Ripping Compact Discs with dbpoweramp

I am working on a mass CD-ripping project. Currently, I do have a hard drive filled with FLAC copies of all my CDs. The only issue is that they were ripped over the span of 10+ years and I can’t trust their accuracy. I was thinking of re-ripping them all at the same time with the best DVD/CDROM drives I can find and the best CD ripping program.

The CD ripper I’m using is called dbpoweramp. It reports errors on discs by comparing the rip to the central database. I am seeing 1-2 errors in about one out of six discs with my CD collection. Some of the CDs are as old as 1986, when I first started buying them. In some cases, It’s enough to clean the disc and they rip without errors. In other cases, there are tiny scratches and nothing can fix the issue. There’s almost 2k cds to rip so in most of the cases, I have to make a quick determination of whether I have time to try again and again to rip the discs. So far the favorite ones have been re-ripped. At this point, I’m not even sure if one inaccurate track will even play in a way that seems off.

On a side note, the dbpoweramp suite comes with a batch ripper, so I’m able to rip from several CD drives at once. Right now I have five drives connected with two on the way. When all of the drives are running and the CDs aren’t in rough shape, the system can average a combined ripping speed of 150-205x.

I bought a case to house the DVD/CDROM units called Copystars Duplicators Case (see above). The case was designed for a CD/DVD duplicator system but it keeps five drives nice and tidy. I can cram all of the cables on the inside of the case. The SATA connector cables I’m using are called Inateck SATA to USB 3.0 Converter Adapter. I have also installed a USB 3.0 PCIe card called FebSmart 4 Ports USB 3.0 for fast transfers of data. Please let me know if you have any questions about the setup. So far I’m very happy with this project and I’m well underway, having ripped about 25% of the collection.

 

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Raspberry Pi as a Spotify Connect source

This is verified to work with a Raspberry Pi model 3 B+ with Raspbian Stretch on 01/20/19. It really should work with any Pi using Jessie too.

The program we will use to stream music from any device to our Pi is called “raspotify“, which makes our Pi into a Spotify connect source. We will install the program and then make changes to the configuration file to customize the bit rate and Spotify Connect name which can be anything you choose.

Install raspotify from console:
https://dtcooper.github.io/raspotify/

From script:

curl -sL https://dtcooper.github.io/raspotify/install.sh | sh

Or manually:
# Install curl and https apt transport
sudo apt-get -y install curl apt-transport-https

# Add repo and its GPG key
curl -sSL https://dtcooper.github.io/raspotify/key.asc | sudo apt-key add -v –
echo ‘deb https://dtcooper.github.io/raspotify jessie main’ | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspotify.list

# Install package
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install raspotify

Restart raspotify:
sudo systemctl restart raspotify

If raspotify does not appear after boot, here are some options.

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Now you can send Spotify to your Pi using Spotify Connect from any device!

If you want to make changes to the Pi as a Spotify Connect source:
sudo pico /etc/default/raspotify

You will need to comment out the “#” for each option.

Change the device name:
DEVICE_NAME=”Spotify on the Pi”

If you want to change the bitrate:
BITRATE=”320″

Change the audio output, first the :
–device hw:0,5
(Note: you will need to type “lsusb” to find the Bus and Device Number)

Save the file and restart the service:
sudo systemctl restart raspotify

Final comments: I found this to work beautify.  Regarding the option to change the audio out hardware, my USB device was spotty. If you leave this option alone and simply use the audio out jack or HDMI you will find it is very reliable.

Update Subsonic on Ubuntu

To update Subsonic from the Ubuntu console, it’s best to log into a terminal window from Windows or Mac using Putty (or the Mac terminal).
Using your web browser from Windows/Mac, visit the download page.
Find the Ubuntu download link and copy the link location.
Example: http://www.subsonic.org/pages/download2.jsp?target=subsonic-6.1.5.deb

Log into your server using Putty/terminal. Download the new file.
wget http://www.subsonic.org/pages/download2.jsp?target=subsonic-6.1.5.deb

Now execute the update command:
>sudo dpkg -i subsonic-6.1.5.deb

Updated and back in business!

Update Subsonic on Ubuntu; Mount USB drive at boot

Update Subsonic:

Download the subsonic package and execute this command:
sudo dpkg -i subsonic-6.1.5.deb
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Mount a USB drive in Ubuntu Console:
Find the drive (three commands that will do it):
lsblk
sudo blkid
sudo fdisk -l

(example: /dev/sdb)

Create a mount point:
sudo mkdir /media/usb

Mount the drive:
sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/usb
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Mount error: “unknown filesystem type ‘exfat’”

Install exfat filesystem utility for Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install exfat-fuse exfat-utils
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How to automatically mount usb flash drive at startup

List your drives:
sudo fdisk -l
(example: /dev/sdb1)

Edit /etc/fstab and place this info in the file, replacing the #Device and #fs-type with your own:

sudo nano /etc/fstab
add:
#Device #Mountpoint #fs-type #options #dump #fsck
/dev/sdb1 /media/usb exfat defaults 0 0
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Review: iSilencer3.0 USB Audio Noise Eliminator

Sometimes, you learn something new that changes everything. I have read about jitter and quantization with digital signals for some time but I didn’t know there were small, affordable devices that correct it. I have always read about really expensive devices that included a noise filtering technology. Well, I was poking around looking for a smaller, cheaper DAC for work – my Samsung Galaxy S7 doesn’t cut it by itself for high fidelity and my old Fiio E7 DAC won’t work with the newer OS updates for IOS and Android. I stumbled on something called a Dragonfly which had high praise. A little smaller than a thumbdrive, the AudioQuest Dragonfly acted almost like an inline DAC. Hmmm. Then I found something new. AudioQuest also makes a USB jitter filter called a Jitterbug. Reviews mentioned a better device – the iSilencer 3.0 by iFi Audio.

So I bought one and wasn’t able to try it out until I got to work. Here I am, just blown away that I’m listening to a phone and not a high-end stereo. I had my little setup (phone/laptop, audioengine D1 with Sony Headphones MDR-7506) at work and was so frustrated by the USB noise from the one portable working DAC that I have. For some reason the signal that comes out of my laptop and my phone sucks connecting to this thing. The iSilencer3 really does work and it’s amazing! Not snake oil as I feared. The signal is clear and lets the DAC do it’s job without any digital artifacts and most important from the phone – no intermittent disruptions. Bass is tighter and the headroom is wider. I am not sure exactly how this is accomplished but for $50, this little gadget is an incredible value and a needed accessory for any audiophile on the go.