I would like to convert my CD collection (WAV format?) to MP3, via my
PC which runs XPPro. The resultant MP3 files will be downloaded to my
Philips HDD100 MP3 player. Hopefully this can be done without any loss
in recording quality, and with reasonably easy-to-use software, as I
will be converting several hundred CDs. I would like to retain any
tags.

Further info: Tech Specs for the HDD100 MP3 player include:
MP3 8-320Kbps MP3 Variation Bit Rate (VBR)
WAV  32-192 Kbps
ID3-tag support - yes, version 1.2 / 2.0

Transfer from PC to the Philips player is via DMM (Digital Media
Manager software) which may be Philips-only. Claims transfer of MP3
and WMA but I have only managed MP3 (MP3 player seems to receive tags
of WMA files but files seem to crash the player). This software
appears to be
restricted by Digital Rights Management and "....audio files from your
PC can only be downloaded to the Player via DMM....you will not be
able to playback audio files on your Player if your music has been
transferred via Windows Explorer..."

This is for my own personal use, and not for any commercial purchase by the way.

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Clarification of Question by kosgoda-ga on 13 May 2004 09:42 PDT

Just to clarify - I am looking for software, not hardware.
Thanks.

The sure way to go is to use Poikosoft's Easy CD-DA extractor.  You
can download it at http://download.com.com/3000-2140-10277737.html

This software is shareware but it can be used for free for 30 days
(and I believe that it will still retain full functionality even after
that time).

Pop in a CD, and the program will automatically go online and find the
artist and title, and all of the track names.  Simply click a single
button and the program will rip the whole CD to a folder of mp3 files,
and it will put the correct tags on the files (with artist/album
title/track title).

Preset quality settings like "CD quality" and "near-CD quality" are
easy to use, and you can also customize your mp3 settings to use
things like VBR, if you wish.

The program also includes a mode for converting mp3 back to wav,
changing bitrate (to make smaller, lower-quality mp3 from bigger mp3
files) and, if I remember correctly, a utility for burning CD's.

Many thanks rxrfrx (and techtor) - much appreciated. I was impressed
by Easy CD-DA, and have been using it for 24hrs, and will continue to
do so. Only downside might be the cost (bit high for shareware?) and
that several forums discussing audio software have mentioned that tech
help from the author is perhaps not the fastest....

But I'll stay with it and compare other programs against it.

I believe there are several legitimate software you can use for
ripping CD tracks into MP3, including Winamp 5. To activate that
feature, you will have to purchase a license though. In Winamp's case,
it's $15. I'm not familiar with other software you can use, but there
are certain to be more.