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Ripping Guide
Ripping a music collection is a major time consuming task and something ideally you only want to do once so it’s worth getting it right first time.
I’ve been surprised by the differing methods, applications and formats people have used to rip their music collection to file.
This is a basic guide is for ripping CD’s; converting analogue to digital, vinyl or tape, is not covered here.
Following the guidelines below should ensure your music collection is kept safe from computer related disasters and will provide you with rips of the best possible quality with the option to convert to other formats and/or use different media players and OS.
To follow the guide you will need:
2, preferably 3 storage drives,
A ripping application
A computer with a dvd,cd drive
Cables to link all the above
Storage Drives
There are a great many makes and sizes available but roughly there are two types available; the standard type drive that you find in most computers which is a spinning hard disc 2.5” or 3.5” diameter and the newer Solid State Drives (SSD) which don’t have any moving parts.
Both types have their advantages and disadvantages, the SSD drives are virtually silent, tend to have a smaller capacity and are expensive. The more affordable spinning disc type drives tend to be mechanically noisier, are available in large capacities and are relatively cheap.
Both types have been known to fail, more often than not problems with associated software not recognizing the drive.
As with anything concerning audio there are debates concerning the speed of data retrieval, spin speeds, connection methods and backup and storage configuration (NAS).
Such issues are outside the scope of this guide.
What I would also suggest is you choose a drive that has a power supply independent from a computer.
USB powered drives will take up two USB ports on your laptop or PC to provide adequate power and can make life more difficult when powering a USB Dac. This will also give you the option of building your own power supply for your drives if you believe that electrical generated noise is causing audible problems during playback.
With regard to reliability from what I have read most of the main brands are equally reliable. I have used
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-Elements-Desktop-External/dp/B002E7HEVU/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I10QNZ5WS0CEY2&colid=6BAIIOG8YJWG
and
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitachi-LS-1000-EMEA-3-5-inch-Simpledrive-External/dp/B002TV5JWW/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1V82TW8VDUILR&colid=6BAIIOG8YJWG
without problems so far.
The Ripping Application
A great many media players can rip. My recommendation is you use an application specifically for the purpose of ripping and keep the players solely for playback.
I do not recommend using itunes for ripping.
If you want ALAC files use one of the application s below and then convert.
I do recommend using either Exact Audio Copy or dbpoweramp.
Both EAC and dbPA are capable of bit perfect ripping. Both are relatively easy to use; dbPA having the edge on ripping speed and convenience.
I use EAC; it’s free, while dbPA has to be purchased.
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/
Because EAC is the application I have the most experience with, below is a links to what I have found to be excellent guides for this app. However, if you are prepared to purchase dbPA there are equally good guides available.
The important point here is too read the guides and experiment with EAC BEFORE you start ripping your collection.
http://blowfish.be/eac/index.html
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/EACInstall
EAC has an easy setup option and for most users this will give you the best quality rips. I do however recommend you ensure that Accurate Rip is enabled, that you enable cue sheets (you can embed other information in cue sheets at a later date if required, but not if they’re not there in the first place) and please, submit your rip results to their data base.
Ripping Drive.
Most PC and laptops come with a suitable drive.
Generally the more powerful your computer the faster the whole ripping process can be.
It can be helpful to know the spec of the drive you are going to use for ripping as differing drives use differing offsets and both EAC and dbPA have options to make use of this information.
http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm
Cables
In theory as long as the cables you use to link the receiving drive to the ripping computer meet the relevant standard data should pass uncorrupted. I find the Belkin Gold series USB cables excellent quality for the price.
Ripping
Rip a minimum of two copies, preferably three.
I rip one copy as WAV as backup/reference library. WAV is an uncompressed format and as such can be copied and converted to any other format with the suitable software. If you rip to another format as reference, even lossless, there is always that niggling doubt that something got left out or when playing back the extra processing power required to de compress the format somehow influences the final audio.
I rip another copy to Flac using the external converter supplied with EAC. I have the converter set to convert after each rip. It’s more time consuming than converting as the next rip is in progress but perhaps safer in the long run. If you’re a mac users then this is the copy to convert to ALAC.
This is the copy I use to listen to.
Given the low price of data storage a third copy as a belt and braces approach to keeping all that precious music and time you’ve spent ripping safe from computer related disasters, theft, accidents etc is sensible. Once again I used WAV for the reasons above and I keep it in a fireproof storage box and update every month.
Make a directory to hold ripped music.
Rip to a folder that has the artist’s name and album title. The benefit of this is it makes it a lot easier to retrieve or delete a complete album and overcome file tagging problems.
Make each folder before you start the rip and direct EAC to save to that folder in that directory.
Always make a cue sheet for each album or track if you’re ripping individual tracks.
(The importance of cue sheets cannot be stressed enough, if you don’t do them at the initial rip you are likely to regret it when it comes to album art, changing media player or method such as RAM loading players.)
Whether you choose to initially rip the one WAV file and copy from that, or rip individually to each storage medium is a matter of how paranoid you are. I rip individually to each drive.
I prefer to keep the original CD, mainly because I still haven’t found a utility that provides ALL the information found on the sleeve. However, if you are prepared to search for such information on the net should you require it then selling the CD’s after you’ve ripped them can reduce the overall cost. Personally, I would only consider this if I had ripped three copies.
That’s the basics; how you back up and add to your collection will depend a lot on how you’ve stored the files. There is a number of software option for backing up, particularly if you’ve got a NAS system in RAID configuration but for the more humble setups my own included, I back up manually.
It took me about two weeks of fairly constant attention to rip my CD collection (~380 CD’s) and I spent a little short of £200 on the hardware (3 drives and cables). So far, I’ve had one drive fail, (through my own fault, I dropped it).
I still haven’t found a satisfactory way to convert to file all the music I recorded from vinyl to reel to reel tape but one day perhaps.
I hope this guide is understandable and helpful. If I have missed something please feel free to add to it.
Good work John - one point I would make though is that you need to keep the original CDs if you want to stay legal with copywrite - technically if you no longer own the CD you shouldn't keep the ripped version.
Thanks Alex; best to keep withing the law eh ;)
Vincent Kars
01-11-2010, 22:13
Hi Welder
I’m a bit puzzled by some of your recommendations.
What I would also suggest is you choose a drive that has a power supply independent from a computer.
What you said about drives are well known issues.
However, these issues are about playback. This is about how electrical activity of components might have an impact on sound quality.
There are indications that these components might disturb the clock so induces ample rate jitter.
Ripping is transferring data from one digital medium (CD) to another (HD).
Inside the digital domain jitter is not an issue (we are not doing AD, only transferring data).
So I’m inclined to say rip to your local HD (fastest) unless you run out of space.
I do think most of the media players today, when set to secure mode, do produce a bit perfect rip. However, both dbPoweramp and EAC have a extra lock, AccurateRip.
This makes them almost nuke proof.
Ripping is one thing, getting your tags right is another.
I don’t see any reason to rip to 3 different formats unless you want to tag trice.
WAV is a problem, tagging support is poor due to a lack of standards so portability is very low indeed.
My preference is to rip to FLAC: lossless , excellent tagging and as a bonus a checksum. If ever the content gets corrupted, the FLAC decoder will warn you.
If you rip each track to a single file, I don’t see the use of CUE except as a strategy to overcome the tagging limitations of WAV.
