Of all the folks on here, I would wager that I have purchased more physical product. I'm drowning in it over here.
You call that a collection?!? Only one entire floor to ceiling wall!
Actually that is quite impressive. Are the polyethylene bags similar to what Amplexus use for their oversized art discs? Just wondering as just about all of my plastic sleeves from Amplexus have deteriorated over the years.
Also, I was wondering what music server are you using? I've been slowly ripping my CDs to iTunes as Apple lossless format and can access them from my stereo in various ways, but all of them have faults that keep me from using them day to day.
The bags are from bagsunlimited.com:
http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-89-poly-sleeves.aspxI'm using a poly-sleeve with 2 pockets and a fold over flap without adhesive:
http://www.bagsunlimited.com/p-3313-double-pocket-cd-sleeve-with-white-poly-separator-1-flap-no-tape.aspxThere are many variations. I tried several before I selected the one I'm using. I'm approximately 60-70% done with the process! I'll post an updated picture of "the wall" later when there's more light.
There are many good music servers but the least expensive, most configurable option is the Logitech Squeezebox line:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/speakers-audio/wireless-music-systemsI have a laptop with two 2-terrabyte hard drives as my dedicated music server which is connected by ethernet cable to my router. The Wi-Fi players are all over the house:
A Boom is in my bedroom. A Radio is in the guest bedroom. I have another Boom in my office...with a subwoofer. And I have a Touch in the living room hooked up to my stereo.
All are controllable via two Squeezebox LCD handheld controllers, my Android phone, an iPod, or my iPad. The iPad is the ideal way to control the system with its large graphical interface; I can find and play music very easily...much easier than locating a disc in my physical collection. And I forgot to mention that I can stream any of my music directly from my phone or the iPad.
The server software for Squeezebox runs on the laptop. It's under constant development. The SB forum offers help and fixes for problems and a lot more:
http://forums.slimdevices.com/Sonos offer a great music server but the price per room is significantly higher:
http://sonos.com/Olive is another contender at a higher price point:
http://www.olive.us/There are plenty of other options. I believe that Apple will at some point enter the market with more of a solution than they currently offer. There was some noise here and elsewhere about 24-bit files. The Logitech Touch supports 24-bit files fully; I suspect Apple's hardware will also.
Bottomline: As I have said elsewhere, a music server is the only way to go as we move slowly away from CDs to a file-based future
