How to transfer my CD collection to CX-9?

[David]

Bought a slightly used 2023 CX-9 ("stage" 2) a few days ago. I traded-in my ancient CX-9 that had a built-in CD changer. But I don't understand how to transfer my CD collection to the 2023 CX-9, and playback using one (or both?) of the jacks in the center armrest. I understand it involves first copying the CD's to one or more very large capacity USB "sticks". And then plugging the USB sticks (one at a time!) into one of the jacks in the armrest when I want to listen to them. HOWEVER, what software do I need to use to write the CD "files" to the USB stick? (there seems to be several). And do I need to specify any "parameters" when I copy a CD to the memory stick (e.g., file type, etc.)? And do the needed parameters vary between "transfer software" products. I will be "burning" the sticks on a Win11 system, if that makes any difference. Thanks!!!

 

[theblooms]

This is how I do it:
Download a free program call Exact Audio Copy, or EAC for short
There are a lot of options that you have to go through to make sure it will rip correctly. There are guides out there that will help you with this.
Now, open up your Music Folder on your desktop, and inside make another folder with the artist's name.
Now inside of the artist's name, make one more folder with the title of the album

Now put the CD into a CD-Rom drive, and open EAC. Let EAC do it's thing, but make sure you tell EAC to save it to the file folder you created for that exact album.

When you're ripping, DO NOT USE MP3. MP3 sucks. That format should have died 20 years ago. Use FLAC or WAV. Personally I like FLAC better, because you can get album art and metadata with FLAC. WAV doesn't give you that option.

Finally, take the ripped files that you made and drag and drop to copy them to a USB thumb drive, and simply put the thumb drive in your center console. The car will recognize it.

I ripped my entire 900+ CD collection using EAC and two (sometimes three!) CD-Rom drives at a time a couple of years ago, and it took me 2 months. But it was well worth it.

 

[N7turbo]

+1 for EAC

I don't really agree with the above comments though: mp3 is fine with the right settings. There is a point where it becomes audibly indistinguishable from the original—and that's with headphones in a quiet setting, not to mention a car. The level where I've seen blind listening tests reliably fail is around 250 kbps VBR (Variable Bit Rate), 320 kbps CBR (Constant Bit Rate).

You will not be able to hear the difference in the car for sure.

I recommend the LAME MP3 codec.

Also: if you use the FLAC format, your files will be huge and take up 10x more space, leaving you with less room for music on the drive. Not a big deal if they still fit, but depending on how much you want to put on there, it may be an issue.

It's slightly technical setting this up, so ask if you'd like more information.