Summing up
- use your media player for ripping if it can be set to secure mode (WMP, iTunes)
- if you want to be nuke proof: dbPoweramp (faster, better tagging due to AMG) or EAC (slower but free)
- Rip to 1 lossless format with excellent tagging support. As it is lossless you can always convert to any other format but first
- Correct tags, add art work where needed, etc
- Make a BACKUP
Thanks for the comments Vincent :)
Ripping to your hard drive is probably quicker but:
a) you may have space limitations
b) I think best replay quality is achieved from playing from a remote drive so you may as well rip to that drive in the first place. One less copy process; one less possibility for mistakes.
Yes, hard drive noise is primarily a factor in replay and not in digital data transfer.
c) If you are prepared to partition your hard drive and direct your rips to the partition then that is a reasonably safe option. However, many people use their PC/laptop for other things apart from music rip and replay and if the computer crashes or you get some other problems (bear in mind that the rips may be on the drive for some time before getting transferred to a remote drive) then you risk losing whatever you haven’t copied to your remote drive.
I don’t agree with your view that most media players achieve bit perfect rips with the same degree of checks and secure modes that EAC and dbpoweramp give. I’ve tried a few and had too many problems with reading problems and error correction to make any extra speed or convenience worthwhile.
Theoretically a WAV rip is as close to a perfect copy as it is possible to get.
(I don’t want to get into the lossless compression v WAV debate although I personally believe there is no audible difference)
The point is if you have a WAV copy then you have the best possible library quality. If at some point someone does show that the compression and de-compression process does affect the quality then you have the possibility of listening to WAV. It seems sensible to have the best possible copy given your going to spend days, maybe weeks ripping your collection.
I agree with all that you say about the convenience of Flac whan it comes to tagging which is why I suggest you rip a Flac copy as well. But, if this is the format you use to convert to ALAC or mp3 then it seems sensible to have two copies in case of drive failure, error in backup, etc.
This way you have one WAV copy which is reference and stays as WAV which you can copy from but not alter in any way. Two Flac copies, one which you keep as repair/backup with any associated album art and other information and one you use as your everyday play/conversion copy.
With regard to cue sheets.
Some RAM players require cue sheets, CPlay for example.
Cue sheets also give you the opportunity to add and alter text related to a file and can make the addition of album art in media players more easily accomplished. Given the option in EAC is there for making cue sheets and that they take up relatively little room it seems a bit short sighted not to include them. A brief look on the net should show some of the not so often considered uses for cue sheets. My advice; do it properly and make cue sheets.
The goal of my guide was to suggest the means of making the highest quality rips that give the user the greatest range of possible options and security; not necessarily give the speediest or most convenient method of ripping a music collection which is what your comments tend towards.
Yep, I know, it’s the paranoid, audio nervosa guide but given the amount of time and trouble it takes to rip a 1000 CD collection I would hate to think that the owner discovers WAV does in fact sound better to his/or her ears or they cant use a particular player because they don’t have cue sheets, or they have an electrical fault that fries their Flac backup and play drive.
Do it once at the best possible quality with the highest degree of flexibility and security and then worry about convenience and the rest :)
Vincent Kars
02-11-2010, 15:58
Hi John
Thanks for your extensive reply
I would hate to think that the owner discovers WAV does in fact sound better
I belong to the lossless=lossless clan.
The specific file format is less important than the fact it is lossless.
If one discover that another format sounds better or one switched to a media player not supporting a specific audio format, you can always convert to another format without loss.
the highest quality rips that give the user the greatest range of possible options and security
I do think the security argument is in favour of FLAC due to the internal checksum.
As far as I know not other format/decoder offers this.
There are indeed known cases of file becoming corrupted due to bad RAM.
For archival I do prefer tagged formats.
I like the files to be fully documented including the cover art.
Although I do think your approach a bit overkill, it certainly is a rock solid one.
BTW: are you familiar with this one? http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Computer-Audiophile-CD-Ripping-Strategy-and-Methodology
Vincent
Just wanted to thank John (Welder) for his great advice on this thread. Cheers matey - I've ignored a lot of it (;)) but it has been very helpful to consider the options before embarking on it. Well, I say embarking on it - repeating it really - if only data storage had been as cheap when I went through the whole exercise 7 or 8 years ago I would have just ripped the lot to FLAC then... Still, I have decided to only re-do my top albums, so only 5-600...
StanleyB
18-08-2011, 19:31
For tagging WAV files, use Tag&Rename (http://softpointer.com/). The tags are recognised by all the multimedia playback programs that I use.
For the best ripping accuracy on my laptop I have found that enabling ReadyBoost on a SD card makes a noticeable difference.
Hi Alex.
I was surprised to see this again. I thought it long buried and forgotten.
I’m glad it was of some help despite doing it different the first time around :lolsign:
It’s hard to believe I have a CD collection of over 1200 now and music on file equivalent to almost 2000.
Prolly best if we don’t delve into the exact source but what else are music loving friends and the internet for ;)
Prolly best if we don’t delve into the exact source but what else are music loving friends and the internet for ;)
File based audio can tempt you, but I reckon the artists would have no issue with folk like us ...... I have bought more CD's in the last 6 months, than I have probably bought in the last 6 years, due to being able to hear them first and play them instantly at high quality.
I must admit when I read the first post I thought your collection was modest, not now though ;) Nice of Alex to revive it, made for an interesting read.
Still a big problem for me Tim is I have an enormous amount of very high quality recordings on reel to reel tape and the only satisfactory way I’ve found of transferring them to file is with my mates metric halo and its such a slow process.
I must admit, very few of my CD purchases are new. Its hard to resist second hand CD's at one or two pounds when you know they'll rip just fine even if some wont play in a CD player.
I'll agree with most of John's original post...Use a good quality drive, use dBpoweramp (or EAC at a pinch if you have time to kill) etc.
However I'll have to go with Vincent with regard to the format used for storage...I think we've had this discussion before John ;)
Rip to FLAC (or ALAC if you're in fruit based world) only (default compression level, 5 in dBpoweramp), and file it in an external drive or NAS, then make an archive copy of this separately. I also keep a RAID copy of my NAS drive...that may be overkill, but you should always have at least one backup copy of your data, so in the interest of cost keep your library in FLAC only. Especially if you have a large collection as most people on this forum are likely to have.
For backup one of these is a very good option, it's a USB SATA/eSATA docking station, it means you can plug in either 2.5 or 3.5 internal drives (which are very cheap) for your backup media, and obviously you can use multiple different drives for DVD's etc too...I have an eSATA connection from my NAS and it is therefore much quicker than USB.
http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=SKI-DOCK&af=50
If I ever want to recreate the WAV or CD I can do so from my FLAC library at any time, perfectly. Or likewise if I want some MP3s for my car the same applies.
P.S. As John also mentioned the whole ripping process can 'recover' faulty CD's to a great extent, so buying second hand becomes a very safe option...:)
dave2010
19-08-2011, 09:15
I must admit, very few of my CD purchases are new. Its hard to resist second hand CD's at one or two pounds when you know they'll rip just fine even if some wont play in a CD player.
That's an interesting comment. I have quite a sizeable subset of my CDs bought at charity shops, and most are OK. However, one, of piano music by Chopin, has a scratch, and several tracks won't play on my CD player - normally quite good at this kind of thing. I've tried polishing out the scratch, so far without success.
Have you found that it might still be possible to rip such a CD? Seemingly you have. I fairly recently embarked on that process for the rest of my collection (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12468 ) but if I could rescue this one by ripping that'd be a bonus. OK it was only £1, but what I heard was good enough to make me want to hear more.
