Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Are CD's recorded using WAV, AIFF, or neither?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Are CD's recorded using WAV, AIFF, or neither? - Page 4

post #46 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidhunternyc View Post
I have a MacBook and was going to use iTunes with Apple Lossless to rip my CD's onto an external hard drive. I read the introduction to exact audio copy. Is this download compatible with iTunes? Also, the other link brought me to an Ultrasone thread?
EAC and iTunes have a feature that does roughly the same thing. In iTunes preferences, go to Advanced, and then the Importing tab. If you check "Use error correction when reading Audio CDs," you can trade some speed for better error recovery.
Reply
post #47 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:17am
Thread Starter 
Thanks. I don't think I checked that option on iTunes. I will do it now though.
Reply
post #48 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:29am
Itunes is nowhere near EAC, it's lo-fi way to grab your cd's.
Itunes doesn't have offset correction, can't manage c2\cache features of the drive. It's error correction scheme are also not on the par with EAC's.
EAC is the only way to go if quality is a concern.
Reply
post #49 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by QQQ View Post
Itunes is nowhere near EAC, it's lo-fi way to grab your cd's.
Itunes doesn't have offset correction, can't manage c2\cache features of the drive. It's error correction scheme are also not on the par with EAC's.
EAC is the only way to go if quality is a concern.
I have never had a problem with it.

Of course, this assertion is testable. Take a CD and rip it to a lossless format with both EAC and iTunes. Compare the waveforms. I'd do it, but I don't have a Windows-based machine to test with (Linux and Mac here).

Where did you acquire knowledge of the internal operation of the closed-source iTunes though?
Reply
post #50 of 59
7/3/08 at 3:56pm

Reply to davidhunternyc

Quote:
Originally Posted by davidhunternyc View Post
I have a MacBook and was going to use iTunes with Apple Lossless to rip my CD's onto an external hard drive. I read the introduction to exact audio copy. Is this download compatible with iTunes? Also, the other link brought me to an Ultrasone thread?
I did not put the other link (Ultrasone thread) there. I don't know why it's there.
I don't have a Mac, I have a PC, so I am not familiar with the compatibility issues of a Mac.
Foobar2000, which I understand is also not Mac compatible, also has an optional component which "rips" as accurately as EAC, according to my understanding. The challenge for you would be finding something that is Mac compatible. One possibility is one of those "bridge" programs which I know nothing about but I understand these programs enable you to run Windows programs on a Mac.
Another aspect of your situation to look at has to do with the idea of how crucial is your need for the greatest degree of accuracy. What I'm saying is that if these rips are just for your own personal listening pleasure, and not for some major professional studio production that will then be marketed to the most discerning audiophiles, then what is your need for ultimate accuracy and why would it not be OK to just make it easy on yourself and go ahead and "rip" with iTunes or some other Mac compatible application?
Accurate "ripping" applications include Foobar2000, EAC, the most recent version of Nero and a Ulead application, the name of which escapes me right now. I am uncertain if Nero and the Ulead application are Mac compatible. The problem with the Nero application is that it is "bloated" with a lot of extra "bells and whistles" most of which I find, at best, unnecessary and at worst, memory and processor hungry.
I suggest you contact Apple and tell them your needs. Tell them you are looking for a Mac application that offers the most accurate "ripping" possible, a professiona "ripping" application that is more accurate than iTunes. Perhaps there is something in their professional audio line that will offer what you need.
Reply
post #51 of 59
7/3/08 at 4:02pm
The information that was contained in this post is no longer valid. So, I removed it. If the moderators want to remove this post, that's OK with me.
Reply
post #52 of 59
7/3/08 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Pinna View Post
Another aspect of your situation to look at has to do with the idea of how crucial is your need for the greatest degree of accuracy. What I'm saying is that if these rips are just for your own personal listening pleasure, and not for some major professional studio production that will then be marketed to the most discerning audiophiles, then what is your need for ultimate accuracy and why would it not be OK to just make it easy on yourself and go ahead and "rip" with iTunes or some other Mac compatible application?
Errors ripping a CD aren't likely to be subtle flaws. Even things like read offset and drift would cause very audible flaws if not caught by some level of error correction. Beyond that, if you're having issues, your CD is probably damaged, and the result sounds like you're playing a damaged CD.

