Best Method for Automated CD Ripping?

OzPeter asks: "I have a need to rip about 200-300 CDs in the near future, and I am not looking forward to being a slave to the computer every 4 minutes in order to change the CD in the drive. I have been looking around for automated ripping systems but in general have not been impressed by what I found. This question was asked, 4 years ago, and the best advice to come out of it seemed to be to hire a local teenager to be that slave. Have things improved, or does the advice given in that article still stand? What is currently the best way of automatically ripping a significant number of CDs?"

AllOfMP3

[Ahnteis]

Download it off AllOfMP3.com.

Probably end up being cheaper then a teenager.

Seriously though, for such a specialized situation, there isn't going to exist any reasonably priced automated solution.

Better Than a Teenager

[Bios_Hakr]

The only thing better than a teenager, is to get two computers and hire two teenagers.

Honestly, why go for an expensive, complicated solution when a simple solution is already at hand.

5 minutes per CD gives about 12 CSs per hour.

That's 25 hours to rip 300 CDs.

$5 per hour comes in at $125. Buy a pizza for lunch over 3 days brings it to just under $200.

If you borrow a laptop or two, there is no reason one guy can't swap out CDs in 3 computers; it's be done in a day. Offer a local teen $150 + pizza for a day's work, and they'll jump at the chance.

So, unless you can come up with something less than $200, you are just shooting yourself in the foot.

What's the rush?

[anomaly]

I was able to do this over a period of a couple of weeks with a similar number of CDs. This was not rocket science. I simply kept a stack of media to be ripped near the Mac, then configured iTunes to auto lookup, rip to mp3, then eject CDs when done. If i walked by the laptop and there was a CD sticking out, I'd replace with another and keep going with whatever I was doing.

Didn't take *that* long, I spent no cahs, and I was not a slave to the PC, either.

YMMV.

Anomaly

Re:Well

[paeanblack]

there's plenty of robotic/automated (albiet expensive) solutions

Keep in mind the hidden cost of not investing in automated ripping hardware: you need to invest in a more robust storage system or pay the ripping fee again when drives fail.

However, if you spend a few hundred dollars on a 200 disc changer, like a Starmatix Powerfile, you don't really need to bother with a RAID. This factor needs to be considered when pricing the whole deal.

Seriously.

[Ayanami Rei]

It's funny because I've done exactly that. I'll be at work and need a obscure bunch of tracks for a mix CD for someone in the office. Shit... my CDs are at home, of course. But sure enough, AllofMP3 has it. Do I pay a dollar to save the hassel of lugging around and flipping through a CD album? You bet I do, especially when I get to pick the encoding technique.
The day is saved! Huzzah!