[dwc]

I'm going to begin ripping all my cd's. Unfortunately due to limited space, I keep my PC under my fold-out desk, and that means spinal contortions everytime I need to load or unload a disc.

So I'm looking to get an external drive (usb2 or sata) that has excellent audio extraction. I also don't have a dvd burner yet, so if I can get good audio extraction along with the abililty to burn dvd's that would rock.

Seeking recommendations.

Thanks,
Dan

while you're at it, please recommend a good external mega hard drive.

 

[Fickle-Friend]

well I just bought this baby.....

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10660

 

[dwc]

w0w. that's mega.

they also have a nice-looking burner.

 

[perplex]

don't almost all hard disks bottleneck even firewire 400?

 

[bhjazz]

Well, let's see. USB2 runs at 480 Mbits/s max. So if we think about how MP3 works, this would easily cover even a file ripped at 320: 320 means the file is ripped at 320 MB per second.

For WAV files, if we are playing audio at 44,100Hz and we have 16 bit audio and 2 channels (yer basic CD) we get:

(44100 * 16 * 2)/8 = 176400 Bytes Per Second

Now the differece, of course, between wav files and MP3 is that when you play an MP3 at 176, you are still playing data that has been compressed. Obviously there is not a lot similar between an MP3 at 176 and a WAV file.

For me, my favorite stuff is always ripped to wavs.

So you were talking a bit about audio extraction, and wanted a drive that has excellent audio extraction. I'm not sure what you mean, so fill me in there if you could!

Most all late-model hard drives will be able to handle what you want, so don't worry too much. Even if you are extracting directly to HD, you're still in the ball park with most drives as much of this will occur in memory, then written out once the data is formed...I'm pretty sure. The only machine I ever had trouble with for ripping was an old machine that had far too many tweaks set up, and seemed to have a conflict with MusicMatch and my CD drive for some reason. If you REALLY have trouble, rip directly to your desktop, then just copy stuff to your external drive.

My process for ripping my good stuff to wavs:

1. Use IsoBuster (free) to directly copy the wav files off the CD. Best app of its kind. My favorite (no, it's not mine...lol)
2. Rename files by hand. Boring? Yes.

I use this process only because I think too many apps don't get the whole idea of simply copying the wav files off of a CD. Gee, if anyone has an app that does it, PM me...I'd love to save time!

If you want MP3s of these for some reason, use the RiverPast audio converter or CoolEdit to convert them. Or...an app of your choice...

Again, try to work these on your desktop then copy them over. That will take the external hard drive speed out of the equation. Playback will be no problem.

For me, I bought a WesternDigital drive from Fry's/Outpost.com. The cost after rebate, (which DID come recently) was about $125 for a 200GB drive. I have 14,000 MP3s and 2000+ wav files, and still have not hit the half way point of the disc. This one: http://shop2.outpost.com/category/Ou...terAreaString=

Let me know if I've significantly missed something here (Blonde Ale...Oy!)

 

[audeo]

I have no experience with external media drives, but definitely get one that will etch the surface of the CD with a laser - LaCie calls it LightScribe... that is so cool. I would be surprised if external drives at the same rotational speed on the same bus type would differ greatly for ripping performance. As far as accuracy, I don't know how well error correction works these days, but you should get an exact copy of the audio.

For "mega" hard drives, consider going with an array if there is space in your contortion-space. LaCie makes good hard drive enclosures of both mega and average sizes, but they tend to be expensive versus assembling your own. That said, LaCie is also built like a tank, and is quite pretty to boot. They're also not completely silent, at least my old 200 GB LaCie drive makes a hard drive whine when it's on. As a Mac user, my options are limited for guaranteed compatibility, leading me to Other World Computing. That enclosure should be silent (fan-less), and with a quiet HD, should mean a nice quiet listening space. A CD can hold a maximum of 650 MB for its 74 minutes of audio. FLAC or ALAC, I believe, yield about 60% compression, for estimating purposes. Keep in mind that the formatted capacity of a drive is less than the specified capacity.

If you're going with separate drives, look for reliability (MTBF, which should be pretty high no matter what brand you choose) and quietness. Although most late model hard drives should be evenly quiet, there exist places in which the noise level of a hard drive is compared, and the result, in the previous generation, was that the Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 was the quietest of the major brand players. For the current generation, I don't know, but for my own array, I'm going with Seagate unless someone gives me a reason against Seagate and For another brand that are extremely compelling - I'm very happy with them.

 

[3lusiv3]

I use two Lacie D2 drives and find them very good. I'm in the process of buying another one.

 

[dwc]

Looks like i could also get an internal (IDE) burner and stick it in an external enclosure. Same effect as buying an external drive.

Any pros/cons to this other than I guess the obvious one that it might not work in specific combos?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[grandenigma1]

That would work just fine... plus then you have the option to get whatever drive you would like