That's an interesting comment. I have quite a sizeable subset of my CDs bought at charity shops, and most are OK. However, one, of piano music by Chopin, has a scratch, and several tracks won't play on my CD player - normally quite good at this kind of thing. I've tried polishing out the scratch, so far without success.
Have you found that it might still be possible to rip such a CD? I fairly recently embarked on that process for the rest of my collection (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12468 ) but if I could rescue this one by ripping that'd be a bonus. OK it was only £1, but what I heard was good enough to make me want to hear more.
Dave I've recovered several 'skippy' cd's with dBpoweramp, EAC will also do this, in fact EAC may even be better at recovery.
The key is to configure the re-rip settings to your drive properly, flushing buffers on a re-read, number of re-reads etc.
This is where a good quality drive really makes a difference for speed and accuracy, an internal laptop one is a waste of time IMHO ;)
EAC is (IMO) the best at error correction and it's an opinion shared by many others which I why I use it. As a complete package however dBpoweramp is feature rich and very user friendly, but I prefer EAC for it's cue sheets and error correction. But try both I guess and see which you prefer, most go with dB as it's easier to use and does so much more than rip discs, but if error correction is your highest priority I would recommended taking the time to set-up EAC properly.
If I have scratched discs, I use T-Cut first and give them a good (deep) polish, then it's EAC - so far I have only failed on one track of a Steve Winwood album bought from eBay. The scratch goes through to the dye, so nothing can be done, so buying from eBay and charity shops has never been a bar as far as I'm concerned :)
This is where a good quality drive really makes a difference for speed and accuracy, an internal laptop one is a waste of time IMHO ;)
I agree with that too.
dave2010
20-08-2011, 12:08
If I have scratched discs, I use T-Cut first and give them a good (deep) polish, then it's EAC - so far I have only failed on one track of a Steve Winwood album bought from eBay. The scratch goes through to the dye, so nothing can be done, so buying from eBay and charity shops has never been a bar as far as I'm concerned :)
The brute force approach of trying to rip that Idil Biret piano CD - using iTunes on an iMac - has failed. I can get my PC up and running and use EAC on it. I may have to get the scouring pads and Ajax out too - Brasso was obviously too gentle.
I thought it was worth a quick try without any further treatment to the CD. It does seem to lock iTunes up from the third track onwards, though the tracks are all recognised, and I did set the audio correction flag.
Something for later ....
The brute force approach of trying to rip that Idil Biret piano CD - using iTunes on an iMac - has failed. I can get my PC up and running and use EAC on it. I may have to get the scouring pads and Ajax out too - Brasso was obviously too gentle.
I thought it was worth a quick try without any further treatment to the CD. It does seem to lock iTunes up from the third track onwards, though the tracks are all recognised, and I did set the audio correction flag.
Something for later ....
iTunes is no good for damaged or scratched discs as it has very poor error correction (if you can call it that :scratch:). Try using T-Cut instead of Brasso, works very well for me - I had a dreadful disc yesterday from another visit to the charity shop. EAC failed to rip it accurately first time round, but 10 minutes of elbow grease with T-Cut and I now have a bit perfect rip.
If you are serious about file based audio, it's not really a good idea to be using iTunes to rip discs, fine to use it as a playback medium afterwards if you have a MAC, but it's not the best there is for ripping - this is an opinion not just held by myself ;)
http://www.computeraudiophile.com
dave2010
20-08-2011, 22:47
I did more rubbing with Brasso. Superficially I put a lot of radial scratches on the disc, but eventually I gave up, rinsed it under the tap, dried it off. Then put it back into my iMac and waited. This time iTunes seems to have ripped the whole thing, and interestingly the time for each track seemed very much shorter. I'm guessing that the CD may still be difficult to play, but now I've digitised it - hopefully accurately - I should be able to play the files or make a CD copy.
It was rather tedious nevertheless, but I thought it was worth trying to rescue this one - Naxos 8.550358 Idil Biret Chopin Mazurkas - the things I'll do to avoid having to pay out more money for a new copy!
As far as my experience goes with EAC and dbPoweramp it is only possible to rip from inbuilt or USB connected exterior drives - is this correct? The reason I ask is that I have a PC with a M-Audio 24/96 PCI card and this has a co-ax input as well as RCA line inputs - I also have a NAD T585 multi-format disc player with coax and line outputs. Could I get a lossless recording using EAC or dbPoweramp from the higher resolution outputs from the NAD player?
Anyone able to help or comment?
Cheers,
Dave.
As far as my experience goes with EAC and dbPoweramp it is only possible to rip from inbuilt or USB connected exterior drives - is this correct? The reason I ask is that I have a PC with a M-Audio 24/96 PCI card and this has a co-ax input as well as RCA line inputs - I also have a NAD T585 multi-format disc player with coax and line outputs. Could I get a lossless recording using EAC or dbPoweramp from the higher resolution outputs from the NAD player?
Anyone able to help or comment?
Cheers,
Dave.
EAC & dBpoweramp are CD rippers, what you're talking about is a digital recording...you'll need something like Audacity (free) for digital/analogue recording from your soundcard...or Pro-Tools if you have the money ;)
Vincent Kars
02-09-2011, 09:19
Ripping software assumes a optical drive.
What you want is not ripping (copy the content of a optical drive) but recording.
Connect the NAD to the sound card and use recording software like Audacity to capture the input.
If possible use SPDIF otherwise the NAD will DA the signal to analog and the sound-card will AD this analog signal to digital again.
Stratmangler
02-09-2011, 09:23
As far as my experience goes with EAC and dbPoweramp it is only possible to rip from inbuilt or USB connected exterior drives - is this correct?
Yes.
The reason I ask is that I have a PC with a M-Audio 24/96 PCI card and this has a co-ax input as well as RCA line inputs - I also have a NAD T585 multi-format disc player with coax and line outputs. Could I get a lossless recording using EAC or dbPoweramp from the higher resolution outputs from the NAD player?
Anyone able to help or comment?
Cheers,
Dave.
What kind of material are you trying to extract ?
What kind of material are you trying to extract ?
Hi Chris,
Potentially HDCD, SACD and the audio track from DVD-A ;) . I have a number of HiRes (24/96 and up) tracks on my PC and like the SQ through foobar and Logitech Touch.
I also have the sort of mind (? :lol: ) that, if it might be possible I want to give it a try :mental: .
Cheers,
Dave.
Stratmangler
02-09-2011, 09:59
HDCD can be ripped using dbPoweramp.
You need to instal the DSP pack.
DVD-Audio can be extracted using Foobar.
I use DVD Audio Extractor - it will cope with all kinds of DVD types, including DVD-A, and is very easy to use.
SACD can't be ripped, and the data will not travel over S/PDIF.
HDCD can be ripped using dbPoweramp.
You need to instal the DSP pack.
DVD-Audio can be extracted using Foobar.
I use DVD Audio Extractor - it will cope with all kinds of DVD types, including DVD-A, and is very easy to use.
SACD can't be ripped, and the data will not travel over S/PDIF.
Hi Chris,
HDCD - I'll have a look at the DSP pack - thanks for that
DVD-A - DVD Audio Extractor costs - I did have it running for a while (free trial?) but balked at paying full price - it's now expired, sadly.
