Just checking the way I archive, rip, and listen to the music that passes through my computer. It should be noted that these procedures are with maximum quality and tradability in mind. I figure that some of you are the most anal music traders out there, and because of this, you might be able to help me improve my methods a bit. I aspire to become as anal with my music as my budget allows. Some specs first: I have an E-Machine with a 160 GB hardrive, a 3.33 Ghz Intel Celeron Processor, and a DVD+RW dual layer drive (40x compatable).
Ripping:
EAC->Wav->Traders Little Helper
-With TLH I, convert to flac (level 6), create flac fingerprint files, and check for SBE (pretty much in that order)
Tagging: Abander Tag Control (I don't change any tags on material I receive that I may intend to trade again)
Archiving: I burn DVD data discs using Nero 6.6, preserving material in the exact state I received it, including text files, fingerprints (or md5s), and starting today I decided to keep the torrent file as well.
Playing: I have my computer hooked to my stereo through the earphone jack that the computer speakers hook into. I also have split this main connection to include the computer speakers as well with a y jack. This gives me a four speaker set up that I think sounds pretty decent ( I can't wait till I have enough money to obtain a sub-woofer and set up a 6 speaker system).
I use regular old winamp (free version) with plugins that allow for SHN and Flac playback.
Whew...
Now my main questions:
1. I can't seem to make winamp crossfade between tracks with any consistency or satisfaction. This is most annoying with my lossless music. What is the best way to configure Winamp to crossfade seamlessly, or, is there a better free player out there?
2. When I listen to a Flac file I notice a difference in the Kbps that are played back as opposed to a WAV or SHN file (which play back at higher bitrates). Is it worth the time to decode flacs before listening?
3. When archiving, how do you guys keep track of specific show information that you have so you can quickly know if you can help someone out (not just with a specific date, but maybe a specific source as well).
That's about it for now (I'm sure I'll think of some more later). Any feedback is appreciated.