How to get CDs into my DAP without loss of quality

[ruthieandjohn]

My accumulation of great headphones and amps has started me down the path of better-than-iTunes audio.  I got a great Black Friday deal on the FiiO X3, and it sounds great on the limited amount of HD music that I have.
 
First started with HDTracks and successfully got several good HD albums, but now their downloader doesn't work, at least for me, despite system restores, turning off virus control, use of different PCs, setting up a new user account, etc., etc.
 
So I am resorting to CDs, and I seek advice on how to get CDs into my (FiiO X3) digital audio player.
 
It seems something like RealPlayer compresses them to mp3 quality that is less than that of iTunes.
 
Is there anything on the PC (either Windows Media Player or something else) that can convert audio CD format to something the X3 can read, without loss?
 
I suspect foobar2000 is what I should be using, and I'm happy to start learning how to use it under my own power, but wanted to first confirm that it was a reasonable path to this goal.
 
Thanks!

 

[billybob_jcv]

Google for a CD ripper that will encode to FLAC.

For example:
http://www.techmadeeasy.co.uk/2014/01/20/rip-cds-flac-mediamonkey/
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-rip-your-music-cds-to-flac/

 

[PurpleAngel]

  My accumulation of great headphones and amps has started me down the path of better-than-iTunes audio.  I got a great Black Friday deal on the FiiO X3, and it sounds great on the limited amount of HD music that I have.
First started with HDTracks and successfully got several good HD albums, but now their downloader doesn't work, at least for me, despite system restores, turning off virus control, use of different PCs, setting up a new user account, etc., etc.
So I am resorting to CDs, and I seek advice on how to get CDs into my (FiiO X3) digital audio player.
It seems something like RealPlayer compresses them to mp3 quality that is less than that of iTunes.
Is there anything on the PC (either Windows Media Player or something else) that can convert audio CD format to something the X3 can read, without loss?
I suspect Foobar2000 is what I should be using, and I'm happy to start learning how to use it under my own power, but wanted to first confirm that it was a reasonable path to this goal.

 
I've heard Foobar2000 can take CD audio and make FLAC files out of them.
 
The website Majorgeeks should have lots of free programs that can take the 16-bit/44.1K audio files off your music CDs and make them into 16-bit/44.1 FLAC audio files.

 

[wuwhere]

I use Foobar2000 to rip my CDs to FLAC (http://www.foobar2000.org/download).

 

[getclikinagas]

Hey kayandjohn,
 
Congratulations on your new purchase. The X3 is a very capable player. Before you try and replace HDtracks with CD rips, there are a few things you should know.
An HDtracks Master Quality file is typically either 96kHz/24-bit or 192kHz/24-bit. A CD track is 44kHz/16-bit audio, which basically means that it contains lesser information than the HDtracks file. Whether this makes a significant audible difference is currently not the topic of discussion (There are other threads discussing this).
Therefore "lossless" only means it retains the quality of the source file and in this case the source file is 44khz/16bit. HDtracks create their files by digitally sampling an original analog audio source but at a higher bit depth and sampling frequency than CD quality. 
 
Bottom line: HDtracks and CD quality are not the same. HDtracks is technically better.
 
Anyway, regarding ripping CDs into lossless FLAC tracks. FLACs can provide a higher bitrate than mp3s and is the way to go for lossless.
 
EAC (Exact audio copy) is a very powerful program to ensure you get the best out of our CDs.
There are quite a few guides on how to get the best using EAC. I've linked a few below:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Beginners_guide_to_EAC
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_and_FLAC
http://rip59.dk/EACFlac/EACFlacRipping.html
 
Happy ripping! Let us know if you have any doubts.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

  Hey kayandjohn,
 
Congratulations on your new purchase. The X3 is a very capable player. Before you try and replace HDtracks with CD rips, there are a few things you should know.
An HDtracks Master Quality file is typically either 96kHz/24-bit or 192kHz/24-bit. A CD track is 44kHz/16-bit audio, which basically means that it contains lesser information than the HDtracks file. Whether this makes a significant audible difference is currently not the topic of discussion (There are other threads discussing this).
Therefore "lossless" only means it retains the quality of the source file and in this case the source file is 44khz/16bit. HDtracks create their files by digitally sampling an original analog audio source but at a higher bit depth and sampling frequency than CD quality. 
 
Bottom line: HDtracks and CD quality are not the same. HDtracks is technically better.
 
Anyway, regarding ripping CDs into lossless FLAC tracks. FLACs can provide a higher bitrate than mp3s and is the way to go for lossless.
 
EAC (Exact audio copy) is a very powerful program to ensure you get the best out of our CDs.
There are quite a few guides on how to get the best using EAC. I've linked a few below:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Beginners_guide_to_EAC
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_and_FLAC
http://rip59.dk/EACFlac/EACFlacRipping.html
 
Happy ripping! Let us know if you have any doubts.

I understand that HDTracks is technically better, and I would LOVE to use HDTracks.  However, I cannot make their downloader work anymore, even though it did as recently as Nov. 30 for me.  I have followed their one tip of turning off virus control, I have returned my computer to a pre-Nov. 30 restore point, I have even tried another computer AND opened a new account, under a new user ID, at HDTracks, and NONE of that works.  They have stopped answering my inquiries about how to get their downloader to work, but up until yesterday they would refund my unsuccessful purchases within 45 min.  However, yesterday's purchase has not yet been refunded, and I will report them to PayPal if it doesn't get refunded today. Thank for the great info, @getclikinagas