SACD - this is where I again expose my naivity (no surprise there then! :lol: ) - I have a program on my PC called Sonic Stage Mastering Studio (by Sony) which does record DSD. I understand SACD is based on DSD, or vice versa, or some'at similar :scratch:. Those vynil rips I sent you, which you were quite complimentary about IIRC, were recorded using this DSD application (I think :scratch: ).
I'm off out now for a few hours but I'll catch up with you later.
Cheers,
Dave.
Stratmangler
02-09-2011, 15:55
DVD-A - DVD Audio Extractor costs - I did have it running for a while (free trial?) but balked at paying full price - it's now expired, sadly.
It's a good job that you can rip DVD-Audio discs using Foobar then.
Foobar is not so happy when you have DVD-Video discs with LPCM soundtracks - DVD Audio Extractor can cope quite happily with LPCM.
A DVD-Audio disc has tracks encoded in MLP (Meridian Lossless Packaging), which is a forerunner to FLAC and ALAC.
SACD - this is where I again expose my naivity (no surprise there then! :lol: ) - I have a program on my PC called Sonic Stage Mastering Studio (by Sony) which does record DSD. I understand SACD is based on DSD, or vice versa, or some'at similar :scratch:. Those vynil rips I sent you, which you were quite complimentary about IIRC, were recorded using this DSD application (I think :scratch: ).
I'm off out now for a few hours but I'll catch up with you later.
Cheers,
Dave.
Whilst a PC can quite happily run DSD processes, you'll find that the optical drive is the bit that won't play ball.
Sony have sewn up copy security in that regard.
Well, after 3 weeks of hard graft, I am now nearly 1,000 albums done in FLAC. Using EAC on a reasonably speedy laptop is not too bad, and using MP3tag to tidy up any errors I missed at the ripping stage. I have to say, I am now convinced File Based Audio is the way forward, and am playing a lot more variety of stuff than ever - so much easier to find, and even with an old IBM laptop as a server, I am convinced the sound quality is better than my disk spinner. (Still not quite ready to sell it though! Plus I still have some SACDs which simply cannot be ripped.)
However, good though EAC is, I have a mounting list of CDs where one or two tracks just simply won't rip, even after the T-Cut treatment. Rather than replace the CD, what I would like to do, is find the specific tracks on torrent sites... Now - I know nothing about torrents, have never downloaded anything from them, and am only now looking to do so for tracks that I already legally own. I have no intention of this becoming a public discussion, so PLEASE do not suggest any sites on the forum, but I would be very obliged if anyone "in the know" could drop me a PM with a suggestion where to go to look for FLAC rips that I can safely download - obviously a major concern being malware etc., so I am not too happy just googling and trusting to luck.
If anyone can help I would very much appreciate it.
Stratmangler
03-09-2011, 09:02
However, good though EAC is, I have a mounting list of CDs where one or two tracks just simply won't rip, even after the T-Cut treatment.
Sometimes it's the drive being used - have you tried installing EAC on another machine and ripping the CDs ?
I have both a DVDRW and CDRW in my machine, and occasionally have trouble with a disc not ripping securely in one drive, but for some reason the other will.
I'd almost put money on the discs not complying to red book standard, hence the issue.
Sometimes it's the drive being used - have you tried installing EAC on another machine and ripping the CDs ?
I have both a DVDRW and CDRW in my machine, and occasionally have trouble with a disc not ripping securely in one drive, but for some reason the other will.
+1
All CD/DVD drives have errors, mostly benign (recoverable).
Try another drive. Lower rip speed (I use x4 or x8 when there are too many errors). If the number of defective sectors is <20, try another software. You'll probably won't notice the difference, moreover published internet files have the same "uncertainty factor" (you rarely know how they were ripped) as your own disks. ;)
Thanks chaps, I have tried two drives, but have another I could use as well, so I may well give that a go.
Use iTunes or Windows Media (depending on your OS), they are less fussy for ripping defective sectors. ;)
Vincent Kars
03-09-2011, 09:57
You might try that other Mount Everest of ripping software; dbPoweramp
Is paid but a 21 day free trial
Probably gives you better meta data.
Thanks chaps - itunes works on these (I already ripped my collection once to AAC...) so itunes to WAV, and then convert could be the answer. :thumbsup:
Thanks chaps - itunes works on these (I already ripped my collection once to AAC...) so itunes to WAV, and then convert could be the answer. :thumbsup:
:cool:
I've also had a couple of PMs regarding sources if I can't get these tracks ripped - many thanks, and I'm probably sorted so thanks again AoS. :)
Welcome to the world of file based audio Alex ;)
First thing is to go to your doctors and get a tranq script :doh::lolsign:
Canetoad
03-09-2011, 10:44
In my experience laptop drives are rubbish! You can get an internal PC drive and a cradle for it and plug it into the USB port of the laptop. This will give you better quality reads and writes in my opinion.
What I do is use EAC for creating my Flacs. If this fails I use a product called Audiograbber, which usually works OK, to create a WAV of the missing songs and then convert them to Flac after that.
http://www.audiograbber.org/download.html
I also use MP3Tag for artwork/tags and if this fails I use Album Art Downloader, which finds artwork from multiple sites.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/album-art/
Hope this is helpful Alex. Works for me. :)
You might try that other Mount Everest of ripping software; dbPoweramp
Is paid but a 21 day free trial
Probably gives you better meta data.
+1 :)
Anyone here know how to rip hidden pregap tracks? On a Mac.
Hmmm, apparently XLD can do it. I just ripped a track containing a track in the pregap and it took about 20mins! I then had a track twice as long as the original track, a clue to the hidden song, but alas the extra time is silent.
I'm stumped!
Hmmm, apparently XLD can do it. I just ripped a track containing a track in the pregap and it took about 20mins! I then had a track twice as long as the original track, a clue to the hidden song, but alas the extra time is silent.
I'm stumped!
Hmmm (again), it appears that not all drives are capable of extracting this data. Those that aren't produce a silent track. So it looks like they're out of my reach. I'm not getting a new drive just to get at these odd tracks.
Cue sheets. What are they for and should I use or create them?
Vincent Kars
27-10-2011, 13:54
If you rip a CD to a single file you have no options to skip to the tracks or document their titles.
If you use a CUE sheet the media player can use the CUE sheet to display the tracks.
If you rip to WAV due to the haphazard tagging support of WAV, a CUE sheet is a nice workaround.
If you rip to a file per track you don’t need a cue sheet.
http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/CueSheet.htm
If you rip to a file per track you don’t need a cue sheet.
http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/CueSheet.htm
That's what I do. Cheers
dave2010
08-04-2012, 11:02
Just found this- http://www.richersounds.com/product/phono-pre-amps/project/phono-box-usb-v/proj-phonobox-usb-va
Maybe it would help for some vinyl copies. Is it any good? VFM?
PS: not sure of best place to post - after the comment that copying from vinyl isn't really "ripping".
Stratmangler
08-04-2012, 11:18
Just found this- http://www.richersounds.com/product/phono-pre-amps/project/phono-box-usb-v/proj-phonobox-usb-va
Maybe it would help for some vinyl copies. Is it any good? VFM?
PS: not sure of best place to post - after the comment that copying from vinyl isn't really "ripping".
If it was a ripping device would there be a need for a gain control?
I think not :ner:
Barring that, it looks to be a reasonably specced bit of kit, with one major omission - there's nothing on the box to indicate signal overload.
Visual indications from digital recording programs are not the last word in accuracy.
