Does Different CD ripping software produce different Sounds?

[BloodSugar00]

Basically, this has kinda just occured to me as I sit here undergoing the arduous task of ripping my latest batch of CD's- does the software program used to rip a CD, with it's own algorithms and processing mechanisms, leave a unique signature, no matter how comparatively slight, on the digital files it produces when they are played back? Or, are the different algorithms and independent nuances used by variants of this program type, just a means to the same end, the same sound (obviously, given the shared constant being the bitrate of the music output)? I imagine the quality is the same but do different programs of this nature leave differances in the sonic signature and/or presentation of the resultant music? I imagine any existing differances would be almost undetectably slight, if they exist, but has anyone tested rips from different programs to see if they reveal any differances in sonic qualities? If differances can be detected what level of equipment/rig/set-up would you need to be able to witness it?

 

[FallenAngel]

Are you ripping to a certain format?

"Lossless" is bit-perfect so no, there is no change in sound at all.

Any compressed format, yes the compression algorithm will play a part in how it "sounds", based on the way it compresses the audio stream.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you ripping to a certain format? "Lossless" is bit-perfect so no, there is no change in sound at all. Any compressed format, yes the compression algorithm will play a part in how it "sounds", based on the way it compresses the audio stream.

In terms of sound quality, yes, I appreciate and understand what you've stated there- that lossless will be lossless, no matter way it's been ripped and with compressed audio file states then yes it can come into play- but I was more concerned with could there be affects/acentuations etc that are different in the frequency distributions and sonic representations of audio files, lossless or not, ripped via different programs? Or this something that can only be induced by secondary or tertiary audio equipment, altering or acting upon how the source file is played back?

 

[Rempert]

No. Unless there are errors in reading the disc which one of the rippers is unable to correct, the PCM data in the ripped .wav files should be literally identical with various rippers. Given that two files are literally identical strings of data, no listening tests are necessary to confirm that they will sound the same.

The error handling issue can be a concern though.

 

[Currawong]

Read up on the information about Exact Audio Copy. Much of the information about it explains where errors in CD ripping come from, but the short answer is, it depends on how the drive handles errors and buffers data, such that if the CD is scratched then possibly even error correction wont help you.

 

[krmathis]

No, unless the CD are badly scratched and the ripper applications cope with it differently. Since some ripper applications have methods to extract the audio data in a more secure way than other ripper applications.

Audio codecs/encoders ar a different matter. As there are both lossy (data loss) and lossless (no data loss) codecs out there, and different encoders for the same codec.

 

[sdfx]

As Currawong already said, but here's the Introduction » Exact Audio Copy I use it for all my CD rips, IMHO I think it offers the best quality and it's the easiest for me to use.

 

[BloodSugar00]

This thread completely slipped my mind! Thanks for the informative responses! I anticipated as much but didn't actually know for fact and was just curious, as so many aspects of audio equipment, rigs and configurations affect sonic character in some way all the way along the subtlety barometer I was suddenly thinking, well, is it possible even the different rippers out there that create the digital source files for DAPs, laptop CPU's etc even have a say in such definition? As it turns out, no, except in the event of CD scrathes/errors and how the respective rippers work round that, but its good to know! I'll check out the information from Exact Audio Copy also, kindly linked.

 

[krmathis]

Took you a while to reply, but nice to see you found your way back.
Enjoy!

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Took you a while to reply, but nice to see you found your way back. Enjoy!

Cheers!