[Ripper2860]

EAC has a CD drive check to determine if it can support C2 error correction. Fortunately mine does.

 

[jseymour]

EAC has a CD drive check to determine if it can support C2 error correction. Fortunately mine does.

DBPowerAmp has that and more. I got tired of the DIY Garage Shop setup of EAC everytime I got a new PC. I used EAC for years and notice no sound difference with DBPowerAmp. DBPowerAmp is so much easier to use with no guesswork.

 

[Pale Rider]

\

DBPowerAmp has that and more. I got tired of the DIY Garage Shop setup of EAC everytime I got a new PC. I used EAC for years and notice no sound difference with DBPowerAmp. DBPowerAmp is so much easier to use with no guesswork.

This. On both PC and Mac, I gave up on EAC, XLD, Max, etc., and just went with a robust, simple and powerful ripper. Not free but well supported.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

This. On both PC and Mac, I gave up on EAC, XLD, Max, etc., and just went with a robust, simple and powerful ripper. Not free but well supported.

Forgot about Max, used it for awhile, too.

Compared to what is available at no cost, dBpoweramp is an expensive option. When factored against the value of even modest CD collections the cost is trivial, especially if one intends to grow their collection.

 

[macdonjh]

I'm too lazy to look this up: what makes so many fans of dBPowerAmp? When I decided to rip my CDs I picked MediaCenter, not as a ripping program, per se, but as my server/ library manager. I've had no trouble ripping CDs with it. So I wonder what dBPowerAmp has...

Storage is so cheap now I just ripped all my CDs to full resolution .wav files. I do convert them to .flac when I put them on a DAP, though.

My big mistake when ripping was not to pay any attention to database management. I had no file naming convention in mind. When I got done my files were a mess all over my hard drive. I spent several weeks cleaning that up. The good news is I learned a lot about some of MediaCenter's functions in doing so. Now my library is pretty clean and I can find stuff if I have to.

With kids in the house, I don't get to listen critically anymore. Even when I can have the house to myself I don't notice the difference between CD and ripped files. As others have said, having my entire music collection on a hard drive the size of a couple of jewel boxes is to convenient to make me want to go back. If I were to go back, I might digress all the way to vinyl. No, wait, I tried that and CDs were more convenient enough it made me not want to fiddle with vinyl.

 

[EricDH]

Absolutely agree. and it's something the pedantic pure objectivists need to get through their heads.

Won't happen. Discussions with these people are completely useless. And I have learned long ago that participating in discussions between believers and non-believers on forums is a waste of time. In the beginning I did participate, thinking (in vein, of course), that I would be able to explain my position so well that they would at least consider what I said. NO. I had hugely overestimated my capabilities to bring these two camps together. So instead of helping, my voice was just one more that kept the debate dragging on. And I got angry of course. No, I avoid these discussions. Don't even read them anymore. Better for my heart, and I don't waste my time anymore (at least not on that, I probably waste it on other things).

 

[porchwizard]

VERY interesting, what program is this? Hopefully there's a Linux version...

abcde,,, command line only!

 

[tin-ear]

Silly me. After using iTunes for a few years I opened it one day and was greeted with a message: There is a new version of iTunes. Do you want to do download it?
Silly me. I pressed yes.
See my response in the attached drawing. Drawing my Midge Lynn.
Finding songs, albums, artists, became a farce.
The iTunes update compared all the song titles you had. If any titles were the same, it deleted all but one. I don't know if this was only with the same performer or even if you had cover versions by different artists or?
I lost a lot of songs from that.

 

[valiant66]

I just looked and I've got just under 150,000 songs (over 2 TB). I have touched the metadata on all of them. In some cases the cds I ripped were so obscure they were unknown to Gracenote. In those cases I transcribed the sleeve info and submitted it. I know I'm doing free work for a for-profit operation, but I'm ok with that because I can retrieve the data down the line of necessary.

I rip to lossless ALAC using itunes, and iTunes is my library management tool. I am pretty scrupulous about consistency, and I find itunes' metadata editing works well for me. Admittedly, classical is a kludge. Makes me wish Steve jobs listened to it, iTunes would handle it so much better. Ah, well...

I kept all the cds until my move this summer: my new smaller place just doesn't have room. I let about 1200 go and only kept my most significant 300.

I cast from my Mac to a couple of Apple tvs, or listen through magni/modi, but I still play physical cds also.

With so much music on hand I haven't been able to commit to any streaming services, other than the free tier of Amazon music that comes with Amazon Prime.

People seem keen on Roon, but it seems you need a Tidal subscription to make it useful, and I have yet to be convinced that the combined US$30 / CAD$45 per month is worth it. And the 14 day evaluation period for Roon is just too short for me to feel like I can give it a serious trial.

So I end up listening primarily to my music collection or radio, with occasional bits of Amazon when I'm out walking.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I'm too lazy to look this up: what makes so many fans of dBPowerAmp?

