box and is beautifully made.

Considered the Core but went with this instead!

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Roon is also an option, it can now auto rip from a USB-attached drive. However it does no AccurateRip check like dbPoweramp (though it does use CD Paranoia for good accuracy) and you have no control over file names and tags, it is really meant for staying within Roon, just like with the Core and similar systems. But this may be fine if you like Roon and stick with it

You’ll need an external drive for ripping with the iMac and it’s worth purchasing dBpoweramp IMHO. That’s exactly the setup I use for ripping and it works very well. I would recommend a NAS to store your music files and most would agree QNAP and Synology are the brands to look at. I have both (don’t ask!) and think the operating system on the Synology is a little more user-friendly. It can seem a little daunting at first, but persevere and you’ll find it’s a great way to listen to music.

Roger

Using Roon might not be so easy if the Musos are gen 1.

Roger

Sorry I missed that

I am trying to work out NAS - and understand it better than I do
Can I ask how do you actually copy from your laptop to NAS? Do you simply connect the NAS drive by USB to the laptop?

thanks

It’s all done over the network. You should be able to see the music folder on the nas - you can map the drive so it’s always visible - under my computer in Windows, or the Mac equivalent. So you rip the CD, or do the download, to the computer, check the metadata and cover art is to your liking, then copy it to the nas. The upnp server on the nas then makes it visible to your streamer.

It’s a bit confusing to start with but you get the hang of it and once mastered it’s really straightforward.

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thank you - makes sense to me - I will try it

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Thank you for the info, just trying to get my head round it all.

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In the case of Synology NAS, the basic (paper) instructions include a QR code. After scanning this on your phone, it takes you through the basic installation steps. (You need to install an operating system on the NAS to make it work.)

There will be a number of apps either already installed or that can be installed. One of these, called File Station, can be used to upload files from your computer. However, I find it better to do as HH suggested and mount the NAS as a drive on my Mac. To do this you open Finder, click on Go in the menu and then Connect to Server, enter the password you set during installation and the NAS appears in the sidebar of Finder. Then you can just drag ripped files to the appropriate folder on the NAS as if it were an attached drive.

Finally, to listen to music you will need a media server on the NAS to serve your music files to your Musos. Synology (and QNAP) has basic app for doing this, but you’re much better off with a dedicated music server. Justifiably favoured here are MinimServer (particularly good with classical) and Asset UPnP (perhaps easier to work with).

There is undoubtedly a learning curve involved in setting up a local streaming system and, if you’re like me, you’ll probably make a few minor booboos on the way. But IMHO, the effort is very well repaid and there’s lots of friendly help available here if you need it.

Roger

Does anyone have a view on adding a Melco to store CD’s?

I don’t have a huge amount of flac files (100-200GB) so am currently using a USB stick on my Nova. Next step is to switch on server mode and see if I can connect my Muso QB2. If so I’ll do away with the Nas for audio and keep it for security/movies.

I don’t mind pulling the USB stick out whenever I need to rip/store and it makes the signal path so much simpler.

I see you’re using a Mac.

Click on Finder
Then GO
Then Connect to Server
It will ask you which folder, to connect to , and usually it will say Multimedia

Voila!

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And likely require login credentials. (See post 16.) Also may say Multimedia on QNAP, but more likely “music” on Synology. At least that’s the case with my NASs.

Roger