# CDs aren't an option for me anymore. What do?



## ClassicalCumulus (Jul 24, 2013)

So I've recently purchased a new Macbook; a Macbook that no longer has a disc drive. I used to burn CDs I borrowed from my school's music library but that's no longer an option - due to the lack of the disc drives. I use Spotify for *ALL* my musical needs, but since getting back into classical music (I never "left", I'm just interested in taking it seriously again) I've noticed a lot of talk about specific recordings and such. Needless to say, I'm going to want to start buying albums. How can I go about doing this? Do any of you guys go to specific websites, or have any recommendations whatsoever? I want to become acclimated with specific artists and their interpretations of the pieces they're performing, but need to find the recordings first! Any and all help would be welcomed!


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Just get a cheap USB DVD drive. You should be able to find one for under $50.


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## ClassicalCumulus (Jul 24, 2013)

That's honestly exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. Thanks, bigshot!


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

With laptops, it's best to use external optical drives if you are going to be ripping a lot. I've worn out several


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## jtbell (Oct 4, 2012)

You can also buy downloads of classical music, of course. Availability can be hit or miss depending on which label(s) you're looking for. Amazon and iTunes are two "biggies" for MP3s, but I prefer to support dealers that specialize in classical music, and I prefer lossless formats like FLAC and ALAC over MP3. The dealers I download from most often at the moment are prestoclassical.co.uk (FLAC and MP3; also CDs) and eclassical.com (FLAC and MP3 only). I buy CDs from prestoclassical.com or hbdirect.com when I can't find lossless downloads.


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## JupiterJones (Jul 26, 2013)

While the "buy an external drive" solution is probably the best way to go, and there is also the aforementioned option of just buying digital downloads in the first place, I'll also toss in the idea of streaming services.

Naxos, for example, has a music library you can subscribe to that lets you stream, on demand, tens of thousands of classical albums. It's not cheap (particularly if you opt for the higher bitrate stream), but it might be worth it if you would otherwise have bought several CDs per month.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Good recommendation, JJ, although if Cloudy is interested in some of these 'must hear' performances then they are not likely to be played by the _other_ JJ on Naxos 

Via Amazon, I've purchased at least a dozen "cds" digitally and they are good quality and inexpensive.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2013)

My vote is going digital. Some albums may be harder to get in digital format, but between iTunes, eClassical, and Amazon, there is an amazing supply out there. Unless you are an audiophile and insist on absolute CD quality, going digital is a great alternative. I'd say at least 90% of my collection is from downloading services like the ones I mentioned. Then all you need is a good mp3 player or iPod, and you can have a lot of your collection - if not all - with you wherever you go.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I must confess to the magic of having a CD to actually play. Probably all in the mind as my hearing and equipment cannot distinguish CD and downloads. But I do like the disc and the sleeve.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2013)

Don't get me wrong - I like the CDs I do own. More often than not, they are exceptional recordings that I felt the desire to actually own in CD form. 2 of them are operas, for which I also wanted the libretto. But were CDs to disappear, I would have no problem continuing on with purely downloads.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Yeah I download 90% of my stuff, but every now and again I like a hard copy of a favorite band or composer.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

I prefer CD's because they're not nearly as volatile and ephemeral as purely electronic files.


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2013)

apricissimus said:


> I prefer CD's because they're not nearly as volatile and ephemeral as purely electronic files.


You can always burn your electronic music onto a CD or DVD. But CDs can get scratched and broken. And lost. There is a weakness to every media format. Besides, what are CDs but electronic files burnt onto a tangible medium?


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

My music libraries are on a Drobo, which is kind of like a disk array. It isn't fool proof, but if a drive dies, I just replace it and it replicates all the info back on it.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

*CDs aren't an option for me anymore. What to do?

*Just listen to online classical music radio, and save yourself a ton of money and work. 

http://www.classical.dj/


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

DrMike said:


> You can always burn your electronic music onto a CD or DVD. But CDs can get scratched and broken. And lost. There is a weakness to every media format. Besides, what are CDs but electronic files burnt onto a tangible medium?


I've had too many bad experience with CD's I've burned myself. They tend to go bad, as it were. The ones produced by record labels are much better.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Actually, I don't like classical music, I just like jewel cases. If CDs disappear I don't know what I'll do with myself.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

bigshot said:


> My music libraries are on a Drobo, which is kind of like a disk array. It isn't fool proof, but if a drive dies, I just replace it and it replicates all the info back on it.


I've been thinking of some kind of RAID system, but I need to increase my knowledge of how they work. I've had a few hard drives fail on me. I currently back up my music using an external hard drive, but I'm not entirely comfortable with just that. The main issue is that I've been spending the last three years entering metadata into FLAC files ripped from my CD's just the way I like it, and I'll probably be doing it for several more years before I catch up with my CD collection. The thought of losing all that work is just horrifying to me.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

You just outlined the reason I got my Drobo!

If you aren't technically minded, you might want to look into the Drobo. You don't have to configure it like a RAID. You just pull it out of the box, pop drives in and it does the rest. It automatically backs up and runs diagnostics on itself in the background. Drobos are a little more expensive, and they are too slow to run uncompressed video on, but for everything else, they're great. I have nearly 70 TB of data on Drobos.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

LOVE my cds. ............


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

bigshot said:


> You just outlined the reason I got my Drobo!
> 
> If you aren't technically minded, you might want to look into the Drobo. You don't have to configure it like a RAID. You just pull it out of the box, pop drives in and it does the rest. It automatically backs up and runs diagnostics on itself in the background. Drobos are a little more expensive, and they are too slow to run uncompressed video on, but for everything else, they're great. I have nearly 70 TB of data on Drobos.


Wow. 70 TB. I'm nowhere near that. I'll take a look into the Drobos though. Thanks.


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## jtbell (Oct 4, 2012)

For me, multiple copies of everything are the way to go. Like apricissimus, I put a lot of work into tagging my iTunes tracks just the way I want them.

For music ripped from CDs, I have three copies of the re-tagged files: one in iTunes (internal hard disk) which is available for playing, one on an external hard disk, and one on a DVD-ROM. I also have the original CD as an un-tagged copy.

For downloaded music, I have the same three copies of the re-tagged files. I also keep copies of the original downloaded FLAC files on both an external hard disk and on a DVD-ROM.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

off site backups too... ..........


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