i had the same problem was just running out of space in the small flat i was in at the time, just brought somke of those cd holder cases from hmv kept the album cover and cd in that and chucked the case's. Just wanted a backup in case my harddrive goes tits up

Sold some of my CDs and DVDs to http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk. Don'y get much for them, except the odd one or two and the turn around from posting to getting the cheque is bloomin slow. May be worth emailing a list to those on here who have expressed an interest. Possibly get more than Magpie. Maybe put them on magpie 1st (you enter the bar code to get a quote and you can save the list without having to complete the sale).So you could see how much you'd get that way and then you would have a benchmark. I think on eBay by the time you've packed and posted and paid charges you wouldn't be getting much more than Magpie.

While the video buying public has become High Def obsessed (and questionably so), why is it that they are so happy to flush away High Def. sound??

The reason why I say the pursuit of HD video is questionable because of the scarcity of broadcast HD media. The time one spends watching a BlueRay, or DVD is negligible. Conversely, high quality digital audio recordings have been available in overwhelming volume for at least 20 years. With music, you do listen for a considerable percentage of your time to audio recordings, rather than compressed FM/DAB radio (the latter being a bigger disappointment at 128kbps).

SACD sounded like an interesting development, but the media was virtually unobtainable. The CD through a decent system was/is jaw droppingly good, so I think the format didn't need much improving. What is so disappointing is when a great band use a uselss recording studio, thus turning out audio mediocrity. Anyone with a good hifi will totally understand what i'm getting at! The meduim of CD is not a problem, just the will and ability of the record producers to make a good master copy.

Sorry if I sould like i'm banging on about sound. I love music, but it is ten times, a hundred times better when it's well recorded and reproduced.

The situation with regard to the decline in sales of decent audio quality recordings is totally exasperating!

Basically, those who know no better, or who are just lazy, or impatient are creating a situation where the CD will no longer be viable. Then we'll be left with no source of decent recordings!

What a depressing thought!

The saving grace will be when the industry wakes up to the commercial opportunity to market HD Audio. I bet this is on the cards now since the cost and size of storage has shrunk dramatically.

" What is so disappointing is when a great band use a uselss recording studio, thus turning out audio mediocrity. Anyone with a good hifi will totally understand what i'm getting at!"

Amen. The variation of production quality can be startling on even budget hifi separates. It's much less apparent if you just listen to mp3s IMO. I just don't think recording and reproduction quality is that important to most people though.

Hifi was a sonic revelation to me, especially with my old LPs. Some of them came to life with new excitement, involvement, three dimensional depth and detail. Sadly, the fabulous German record player broke and I went entirely to CDs. And now I'm not in a living situation where I can play music at proper volumes though loudspeakers which is a shame. Possibly another reason my it's not much of an issue for many.

good ol' vinyl for me everytime over cd and mp3 or similar files. but you do need the right kit………………….

Totally agree with Spongebob and Buzzlightyear regarding recording/mastering quality. I rip all my cd's at 320kb, which, while not up to lossless, takes up less space but is clearly better quality than lower bitrates. I use Ultimate Ears canalphones, and variations in mastering are very clear to my ears, and I hope that the music business doesn't 'dumb-down' recording quality. Somehow, despite the 'yoof' wandering around playing tinny music on their mobiles, I think that there's enough desire in the music buying public to have their records play in the highest quality available. I've recently replaced my dying Yamaha SACD/DVD-A player with a Cambridge Audio equivalent. I've got over 8000 tracks in iTunes and on my iPod, but I'm still buying cd's on a regular basis because I still prefer to sit down and listen to an album as an album. I love the random nature of a big iPod stuffed with music and left in shuffle mode; mine's in the car and it's like having my own 6Music station, but I love my cd's, a significant number are signed by the artist, and I would never get rid of them; they're a reliable backup, and I don't trust HDD longevity enough to entrust 1000-odd cd's collected since 1982 to that sort of storage and get rid of them. Some are irreplacable, or at significant cost, so I'm keeping them all.

Bravo CountZero! Bravo!

So… assuming I've ripped all my CDs as WAV files and they're all on either my laptop or an external HD, how do I get them through my amp and out of my speakers?

I assume there's a box with a bloody great HD in that can sit in the space currently taken by my CD player?
I don't suppose Marantz do one in silver to match the amp?

Higgo – use flac – not wav

+1 for lofting them – came across my Dad's old records (those black flat round things) – some valuable classics and a window into another world – your children's children's children will be fascinated.

It's much less apparent if you just listen to mp3s IMO.

Bet you couldn't tell the difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a CD in a blind test.

So… assuming I've ripped all my CDs as WAV files and they're all on either my laptop or an external HD, how do I get them through my amp and out of my speakers?

I assume there's a box with a bloody great HD in that can sit in the space currently taken by my CD player?
I don't suppose Marantz do one in silver to match the amp?

you could just invest in a decent audio card and play straight from your laptop into the amp!
and i agree with stuartm555 to use flac instead of wav.

Higgo – use flac – not wav

I think my phone (Nokia 5800) supports WAV but not FLAC. I could be wrong.

And I use it quite a bit when travelling with work as a music player.

you could just invest in a decent audio card and play straight from your laptop into the amp!

Laptop and amp aren't always in the same room.