[khaos974]

Priorities in ripping music:
 
1. Highest quality (perfect transparency) - disk space no issue, no compromises here.
 
All lossless codecs (FLAC, ALAC, WMA Lossless) are perfectly transparent, uncompressed formats such as wav and aiff are a waste of disk space. Getting a perfect rip is a matter of getting an error-free rip of your CD player. EAC and dBPowerAmp both claim to be able to do this perfectly, anyway you can always check if your rip was perfect with the AccurateRip database, dBpoweramp does it directly, or you can use foobaar to do so afterwards.
 
2. Good tagging (artist, album, song & # or better)
 
dBpoweramp has the best database available (because it uses multiple databases actually, but it requires an annual subscription), EAC is limited to freedb which is so-so for classical. Both itunes and winamp use the gracenote database, which is pretty good, Windows media player has the best database for classical music. Anyway, you can use one program for ripping and another for tagging.
 
3. File format compatibility (preferably compatible with many devices and software players)
 
FLAC is supported everywhere except with iphones, itunes, ipod... ALAC is supported by Apple software and hardware, limited third party software support, almost no third party DAP supporting it. WMA lossless has the worst support.
 
Thing's I have heard: (and that need addressing)
 

1. I can get better rip quality from programs like Exact Audio Copy etc vs. iTunes depending on how scratched my CD's are.  (the reason apparently being better error correction etc) 

 
With CDs in perfect condition, EAC = dbpoweramp = itunes..., with scratched CDs EAC and dbpoweramp read the scratched part until the software thinks it has managed to get the correct information.
 

1. I heard .aiff is the same quality as .wav only with better tagging. (are they the same quality? - does .aiff have better tagging to this day still because .wav is a much more widely supported format) 

 
Yes, aiff is wav with better tagging, but doesn't offer the flexibility of FLAC tagging.
 

1. .aiff and .wav are the highest quality formats to rip using. (what about .flac etc?)

 
All is equal with lossless, as explained above.
 

1. .aiff is the same codec as apple lossless, except that apple lossless is compressed for smaller sizes and decompressed on playback.  The quality is the same as long as the processing is available to decompress in real time.

 
aiff is uncompressed data, no codec is used because it wasn't compressed in the first place. With a modern PC, you can decompress at 300x playback speed very easily, no issue on this side.
 
My scenario:
 
-I am just in the process of building my CD collection and want to rip it in the best way possible.  Hard drive space is no issue.
 
-I use foobar2000 into a Cambridge Audio DAC for playback, but am open to consider any player.
 
Foobar can rip CDs too, I don't think there's error correction, but you can check accuracy with AccurateRip directly after ripping. It also has automatic tagging support, Wasapi support.
 
-I use portable music players like iPod's etc, so the file format must be compatible with these players OR able to be converted into .mp3 or .wav formats.
 
The best option IMHO is to have a lossless copy on your computer rig and directly transcode an mp3/aac copy on your DAP.
 
In short,
 

1. Most convenient, absolute quality, all in one ripping/encoding/tagging solution, dBPoweramp, not free though.
2. not as convenient, but the same, EAC for ripping/encoding, Winamp for tagging. (free)
3. Most convenient, Foobar2k for ripping/encoding and tagging.
4. My own preferred solution, foobar for ripping/encoding/tagging, check accuracy with AccurateRip to ensure the rip is error-free, if failure, re-rip with EAC then encode, re-check, if success, look at tags, if satisfactory, keep it, if not re-tag with Winamp/mp3tag or enter information manually.

 
Answers in italic.

 

[FEAST]

Quote:

Priorities in ripping music:
 
1. Highest quality (perfect transparency) - disk space no issue, no compromises here.
 
All lossless codecs (FLAC, ALAC, WMA Lossless) are perfectly transparent, uncompressed formats such as wav and aiff are a waste of disk space. Getting a perfect rip is a matter of getting an error-free rip of your CD player. EAC and dBPowerAmp both claim to be able to do this perfectly, anyway you can always check if your rip was perfect with the AccurateRip database, dBpoweramp does it directly, or you can use foobaar to do so afterwards.
 
2. Good tagging (artist, album, song & # or better)
 
dBpoweramp has the best database available (because it uses multiple databases actually, but it requires an annual subscription), EAC is limited to freedb which is so-so for classical. Both itunes and winamp use the gracenote database, which is pretty good, Windows media player has the best database for classical music. Anyway, you can use one program for ripping and another for tagging.
 
