Computer based audio discussion

[NRG]

So in my above case EAC could not rip the complete 21 tracks due to errors which WMP copied and I found inaudible?

Does EAC correct errors that all other ripping software misses? Or does it fail to rip a track with errors due to an inability of some sort?

What sort of audible differences are we talking of? And to be honest, how big a difference is not hearing the track at all due to an inability to rip?

I have another copy of the above CD, plus various re-issues and re-masters, of various condition, should I rip every single one for comparative tests to measure what data?

I personally got fed up with EAC, 20 minutes it went on for with one track, failing to rip or correct.

EAC is designed to get the most accurate rip possible using a number of error recovery methods including the drives C2 correction (if implemented in the drives firmware). Theses recovery schemes can make some rips painfully slow and in some case fail. However, EAC is fully configurable and you can set it so as to ignore or give up and move on if the error is beyond what the drive can correct, in this case EAC will just rip whatever it can like the other programs available...

Failed rips are not a problem of EAC but a failing of the user to set the options to suit their expectations. If you are happy using WMP then so be it but don't criticize EAC because you failed to set the options correctly.

[sastusbulbas]

Failed rips are not a problem of EAC but a failing of the user to set the options to suit their expectations. If you are happy using WMP then so be it but don't criticize EAC because you failed to set the options correctly.

Hmm,

So I failed to set up EAC properly, guess it's the same with Ripstation, DBpoweramp and any others I use...

Oh look , I pressed a button and it worked! Oh look, you don't use EAC your uncool, blah blah blah, face it you could set up EAC all bloody night and guess what, you are not guaranteed anything superiorly audible to a basic windows or itunes rip with the average disc. You complained about the CD used in the link, I have played with damaged CD's, fact is that EAC did not under various settings rip the CD, and that four ripping programs I used gave the same file size and audible results with a regular OK CD but not with a damaged CD, so most are wasting time with complex ripping solutions and media players when something as simple as using Mediamonkey or Windows or Itunes with standard rips is just as easy and good.

But of course you made your mind up that you know what I did.

Again I will criticise EAC, because its hyped up foo unnecessary for most users, and a waste of time in for most users. My damaged CD is an example, EAC cannot fix everything, I made an effort to get as accurate a rip from the CD with various settings in EAC with ridiculous waiting times, WMP ripped the damaged CD with less effort and input quickly and suitably.

[NRG]

Hmm,

So I failed to set up EAC properly, guess it's the same with Ripstation, DBpoweramp and any others I use...

Yes you did, you also fail to understand what EAC can do with its myriad of user controllable settings. Don't blame the tools when the job goes wrong and when don't understand how to use them in the first place.

Oh look , I pressed a button and it worked! Oh look, you don't use EAC your uncool, blah blah blah, face it you could set up EAC all bloody night and guess what, you are not guaranteed anything superiorly audible to a basic windows or itunes rip with the average disc. You complained about the CD used in the link, I have played with damaged CD's, fact is that EAC did not under various settings rip the CD, and that four ripping programs I used gave the same file size and audible results with a regular OK CD but not with a damaged CD, so most are wasting time with complex ripping solutions and media players when something as simple as using Mediamonkey or Windows or Itunes with standard rips is just as easy and good.

The CD test had the results I'd expect because it was a test using a good disk, I've just performed a test with a damaged CD so damaged that the drive cannot recover using C2 and flags every read as unrecoverable, guess what, setting EAC to burst mode copies the track fine, setting C2 error correction to on EAC goes over every block re-reading and it take ages to rip it. The files are different...does it matter? No, certainly not for me, with a really bad disk I just rip using burst mode and let the drive mask any errors it can internally. Such CD's are so bad that EAC isn't going to perform any miracles.

But of course you made your mind up that you know what I did.

You obviously made yours up because you failed to understand the settings and dismissed it.

Again I will criticise EAC, because its hyped up foo unnecessary for most users, and a waste of time in for most users. My damaged CD is an example, EAC cannot fix everything, I made an effort to get as accurate a rip from the CD with various settings in EAC with ridiculous waiting times, WMP ripped the damaged CD with less effort and input quickly and suitably.

That's your prerogative. The author of EAC never made any claim that it was the be all and end all ripping program, you seem to have drawn that conclusion yourself. The author made it as flexible as possible but with flexibility comes a lot of configuration options and this leads to confusion for people who don't understand it, its a program that gets cristisim due to its success. As you have proven its not for everyone and there are easier to use options available.

[Beechwoods]

Hey guys, lets not get too personal about this! It's only flippin' hi-fi afterall!

[NRG]

I should also add its worth keeping in mind that when EAC was introduced the CD drives of the day, certainly the vast majority, had poor firmware with features improperly implemented or sometimes features that the manufacturer said they had but in fact didn't. Time moves on and current drives, now DVD, are very good with regards to DAE and error correction etc....so perhaps EAC has had its time and there is simply no need for such a complex program when the majority of users just want a simple click 'n' go solution...

[sastusbulbas]

I should also add its worth keeping in mind that when EAC was introduced the CD drives of the day, certainly the vast majority, had poor firmware with features improperly implemented or sometimes features that the manufacturer said they had but in fact didn't. Time moves on and current drives, now DVD, are very good with regards to DAE and error correction etc....so perhaps EAC has had its time and there is simply no need for such a complex program when the majority of users just want a simple click 'n' go solution...

Thankyou NRG,

This and the above replies confirm my opinion well. And thankyou, I can configure EAC well enough to do as I require, it's amusing that at times one may have to configure it to do what Windows does without configuration, due to EAC being unable on certain settings to give a playable RIP.

Anyway, I still use EAC and plenty of other software programs for doing rips, it what I was doing many years ago for my comparisons with digital audio via computer back in the early days, I still use it today for comparative rips of software of variable disc condition against other ripping software rips, my hard drives are quite well endowed with many variable music files. That is how I managed to deduce a preference between all the media players and ripping software and conclude that most of it is hype (In the context of my needs).