Alright, yes, I figured computer operating systems. So I would listen either with my smartphones (earbuds) or having one of my computers feed the signal to a sound system somehow.
I have a mini-stereo in the kitchen, a receiver in my bedroom, another in my "computer room." I don't listen to music in that last room, normally, unless it's off the receiver in there. That receiver's used primarily to feed FM into a computer that records MP3s off FM
I listen to music sometimes using my smartphones but usually instead using the receiver in the bedroom or the mini-stereo in the kitchen, which is connected to my 301 disc CD players, a TT, and a computer. That computer is usually asleep. I'm not sure I want that computer on to hear music, is the thing. It's attached to a 43" monitor which has to be turned on and off separately. One reason is it's a mini-tower system and the PSU makes some noise. Not a lot, but enough where it's not a pristine listening environment. Of course, the refrigerator turns on and off, so there's that. But to listen to a CD that's ripped to FLAC I'd have to have that computer on (or a laptop, if I go that way) in the kitchen. Same in the bedroom. I generally have a laptop in there, but not wired to anything but its charger. To feed my receiver in there with FLAC I'd need a wired connection to the laptop. Not exactly ergonomic when lying in bed.
These are the thoughts I always have when I consider ripping to FLAC instead of just using my big multi disc CD players in my kitchen and bedroom. I have two in each, daisy chained. Of course, there's limited space in the CD players, so that's a drawback, as well as the hassles of keeping track of what's where with my database.