3. File format compatibility (preferably compatible with many devices and software players)
 
FLAC is supported everywhere except with iphones, itunes, ipod... ALAC is supported by Apple software and hardware, limited third party software support, almost no third party DAP supporting it. WMA lossless has the worst support.
 
Thing's I have heard: (and that need addressing)
 

1. I can get better rip quality from programs like Exact Audio Copy etc vs. iTunes depending on how scratched my CD's are.  (the reason apparently being better error correction etc) 

 
With CDs in perfect condition, EAC = dbpoweramp = itunes..., with scratched CDs EAC and dbpoweramp read the scratched part until the software thinks it has managed to get the correct information.
 

1. I heard .aiff is the same quality as .wav only with better tagging. (are they the same quality? - does .aiff have better tagging to this day still because .wav is a much more widely supported format) 

 
Yes, aiff is wav with better tagging, but doesn't offer the flexibility of FLAC tagging.
 

1. .aiff and .wav are the highest quality formats to rip using. (what about .flac etc?)

 
All is equal with lossless, as explained above.
 

1. .aiff is the same codec as apple lossless, except that apple lossless is compressed for smaller sizes and decompressed on playback.  The quality is the same as long as the processing is available to decompress in real time.

 
aiff is uncompressed data, no codec is used because it wasn't compressed in the first place. With a modern PC, you can decompress at 300x playback speed very easily, no issue on this side.
 
My scenario:
 
-I am just in the process of building my CD collection and want to rip it in the best way possible.  Hard drive space is no issue.
 
-I use foobar2000 into a Cambridge Audio DAC for playback, but am open to consider any player.
 
Foobar can rip CDs too, I don't think there's error correction, but you can check accuracy with AccurateRip directly after ripping. It also has automatic tagging support, Wasapi support.
 
-I use portable music players like iPod's etc, so the file format must be compatible with these players OR able to be converted into .mp3 or .wav formats.
 
The best option IMHO is to have a lossless copy on your computer rig and directly transcode an mp3/aac copy on your DAP.
 
In short,
 

1. Most convenient, absolute quality, all in one ripping/encoding/tagging solution, dBPoweramp, not free though.
2. not as convenient, but the same, EAC for ripping/encoding, Winamp for tagging. (free)
3. Most convenient, Foobar2k for ripping/encoding and tagging.
4. My own preferred solution, foobar for ripping/encoding/tagging, check accuracy with AccurateRip to ensure the rip is error-free, if failure, re-rip with EAC then encode, re-check, if success, look at tags, if satisfactory, keep it, if not re-tag with Winamp/mp3tag or enter information manually.

 
Answers in italic.

We have a winner.

 

[FEAST]

Also, if anyone is still listening....I use foobar but I keep multiple music libraries of my own and other's organized in different folders.  Is there any way for foobar to separate these files using a tabbed system instead of just listing all the albums from every folder.  I keep these libraries in separate folders because I want to keep them separated.  

 

[khaos974]

I don't think you can manage multiple libraries with foobar, could you explain the context of such a need, maybe there's another alternative that could fit that need without multiple libraries.

 

[ViciousXUSMC]

@OP
 
I rip with EAC to FLAC with the accurate ripping method.
 
Then I just jump over to MP3Tag another great free program and add all the tags and change the file names of the rip in a matter of seconds by using the FreeDB database and have it use the inserted CD as the lookup source.
 
I also have EAC setup to rip to (Nero) AAC for music that is not important enough to be to be in FLAC form or to use on my portable devices.  A high quality AAC rip is great it sounds the same as FLAC to me with a lot less space used and higher compatibility.  I think I only still use FLAC more or less just for piece of mind.
 
@FEAST
 
Yes its possible, not sure how to do it with stock foobar but using the Columns UI plugin its a default option.
 
Here is what my Foobar looks like right now, letting me easily and quickly sort my music by filtering genre, artist, or album.
 
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nNcVLzdKf-c/TM5mA8FRmbI/AAAAAAAADcE/YKbuGIVZVZc/Vicious%20Foobar.jpg
 
This is great but still not as good as SongBird songbird has a tabbed interface like this but also has a search box that filters the filters

  So say I want to find an artist I can start to type the name of the artist and it filters in real time the results.  Foobar does something similar with its search feature but it searches the library or playlist not the filters so its not as useful.
 
Im using Foobar instead of SongBird only because it has WASAPI output and SongBird has no additional output plugins.
 
If your not worried about ASIO, WASAPI, or Kernal Streaming Songbird is great though.

 

[ViciousXUSMC]

Quote:

@OP
 
I rip with EAC to FLAC with the accurate ripping method.
 
