Wma mp3 converter

Everybody has ripped audio files onto a PC's hard drive, then played them back over PC speakers or headphones. But not many of us have used a computer as the primary source of music for our high-fidelity home audio systems. The problems with using the PC as a player have been many, including mediocre sound, Windows' tendency to crash if you leave it running for long periods, the location of the PC (away from the home audio system), and the general geekiness of putting a boxy, beige PC next to your sleek, black Bell'O audio rack. But I believe that new technology and better prices now make it a worthwhile consideration.

Here's what I did: I upgraded a notebook PC to Windows XP, added a USB digital-to-analog converter to improve sound quality (more on that in a bit), changed my reference standard from MP3 to WMA, and ended up with a system that holds 10,000 minutes of music. It's always on for playing music or downloading music to a player.

Here's why I did it: A notebook PC has it all, unlike a digital jukebox, which may use a TV for a display and a remote for navigation. And you still need a link to your PC to get title and track information. Notebooks take up less space than desktop PCs (obviously), and they now have enough hard drive capacity for at least 100 hours of music.

I chose Windows XP Home Edition ($99 list for the upgrade, $199 for a cold install), because it doesn't crash, and it uses the included Windows Media Player 8. The player is good enough, and the 64- Kbps default recording rate of WMP (an acronym Microsoft discourages because of its pronunciation) gives you twice the MP3 storage space. I could free up 5GB of hard drive space, enough for about 175 CDs.

Every computer sound card has a line-out connection you can run to your audio receiver, but most sound cards have modest abilities. Also, their analog signals are susceptible to RF interference, because the PC environment is a harsh one. You are better off bypassing the sound card and doing the digital-to-analog conversion outside the PC. The best way to do this is via a USB cable. Today, there are a half-dozen USB-interface devices that will do the job for $40 to $500.

For example, Xitel (www.xitel.com) makes the Xitel MD-Port AN1 (analog output) and the DG2 (TosLink optical digital output) for $40 and $60, respectively. The Harman Kardon DAL 150 ($149 list, www.harmankardon.com, not tested) connects to the receiver's coaxial (SP/DIF) input and works with MP3 files. The sophisticated Onkyo SE-U55 ($249 list, www.onkyomm.com) switches among multiple inputs and outputs. The Yamaha RP-U200 ($499 list, www.yamaha.com) is all of the above and a five-channel, surround-sound receiver, too. The RP-U200, however, is oriented more toward amplifying audio for a desktop than for an entire room. You might also look at a product called a USB-to-minidisc adapter, which does the basic D/A conversion. Every receiver has analog connectors—also called RCA jack connectors; many but not all have digital optical or coaxial connectors. But some of the adapters either don't work at all or work only partially with WMA files.

A couple years back when we built a home theater cabinet, we made one shelf in the AV rack a pullout, which now fits my notebook nicely. We also installed an Ethernet jack, which links to the always-on cable modem for song title searches and Internet radio. When we want to play a CD that isn't on the computer, we can use our DVD player for that purpose, or get a five-disk CD changer for $100.

If you don't have a used notebook, consider adapting an old PC that you can hide away, and mate it to a small black monitor (with long cables) and a mini or wireless keyboard that includes an integrated mouse. If you're really bitten by the PC AV bug, you should also look at the Sony Giga Pocket Personal Video Recorder, which has integrated TV/video recording and easily handles digital music recording. But don't expect this to be a dirt-cheap solution.

The standalone digital jukeboxes are much better than the originals of a year ago. Check out products from Integra, Kenwood, Onkyo, ReQuest Multimedia, and others. Most of these products have CD trays, so you can rip files easily, though lookup may still require a PC connection. If WMA is important to you, ask if the maker can upgrade firmware to support it.

This is one case in which the PC, functioning as a surrogate appliance PC, may be better than a dedicated information appliance.

Copyright ?? 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.