I've been collecting movies, shows, and the old man has been at it with music for years. We've also got a nice book collection. I have a ton of those old Reader's Digest hardbacks with a bunch of stories in each one.

Even if the internet goes down for some reason, we've got a lot to choose from for entertainment. :)

I know the library here has DVDs and such, but I've never gotten anything like that from it.

Well, I did just buy a Reservoir Dogs + Bad Lieutenant dvd for five bucks. Gotta own the classics.

Will you actually use the CDs? Are they ripped anywhere?

I've got quite a few CDs still stuck at my parents. They're all ripped to decent quality MP3s so I can't be bothered bringing them here. I've already got too much clutter, but I refuse to get rid of them.

I've ripped them all as FLAC files and can stream them all via the RPi to the TV <still not sorted a new amp out yet> so I'm getting lossless quality to the TV, but having to use the TV's speakers. :C So, I'm still using them at the moment to get the best sound quality. When we get an upgrade, I dunno... I like that I can have the case art/sleeve notes/lyrics to flick through when listening to something, so there's still something to be said for having the physical CD. I don't know how good the DVDA and SACD rips will be either, so need to check those out when I do get a new amp.

Plus they look nice. We've invested a lot in our music collection, and I'd hate to get rid of any too.

In case you're wondering, we're getting a new carpet a week on Saturday, I've spent some time today screwing loose floorboards down so they don't bounce, and speaking to the plumber next door when I put a screw through a plastic pipe and started a leak.  :-$

Edit - the shelves are also straighter than that picture would have you believe.

I'm thinking of setting up my other downstairs room as a place to listen to music, rather than a dining room for the time being. Put all the CDs in there on display.

I don't sit down and listen to music like I used to.

I've got a reasonably decent old HiFi and an RPi running Volumio with a better USB sound adapter. Means I can turn it all on and control all my music from a phone/tablet. Could do with a big beanbag.

That HiFi is the only thing I have at the moment that can take a CD.

We've got a few other CD players around the house, so we're keeping the discs for those non-networked places too, also the car.

I'm doing something similar to you, using the PI to stream the media from my PC (a NAS is on the cards as part of the upgrade too) and using yatse on my phone to control everything.

What's volumino do, does it act as a DAC?

It's a distro based on Raspbian/debian that is designed for using the Pi as a music player. It runs MPD in the background and has a nice webUI. Supports a number of high quality DACs since the normal audio on the Pi is rubbish.

You could go all out and buy an expensive DAC if you like that sort of thing but I got one of these (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221164319758) which has a CM108 chip in it. For 99p I'm more than happy and it does the job well enough for me.

This page gives a nice comparison of what's cheap and works - http://www.george-smart.co.uk/wiki/USB_Soundcard_Tests

I've seen some DACs at vast prices, but I suppose it's all in keeping with the high price of a lot of high end kit. I'll have to listen to music through my setup when I get a new amp and if there's no discernible difference between a CD and the FLAC file I can't see the need for one.

When you say the audio on the Pi is rubbish, do you mean via the 3.5mm jack?  

Yeah the 3.5mm jack. Can't remember the specifics but it hasn't got a proper sound "card" so used PWM to create sounds which is poor.

I think sound over HDMI is fine though.

Aye, that's what I thought. Even through the TV speakers via the HDMI, there's a marked difference in the quality of the FLAC files compared to the MP3s.

Does the Pi2 have better sound or is it the same? I have my amp hooked up through the HDMI via a SPDIF converter. I wonder if I'd notice a difference using the 3.5mm jack.

There's definitely some improvements but I don't believe it's that great.

It's nice when you can find a good set for a good price. When I can do that I usually either give the singles to one of my girls, or if they don't want them, sell them on Ebay.

Old used DVDs usually aren't worth much for sale. If I can get what it costs me to mail them, I'm usually happy and someone else gets to add them to they're collection. :)

Besides, having a single case set can save me storage space, which is what I was after anyway. :)

One day I'd like to have all my shows on flash drives, or something smaller than disks, to save me space and be easier for transport. The old man and I have been talking about going RV in our later years, and I don't see me storing thousands of movies and shows on disks in an RV. Not unless we buy a second one just for them, and it happening. lol