Then I just jump over to MP3Tag another great free program and add all the tags and change the file names of the rip in a matter of seconds by using the FreeDB database and have it use the inserted CD as the lookup source.  It can also use MusicBrainz, and Discogz as well as get cover art from Amazon automatically.
 
If its not found I just use google image search and add it myself or scan the artwork.
 
I also have EAC setup to rip to (Nero) AAC for music that is not important enough to be to be in FLAC form or to use on my portable devices.  A high quality AAC rip is great it sounds the same as FLAC to me with a lot less space used and higher compatibility.  I think I only still use FLAC more or less just for piece of mind.
 
@FEAST
 
Yes its possible, not sure how to do it with stock foobar but using the Columns UI plugin its a default option.
 
Here is what my Foobar looks like right now, letting me easily and quickly sort my music by filtering genre, artist, or album.
 
I have my music in multiple folders and locations, I just added all those locations as a library source.
 
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_nNcVLzdKf-c/TM5mA8FRmbI/AAAAAAAADcE/YKbuGIVZVZc/Vicious%20Foobar.jpg
 
This is great but still not as good as SongBird songbird has a tabbed interface like this but also has a search box that filters the filters

  So say I want to find an artist I can start to type the name of the artist and it filters in real time the results.  Foobar does something similar with its search feature but it searches the library or playlist not the filters so its not as useful.
 
Im using Foobar instead of SongBird only because it has WASAPI output and SongBird has no additional output plugins.
 
If your not worried about ASIO, WASAPI, or Kernal Streaming Songbird is great though.

 

[FEAST]

I really like foobar because of how lightweight and flexible it is.  I am constantly opening and closing audio files when I am working on a production and the startup time is a huge bonus with foobar.  Not to mention it gives me folder path, automatically scans folders, and gives me all of the data on songs.  The thing is that when I am working with hundreds of wav's that dont have albums or all have different albums they get all mixed in my album list and clutter everything up.  I need my audio files separated from my music at all times.  And like I said before I want to keep my CD's separate from other libraries that I have.  I have collections of my own CD's, my brothers CD's, and other works from online music sites.  I really really really need to be able to keep the different folders that foobar monitors separate in separate tabs.  Then foobar would be the best program ever.
 
Tell me more about this columns UI plugin.

 

[khaos974]

My own foobar screen shot.
 

 
Almost everything is from the default install, the plugins added were highlighted.
 
Waveform plugin for the seekbar
Tagbox in one of the tabs, not a really useful plugin though
Shpeck in another tab, very rarely used.
Most useful plugin is Facets, which is the Genre>Artist>Album navigation panel.

 

[ViciousXUSMC]

oops some kind of double post. :/

 

[khaos974]

Would intelligent playlists displaying the content of specific folders, including subfolders, updated in real time satisfy your needs?
 
Quote:

I really like foobar because of how lightweight and flexible it is.  I am constantly opening and closing audio files when I am working on a production and the startup time is a huge bonus with foobar.  Not to mention it gives me folder path, automatically scans folders, and gives me all of the data on songs.  The thing is that when I am working with hundreds of wav's that dont have albums or all have different albums they get all mixed in my album list and clutter everything up.  I need my audio files separated from my music at all times.  And like I said before I want to keep my CD's separate from other libraries that I have.  I have collections of my own CD's, my brothers CD's, and other works from online music sites.  I really really really need to be able to keep the different folders that foobar monitors separate in separate tabs.  Then foobar would be the best program ever.
 
Tell me more about this columns UI plugin.

 

[FEAST]

Quote:

Would intelligent playlists displaying the content of specific folders, including subfolders, updated in real time satisfy your needs?
 

That is EXACTLY what I need.  And how did you get that color scheme?

 

[khaos974]

For the color scheme, it's actually an in depth modification of the Windows UI, it's an OSX theme, it can be downloaded at http://www.custopack.com/.
First download the software, install it, then download the theme, it requires a restart.
 
Edit: Works on Win7, don't know for Vista and XP.
Edit bis: if by colour scheme you meant the black blue background, it's foobar > preferences, color and fonts panel.
 
For the playlists, open the library tab, filter, for example "%path% HAS desktop" without the quotes.
Right click on "All Music" > Create autoplaylist. Done
 
Or a simpler solution if the folder in question appears in your library, for excample if you have a dedicated Rock folder
Right click on the folder name in your library, same procedure.

 

[khaos974]

Look into your C:/Program Files (x86)/foobar2000/ folder
There are 2 .html files in it explaining in detail everything to know about how to write search queries.

 

[FEAST]

Thanks a lot.  Seriously.  That works PERFECTLY.