I have over 600 audio CDs. I copied all of them to a USB drive, then discovered that the Kia audio system could only index 8000 tracks, so I deleted some that I listen to infrequently. If your 2024 audio system is like my 2023, just know that the practical limit for being able to access is 8000 tracks. Any more than that will not be accessible, only the first 8000 tracks.
For many years, I have ripped all my CDs to MP3 on an older desktop using Windows Media Player 11. I prefer version 11 because it is geared to audio and version 12 is geared primarily to video. I think it is possible do manage audio with version 12, but I never bothered with it. I have otherwise been using Linux on newer desktop and laptops for years. I know little about newer versions of Windows.
I find MP3 files at a bit rate of 192kbps to be a good compromise between sound quality and conserving space on the USB drive.
I have a volunteer DJ gig at a local radio network and when we prerecord shows, that is the format specified for use.
Wayne
