Mac OS X Ripping Options

[webby]

Hi,

I want to read up on other users thoughts and experiences with Max, the mac cd ripper/file converter, but when I search the forum it returns no searches. I think this may be cos it's only 3 characters cos the same happens when I search for ps3.

What can I do?

[sburrell]

Hi,

Max starts appearing in post #45 in this thread.
Are you looking for a CD ripper? Eventually, at post #69, Tr@nz indicates EAC may be a better choice, and I have to agree with them. However, I note you have a G5 so Boot Camping and installing Windows XP is out of the question, which leaves you with Max. All I can say is that, ideally, what you want, IMHO, is EAC running on a computer equipped with a drive that reports c2 error correction data. This drastically improves rip speed and quality.
On the other hand, you might want to check out Rip, by the same developer. It appears to support c2 error correction on drives that report it. It is beta software however. Read the forums for further details.
If you just want an audio file converter, I use Max for this. I use it to create ALAC (Apple Lossless) files from my EAC-created WAVs. Max is fast, ripping files simultaneously if you ask it to, and allows manual tagging before transcoding. It can grab a little too much CPU while it encodes, causing stuttering in your other apps, but only a little (and then, that's possibly because I set it to encode two files at a time). The interface is a little complicated---for example, you set up your output encode formats in Preferences. However, it's become a firm part of my ripping workflow.

Hope this helps.

[webby]

Thanks Simon. Actually, I have a C2D imac now, but I aint installing windows on it for no one!

Thanks for the info.

Sometimes I think to hell with it and just rip using itunes.

[webby]

After a good old read, it appears that ripping options for a mac are:
iTunes
Max
Rip
Xact
and XLD

I just thought I'd gather them here.

Can any of these rip to iTunes and fill in tag info, other than iTunes of course? Do I really need the 2 step process Simon stated above, or can I just rip to ALAC? I find all the options a bit bewildering to be honest.

[sburrell]

Hi there,

Just thought I'd post my impressions of Rip, which I've just tried with a couple of CDs on my iMac.

Positives:
Rips straight to ALAC.
Automatically tags tracks using Gracenote (though it refers to it as iTunes)
Allows manual editing of tags prior to ripping, including artwork.
Very comprehensive log data.

Negatives:
Slower than EAC - reads every track twice by default (or as many times as you specify in Preferences).
Automatic read offset detection didn't work for me.
Adding the read offset manually doesn't appear to work - not reflected in the log.
Choosing the Read Log option after ripping opens the Console log, not the text log directly relating to the just-performed rip.
Doesn't save the tracks to the Finder until the entire CD has finished ripping (I found this really disconcerting).
Reports are that an error in ripping will cause that track and all previous, successful rips to be deleted without chance of recovery. Experience has shown this to be the case with one CD already.
Poor use of the AccurateRip database - only 4 or 5 tracks were verified by the database, where EAC's implementation was able to verify them all.

On the whole, Rip did not inspire confidence in the quality of the resultant rip. EAC does, and that's vital for me.

I'll report back on the others if I can be *rsed. Maybe a case of "better the devil you know."

[lovejoy]

I've been using XLD exclusively for the last 6 months or so.

It's nice and quick (given the quality of the Mac CD drives which I don't think are really up to much), it uses AccurateRip like EAC does, it will rip to WAV, MP3 (LAME), Apple Lossless, AIFF, AAC (including HE-AAC), FLAC, WavPack and Ogg. It will also import your rips straight into your iTunes library.

If I have one minor gripe with it, it won't automatically go and grab the disc details from FreeDB as soon as you insert the disc - are you listening XLD developers?

Otherwise it's the best one I have used on a Mac.

[webby]

Yes, I tried a disc with XLD earlier today. I ripped to ALAC and it added the files straight to itunes, fully tagged up, although I had to set it to do that. Then I just found the album art myself.

[snapper]

Another vote for XLD.

When properly set up you may find some discs sound better when ripped and burned to a CDr.



Make sure you have 'offset correction value' configured properly.

http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm

HTH

[Themis]

When properly set up you may find some discs sound better when ripped and burned to a CDr.

I guess, damaged discs sound worse than freshly written ones, because of the interpolation circuitry ?

[Spur07]

I used to use MAX, but now use XLD. The only problem I've found with XLD is that when it searches for cover artwork the quality usually isn't very good. I tend to pick my own. Still use MAX for converting files - very useful software imo.