If it was a ripping device would there be a need for a gain control?
I think not :ner:
Barring that, it looks to be a reasonably specced bit of kit, with one major omission - there's nothing on the box to indicate signal overload.
Visual indications from digital recording programs are not the last word in accuracy.
How much of a problem would it be for someone competent in such matters to mod it to give an indication of signal level? - just askin' :) .
Dave.
Stratmangler
08-04-2012, 11:53
How much of a problem would it be for someone competent in such matters to mod it to give an indication of signal level? - just askin' :) .
Dave.
I don't think it's a 5 minute fix :)
I don't think it's a 5 minute fix :)
Good start here perhaps? : -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Precision-Stereo-VU-Meter-Velleman-Electronic-Kit-K4306-/290678410995#vi-content
Cheers,
Dave.
Stratmangler
08-04-2012, 13:19
Good start here perhaps? : -
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Precision-Stereo-VU-Meter-Velleman-Electronic-Kit-K4306-/290678410995#vi-content
Cheers,
Dave.
Could be :)
Quick question: I just got my Beach Boys Smiley Smile cd with the mono/stereo mixes. I've ripped it with XLD and the mono tracks are the same size and bitrate as the stereo tracks. I thought they'd be around half that.
Is that correct?
Quick question: I just got my Beach Boys Smiley Smile cd with the mono/stereo mixes. I've ripped it with XLD and the mono tracks are the same size and bitrate as the stereo tracks. I thought they'd be around half that.
Is that correct?
Just checked my 'Pet Sounds' mono + stereo FLAC rips and the stereo ones are about 60% larger than their mono counterparts...these were ripped by dBpoweramp at FLAC setting 5
eg.
Wouldn't it be nice (Mono) FLAC = 10.1 MB (10,632,345 bytes)
Wouldn't it be nice (Stereo) FLAC = 16.3 MB (17,137,514 bytes)
Just checked my 'Pet Sounds' mono + stereo FLAC rips and the stereo ones are about 60% larger than their mono counterparts...these were ripped by dBpoweramp at FLAC setting 5
eg.
Wouldn't it be nice (Mono) FLAC = 10.1 MB (10,632,345 bytes)
Wouldn't it be nice (Stereo) FLAC = 16.3 MB (17,137,514 bytes)
Hmmm, same tracks for me are 14.1 MB on disk (14,109,409 bytes) mono and 17.8 MB on disk (17,790,718 bytes) stereo, ripped with XLD some time ago to ALAC. That's with artwork too, same on both.
Vincent Kars
15-12-2012, 09:36
If it was mono so single channel it would be half size indeed.
But you can’t have 1 channel audio on a CD.
Hence you get dual mono
Using XLD. Does anyone here know how to replace an old, low bit rate rip in iTunes with a new, lossless rip by actually replacing the file, but maintaining old play counts and such?
Cheers
337alant
24-05-2013, 09:06
Using XLD. Does anyone here know how to replace an old, low bit rate rip in iTunes with a new, lossless rip by actually replacing the file, but maintaining old play counts and such?
Cheers
Yep buy the CD and start again :D:D
Alan
Mike - H
10-07-2013, 16:29
I've just started to look at this little project, the software recommended in the OP is windows only as far as I can tell. I've had a go using Toast, but when its copied/converted it list the tracks alphabeticaly without track numbers, any sugestions for mac based ripping?
I've just started to look at this little project, the software recommended in the OP is windows only as far as I can tell. I've had a go using Toast, but when its copied/converted it list the tracks alphabeticaly without track numbers, any sugestions for mac based ripping?
My recommendation is XLD, X Lossless Decoder. There are others but XLD does what it should. Set up correctly it rips with CRC-checking and creates nicely tagged files in most relevant formats..
Regards
/Mike
RockAddict
20-07-2014, 09:49
Good work John - one point I would make though is that you need to keep the original CDs if you want to stay legal with copywrite - technically if you no longer own the CD you shouldn't keep the ripped version.
I found Alex's post and thought it may be of interest to share some information about a change in UK law relating to copying and backing up music.
Strictly speaking, prior to 1st June 2014, it has been illegal to make copies of music, even for personal use. However, that has changed.
From 1st June 2014, there were changes to the UK law relating to the copying of copyright works for personal use (doesn't apply to computer programs). Insofar as music is concerned, it is now legal for a person to copy/rip music for backing up purposes or to format shift (e.g. rip a CD to a FLAC / WAV / MP3 files) so long as:
1) it is strictly for personal use, and
2) the person making the copy permanently owns a legitimate version of the source material being copied.
If the person disposes of or sells the original legitimate source, all copies held by that person must be deleted / destroyed.
Some CDs and DVDs have copyright protection mechanisms to prevent ripping. It will remain illegal to break such mechanisms BUT there is a provision in the new legislation (at least in the draft - check first) that provides recourse in cases where the "restrictive measure" by the copyright owner "unreasonably prevents" copying for personal use. [Personal view: in theory, this means record companies won't be able to refuse reasonable requests to allow copying by operating blanket ("fettering") policies to maintain the status quo].
The law remains substantively unchanged in respect of sharing (even to relatives) - that remains illegal. The DRAFT legislation (there have been some amendments since, so beware!), along with some guides giving an overview, are currently on the website of the Intellectual Property Office:
www.ipo.gov.uk/copyright-exceptions.htm
In particular:
Consumer guides : www.ipo.gov.uk/copyright-guidance-consumers.pdf
The DRAFT regulations* : www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111112700
* amending the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
There endeth a nice, jolly, light post for a Sunday morning :) .
windhoek
09-10-2014, 19:38
Some CDs and DVDs have copyright protection mechanisms to prevent ripping. It will remain illegal to break such mechanisms BUT there is a provision in the new legislation (at least in the draft - check first) that provides recourse in cases where the "restrictive measure" by the copyright owner "unreasonably prevents" copying for personal use. [Personal view: in theory, this means record companies won't be able to refuse reasonable requests to allow copying by operating blanket ("fettering") policies to maintain the status quo].
The law remains substantively unchanged in respect of sharing (even to relatives) - that remains illegal. The DRAFT legislation (there have been some amendments since, so beware!), along with some guides giving an overview, are currently on the website of the Intellectual Property Office:
www.ipo.gov.uk/copyright-exceptions.htm
In particular:
Consumer guides : www.ipo.gov.uk/copyright-guidance-consumers.pdf
The DRAFT regulations* : www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111112700
* amending the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
There endeth a nice, jolly, light post for a Sunday morning :) .
I wonder what that means for those such as myself who have hardware with SACD ripping capabilities; I'm referring of course to a PS3 and the scarlet/ hi-res layer of SACDs. As Szell asks, 'Is it safe'?
RockAddict
07-02-2015, 20:40
Well, only 4 months later... :).
In my (non lawyer) opinion, I suspect the correct route to rip SACD in accordance with the law would be this:
1) wannabe ripper (WR) contacts the record company and expressly asks for permission to rip for personal use.
2) if the record company refuses without good reason (highly probable), WR contacts the Intellectual Property Office and asks for help.
3) several years later, an "amicable agreement" is reached between the IPO and the record industry.
4) in the meantime, someone has finally found a way to (easily) crack SACDs and everyone who is interested is already doing it in any case.
5) in the meantime (2): the cunning record industry have come up with another method of copy protection, stating it complies with UK law when, quite obviously, it doesn't. At this point, if we're still alive, it's back to "2)" above...
