[indydieselnut]

So I launched into a project a few months ago to dump my entire CD collection into iTunes. I'm about 500 disks in and am driving myself bonkers thinking about the method I'm using. Here it is:

LG external, horizontal cd-rom drive
USB 2.0 cable into 20" iMac
iMac connected via firewire to a Drobo unit with 4TB of memory
Using iTunes to rip to ALAC with error correction on

My CDs are generally babied and in very good condition. Can I stop beating myself up about the quality of the rips? I know this subject has been discussed and that's part of why I'm pulling my hair out...people saying EAC is the only way to go or some other software is the only way to go...you've got to rip to WAV, you've got to rip to FLAC, you rip to a PC and then transfer to a Mac, you've got to use a TEAC or Plextor (old) drive...argh!

I've been sampling tracks and they all sound good. People talk a lot about what can go wrong with the rip but what's the chance everything's going right? Could I actually have 500 quality rips with the setup I've described? I've got about 2,500 to go, so it is in my best interest to change things up NOW if there's a compelling reason to.

Thanks!

 

[iriverdude]

rip with a PC to FLAC in EAC, then convert from flac to alac.

 

[fishpatrol]

Hate to say so, but if you're working on your "last rip ever" I wouldn't trust iTunes to do it. I'd use XLD even though it's a lot slower. That speed hit buys you secure ripping, and I was surprised how many good-looking discs needed the extra help. If it's bugging you, make the switch.

 

[indydieselnut]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! Maybe I'm not on my "last rip ever"...not sure yet. On one hand it IS a lot of work, but on the other hand it's been a great way to get re-aquainted with some discs.

I'll weigh the options and go from there. Thanks!

 

[krmathis]

One think for sure, for the sake of mind you should at least from now on use something else than iTunes for ripping. Ex. Max or XLD..
If you want to re-rip those 500 CD's is all up to you to decide...

 

[crossmd]

On this note, If I'm using Max on OSX ripping into Verified FLAC, Can I still worry about the quality of the rip, provided that I'm placing faith into Max's ability to verify?

 

[mark_h]

If it is your last rip the use RipStation Micro (not sure if it is supported on mac?) I have had some very terrible results with iTunes! Really bad.

 

[fishpatrol]

Why would you want to rip into a lossless format more than once? It's painful enough as it is. *Make* this your last rip, do it "right" with the tools you have available and be done with it for good. My ripping project was 1000 discs and it took long enough. Rip right, then worry about artwork and tags once you have the audio files you're really going to keep!

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

... and remember to make a backup of your files when you are done and place it where it will be safe.

 

[indydieselnut]

Well, I just printed out the entire EAC guide for some light bedtime reading...wow!! I should say sorry to the tree I just killed.

I certainly won't use the word "extreme"; I'll just say it's "thorough".

I understand what's been said about doing this once...I'm just wondering if I picked the wrong year to do it! What I'm trying to say is that I greatly appreciate the way iTunes is very easy to configure and very easy to use. What it lacks in power it makes up for in integration. I'm just curious if the future won't hold a program with iTunes ease of use and EAC's power? I realize no one can look into the future...

Thanks for all the information everyone. I'm going to have to think about this one... For the time being I'm going to halt ripping until I figure all of this out.

Thanks!
John

 

[fishpatrol]

I had a PC handy and ripped using EAC with the iTunesEncode plugin to go straight to ALAC. I use iTunes for playback and it does what I need. I think EAC's easier to use in practice than it may seem on paper. That said, if you don't have a Windows install on your iMac or don't have close PC access, Max and XLD are good choices.

I think iTunes ripping probably is good enough for 90% of users. Having CDs that take 30 minutes to rip or error out would likely cause more questions/complaints than anything. I'm just glad there are some decent ripping apps for the Mac, we had a long wait. Don't let all this keep you from listening to the music that you want to hear, is all.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indydieselnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm just curious if the future won't hold a program with iTunes ease of use and EAC's power? I realize no one can look into the future...

That's dBpoweramp

One of the things that iTunes does that none of the other rippers do is handle CDs that have preemphasis. If iTunes detects that a CD has preemphasis it will automagically process the rip with a deemphasis filter to get the audio back to the way it is supposed to sound. EAC doesn't do that. dBpoweramp doesn't do that.

If you have CDs that have preemphasis you are going to have to deal with the issues. iTunes does a reasonable job of removing preemphasis but its deemphasis filter compresses the stereo separation a little compared to other tools like SoX. But at least iTunes does it automagically for you. EAC and dBpoweramp only have a hidden column that tells you if the CD has preemphasis. But 99.99% of the people using EAC or dBpoweramp never look at that column.

I've been meaning to write up a little guide on doing deemphasis with EAC. I'll try to get to it in the next few days.

 

[indydieselnut]

I really appreciate all the thoughtfulness of the replies...Head-fi is GREAT!

I'm going to stay with the Mac platform and look into the softwares that have been suggested.

Thanks so much!!

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indydieselnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I just printed out the entire EAC guide for some light bedtime reading...wow!! I should say sorry to the tree I just killed. I certainly won't use the word "extreme"; I'll just say it's "thorough". I understand what's been said about doing this once...I'm just wondering if I picked the wrong year to do it! What I'm trying to say is that I greatly appreciate the way iTunes is very easy to configure and very easy to use. What it lacks in power it makes up for in integration. I'm just curious if the future won't hold a program with iTunes ease of use and EAC's power? I realize no one can look into the future... Thanks for all the information everyone. I'm going to have to think about this one... For the time being I'm going to halt ripping until I figure all of this out. Thanks! John

Here is a useful link to determine your drives offset read setting...you may have to rerip the CD's but EAC gives fantastic quality for the added PITA ...

Drive offset tables...DAE database...DAE Drive Features Database

Setup instructions explained Eli's Suggested EAC settings for FLAC - Hydrogenaudio Forums

Do yourself a favor and create .cue files and logs with each rip. This way you use EAC again to make CDR copies that are as good if not better than the originals (debatable) allowing you to use the original as the archive copy. The CDR's take the abuse if you listen with a reg player from time to time.

I'm currently doing what you are and have a ways yet to go....EAC will rip no faster than 7.5 X speed with my drive...I have forced it to go slower but I found it actually worked better at the higher speed (of EAC's choosing...YMMV).

Anyway I have no complaints about the SQ of the rips or subsequent CDR's burned from the rips (using EAC to burn as well).

If you can't find your drive in the database follow through with testing to set the read/write offsets using the appropriate tools in EAC. It sounds far harder than it really is.

Best of luck to you.

Peete.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indydieselnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm just curious if the future won't hold a program with iTunes ease of use and EAC's power? I realize no one can look into the future...

Really doubt it!
Few (if any) media players have the library management capabilities of iTunes, and if some are to replicate it I doubt they will add EAC's ripping power to it. So my guess is that we are "stuck" with two dedicated applications, for ripping and managing/playback.

As for ripping, Rip is very promising. With AccurateRip support, encoding to Apple Lossless, and much more. Still in closed beta though.
Rip from sbooth.org