Software has a lot to do with computer problems. My work laptop -- an i7 11th gen w/ 16GB of RAM, no less -- cannot play audio without random ticks, clicks and pops. It's like a dirty LP simulator. I'm sure that's caused by the giant stacks of networking and security software our IT team installs on the machines. My humble Ryzen 3 laptop plays audio just fine. The difference, I'm sure, is what kind of software is loaded.
That random shutdown problem you experienced could be due to a hardware defect with your unique computer. Or, it could be software-related. You'd have to test the computer, and then test other computers of the same make/model to know for sure. Have you reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows from scratch? Does the laptop shutdown randomly even after that?
I'm sure a Macbook Air M2 2022 for $999 would be a great little music machine. It even has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can do your own taste-test between the output from the computer and the output from your favorite USB DAC.
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/
That random shutdown problem you experienced could be due to a hardware defect with your unique computer. Or, it could be software-related. You'd have to test the computer, and then test other computers of the same make/model to know for sure. Have you reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows from scratch? Does the laptop shutdown randomly even after that?
I'm sure a Macbook Air M2 2022 for $999 would be a great little music machine. It even has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can do your own taste-test between the output from the computer and the output from your favorite USB DAC.
https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/
I have not reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows from scratch. I'm not too confident I could do that. I think I'll just plan on a new Macbook in the near future. Learning a new OS might be good for me, kind of like playing word games to keep up my "mental sharpness" (or lack thereof).
FWIW: I found the transition from Windoze to OSX (now Mac OS) pretty easy. I converted some 15ish years ago and haven't looked back. If you have some unix/linux experience you'll find the command prompt pretty handy. There'll always be the how-do-I types of questions and Google is your friend here.
Tom
Tom
Purchasing a Macbook is pushing the budget so I will be limited to the 8gb unified memory and 256gb storage. According to what I have read, Apple considers their 8gb to function similarly to 16gb on other devices. That should be fine considering I check email or surf the web while listening to music, or stream video. My Windows laptop has 8gb and it has been enough. I can purge my music and documents and reduce the total size to 45gb so the 256gb should be plenty for my stuff, the OS and apps.
However, I believe what I really need to do is open my mind to the idea of streaming music. Going from , I have always had a physical copy of something with my music on it (45s to LPs, 8-track to cassette, then to CDs). I believe streaming would save storage on my computer and in my closet. And I could experience a wider selection music.
This leads to a few beginner questions about streaming:
1. I like some obscure music (Be-Bop Deluxe, Mike Oldfield, Nektar, etc.). Is it difficult to find less popular music on services such as Apple Music, Tidal or Qubuz?
2. If I take a trip where there is no internet or cell service could I download multiple albums to binge-listen on my trip?
3. How much storage do hi-res music files require compared to CDs ripped as WAV files?
Thanks again for all the help!
However, I believe what I really need to do is open my mind to the idea of streaming music. Going from , I have always had a physical copy of something with my music on it (45s to LPs, 8-track to cassette, then to CDs). I believe streaming would save storage on my computer and in my closet. And I could experience a wider selection music.
This leads to a few beginner questions about streaming:
1. I like some obscure music (Be-Bop Deluxe, Mike Oldfield, Nektar, etc.). Is it difficult to find less popular music on services such as Apple Music, Tidal or Qubuz?
2. If I take a trip where there is no internet or cell service could I download multiple albums to binge-listen on my trip?
3. How much storage do hi-res music files require compared to CDs ripped as WAV files?
Thanks again for all the help!
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I usually do one of the following:
1. Listen to music stored on my laptop while I surf or check email. I use pc speakers or headphones for this, sometimes bluetooth to stereo amp
2. Listen to music stored on my laptop connected to a USB DAC to my stereo amp - no surfing or email, music only
3. Watch streaming video on my laptop with audio through pc speakers, headphones or bluetooth to stereo amp.
As noted above, I plan to start streaming music which I would do as in 1 & 2 above. That's pretty much it and surfing and email are limited to personal use only. My laptop (Windows 11, 8gb RAM 256gb SSD) has actually been quite adequate for what I do. It is simply starting to have too many hiccups the older it gets.
1. Listen to music stored on my laptop while I surf or check email. I use pc speakers or headphones for this, sometimes bluetooth to stereo amp
2. Listen to music stored on my laptop connected to a USB DAC to my stereo amp - no surfing or email, music only
3. Watch streaming video on my laptop with audio through pc speakers, headphones or bluetooth to stereo amp.
As noted above, I plan to start streaming music which I would do as in 1 & 2 above. That's pretty much it and surfing and email are limited to personal use only. My laptop (Windows 11, 8gb RAM 256gb SSD) has actually been quite adequate for what I do. It is simply starting to have too many hiccups the older it gets.
