[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ahh, thanks... I got confused with the ALAC vs. AAC thing, thought maybe they just left the L out

ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is two totally different codecs. ALAC is lossless, while AAC is lossy.

 

[xenithon]

Just a quick question - I will probably have the PC around still as a backup system and for other work. I may thus use it, with EAC already setup as is, to rip CD's (I have read that EAC is still superior to Mac apps such as iTunes or Max?).

If so, is there an encoder I can use with EAC to encode to ALAC? Alternatively if I rip to WAV, would I be able to import the WAV into iTunes and have it encode to ALAC simultaneously? I think perhaps the former would be prefered though, as ripping to WAV would mean no tagging, correct?

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenithon /img/forum/go_quote.gif (I have read that EAC is still superior to Mac apps such as iTunes or Max?).

Ensuring that you get an exact rip of your CDs is trivial with a non-damaged CD. iTunes (with error correction turned on) and Max will almost always rip the same exact bits off the CD as EAC or anything else. (If you are at all concerned, you could do some random quality control by comparing an MD5 hash of the iTunes rip against an MD5 hash of an EAC rip from your PC. We can point you to resources on how to generate that hash should you think you need to do this.)

SecureRip and EAC are more handy when you have a scratched CD that iTunes or Max don't seem to be able to properly correct.

--Chris

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you are at all concerned, you could do some random quality control by comparing an MD5 hash of the iTunes rip against an MD5 hash of an EAC rip from your PC.

Have you verified that this works? I don't see how it could, since iTunes and Max do not allow for setting drive offsets. I do know that comparing WAVs never results in a match due to this. Also, if one had to go to the trouble of cross-checking files ripped with a Mac with the same files ripped on a PC, it wouldn't make sense to rip CDs with the Mac at all.

I keep a good Windows PC in the house exclusively for CD ripping, but only use my Macs to work with the audio afterwards.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaska /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you verified that this works? I don't see how it could, since iTunes and Max do not allow for setting drive offsets.... Also, if one had to go to the trouble of cross-checking files ripped with a Mac with the same files ripped on a PC, it wouldn't make sense to rip CDs with the Mac at all.

I haven't verified it across platforms, and I see what you are saying. I have only verified that a Max rip and an iTunes rip on the same drive are identical (which I do from time to time as quality control).

You could include the drive offset from this database: Digital Audio Extraction to do it cross platform.

My point is, it's not necessary to do this at all, but for people who are absolutely convinced that iTunes and Max create different rips somehow than EAC with an unscratched disc, it is possible to compare.

You could also compare the rips with foobar's bit comparison tool which will ignore the marginal bits on either end of the file.

--Chris

 

[xenithon]

Thank you all for the tips. I was doing some reading on various forums, including Audio Circle. I came across a number of posts/impressions that ALAC, although lossless, was not quite as good as FLAC? Is that possible?

I recall reading that the Squeezebox has (or had) issues of not processing ALAC files natively and yielding inferior results to FLAC or WAV, not sure about regular listening via iTunes though.

I also came across suggestions and a tutorial to use xACT and rip to FLAC on a Mac.

Guess this isn't as simple as I anticipated

 

[xenithon]

Three other potential problems I came across which browsing various Mac and audio forums:
- converting from FLAC to ALAC (using Max) does not always retain the tags/metadata?
- Max does not work properly in Leopard (unless you use the latest, 'unstable' build)?
- playing FLAC files in iTunes is only possible using XIPH and it has to be FLAC files in an Ogg container (i.e. Ogg-FLAC)?

Thinking about alternatives, does anyone know if Cog playback is bitperfect?

 

[Jaska]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenithon /img/forum/go_quote.gif other potential problems I came across which browsing various Mac and audio forums: - converting from FLAC to ALAC (using Max) does not always retain the tags/metadata?

Actually, it does a better job than even dBpoweramp at retaining tags. The remapping capabilities of Max are among its best features. If it weren't for this, I would lose all metadata for total discs and total tracks. I tag all of my FLAC files with foobar2000 on my PC, and then move the files to my Mac for future conversions and listening purposes. Max really is the "best" application there is for taking care of the FLAC to ALAC conversion.

That said, I am fickle enough that I still transcode the ALAC files to ALAC with iTunes afterwards just to guarantee gapless playback and full streaming compatibility with AirPort Express.

 

[xenithon]

Hmmm...thanks for that input. Sounds decent enough....if Max works on Leopard

 

[grawk]

It does, you just need to run the unstable build. The last more official release is pretty old at this point. Scott Booth is kinda weird about how he does his releases.

 

[xenithon]

Ok, thanks (I read about it on the Max forums and was a little hesitant about the unstable build).

grawk - do you rip using Max too?

 

[grawk]

I do

 

[xenithon]

Ok guys, I think I have plans for the potential issues....

- Current FLAC library will be converted to FLAC with Max (hopefully it retains all the tagging

).
- For playback I will stick to iTunes playing back the MP3 files and ALAC files. Going forward, all ripping will be to ALAC.
- For ripping, I may give Max a go. However, I may want to stick to EAC as it is already tweaked to perfection, has the correct offset for the drive, has AccurateRip, and so on. Whilst the "old" PC may remain, I would not like to have to rely on it forever. That being the case
--- is anyone using EAC on a VM in VMware on their Mac? Does it work as required or are there any niggles with the hardware or setup?
--- alternatively, is anyone running Windows with Bootcamp? I was thinking of setting up a very small XP partition with Bootcamp which I will use solely for ripping. (I have even heard that you can access a Bootcamp XP install from within Leopard as a VM?)
--- if ripping with EAC, I'd like to encode straight to ALAC rather than to FLAC and then convert with Max. Are there any ALAC encoders you could suggest to use with EAC? Also will there be any issues if I take ALAC files ripped/encoded with EAC and import them into iTunes?

Cheers,
X

 

[Bones13]

I run Vista via Boot Camp on my macbookpro, and plan to on my incoming iMac. Just for a grin, know that my mac runs vista much better than my home brew towers. I have a 40 gig vista partition to run my game - Lord of the Rings Online. I have no doubt that you could run EAC on the Vista partition, but have not tried it, as I really stay on the mac side all the time I am not gaming. I did get MacDrive for the vista side to use reading my MP3 files stored back on the mac side.

I have gotten complacent about my ripping, and rip ALAC on my desktop computer with iTunes (will be the iMac in a couple of weeks). I rip to AAC 256 on my MacBookPro. I keep the 2 different libraries, which both have slightly different audiences and uses. My ALAC directory is too big for the laptop, and I can tell the difference between lossy and lossless on my systems. I can tell the difference on my iPod via the Hornet as well, and sometimes do limit my carrying capacity to ALAC files when I plan on quality listening. I find lossy files fine when travelling in a car/plane. Besides, that way I can bring some video as well.

 

[xenithon]

Thanks Bones13......I was told by an associate that if you run Boot Camp on Leopard, and install Windows, you can access that Windows system from within Leopard as a VM....do you know if that works? If so, does EAC work properly from within the VM?

Cheers,
X