[jnev]

i know this isn't technically the correct forum, but i couldn't find any other forum on headfi for software.

i need to know what's a *good* program to rip and encode cd's at the same time. eac/lame takes too long, and eac rarely recognizes the cd's, which means i have to manually enter the info in. the difference in sq isn't enough for me to keep using it. i'd like the program to have good cd detection (meaning it automatically adds the id3 tags and whatnot, like itunes and wmp) and has an option of leaving it as wav, encoding it to mp3, ogg or flac. i don't mind if it costs money to get a good program, right now i'm in a bad mood from having spent so long manually entering info and not having any good way to keep track of my uncompressed and compressed music. besides, i never once found a good use for my music in wav, other than taking up a lot of hd space.


thanks

 

[bbdollar]

Does the software you use to rip/encode music make a difference...? I always thought they all ripped and encoded the same way.

 

[jnev]

eac/lame have more or less been agreed upon that they produce the best sq. a program like itunes or wmp produces much lower quality, not to mention that it's in a their own format. i'm asking for something that comes close to eac/lame, except does everything i mentioned in my first post.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbdollar Does the software you use to rip/encode music make a difference...? I always thought they all ripped and encoded the same way.

Heh, thats a great big [size=small]NO[/size] to that.

Funny, EAC recognises all of my CDs, and I've used it to rip 200CDs. Tag&Rename uses a different CDDb to find tag info for albums, so getting this would help in that sense, also invaluable to make other tag changes, i.e. making all words begin witrh a capital or replace _ with -.

 

[jnev]

i've been trying to rip a trapt cd for ever. itunes and wmp recognize it instantly. eac just can't get it. i go to freedb and the cd is there, eac just can't get to it for some reason. i'm trying easy cd ripper right now. it's definetly better than eac/lame in terms of ease of use, but it also couldn't recognize my trapt cd. still, it rips and encodes at the same time in mp3 or ogg, which is what i want. problem is that it costs $30, a bit more than i wanted to spend, though i will buy it if it's the best for what i want.

anybody have any suggestions?

 

[halcyon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbdollar Does the software you use to rip/encode music make a difference...? I always thought they all ripped and encoded the same way.

It all depends.

If the disc is very scratched, otherwise damaged or copy protected in a certain way, then the ripping program can make a big difference in sound quality.

However, it all depends on the ripping drive's abilities as well.

For best cd detection compatibility, you'd probably want a software that accesses both gracenote cddb and freedb databases. I'm not sure if there's such a program though.

 

[terrymx]

i use CDex. just a bit learning where the functions here and there and it works great. rip really fast too.

 

[gloco]

I've had no issues with eac and my plextor drive. Like halcyon pointed out, it can depend on your cd drive.

Also, you might be using a database that isn't updated as much. I've changed databases a couple of times and thats worked for me.

Lastly, I use burst mode

 

[applebook]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnev eac/lame have more or less been agreed upon that they produce the best sq. a program like itunes or wmp produces much lower quality, not to mention that it's in a their own format. i'm asking for something that comes close to eac/lame, except does everything i mentioned in my first post.

Your idea of "much lower quality" is strange because iTunes is more than fine for ripping MP3s.

What does "that it's in...their own format" mean? iTunes and WMP don't rip standard MP3s?

 

[jnev]

no they don't... itunes rips in aac and wmp rips in wma

it may be fine for most people, but the people here on headfi have a very different definition of good sq than most people do.

 

[jnev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrymx i use CDex. just a bit learning where the functions here and there and it works great. rip really fast too.

ummm... all i'm seeing is a player, not a ripper.


edit
ok i've played with several programs, my favorite so far is still easy cd ripper v2.10 (there's several different programs available with the same name). too bad it costs $30... i'll keep looking for a cheaper alternative.

 

[applebook]

First of all, you're wrong about iTunes and AAC only ripping. The program can rip MP3, AAC, Apple Loseless, AIFF, and WAV --the latter two are PCM transfers. Is that not "good enough" for audiophiles?

Apple Loseless is pretty fantastic too, and most audiophiles are content with 320kbps AAC for portable use.

 

[jnev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by applebook First of all, you're wrong about iTunes and AAC only ripping. The program can rip MP3, AAC, Apple Loseless, AIFF, and WAV --the latter two are PCM transfers. Is that not "good enough" for audiophiles? Apple Loseless is pretty fantastic too, and most audiophiles are content with 320kbps AAC for portable use.

AAC and apple losseless are still apple's own format. i'm not sure what aiff is so i wont comment on that.

 

[Chri5peed]

Obviously my imagination but mp3s from CDex don't sound as good as identical ones from EAC/Lame?

 

[jparris1]

i have no comment on the relative quality of the rips, but to be clear iTunes can rip standard mp3's. It defaults to AAC, but changing to mp3 format is just a menu away. Change it and forget it.