I do not understand - I you do not have the budget, why do you opt for the most expensive hardware?
In my view, the Apple hardware is well worth the extra cost. It. Just. Works. The 18-hour battery life is very easy to get used to. 
Note that today is June 25 (at about noon).
I've generally found that the MacBook Pro laptops are priced about the same as a higher-spec'ed laptop from Lenovo, Dell, etc. but the resale value of the MacBook Pro some 4-5 years later when I feel like upgrading is considerably higher. I often get $600-700 for a 4-5 year-old machine.
I've always used the MacBook Pro laptops. I use them as my main (and now only) work computer, not counting the one PC that runs my Audio Precision APx555. My first MacBook Pro was a 2010 model. That one is about to get retired. It's my music server, but Tidal complains that the OS is too old. It'll become a Raspberry Pi 5 running Moode. I might be able to get $100 for the 2010 MBP on eBay. Not bad for a 14 year-old computer...
My current MacBook Pro has an Apple M2 PRO CPU with 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB storage. I do video editing on it and it doesn't skip a beat. This even with 2-3 camera angles in Final Cut Pro. My videos tend to be pretty long and I gotta say that it's nice to be able to transcode an hour of video in 10-15 minutes instead of 75-90 minutes on the 2020 MBP with Intel CPU that I had before. I use an external Sandisk Extreme SSD for video editing. They have some incredibly fast external drives now.
Of the 16 GB of RAM whatever programs I have open at the moment use 12 GB. And of the 500 GB storage, I've used about half. But keep in mind that this also includes 45 GB in virtual machines (playing a bit with Windoze 11 ARM in vmWare) and some large applications like Final Cut Pro.
Some grumble that the Apple computers are no longer upgradable, i.e., you can't add more storage or RAM later. That was a concern of mine when Apple first went that route, but it has had zero impact on me in practice.
My only word of caution: Be careful with that MacBook Air. You might end up liking it and developing a habit of continuing with the Apple products.
Tom
Note that today is June 25 (at about noon).
I've generally found that the MacBook Pro laptops are priced about the same as a higher-spec'ed laptop from Lenovo, Dell, etc. but the resale value of the MacBook Pro some 4-5 years later when I feel like upgrading is considerably higher. I often get $600-700 for a 4-5 year-old machine.
I've always used the MacBook Pro laptops. I use them as my main (and now only) work computer, not counting the one PC that runs my Audio Precision APx555. My first MacBook Pro was a 2010 model. That one is about to get retired. It's my music server, but Tidal complains that the OS is too old. It'll become a Raspberry Pi 5 running Moode. I might be able to get $100 for the 2010 MBP on eBay. Not bad for a 14 year-old computer...
My current MacBook Pro has an Apple M2 PRO CPU with 16 GB of RAM and 500 GB storage. I do video editing on it and it doesn't skip a beat. This even with 2-3 camera angles in Final Cut Pro. My videos tend to be pretty long and I gotta say that it's nice to be able to transcode an hour of video in 10-15 minutes instead of 75-90 minutes on the 2020 MBP with Intel CPU that I had before. I use an external Sandisk Extreme SSD for video editing. They have some incredibly fast external drives now.
Of the 16 GB of RAM whatever programs I have open at the moment use 12 GB. And of the 500 GB storage, I've used about half. But keep in mind that this also includes 45 GB in virtual machines (playing a bit with Windoze 11 ARM in vmWare) and some large applications like Final Cut Pro.
Some grumble that the Apple computers are no longer upgradable, i.e., you can't add more storage or RAM later. That was a concern of mine when Apple first went that route, but it has had zero impact on me in practice.
My only word of caution: Be careful with that MacBook Air. You might end up liking it and developing a habit of continuing with the Apple products.
Tom
Google Search (or Bing, if you must) works great for finding the answers to these kinds of questions.
https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/digital-file-sizes-and-storage-requirements/
| File Type | MB of Storage per Minute of Music (stereo) | Albums per 1TB/storage** |
| 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD Quality) | 10MB | 2,000 |
| 16-bit/48kHz | 11MB | 1,900 |
| 24-bit/48kHz | 16.5MB | 1,200 |
| 24-bit/96kHz | 33MB | 630 |
| 24-bit/192kHz | 66MB | 320 |
| DXD (24-bit/352.8kHz) | 121.12MB | 165 |
| DSD64 | 40.375MB | 500 |
| DSD128 | 80.75MB | 250 |
Uncompressed:
An hour of music in CD Quality 16bit/44.1kHz WAV will take about 650MB of storage space.