I am not cynical. Merely realistic.... :lol:
Fortunately I dont buy many cd's and the ones I do buy have not been affected....so far......stick with vinyl lads ;):trust:
Well, only 4 months later... :).
In my (non lawyer) opinion, I suspect the correct route to rip SACD in accordance with the law would be this:
1) wannabe ripper (WR) contacts the record company and expressly asks for permission to rip for personal use.
2) if the record company refuses without good reason (highly probable), WR contacts the Intellectual Property Office and asks for help.
3) several years later, an "amicable agreement" is reached between the IPO and the record industry.
4) in the meantime, someone has finally found a way to (easily) crack SACDs and everyone who is interested is already doing it in any case.
5) in the meantime (2): the cunning record industry have come up with another method of copy protection, stating it complies with UK law when, quite obviously, it doesn't. At this point, if we're still alive, it's back to "2)" above...
I am not cynical. Merely realistic.... :lol:
:lol:
There are 6 billion people on the planet, are the copyright police knocking on your door? Think not, what a load of nonsense.
It's the fuse Police that'll get you in the end, though.... :D
Marco.
Clive197
08-02-2015, 10:39
It's the fuse Police that'll get you in the end, though.... :D
Marco.
Eh! :scratch:
I have a practical question. Explanation first. It is common knowledge that wav files copied from a CD to a hdd do not perform well, unless ripped by special software. But is this valid also when you need to move wavs from one hdd to another? I am generally being told it is. To check, I copy-pasted several wav files with the Windows file manager from one hdd to another. Then listened to all of them (on the new hdd) carefully. Surprisingly for me, they all played well (through Stan's Asynch-1) and did not show any abnormality. No interruptions, no pops, no other noise. Found no difference in sound quality from the initial ones. But should I really take this to be generally valid? Or, to ask the question properly: is it OK to transfer wavs from one hdd to another by simple copy-paste, or do you need to use special software, like when you need to make an exact copy of a bootable hdd?
Thanks in advance.
... is it OK to transfer wavs from one hdd to another by simple copy-paste, or do you need to use special software...?
The short answer is yes, you can copy wavs using copy-paste and you don't need any specific software. You need special software only when ripping files from CD.
The short answer is yes, you can copy wavs using copy-paste and you don't need any specific software. You need special software only when ripping files from CD.
Merci, благодаря, thank you.
You're welcome, пак заповядай. :)
OK, but what about the "long answer" to the question? Any negative effects on sound? Or possibility for such effects? Why do some or even many people think "exact copy" software should be used? I continue to listen and do not find any deviations. But I might turn out wrong. Here we are after "best possible sound", not just "some copy", right?
The music on CDs is written in specific .cda format. You can not use this format directly for file based audio. First you should extract the files from CDs and convert them in WAV format (or any other losless or lossy format like ALAC, FLAC, APE, MP3 etc.). That's why you need a specific software program like Exact Audio Copy, dbPoweramp etc. The sound quality depends on how accurate this extraction is performed by the software and that's why using a quality ripping program with the correct settings is essential for the SQ.
Once the extraction is made and the music is transferred into WAV etc. format, the files can be treated as any other files and can be copied (with copy-paste function of any file manager) over and over again without any SQ loss, because the copies will be identical.
Of course it is just IMHO :)
+1To above.. JRiver is also a very good option. EAC wont work on my win 8 pc so ive reverted to jriver. Have to say i cant here any difference... Foobar2000 is a good free option and latest version is a lot simpler to set up.
(1) The music on CDs is written in specific .cda format. You can not use this format directly for file based audio. First you should extract the files from CDs and convert them in WAV format (or any other losless or lossy format like ALAC, FLAC, APE, MP3 etc.). That's why you need a specific software program like Exact Audio Copy, dbPoweramp etc. The sound quality depends on how accurate this extraction is performed by the software and that's why using a quality ripping program with the correct settings is essential for the SQ.
(2) Once the extraction is made and the music is transferred into WAV etc. format, the files can be treated as any other files and can be copied (with copy-paste function of any file manager) over and over again without any SQ loss, because the copies will be identical. Of course it is just IMHO :)
I have no problem with the first part (1). But the second part (2) is very interesting in terms of the assumption that "the [wav] files can be treated as any other files and can be copied (with copy-paste function of any file manager) over and over again without any SQ loss, because the copies will be identical." At least as far as my knowledge goes, it is widely accepted that every subsequent copy of wav files on a CD-R is worse than the previous one - the best copy is the first one, the second one, made from the first one, is worse, etc., etc. There have been many demonstrations of this - and I have heard some, where every subsequent copy is slightly worse that the previous one. And this is clearly audible! And, say, the 20th copy is absolutely clearly MUCH worse than the 1st or 2nd copy. Having in mind that the laser-made holes and the non-holes in the CD-R represent nothing more than the ones and zeros of the recording, what is it that makes every subsequent copy worse? Jitter? But can jitter be induced in the process of copying the file? It ought to arise only as a result of the quality of the disk player, i.e., its ability to correctly read the ones and the zeros, the quality of the transfer to analogue, etc., and the ones and the zeros are supposedly the same. Thus if we take it that copying wav files does lead to a drop in quality when files are copied onto CD-R, what is it that prevents a drop in quality when wav files are copied from a hdd onto another hdd?
:scratch:
OK, I am a layman in the technical sphere and furthermore I may be missing or misunderstanding something. Still I strongly hesitate to believe that copying wav files onto hdd is totally different from copying wav files onto CD-R. And hence problem-free SQ-wise ...
CD-Rs do not have 'pits' - they use a dye technique outlined below (from Wikipedia)
"The blank disc has a pre-groove track onto which the data are written. The pre-groove track, which also contains timing information, ensures that the recorder follows the same spiral path as a conventional CD. A CD recorder writes data to a CD-R disc by pulsing its laser to heat areas of the organic dye layer. The writing process does not produce indentations (pits); instead, the heat permanently changes the optical properties of the dye, changing the reflectivity of those areas. Using a low laser power, so as not to further alter the dye, the disc is read back in the same way as a CD-ROM. However, the reflected light is modulated not by pits, but by the alternating regions of heated and unaltered dye. The change of the intensity of the reflected laser radiation is transformed into an electrical signal, from which the digital information is recovered ("decoded"). "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-R
Unfortunately written CD-Rs can degrade over time and/or produce inaccuracies which can then be passed on to subsequent copies. Also the process of converting data from one format to another doesn't help.
...Still I strongly hesitate to believe that copying wav files onto hdd is totally different from copying wav files onto CD-R...
But it is :) As far as I know copying WAV files from one HDD to another HDD (or from one path into another path of the same HDD) and burning to CD-R are quite different processes.
