[Napalmhardcore]

Hi. I too am interested in ripping from CD. I've already ripped a bunch of CDs to WAV in Windows Media Player but was wondering if some software does it better than others. I may just start again from scratch.
 
I am not an expert, but just for peace of mind I prefer the idea of ripping to WAV. I would however like the ability to convert to FLAC for the purpose of storing music on portable devices (I've just bought a Fiio X1, though I've not had a chance to use it yet).
 
Is there an all in one ripping/conversion software, preferably free that is highly regarded? That said, if a paid solution holds significant advantages over a free one, I'm willing to pay for it.

 

[bgentry]

There's essentially no good reason to rip to WAV. There are nothing but disadvantages. You should rip to FLAC or maybe ALAC. Or AIFF if you really feel the need. All of those formats have well known metadata storage, where WAV only has non-standard metadata support.

On Mac OSX I like XLD for ripping. For Windows, I used to use EAC (Exact Audio Copy) many years ago and I've read that it's still fantastic. The big deal about XLD, EAC, and a few others (like DBPoweramp) is how they read the discs. These programs have options to re-read disc sectors that don't rip properly. They also have the option to use the Accurate Rip database, which checks your ripped files against checksums from other rips made by other people. This helps to insure that you got a good rip.

Brian.

 

[Napalmhardcore]

I read a while ago a discussion and opinions were divided on ripping to FLAC vs WAV for master copies. Is that no longer a thing? I just found the idea of bit for bit uncompressed data sounded somehow more assuring than ripping to a compressed (though lossless) format.
 
I'm certainly not here to start arguments and appreciate your help. I just think it is good to ask questions when not sure. Thanks

 

[Napalmhardcore]

Think I'm going to buy the dBpoweramp and perfectTUNES bundle. Looks like it will take a lot of the hassle out of things.
 
I'm lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) that I don't have a huge collection, so starting from scratch won't be a colossal task.
 
I've had a brief look at some of the advantages of using FLAC and willl most likely go that route. I just asked for the sake of assurance.

 

[djphaze]

So i just purchased DBpowerAmp and im getting ready to rip my first cd. I was looking through the dbpoweramp setup guide and i was wondering if there was anything else i need to know?
 
Below is what i have selected so far...
 
Im ripping to FLAC level 5.
I added a DSP effect ReplayGain.
Track, Album Gain & itunes Album normalization selected
Ripping Method Secured under options.
Under secure rip abort mark track as if error is secure has been checked and so has write to file. Add to information log is checked as well.
 
For this step......
(The settings for Ultra Secure depend on your CD drives ability to report C2 error pointers (C2 pointers tell CD Ripper when a section of audio has errors).
If C2 pointers are supported use this ability (in other programs the recommendation might be to always disable C2 support, this is not true in CD Ripper). Before checking C2 Error Pointers for Error Detection, it is best to actually do a test with a simulated damaged audio CD: take an audio CD which is never to be used again, with a black permanent marker pen draw a triangle onto the silver side of the CD (side which is normally placed downwards into a CD player):
Enabled Ultra Secure Ripping)
Place this CD in your CD drive and click Detect c2 Support, if your drive supports C2 pointers it will detect by the end of the disc - noting if a c2 pointer error is signalled right at the start then the cd drive might not be compatible (the above black marker test would signal a c2 error about 1/4 of the way through the test).
 
I followed these directions marked the audio cd and put it in my drive and clicked on Detect c2 support under the secure options and this was the result i got... "C2 error pointers were detected and will be used". So does that mean i will be using C2 pointers, set as Minimum Ultra Passes: 1      Maximum Ultra Passes: 2       End After Clean Passes: 1?
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[djphaze]

 



 
 
Does this look like a successful rip to FLAC?

 

[Bloodember]

Yes, it looks fine.

 

[djphaze]

Thank you. After i ripped the tracks i put them in a folder and directly dragged that folder into my Sony A17 music folder. Am i doing it right? Shows up in my Sony A17 player and the tracks sound great.

 

[Bloodember]

Never used the a17, but if its like most other music players then yes, if it shows up and works its correct.

 

[djphaze]

Awesome. Thanks! Off to rip some more!

 

[obobskivich]

I read a while ago a discussion and opinions were divided on ripping to FLAC vs WAV for master copies. Is that no longer a thing? I just found the idea of bit for bit uncompressed data sounded somehow more assuring than ripping to a compressed (though lossless) format.

I'm certainly not here to start arguments and appreciate your help. I just think it is good to ask questions when not sure. Thanks

What comes out of FLAC (or any other lossless decoder) will be 1:1 to the original content. It is just more efficiently encoded (e.g. takes up somewhat less space and supports better tagging). There's no problem using a lossless codec IME/imho as a result, but there are many benefits. For Windows I would use EAC (or something equivalent/similar) and rip into the lossless codec of your choice - I personally use WMA-L because WMA offers wider compatibility with my various devices and applications. flac and ALAC and so forth will be just as good of choices in terms of quality - go with whatever maximizes compatibility for yourself. All of that said, Windows Media Player with error correction enabled (its in the rip options) can still do a pretty good job - honestly having ripped quite a few CDs that way over the years, only a few single tracks ended up with any problems; EAC has been flawless overall, and it's really "picking at nits" comparing the two on most days. Still, I *hate* re-ripping, so I use EAC for peace of mind.

To djphaze: are you enabling dynamic compression/normalization for a specific reason? Personally I'd rather rip it as "uncompressed" as it comes off the CD (which usually isn't much these days), and apply whatever compressor/exciter effects at playback.

 

[djphaze]

What comes out of FLAC (or any other lossless decoder) will be 1:1 to the original content. It is just more efficiently encoded (e.g. takes up somewhat less space and supports better tagging). There's no problem using a lossless codec IME/imho as a result, but there are many benefits. For Windows I would use EAC (or something equivalent/similar) and rip into the lossless codec of your choice - I personally use WMA-L because WMA offers wider compatibility with my various devices and applications. flac and ALAC and so forth will be just as good of choices in terms of quality - go with whatever maximizes compatibility for yourself. All of that said, Windows Media Player with error correction enabled (its in the rip options) can still do a pretty good job - honestly having ripped quite a few CDs that way over the years, only a few single tracks ended up with any problems; EAC has been flawless overall, and it's really "picking at nits" comparing the two on most days. Still, I *hate* re-ripping, so I use EAC for peace of mind.

To djphaze: are you enabling dynamic compression/normalization for a specific reason? Personally I'd rather rip it as "uncompressed" as it comes off the CD (which usually isn't much these days), and apply whatever compressor/exciter effects at playback.

Where do you see dynamic compression/normalization? I can't seem to find it on my post.

 

[obobskivich]

You're using ReplayGain, and also enabled volume normalization, per Post #36. There's nothing wrong with DR compression but I wouldn't, personally, want it encoded into the file - I'd rather apply it as-needed at runtime.

 

[djphaze]

Ah ok I see what you mean. I guess I can take the replay gain off. I don't care to much that all tracks are at the same volume. Where exactly is the volume normalization? I can't seem to find it? Is that under the replay gain as well? And how do I disable it?

 

[obobskivich]

Ah ok I see what you mean. I guess I can take the replay gain off. I don't care to much that all tracks are at the same volume. Where exactly is the volume normalization? I can't seem to find it? Is that under the replay gain as well? And how do I disable it?

You mentioned it was enabled - I'm assuming you either willfully enabled it or it is a default. And of course this is just my preference - if you like everything normalized/compressed that's your own choice. It may make sense for a portable device, but that's not something I tend to worry about (since I don't do much with portable devices these days).