An hour of music in 24bit/96kHz WAV will take about 2GB of storage space.
An hour of music in 24bit/192kHz WAV will take about 4GB of storage space.
Both FLAC and ALAC will data compress WAV files with no loss of data whatsoever.
FLAC = Free Lossless Audio Codec
ALAC = Apple Lossless Audio Codec
Both are "lossless".
When I ripped my hundreds of CDs, I saved them in FLAC format. 500MB of WAV files typically compressed down to about 250MB of FLAC files (in FLAC-8 format, which is the most compressed of the various compression choices).
Uncompressed:
An hour of music in CD Quality 16bit/44.1kHz WAV will take about 325MB of storage space.
An hour of music in 24bit/96kHz WAV will take about 1GB of storage space.
An hour of music in 24bit/192kHz WAV will take about 2GB of storage space.
I'm on Windows, so I used Exact Audio Copy freeware to rip CDs directly to FLAC files.
When I buy music in digital format, I try to get it in 24bit/192kHz WAV format. I use foobar2000 with SoX added to downsample if desired. I often downsample to 24bit/96kHz and compress to FLAC for usage. I don't perceive any benefit in sound quality between 96kHz and 192kHz sample rates. But I do believe I hear some benefit from playback of 24bit recorded files. You could choose to buy 24bit/96kHz FLAC (or ALAC) and save all the work of transcoding.
I'm also undecided about how important it is to go all the way up to 96kHz sample rate. I have a few albums in 24bit/44.1kHz or 24bit/48kHz resolution, and (to me) either sound noticeably better than the same music in 16bit/44.1kHz res.
I have dabbled with DSF (DSD) music files, but I do not believe I can hear any difference between the same music in 24/192 PCM vs. DSD files.
A 500GB ssd will store about 500 albums worth of 24/96 resolution FLAC or ALAC files.
An early hassle for me was learning to edit the ID3 tags in my music files. I use a freeware app called mp3tag for that.
You'll find that a lot of these freeware apps exist only for Windows or Linux. Apps typically (but not always) cost more in the Apple world. On the other hand, you can be pretty sure that anyone who's gone to the trouble of developing a mature app for macOS has made a well-tested piece of software. (Usually, at least.) Things generally do work very smoothly on a Mac. But you don't have the giant world of freeware you'll find for Windows (or Linux).
I hope that answers a few of your questions.
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The only software I use on Windoze is LTspice (the Mac version is awful) and very occasionally Altium (for clients).
If you really, really want Windoze programs in a Windoze environment you can use vmWare, Parallels, or VirtualBox. That way you get to deal with the idiosyncrasies of Windoze only when you absolutely need to. WineSkin is an option too: https://neurochrome.com/pages/running-windows-programs-on-mac-for-free
My experience with software purchased through the Apple App Store is that the software is pretty affordable and works very well. For example, I use Affinity Designer for editing vector graphics. That set me back $50, once. The photo editor by the same company is another $50, once. There's no prompt to upgrade every year. You pay. You get to use. It leaves you alone so you can get work done. Simple. Very Mac.
I'd probably just use Apple Music (previously: iTunes) to edit the tags of music files.
Tom
My approach to storage of music files: TrueNAS: https://www.truenas.com/
TrueNAS is free. I run it on an old Mac Pro "cheese grater" from 2012 that I bought at my local e-waste recycler for $50. I then added $50 worth of memory to it and some harddrives. If I was to rebuild that machine I would probably spend a little more to get a more power-efficient PC. The cheese grater uses about 140 W, though the three spinning drives in it eat a fair amount of that too.
TrueNAS is awesome. I have it set up with two data drives in a mirrored array (similar to RAID1). It backs up nightly to BackBlaze for off-site backup. I also have it set up to create snapshots pretty frequently so that if I accidentally delete or overwrite a file, I only lose maybe an hour's worth of work. Oh, and it's powered by a UPS and will be shut down gracefully once the UPS reaches 20-30% battery remaining.
Much of that is "because I could" and also because I have fun playing computer geek at times. But the off-site backup is definitely a feature I wanted as my business data reside on that NAS.
I chose the cheese grater Mac Pro because I wanted something quiet. I can't stand fan noise from computers and in my previous house the NAS sat in my laundry room next to my lab. Also, $50 is hard to beat...