A burned cd is also just that...burned. Its very likely to contain faults...a real cd is a different process. Flac or alac is best especially if you want metadata attached
Thank you mikmas, drpetar, struth. Let me make my point in another way. Surely, burning a CD-R and writing onto hdd are different processes. But the result is the same: ones and zeros, whether the ones are indentations, or different color, or whatever. A CD player in a computer, due to its slow speed, is, of course, incapable of extracting music of the same audio quality as the hdd (provided the PC output is USB signal fed into a good USB interface, M2Tech-like or Asynch-1-like, then into a good DAC and henceforward into a good analogue section). So I am not comparing sound quality from a CD-R disk played by a CD/DVD-ROM in a computer to sound quality from a hdd. What I mean is, and this is based on my personal experience, while there is a big difference between a recording on an ordinary CD-R and a recording on a good CD-R Audio disk in the sense that they perform differently on a good HiFi/HiEnd setup with a good CD player and other components, I do not find any difference in SQ between music ripped from a low quality CD-R and a very good CD-R Audio disk (or a matrix audio CD for that matter) when these are played from a hdd through a USB interface etc. (see above). At least so far I haven't. Would be curious to see if you have similar experience - or different. Apart from a PC, I have been using the well-known M2Tech Hiface Evo One setup: M2Tech Evo Power Supply + M2Tech Evo Clock High End Word-Clock-Generator + M2Tech HiFace Evo 24Bit/192kHz USB-Interface with high-class cables (DIY) throughout, then follows a very good setup with Hi-End-ish components. The source part of the system thus described (PC+M2Tech Evo) beats the hell out of the analogous source with a Hi-End CD Transport - DAC combo. To cut the long story short, within a period of some three years I have become fully convinced that at the heart of a really good HiFi/HiEnd setup is a computer with a hdd, followed by a quality USB-interface. In such a system, in which the quality of the USB-interface, the DAC and the cables is axiomatic, the essential thing is now to obtain the best possible quality of the hdd files. Hence my question. For the time being I cannot hear a difference between wav files originally ripped onto a hdd and wav files copied from one hdd onto another in the standard way (copy-paste). But further listening might prove otherwise.
I used to stream from my laptop via an async converter and dac. I now do it via a RPI/Dac ... I still rip to flac via my laptop but the rpi s far superior in simplicity and sound quality,.... cheaper too :)
It just as easy to better PC based playback, as it is to do worse!
Yes, i am suggesting that that the same hardware have the potential to compete at multi thousand pounds level worth of CD playback, and in another config can sound truly vile!
What these discussions need to make clear is whether the audio file is being treated as a file or an audio stream. While it is stored on a computer it is always treated as a file and you may copy it one hundred times and i swear, the 100th generation copy WILL display the same CRC checksum as the original copy.
Unless your computer/storage is defect of course.
As soon as the file is being processed into an audio stream it will be susceptible to jitter, bit loss etc. When ripping a CD (-R) you are relying on another sensitive process which i belive is quite similar to an audio stream. Or at least very simple error detection and correction..
Of course i may be full of crap! ;)
Thank you Grant, Mike! Grant, I had no idea what RPI was. Took the trouble to read all the 24 pages of the thread "New DAC board for my Pi: Audiophonics I-Sabre DAC ES9023". Interesting! Have there been any reviews comparing SQ between Audiophonics and other more common kit?
HackneyRF
04-06-2016, 16:22
Just wondering which software program people are using for ripping nowadays as this Sticky kicked off a few years back?
Cheers
Loz
Using jriver...right now actually lol.
Stratmangler
04-06-2016, 16:59
https://www.dbpoweramp.com/
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
Rothchild
04-06-2016, 17:13
http://thomas.apestaart.org/morituri/trac/
https://www.dbpoweramp.com/
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
What he said and occasionally JRiver's ripper, dBPoweramp is arguably one of the best though
Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk
HackneyRF
05-06-2016, 15:57
Thanks fellas. I look them up. Been using FreeRip mostly. Very easy to use.
Stratmangler
05-06-2016, 19:05
Thanks fellas. I look them up. Been using FreeRip mostly. Very easy to use.
It doesn't appear to perform secure rips, which is why you should be looking at dBPoweramp or EAC.
HackneyRF
05-06-2016, 21:38
It doesn't appear to perform secure rips, which is why you should be looking at dBPoweramp or EAC.
Thanks Chris. I'll have a look at dBPoweramp
Stratmangler
05-06-2016, 22:19
Thanks Chris. I'll have a look at dBPoweramp
That's my go to ripper.
The other thing to consider is the quality of the optical drive.
I recently had to replace the optical drive on my desktop PC - it was replaced with a Pioneer DVD/RW drive, and it's far, far better than the drive it replaced.
That's my go to ripper.
The other thing to consider is the quality of the optical drive.
I recently had to replace the optical drive on my desktop PC - it was replaced with a Pioneer DVD/RW drive, and it's far, far better than the drive it replaced.
When I did the majority of my rips I used EAC and an Old LG external cd rom drive with external psu. It did make a difference. As I dont do many now and my system is different I now just use JRiver and a inboard cdrom drive. They are not quite as good in many cases but tbh they are still pretty good. JR21 is quite decent now
I use two main apps for ripping, Easy CD Converter when in windows domain and XLD when using Mac. The latter is afreebie and works wonderfully, logging and comparing checksums online.
While Easy CD does the same it cost a couple of tenners. For me though it is worth every penny ten times over. Its main purpose for me is editing tags and converting between different formats. Works perfectly!
https://www.poikosoft.com
Does anyone know how to rip audio from a dvd-audio disc losslessly?
I have the New Gold Dream (81, 82, 83, 84) box set which has a dvd-audio disc with some videos on it but the part I want is the PCM 2.0 stereo version of the album.
Thanks
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 10:59
DVD Audio Extractor.
Should get a trial free of that. Ive used it myself, and its good.
Should get a trial free of that. Ive used it myself, and its good.
unfortunately, I appear to have downloaded it before, although I don't recall using it (I don't have any other dvd-a discs). The trial has now expired.
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 11:21
unfortunately, I appear to have downloaded it before, although I don't recall using it (I don't have any other dvd-a discs). The trial has now expired.
Didn't you ask about ripping audio from standard DVD video discs a few years ago?
Try another pc and email if it asks
Didn't you ask about ripping audio from standard DVD video discs a few years ago?
ah yes, it might have been for a concert dvd.
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 11:43
Have you tried JRiver?
I believe they do a Mac version, and IIRC the trial versions are fully featured.
Have you tried JRiver?
I believe they do a Mac version, and IIRC the trial versions are fully featured.
JRiver doesn't seem to recognise my mac's dvd drive!
I think there may be a dvd audio extractor plug in for foobar2000. You would need to get foobar and then the separate plug in, but they are both free.
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 15:11
I think there may be a dvd audio extractor plug in for foobar2000. You would need to get foobar and then the separate plug in, but they are both free.
There is a DVD audio plugin for Foobar2000, and it works well.
Lee is using a Mac, which is why I didn't mention it.
Aaahh I see. I didn't know foobar doesn't have a Mac version.
Clive197
03-09-2016, 16:34
Have any of you guys had the following issue with EAC? I have spent some hours trying to copy a CD to flac but EAC keeps coming up with an error message saying that it is unable to compress the wav. file. I copied another CD in the same session which did not have any issues. Out of 700 CD's plus that I have ripped over the last 4-5yrs I have not experienced this before.
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 16:37
Have any of you guys had the following issue with EAC? I have spent some hours trying to copy a CD to flac but EAC keeps coming up with an error message saying that it is unable to compress the wav. file. I copied another CD in the same session which did not have any issues. Out of 700 CD's plus that I have ripped over the last 4-5yrs I have not experienced this before.
Is the disc copy protected?
Which CD is it?
Good news. I installed the DVD audio extractor demo on my older mac and got the job done.
Cheers
Stratmangler
03-09-2016, 16:59
Good news. I installed the DVD audio extractor demo on my older mac and got the job done.
Cheers
:cool:
Clive197
03-09-2016, 22:44
Is the disc copy protected?
Which CD is it?