That's a great question. Why don't you go ahead and answer it yourself:

My big mistake when ripping was not to pay any attention to database management. I had no file naming convention in mind. When I got done my files were a mess all over my hard drive. I spent several weeks cleaning that up.

Just messing you, but dBpoweramp keeps the files, including folder/subfolder management, clean from the start. Having Roon now probably makes it matter less, but I just like having my files all neat and tidy.

@tin-ear's description of iTunes file management is exactly why I don't use it anymore. iTunes just takes too much control and undermines hours, if not days, worth of work.

 

[wout31]

About ripping.
All these programs verify against an internet database Accuraterip.com. As you can see on the site all previously mentioned rip software checks against this database. dBpoweramp. EAC, Rip (Mac) and Songbook (Mac). This is only a short list because many more ripping software programs match against this database.
What you prefer to use as your favourite software has no influence on the outcome as long as it is checked against this database. If it doesn't match to the results in the database most likely your rip is not OK.
The database currently holds 4.1 million unique discs and you rip will be matched against close to 400 million user inputs.

I myself use MusicBee for ripping because it has the most extensive settings and it is free.
Musicbee is a player / catalogue / metadata / ripper all in one and has a great GUI.
Near the bottom of the second screen you see the checkbox for "Validate rips using Accuraterip.com"

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

LS50s are rather inefficient, and their impedance can dip well below 8 Ohm (see https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153). I used to have a pair that was underpowered with a Naim UnitiQute (45W pc into 4 Ohm) and just right with a BelCanto C7R (150W pc into 4 Ohm). If you want to stick with Aegir, other speakers might be better; if you want to stick with LS50s (which are lovely speakers if you like a clean, somewhat liquid sound), Vidar or Rag 2 might be better amp choices.

If you really like the idea of the Aegir, then depending on your budget, you may also wish to consider a pair of Omega loudspeakers (https://omegaloudspeakers.com/collections/monitor-speakers/products/compact-alnico-monitor) -- not necessarily that model, but that was just the first link I found. It would be good if you could try them out somewhere before ordering of course, which I couldn't arrange (hence I went for different speakers).

 

[Tim van der Leeuw]

People seem keen on Roon, but it seems you need a Tidal subscription to make it useful, and I have yet to be convinced that the combined US$30 / CAD$45 per month is worth it. And the 14 day evaluation period for Roon is just too short for me to feel like I can give it a serious trial

Roon plays your local library just as happily. I haven't tried using it without Tidal / Qobuz but I'm not sure if you need it for using Roon.

However if all of your library is local and you're not interested in using any streaming service for finding new music, then I'm not sure if Roon is the best option for you indeed; other audio players are cheaper and can probably also find the relevant meta-data or whatever feature you are interested in! Except perhaps the multi-room but then, I don't know if that's relevant for you.

 

[audio philestine]

VERY interesting, what program is this? Hopefully there's a Linux version...

abcde,,, command line only!

^^ This is what I use. I believe it uses cdparanoia for the cd-ripping which will do multiple passes to verify, if it needs to, and is rather quick if things are going well. Make sure to scroll back and look for detected errors. It's usually pretty good and reliable, and it will let you know if it's hitting problems.

I'm with porchwizard. I like the command line. And it seems that cdparanoia is hard to find in isolation these days, so it makes a nice (command line) front end to cdparanoia. Just be sure it grabs a good cover art (if you care about that) with the '-G' option. Occasionally it can't handle the odd CD I through at it from my eclectic collection, and I have to download one from Amazon or discogs, but this is rare.

Also watch out for multi-disc sets. I like to use the '-W 1', '-W 2', etc flags when doing this. You may prefer something else. Sometimes it gets the artist/album name a little weird (and hence the directory name) and needs a little help, but this is not common.

As a final step, I've lately been playing with arverify, which I believe shares a back-end with accuraterip (mentioned by wout31). I don't think I'm using a sanctioned utility, I don't know if there is one for Linux. I think I've got some python script someone cobbled together (google for arverify.py) to interface with the accuraterip database.

If a disc is in the database it makes for a nice verification, but ocassionally I come across a disc that isn't in there, whether due to my odd musical tastes, or from getting an odd mastering off the used market. It's good positive reinforcement when you verify a good rip, but I don't fret too much when I don't get a verification, as long as abcde/cdparanoia was happy with the rip. I'm probably missing an option to upload my checksums to the AR database, I'm sure someone will chime in and correct me if I am.

 

[golfbravobravo]

Roon plays your local library just as happily. I haven't tried using it without Tidal / Qobuz but I'm not sure if you need it for using Roon.

However if all of your library is local and you're not interested in using any streaming service for finding new music, then I'm not sure if Roon is the best option for you indeed; other audio players are cheaper and can probably also find the relevant meta-data or whatever feature you are interested in! Except perhaps the multi-room but then, I don't know if that's relevant for you.

You certainly don't NEED a subscription to streaming for Roon to make sense, but boy does it change the way I listen!

I have a number of newsletters for new releases and check out anything that appeals by finding it via Roon and then giving it a listen. Like it - goes in library, don't - just cary on!