Tom
TrueNAS is free. I run it on an old Mac Pro "cheese grater" from 2012 that I bought at my local e-waste recycler for $50. I then added $50 worth of memory to it and some harddrives. If I was to rebuild that machine I would probably spend a little more to get a more power-efficient PC. The cheese grater uses about 140 W, though the three spinning drives in it eat a fair amount of that too.
TrueNAS is awesome. I have it set up with two data drives in a mirrored array (similar to RAID1). It backs up nightly to BackBlaze for off-site backup. I also have it set up to create snapshots pretty frequently so that if I accidentally delete or overwrite a file, I only lose maybe an hour's worth of work. Oh, and it's powered by a UPS and will be shut down gracefully once the UPS reaches 20-30% battery remaining.
Much of that is "because I could" and also because I have fun playing computer geek at times. But the off-site backup is definitely a feature I wanted as my business data reside on that NAS.
I chose the cheese grater Mac Pro because I wanted something quiet. I can't stand fan noise from computers and in my previous house the NAS sat in my laundry room next to my lab. Also, $50 is hard to beat...
Tom
I have used a lot of freeware on my Windows PC as well, including mp3tag. More recently I have used NCH Switch to convert file formats and JRiver Media Center to fix tags, album art, etc. They are both paid which I don't mind because they are easy to set up and use. Both are available for Mac so I would likely try Apple Music first and pay for Mac versions of Switch and JRiver, if necessary.
Thanks to everyone for the comments and advice, you have all been a big help. Now I have a few questions regarding streaming services, such as Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz, etc. When you pay a monthly subscription fee for on-demand music and the service allows downloads, can you download entire albums? If so, is there an additional fee?
Wikipedia Music Streaming
My wife took it upon herself to subscribe to the Apple Music service several years ago.
I was totally resistant to the idea of paying for a music streaming service (for various reasons) but she did it mainly for the kids.
Until then, I would use Pandora whenever I wanted to stream music and didn’t really care about the sound quality (or commercials) so much.
I’m a grumpy old Ba$tard when it comes to technology. It always intrigues me when I see something new, but the older I get the more I feel like technology hates me and never lives up to the promises. It’s suppose to make our lives better and easier right?
That being said, the Apple Music does what it needs to. It has a large variety of material available. No commercials (obviously since it’s a paid service). You can download what ever you want in their library …a song, an album a show etc if you feel like using up storage space on your device or if you know you won’t have WiFi service and want access to that media. You can make play lists (never done it) and I’m sure a lot of other things I still don’t know about.
I became less resistant to the idea of it being paid for once Apple started offering lossless music for playback. The sound quality is fine.
Different recordings have different sound quality levels depending on how the original material was recorded.
I’m not really interested in high resolution files. I’m happy with a decently recorded rebook cd if I like the material.
I tried some high resolution downloads from other sources and really didn’t see (or rather hear) the point.
I would much rather spend my time and energy pulling out an older high quality analog recording and go through the ritual of spinning vinyl than banging my head against a computer screen trying to figure out why the software isn’t working properly and I’m not getting the files to play back.
I’m sure there are a lot of other issues that are relevant to others when considering a music streaming service that I don’t want to be bothered considering.
I have a little story on topic of Apple hardware and reliability.
My family relocated in November. Everything is still a mess in my life and I haven’t had much time for my audio hobby.
The new house has a pool (a LOT of work!).
The previous owner abandoned some decent outdoor speakers on the deck near the pool that I had tested with a $8.00 eBay chipamp and an old iPhone.
I thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to control music streaming while out by the pool?”.
I came across an ancient AirPort Express (probably 20 years old) in one of my boxes that my brother had given me a while back.
I had to spend some time getting the right information about what Airport utility could be used to set it up because it was so old. Eventually, I downloaded an old version onto an HP laptop I still have running XP.
After that it took me maybe an hour to get the Airport set up and running on my network.
I plugged it into the $8.00 chipamp in the basement where the speaker wires could be connected and it works perfectly.
Anyone in the house can connect to it and stream whatever music they want while they are outside on the deck or by the pool.
Not sure how long the Airport will last, or how much use it has seen. But really…it’s 20 years old!
I was totally resistant to the idea of paying for a music streaming service (for various reasons) but she did it mainly for the kids.
Until then, I would use Pandora whenever I wanted to stream music and didn’t really care about the sound quality (or commercials) so much.
I’m a grumpy old Ba$tard when it comes to technology. It always intrigues me when I see something new, but the older I get the more I feel like technology hates me and never lives up to the promises. It’s suppose to make our lives better and easier right?
