[aangen]

Quote:

And adding to the question above, how would one go about ensuring the proper interface in foobar?  Would I be looking for:  foobar 2000 DarkOne v3.0.1?
 
Thanks for all the information. 

Yes sir, plugging that into Google finds it quickly with that search phrase. Setting it up is a bit tougher, but I was able to do it....

 

[TopQuark]

Quote:

And adding to the question above, how would one go about ensuring the proper interface in foobar?  Would I be looking for:  foobar 2000 DarkOne v3.0.1?
 
Thanks for all the information. 

For the Tech skin, go to here:
 
http://br3tt.deviantart.com/art/TECH-1-4-162724968
 
Here's another shot of the chronflow:
 

 

 

[AudioDwebe]

So if I go with the dbpoweramp, is it the one that costs $38 or $26?

 

[tnmike1]

so I suppose a decent ripper will cost some money. But what about the rippers that come with MediaMonkey, Winamp and others that have been mentioned here??  Are they no good, or is dbpoweramp that much better??

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

So if I go with the dbpoweramp, is it the one that costs $38 or $26?

The $38 version is the one that includes the "PeffectMeta" tagging source which includes AMG.
 
It's kinda expensive when there are lots of free ripping tools available.  But it will save you lots of time tagging, especially with classical and jazz.  And it's a good ripping program.  It has ripped some scratched CDs that EAC wouldn't.  And EAC has ripped some scratched CDs that dBpoweramp wouldn't.

 

[aangen]

If memory serves me you can download the $38 version and give it a try. If you like it, buy it, if not, it stops working in 30 days. I might be wrong about this but check it out. I never wish I had the $38 back, I am very pleased with the software.....

 

[ThumperSD]

Im sure dbpoweramp gives your more options and flexibility than free rippers/players. It's also a really good converting software. I dont bother with anything else TBH.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

 
Quote:

so I suppose a decent ripper will cost some money. But what about the rippers that come with MediaMonkey, Winamp and others that have been mentioned here??  Are they no good, or is dbpoweramp that much better??

 
A concern with rippers integrated with media players is that they usually don't try to do a proper job of error correction.  For example they might not re-read a sector on the disc if there is an error.  They might not even be aware that there was an error cause they don't even bother to look.  If you rip a CD that has a scratch or blemish you may not get a clean rip (you'll get a glitch in the audio when you play the ripped file).
 
Some integrated rippers do proper error detection and correction.  I know the ripper in J River Media Center does.  Most rippers integrated with media players do not even if they have a checkbox that says they do error correction.
 
Free rippers can still be good.  EAC is good.  It verifies against AccurateRip.  It does proper error detection and correction.  Its problem is that it only gets CD data from FreeDB.  FreeDB is generally fine for popular music.  It's not so reliable for jazz or classical.
 
Foobar2000 includes a ripper.  It checks against AccurateRip.  Foobar can get data from various sources, not just FreeDB.  But I have to confess that I've never tried the ripper in Foobar.  I'm assuming it's fine.  It compares against AccurateRip so that gives it a good degree of confidence.

 

[khaos974]

Yes the Ripper in Foobar is quite good, the problem is still meta tagging though, as far as it uses freedB as a default database and has a plugin for discogs, still not good enough for classical or jazz if you don't want to type a single line.

 

[ChipnDalebowl]

Every now and then I've gotten an album that foobar doesn't recognize, but DBpoweramp would (using an old version...10 I think).  If I ever buy classical or hard to find stuff, I'd go with dbpoweramp in a heartbeat for ripping and tagging.  Time is worth the money too, and it can take a long time to tag things.
 
As for a player, I've never liked MediaMokey's interface and layout...too much stuff going on.  I like simple, and besides, its a player that will remain minimized in the tray for the duration of the music, so who's looking at it?  You might want to try foobar2000 as others have suggested.  That's a good choice.

 

[willmax]

 
Quote:

He meant the interface above.

I was looking for a way to play my FLAC files with some decent interface and came accross this thread, I decided to give a go to some of the options here.

Foobar2000 with the interface above (DarkOne v.3.0.1) is AWESOME, I used to use Winamp as a player and had started using Media Monkey in the past year to try and fix my library including album arts and stuff. I thought it was ok although it was a very slow and painful process as most of the times MM database does not recognises the album nor the artist.
 
Foobar/Darkone on the other hand has been very easy and straight forward, it gets the album arts 9 out of 10 times whether MM was like 1 or 2 out of 10. I'm very pleased and I thought I'd let you guys know. The installation is also easy to do, with a supplied PDF with step-by-step configuration and you get Foobar looking great and working beautifully in no time.
 
I'm running Foobar portable from Lupo Pen Suite, you can download DarkOne v.3.0.1 from tedgo on Devianart website  set it up and you are ready to go.
 

 

[JustJohn]

I've test driven a bunch of programs and my impressions are as follows:
 
EAC is best for ripping, though all the options can be a bit overwhelming at first
 
Media Monkey is best for organizing
 
Foobar2000 is the best pure player (Highly recommend the CD Art Display plugin with Pure Adium skin)
 

 
Link to a desktop of mine that I integrated CD Art Display into (click "download" to open in a full size window):
 
http://ametuer.deviantart.com/art/Hybrid-Desktop-112855727

 

[Starfire]

Quote:

 

I was looking for a way to play my FLAC files with some decent interface and came accross this thread, I decided to give a go to some of the options here.

Foobar2000 with the interface above (DarkOne v.3.0.1) is AWESOME, I used to use Winamp as a player and had started using Media Monkey in the past year to try and fix my library including album arts and stuff. I thought it was ok although it was a very slow and painful process as most of the times MM database does not recognises the album nor the artist.
 
Foobar/Darkone on the other hand has been very easy and straight forward, it gets the album arts 9 out of 10 times whether MM was like 1 or 2 out of 10. I'm very pleased and I thought I'd let you guys know. The installation is also easy to do, with a supplied PDF with step-by-step configuration and you get Foobar looking great and working beautifully in no time.
 
I'm running Foobar portable from Lupo Pen Suite, you can download DarkOne v.3.0.1 from tedgo on Devianart website  set it up and you are ready to go.
 

 
Never knew foobar could look so good!
 
 

 

[willmax]

 
Quote:

I've test driven a bunch of programs and my impressions are as follows:
 
EAC is best for ripping, though all the options can be a bit overwhelming at first
 
Media Monkey is best for organizing
 
Foobar2000 is the best pure player (Highly recommend the CD Art Display plugin with Pure Adium skin)
 

 
Link to a desktop of mine that I integrated CD Art Display into (click "download" to open in a full size window):
 
http://ametuer.deviantart.com/art/Hybrid-Desktop-112855727

For manually editing album/track tags I still use and prefer Media Monkey, but for playing and adding album arts I prefer Foobar. Bearing in mind I'm fairly new to Foobar so if there is an easier way to edit the Tags I am yet to find it.
 

 

[paraflam]

As a computer audio noob, I'm wondering why everyone here doesn't use iTunes (especially if you're syncing an iPod to your library)? Just honestly curious if it has something to do with the playback that iTunes puts out or more of a personal preference/user interface issue?