[XIX47]

As the title suggests, I plan on purchasing a couple of soundtracks for home use on my computer. I also plan on getting a higher quality pair of headphones for music and gaming soon (the k712 is my early favorite atm) Since I am a newb when it comes to music, should I download the soundtracks online or should I purchase the CDs? Thanks.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would say to buy used CDs off eBay and make your own tracks.
You might make all your music files FLAC
or decide 320K is good enough and you end up using less hard drive space.

 

[XIX47]

  I would say to buy used CDs off eBay and make your own tracks.
You might make all your music files FLAC
or decide 320K is good enough and you end up using less hard drive space.

You mean rip the songs from the CDs? Do I need to download any specific software to do this?
 
I have nearly 800GB of free space on my hard drive so space should not be an issue.
 
The headphones I am looking at seem to be sensitive to the source material so I am not sure yet if 320K would be good enough at this point.
 
Thanks.

 

[wuwhere]

You can use Foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/) to rip your CDs.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  You mean rip the songs from the CDs? Do I need to download any specific software to do this?
I have nearly 800GB of free space on my hard drive so space should not be an issue.
The headphones I am looking at seem to be sensitive to the source material so I am not sure yet if 320K would be good enough at this point.

 
The website Majorgeeks has listing for all sorts of free software for the Windows PC, I'm sure there are several programs listed on that site for riping CDs.

 

[XIX47]

Thanks for your advice! It looks like I have several options for ripping CD software, including free and paid versions. I will have to weigh the benefits of each before making a decision.
 
I am going to go shopping a bit for the Star Wars Soundtrack CDs later.

 

[Xenophon]

If you're starting out with a collection then I'd frankly  advise against purchasing physical CD's just to rip them.  They take up space, get lost, get scratched, deteriorate over time...  I'd purchase online but read up on the formats and on the point of diminishing returns.  Some labels sell 'HD' versions at a premium but a) these take up much more space b) they're more expensive c) in some cases it's a downright scam and most of all d) the increased resolution offered by the 'highest' grade is essentially meaningless as either the rest of the gear can't usefully handle it or even if it can, it's physically impossible to hear a difference beyond a certain point (essentially, everything beyond standard rebook CD becomes iffy in the extreme).
 
Anyway, the one thing I personally wouldn't do is purchase physical CD's if you'll just end up ripping them and listening via your computer.

 

[XIX47]

  If you're starting out with a collection then I'd frankly  advise against purchasing physical CD's just to rip them.  They take up space, get lost, get scratched, deteriorate over time...  I'd purchase online but read up on the formats and on the point of diminishing returns.  Some labels sell 'HD' versions at a premium but a) these take up much more space b) they're more expensive c) in some cases it's a downright scam and most of all d) the increased resolution offered by the 'highest' grade is essentially meaningless as either the rest of the gear can't usefully handle it or even if it can, it's physically impossible to hear a difference beyond a certain point (essentially, everything beyond standard rebook CD becomes iffy in the extreme).
 
Anyway, the one thing I personally wouldn't do is purchase physical CD's if you'll just end up ripping them and listening via your computer.

 
I have plenty of space to store the CDs, so that is not an issue for the time being. However, that can definitely change if I constantly buy more CDs. I see your point. I will be on the lookout for "HD" labels on some soundtracks and read other buyers' opinions. I do not like throwing away $$$ if it is not necessary.
 
It is not worth purchasing a CD even if the CD version is cheaper than a MP3 download? Such as this soundtrack I am very interested in purchasing, which comes with the MP3 download with the CD purchase.
 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Music-Star-Wars-Anniversary/dp/B000VEA38E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401020715&sr=8-1&keywords=star+wars+soundtrack

 

[Xenophon]

Obviously if they offer a free hq download together with a physical disc which is cheaper than only the downllad then that's an exploitable inefficiency. My remark stems from the fact that I personally don't believe in physical media, mainly because I live in 2 places a continent apart and shift house every 3 years due to my job so you can imagine.... It's imo also very likely that the cd will be virtually obsolete in 10 years or so....and the medium is not as sturdy as vinyl. I listen to classical, over the last couple ofyears a trend has emerged where boxsets (assembled works of one composer, can run to 100+ cd's and are generally not a good buy but that aside) are no longer exclusively sold on cd but more and more as files on a usb stick. Guess that will only accelerate.

 

[XIX47]

Well, it seems to be the cheapest option available online. 10 years is a long time for me so I am not worried about that at the moment. It is only $24 so I think it is a good deal.