In other words, if you're having issues with poor error correction, it'll probably stand out. Listen to a few rips after you make them, and you should know if things are working OK.
Reply
post #53 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chorejas View Post
I personally would use whatever format provided me with pcm-like quality of sound, along with all the metadata to read the info about the song and see the art.
Then look no further than ALAC or FLAC! Wav is a pain to deal with for metadata and AIFF though better is not as flexible as ALAC or better yet, FLAC. Now then, if only the iPod would natively support FLAC...
Reply
post #54 of 59
7/3/08 at 6:12pm
For ripping on a MAC, iTunes should be just fine for most CDs with Max as a step above for the paranoid.

On Windows, I use EAC though dbpoweramp is excellent as well. For an intents and purposes save for the most horribly damaged CDs - iTunes, Max, EAC, dbpoweramp, foobar - should all be just fine. If one is having troubles, EAC is the way to go with all the offsets corrected.
Reply
post #55 of 59
7/3/08 at 8:23pm
when using eac, use a good cd rom drive and read the tips in the forums:
Introduction ยป Exact Audio Copy
Reply
post #56 of 59
7/3/08 at 11:18pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for your help. Yes, I tried to download the EAC software on my MacBook and I couldn't do it. Probably because it is not Mac compatible. I am so glad that I stopped ripping my CD's onto my external hard drive however. All of your information has given me pause and I want to learn a little bit more about all of these issues. Another problem I had is that the power cord on my hard drive fell out of the electric socket as I was ripping my CD's (NYC apartment outlets). Of course, I had to turn off my computer, reboot it, but no matter what I did I can not get my MacBook to read my hard drive. I called Apple Technical Support and they worked with me for an hour or so on this issue and we followed verbatim how to solve this problem. Nothing worked. So Apple made an appointment for me to take my external hard drive and my MacBook to an Apple store tomorrow to help me fix the problem. Guys, if I do not post a message on this board for a couple of days, its because I had to give them my computer. But I will be back here soon. Anyway, what is good about this timing, is after they fix the problem, I will show them this thread, and I will inform you what they have to say about Apple compatible EAC software, and if they have anything to say about their iTunes software. The 14th Street Apple Store in New York is just terrific. Everyone at the Genius bar will put their heads together to come up with some sort of solution and I will let you know what they had to say. It would be interesting to know if there are professional ripping applications that I could use on my MacBook. But if not, I will use iTunes with error correction, and rip using ALAC. Yes, that would suit me just fine. If any of you have any other ideas about this issue you think I should bring up, please let me know and I will ask the Apple specialists tomorrow.
Reply
post #57 of 59
7/4/08 at 2:19am
run eac in bootcamp
if you must go lossless, use flac.
then transcode that into whatever you wish as needed. no point using flac on portables, it generlaly isn't justified. massive files=waste of space=eat batteries. and sometimes incompatible with many players. apple lossless is ok if you know you are going to stick with apple. personally i think its too much trouble. its safer to flac and mp3 and keep both and not be stuck with apple. space is cheap, keeping two near universal formats is a good idea. as things improve/change you'll likely be able to transcode flac into whatever you want with minimal effort. a lot easier than reripping all ur cds. thats a chore to avoid!
Reply
post #58 of 59
7/4/08 at 2:44am
Thread Starter 
Flac isn't supported on my iTunes, at least in my MacBook. I will see tomorrow what Apple has to support Flac and a compatible EAC.
Reply
post #59 of 59
7/4/08 at 3:06am
itunes can support flac but it is a hack which most hate. The latest release of Songbird is excellent, does FLAC and syncs with iPods with no problems. Cog is a nice streamlined audio player that does FLAC.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Portable Source Gear
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Source Gear › Are CD's recorded using WAV, AIFF, or neither?