I'm digitizing all my CD's - best way to listen to them?

[curtis]

I am not up to date with the options that support ALAC, but I'm pretty sure they are many. FLAC is pretty universal.

If you are looking for something to manage and enhance the experience with your music, I suggest having a look at Roon https://roonlabs.com/. It can do so much with all the metadata that is available for the music. It is a bit much to get started with as it consists of needing a core server and an endpoint(your RPi can be used as an endpoint), and some are put off by the cost, but for me, I find it excellent and can't imagine not using it, but I also got lucky and got a lifetime subscription before the price increase.

Another option, and less costly, is using a device with BlueOS. The Node 2i is pretty popular, but I have no experience with it. It can also be used with Roon. https://www.bluesound.com/products/node/

As you have said, since you are Apple-centric, the AppleTV is easy and convenient.

[white_darren]

I did something similar except I'm not an Apple guy. I ripped all our CDs to FLAC and, like you, have them stored on a Synology NAS. I run a Plex Media Server on my Synology NAS and a Plex client on my Amazon Fire TV Cube which is connected to a Marantz AVR. I love this setup for music but I also use Plex as an OTA DVR for a few things - comes in handy when the internet is down like last week when ATT sub-contractors cut the fiber to our house.

[Blingleberry]

I sometimes use Plex for movies but not music. I didn't really like it for music but I could try it again.

So what's the value for Roon? It handles streaming and also organizing your music library, but you still have to have a DAC?

[curtis]

So what's the value for Roon? It handles streaming and also organizing your music library, but you still have to have a DAC?

It is so hard to describe Roon. It does so many things. There are many articles written about it if you do a google search.

You don't "need" a DAC, but you do need a Roon endpoint.
https://roonlabs.com/howroonworks

[curtis]

Since you are Apple-centric, this might be a good article for you to read on Roon.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-t...s-alternative/