Mediamonkey or Dbpoweramp?

Ricardo
Ricardo Posts: 10,636
edited February 2011 in The Clubhouse
Finally moving into the 21st century. I got a Squeezebox touch and I am:

1.-Impressed with the sound quality, both for internet radio and streaming music from my itunes.

2.-Excited about all the possibilities this new (to me) technology offers.

So I am thinking of going all the way and rip all my music using a higher quality format. Itunes only contains a portion of my collection. I plan to continue using itunes because I do use my ipod in the car.

I have heard very good things about both mediamonkey and dbpoweramp and want to hear from real users. Any pro/cons? Should I just stick with itunes and use Apple's loseless?

Thanks.
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Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Big Dawg
    Big Dawg Posts: 2,005
    edited July 2010
    I use Exact Audio Copy to rip to FLAC, and I recommend it.
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Thanks Big Dawg. I already thinned it down to the options mentioned and would like opinions on those ;)
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Janne
    Janne Posts: 139
    edited July 2010
    I use WMA lossless can't hear any difference. Some info here http://forums.electricmole.net/showthread.php?t=555

    or here http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless_comparison
    HT/2 CH
    McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
    polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
    MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect.
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  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,561
    edited July 2010
    Ricardo I am right there with you. Just got a Touch and I am enjoying the flexibility it has to offer. I am also impressed with the sound quality. I would be interested in hearing what program you choose to rip your music and how you have your Touch connected to your system.
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Scott, I've seen a few of your posts in the SB forum. I have the same issue with artworks from itunes. I was able to get some with the copy/paste process that someone recommended there, but only for some albums, not sure why. Anyway, I just installed the SB yesterday, so I have a whole day playing with this ;)

    SB is connected to my wireless network, and via RCA to my preamp.

    I can totally see myself living without a CD player. I love this stuff and admit that the only reason I had not tried this before is because I was being an old ****.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited July 2010
    Dbpoweramp is great. Very easy to use, especially if you pay for the Pro version. It adds album art automatically which is a nice feature.
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • Janne
    Janne Posts: 139
    edited July 2010
    I use the normal Windows media player to rip my CD's to WMA lossless. No need to install additional programs. Then playback in Windows Media Center. Maybe some other programs have additional features or rip faster. Why make it more complicated when everything is already there. I just select the album in WMC play the songs I want. What more do I need.
    HT/2 CH
    McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
    polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
    MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect.
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    strider wrote: »
    Dbpoweramp is great. Very easy to use, especially if you pay for the Pro version. It adds album art automatically which is a nice feature.

    Thanks Ben. For both Mediamonkey and Sbpoweramp I would get the paid version. Automatic artwork sounds like a nice feature. The other thing that I know DB has is a "multi-encoder", so when you rip a CD you can create a FLAC and an MP3 at the same time. Very convenient for ipod users.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Janne wrote: »
    I use the normal Windows media player to rip my CD's to WMA lossless. No need to install additional programs. Then playback in Windows Media Center. Maybe some other programs have additional features or rip faster. Why make it more complicated when everything is already there. I just select the album in WMC play the songs I want. What more do I need.

    Janne, thanks for your input. I do want some of the additional features that these progams have. Just want some help to decide which of the two should I get.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • Janne
    Janne Posts: 139
    edited July 2010
    If I am not wrong there is a trial period for Dbpoweramp. Used it to convert FLAC to WMA lossless. I like to stick to one format. Albumart is all there in Windows media player.
    HT/2 CH
    McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
    polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
    MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect.
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  • tryrrthg
    tryrrthg Posts: 1,896
    edited July 2010
    I couldn't get dbpoweramp to tag the songs correctly for my squeezebox to recognize them. squeezebox was always putting songs in alphabetical order instead of order by track like I had set it up to do.

    could be user error.

    I've switched to itunes just so it tags them correctly and squeezebox recognizes everything.
    Sony KDL-40V2500 HDTV, Rotel RSX-1067 Receiver, Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray, Slim Devices Squeezebox, Polk RTi6, CSi3 & R15, DIY sub with Atlas 15
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Hey Troy. What format are yo using in itunes? I am considering also keeping itunes, but using "big" files would be a problem for the ipod. I must say though that now that I am listening to the "small" files from itunes I can't complain on quality....
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited July 2010
    Ricardo wrote: »
    Should I just stick with itunes and use Apple's loseless?

