What software to use to store CD's as Flac files easily?
What software to use to make Flac files into Cd's?
What gear to use to send music to my preamp I know a DAC but are there any reasonably priced good quality ones out there?
I was thinking about the Nad dac2.
thanks.

Ive become a Linux user after my EOM Windows install disk incorrectly decided I had a new motherboard and would not reinstall so I was forced to buy a new copy. But I assume you are talking Windows so I'll stick to the past.

What to use to store CD's as Flac files easily?
-- I used EAC to rip to FLAC & MP3 at the same time but it's not at all the easiest. Media Monkey and Foobar seems to be the goto for a lot of people. I use Foobar for easy conversions, when required.

What software to use to make Flac files into Cd's?
-- I used Foobar again.

What gear to use to send music to my preamp I know a DAC but are there any reasonably priced good quality ones out there?
-- Can't comment on separate DACs. I use HTPC to receiver in one room and that HTPC is a server for a Squeezebox and receiver in another.

Thanx for the info i think i know where to start now.

For music conversion, I have been using dbPowerAmp. The price isn't too bad and there is just about every file format under the sun it converts to and between.

As for streaming to my Pre-Amp. I have made up a small windows box using a Zotac Zbox, and run foobar as my media interface. I likes it because it was free and at the time, JRiver didn't have anything remotely looking like workable with linux. I liked the Monkeymote app for my ipad to bring up the music. I can also dual use the machine with the FooBar sound going out the optical connector, and have Kodi running as well to do TV and movies with that connected via the HDMI.

I've always been happy with EZ CD Audio Converter for all of my ripping and tagging needs. It's not as cheap as it used to be, but it does come with a lifetime subscription to GD3 metadata now, and you get free updates for the life of the product. I haven't had to burn a CD in a while, so I can't speak to its effectiveness there.

I will echo Matt's recommendation of dbPoweramp. It's one of the few pieces of software I actually shelled out for after being so impressed with the trial version. With a processor running multiple cores, dbPoweramp can utilize all of them simultaneously, resulting in MUCH faster CD rips with conversion to FLAC or whatever. I also really like the fact that I have the ability to rip a CD and convert it into multiple formats at the same time, sending each to a different drive or location. I typically rip a CD into FLAC for playback on my main system, ALAC to integrate a copy into iTunes for iPod and iPhone use, and an uncompressed WAV that is archived on my RAID backup. Setup was not too difficult and now I simply insert a CD, confirm the artwork, and away it goes, spitting out the CD when the rip is complete. Fun!

Andrew

And it turns out they have a OSx version of the software. The down side is that you can't buy a license to use the app on both mac and windows.

Wow thanks for the input. I start the archiving tomorrow!

I've used EAC to do the entire cd collection as well and it is free! It would rip a cd in a couple of minutes. It took all of 4 or 5 complete days to do all the cds. I actually found it fairly straightforward to use once you get the file naming setup the way you want.

Although MediaMonkey has its uses (like loading flacs onto iPods with conversion), it can be a pain to use.