CD is Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" it's a standard CD on the Reprise label.
Stratmangler
04-09-2016, 11:55
I've had occasional issues with CDs not ripping properly.
Sometimes a clean with glass polish helps.
Sometimes a polish up with duraglit helps - you need to polish radially if you do this.
Rothchild
08-10-2016, 16:37
This is a fantastic tool for helping tame unruly digital collections.
http://picard.musicbrainz.org/
My collection is quite well organised but it turns out there are quite a few stray tags messing things around (for instance some artists had been tagged using 'and' and some '&' which was causing issues for MPD/Mopidy).
This has just allowed me to go through the whole lot and quite straightforwardly sort it right out. Highly recommended.
I've browsed through some of the information in this thread, and am wondering if there are any worthwhile, up to date, Rip options to be considered in 2018.
I've just set up my first stand alone DAC, and have the option to carry on with the Cambridge Azur 540 CD Player as the replay device, purchase a dedicated CD Transport, or Rip CD,s and Store FLAC File Downloads on a Stand alone Storage Set Up and replay direct from this device.
Is there a method of creating a replay direct from a Stand alone storage Device that can equal a CD Players Sound Quality ?
I have began my investigations into streaming, and for the sake of keeping the initial costs down, I will start with the Laptop and work my way on from this set up.
I am a novice at this type of tech talk, so will require time to process any replies.
Manicatel
02-09-2018, 09:39
If I'm understanding your question correctly, You could always just rip some CD's to your laptop on FLAC, connect that to your DAC & then compare the sound quality from your CDP vs a ripped version stored on your laptop going through the same DAC. So the differences you hear would be down to the storage.
If you decided that you liked the ripped version, you could then buy a NAS drive, which is a digital storage device left permanently switched on & wired to your router. With a laptop, you will only be able to access your music if it is powered up & sometimes that may be inconvenient?
If you decide to go that far, then you could always compare the same album from a quality streaming source eg Tidal HiFi, vs ripped vs CD (& even vs LP if you really want to) to get a grip on your preferences. The only thing is that you must ensure you are listening to the same version of a song on all the methods, ie not selecting a remastered or remixed version on Tidal, vs the original release on CD etc.
Thank you for the reply.
Yes you have read it correct, and the idea of a NAS, is of consideration, as I have a lot of FLAC Music Files,
as well as 100's of 30MP photograph files on my Laptop that I need back up for a safe storage as well.
Hence my holding off on streaming, while I get to grips with this method being discussed.
When this is in order, I will then venture into Streaming, and will hopefully have had a little hands on experience by then.
The question in my mind following your reply, is from the NAS a router is suggested, does a router have a effect on the SQ when being used with music files.
Sansiiro
17-11-2018, 10:14
Hello! I started wondering about CD ripping programs since I have been ripping my music library to higher bitrate for few days now.
I have read from this forum, that dBPoweramp is a recommended program for this job. However - I have been doing it
with Windows Media Player. I would like to ask - would you consider this or would that be a definite no-no ?
Also - for bigger quality, what would be the thing to look for the most, buying a new optical drive? (in which to rip)
I know a lot of people would say, that use just what sounds good to you, but it is difficult for me to evaluate quality, since different playback devices and methods also come to play.
However, I am willing to listen to my mp3-s with Chromecast Audio, and Google play music. But that might change at one point.
Thank you!
StanleyB
17-11-2018, 10:55
Hello! I started wondering about CD ripping programs since I have been ripping my music library to higher bitrate for few days now.
Any particular reason why you are ripping the discs to a higher bitrate?
Sansiiro
17-11-2018, 14:31
Any particular reason why you are ripping the discs to a higher bitrate?
Well - I don't find it convenient enaugh to constantly flip CD-s in and out of the CD-player. Thats why I use mp3-s (google play music, chromecast).
My mp3-files are created a long time ago, when the file size was more of an issue, and hence many of them had the low bitrate of 128.
To answer your question - it is my understanding, that the higher is the bitrate, the higher is the sound quality of the file, since it is closer to "lossless".
Bitrate I use now is 320. I am not making lossless, because then I feel like it would be too much data to stream.
May be you can persuade me that I am misunderstanding something?
If I were you and I was ripping my collection again I would rip to a lossless format like WAV or FLAC then you would never have to rip anything again. Keep this as your master library and then you can convert into anything you want from there, using something like dBpoweramp.
If you don't do this and rip to a lossy format again, then you later decide that you want to take your sound a step further than 320 kbps .mp3, you'll have to rip your collection again, which seems a crazy thing to keep doing. Batch converting from a lossless file library using something like dBpoweramp is very simple. Having a lossless master library covers all your bases for whatever format or bitrate you would like to use in the future.
In answer to your original question, I personally wouldn't be using Windows Media Player to rip anything.
Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk
Agree with Tim. Rip to flac via a decent library program. Jriver or the like. Get the metadata right too. It will add covers but you can also add a cover pic to each folder and call each. folder.jpg.
This should work well later.
As he says you then have a master library which you should copy to at least one external drive and keep safe. It can be updated if needed every few months.
Then if you want MP3 stuff jriver or others will convert you a copy without altering master.
Might sound like extra work but it's not much and you will appreciate it later
Sansiiro
18-11-2018, 09:13
Thank you so much guys. I guess I will go with dBpoweramp, since it is a bit cheaper and I will create the master-library.
I will also borrow the original CD-s from a friend, since a lot of mines are actually copies.
But speaking of me not having to rip anything any more after that, what is your take on the different optical drives?
What might be the extent of losing quality via bad optical drive, if any? The drive on my desktop is about 10 years old
(Optiarc DVD RW AD-7220S). I seems to work great but would you ever worry about it?
I will try to collect information, and read the forum, but I am open for suggestions.
Thank you!
if it works it works imv. :)
If you use dBpoweramp (and EAC) your rips can be checked against the http://www.accuraterip.com/ database to ensure integrity - if they are in the database of course.
Other rippers may do the same, but I only use the above two - don't over think this re different optical drives ;)
Stratmangler
18-11-2018, 11:25
If you use dBpoweramp (and EAC) your rips can be checked against the http://www.accuraterip.com/ database to ensure integrity - if they are in the database of course.
Other rippers may do the same, but I only use the above two - don't over think this re different optical drives ;)
+1
The two ripping tools Tim mentions give identical results.
EAC is a bit slower going about its business, and is a bit clunky. It also needs a fair bit of manual set up in respect of plugins.
dBPoweramp has all the plugins you need packaged with it, performs its task a bit faster, and has a nicer user interface.
Sansiiro
18-11-2018, 12:14
Yeah thanks - I have been rocking this dBpoweramp now for few hours and it looks great.
Thanks again. There is a lot to learn.
Us-&-Them
19-01-2023, 18:38
Hi
For ripping CD's I use E.A.C, or Jet-Audio; For playing CD's and WAV, FLAC or MP3 files I use FOOBAR or Jet Audio; As for Windows Media Player, I just don't like Microsoft in general so I don't use it.
As for digital formats, I'd only use WAV or FLAC. With MP3 I'd only use it for small storage portable players. I'd use the highest bitrate possible (320 stereo or 320 stereo Variable Bit-Rate) and i'd use a slightly lower bit-rate ONLY because I need to save space on a small storage portable player or because the recording isn't of any real importance.
I find most modern Disk Drives (that I've used) all pretty good and there's not much difference between them. :) :thumbsup:
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