That being said, the Apple Music does what it needs to. It has a large variety of material available. No commercials (obviously since it’s a paid service). You can download what ever you want in their library …a song, an album a show etc if you feel like using up storage space on your device or if you know you won’t have WiFi service and want access to that media. You can make play lists (never done it) and I’m sure a lot of other things I still don’t know about.
I became less resistant to the idea of it being paid for once Apple started offering lossless music for playback. The sound quality is fine.
Different recordings have different sound quality levels depending on how the original material was recorded.
I’m not really interested in high resolution files. I’m happy with a decently recorded rebook cd if I like the material.
I tried some high resolution downloads from other sources and really didn’t see (or rather hear) the point.
I would much rather spend my time and energy pulling out an older high quality analog recording and go through the ritual of spinning vinyl than banging my head against a computer screen trying to figure out why the software isn’t working properly and I’m not getting the files to play back.
I’m sure there are a lot of other issues that are relevant to others when considering a music streaming service that I don’t want to be bothered considering.
I have a little story on topic of Apple hardware and reliability.
My family relocated in November. Everything is still a mess in my life and I haven’t had much time for my audio hobby.
The new house has a pool (a LOT of work!).
The previous owner abandoned some decent outdoor speakers on the deck near the pool that I had tested with a $8.00 eBay chipamp and an old iPhone.
I thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to control music streaming while out by the pool?”.
I came across an ancient AirPort Express (probably 20 years old) in one of my boxes that my brother had given me a while back.
I had to spend some time getting the right information about what Airport utility could be used to set it up because it was so old. Eventually, I downloaded an old version onto an HP laptop I still have running XP.
After that it took me maybe an hour to get the Airport set up and running on my network.
I plugged it into the $8.00 chipamp in the basement where the speaker wires could be connected and it works perfectly.
Anyone in the house can connect to it and stream whatever music they want while they are outside on the deck or by the pool.
Not sure how long the Airport will last, or how much use it has seen. But really…it’s 20 years old!
On Qobuz I found:
Be Bop Deluxe: 9 albums
Mike Oldfield: 46 albums
Nektar: 47 albums
You should read this:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2127892/why-i-will-never-buy-a-mac.html
Heh. That PC World article reminds me of the "don't buy an EV" articles you see in car magazines. "But, but I can't manually adjust the carburetor! Oh the horror!!"
Even the oldest AirPort Express has optical out via the 3.5 mm jack (mini TOSLINK). Hook up a quality DAC and now you have a quality source that supports AirPlay. Don't have an AirPort Express? Consider a 3rd generation Apple TV. That's quite a few years old now and doesn't support 4K. No problem. Don't use a TV with it. Just set it up and use its digital out connected to a DAC as an AirPlay compatible source. The older Apple TV can be had for next to nothing.
I only subscribe to Tidal because my customers expect to be able to dial up their own music when I show off my wares at hifi shows. I do use it at home too, and it's handy for exploring music that I don't have on CD. But mostly I find that I end up listening to the music I have on CD (and ripped to lossless files) so what's the point, really?
Personally, I would rather buy the CD and rip it to lossless files. That way I know that the music won't disappear on me if some licensing agreement changes and some record label drops my streaming platform (Netflix I'm looking at you!!) But good luck finding CDs these days.
Tom
Even the oldest AirPort Express has optical out via the 3.5 mm jack (mini TOSLINK). Hook up a quality DAC and now you have a quality source that supports AirPlay. Don't have an AirPort Express? Consider a 3rd generation Apple TV. That's quite a few years old now and doesn't support 4K. No problem. Don't use a TV with it. Just set it up and use its digital out connected to a DAC as an AirPlay compatible source. The older Apple TV can be had for next to nothing.
I only subscribe to Tidal because my customers expect to be able to dial up their own music when I show off my wares at hifi shows. I do use it at home too, and it's handy for exploring music that I don't have on CD. But mostly I find that I end up listening to the music I have on CD (and ripped to lossless files) so what's the point, really?
Personally, I would rather buy the CD and rip it to lossless files. That way I know that the music won't disappear on me if some licensing agreement changes and some record label drops my streaming platform (Netflix I'm looking at you!!) But good luck finding CDs these days.
Tom
Thanks, that's great to know. I'm glad Apple Music, Tidal and Qobuz have free trial periods. Sounds like a great way to explore music to see if you want to buy a CD (if available!)
Actually, my streaming system sounds better than my CD transport, however I've put a lot more money into the internet audio system.