    You're trapped like me. Use iTunes for m4a files (Apple Lossless). Flac isn't an option with the iPod or iTunes. You could keep 2 separates copies - one in flac and one in m4a but it's not necessary. I have both the SB Classic and Touch and they will play m4a files by transcoding them to flac on the fly.
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Here's what I'm thinking. Most of this info comes from Blakeh, who's been doing this for several years now and Sound Quality for him is 1st priority.

    MediaMonkey to manage music. A good thing about MM is that it can sync directly with ipods/itouch, and in the process converts from FLAC to mp3 (and possibly .m4a) on the fly. No need to have duplicate files. This sounds like a winning option.

    Dbpoweramp exclusively to rip CD's. One of the best options available for ripping CD's securely. MM can definitely be used for ripping, but it seems DBPA is better at ripping them "accurately", with no errors, etc.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited July 2010
    I always have used, and always will use Dbpoweramp for ripping.

    I'm not the best to ask for how to manage/playback, since i'm still "old school" and am enthralled with winamp for the most part.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

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    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

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  • John30_30
    John30_30 Posts: 1,024
    edited July 2010
    I've always used DBpoweramp, and the author, Spoon is a cool guy, always tweaking and upgrading. That said, I've never read or heard a bad word about MediaMonkey either. If you use ipod, that's a good reason right there.

    Maybe you should just play with both for a week or three and see which feels better to you?

    p.s. I'm so old-school about DAP's, I have 4 hacked Rio Karmas with oversize hard drives. Flac, baby.
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited July 2010
    ...just to add to the mix. I use Albumplayer and love it. Can create custom collections. Made for people who play albums....but can search for any trac , artist etc. Can use with touch pads. Flac is the way to go.

    http://www.albumplayer.com/
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  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,561
    edited July 2010
    I am looking to re-rip all of MY music because my family has downloaded many of their songs on the computer I am using as the server and there is a LOT of music I will never listen to and I am tired of scrolling through it.

    I do not have an functioning iPod so I really do not need iTunes but that is currently the music service I am using. 99.85% of my music is from CD's that I own.

    I will have to look into MM and DBPA.

    And by the by. Last night I disconnected my better interconnects from my Jolida and connected them to the Touch. Just using the Touch RCA outs to my integrated sounded pretty good, better than I anticipated.


    Scott
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2010
    Amazing what things have gone through my mind in the last couple of days. I am SERIOUSLY considering selling my ref. CD player and tubed preamp and get a benchmark DAC-Pre or someting similar.

    I am also using my ipod touch with iPeng to control everything. It will work from anywhere my wireless network reaches. I connected the Squeezebox to the preamp that feed my Atriums in the backyard and can control everything from my deck.

    Internet radio, Pandora, my entire music collection...... Gotta love it!!
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
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  • joeparaski
    joeparaski Posts: 1,865
    edited July 2010
    Wow...now I really feel old school and left behind with my "cd in carrousel players" technology. I don't even own an I-pod or I-anything.

    Joe
    Amplifiers: 1-SAE Mark IV, 4-SAE 2400, 1-SAE 2500, 2-SAE 2600, 1-Buttkicker BKA 1000N w/2-tactile transducers. Sources: Sony BDP CX7000es, Sony CX300/CX400/CX450/CX455, SAE 8000 tuner, Akai 4000D R2R, Technics 1100A TT, Epson 8500UB with Carada 100". Speakers:Polk SDA SRS, 3.1TL, FXi5, FXi3, 2-SVS 20-29, Yamaha, SVS center sub. Power:2-Monster HTS3500, Furman M-8D & RR16 Plus. 2-SAE 4000 X-overs, SAE 5000a noise reduction, MSB Link DAC III, MSB Powerbase, Behringer 2496, Monarchy DIP 24/96.
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  • ESavinon
    ESavinon Posts: 3,066
    edited July 2010
    Sounds like you have it all figured out.
    SRT For Life; SDA Forever!

    The SRT SEISMIC System:
    Four main satellite speakers, six powered subs, two dedicated for LFE channel, two center speakers for over/under screen placement and three Control Centers. Amaze your friends, terrorize your neighbors, seize the audio bragging rights for your state. Go ahead, buy it; you only go around once.
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  • ESavinon
    ESavinon Posts: 3,066
    edited July 2010
    I would recommend these:

    http://www.poikosoft.com/
    http://download.cnet.com/JetAudio-Basic/3000-2141_4-10013740.html?tag=mncol

    but both your choices are excellent.
    SRT For Life; SDA Forever!

    The SRT SEISMIC System:
    Four main satellite speakers, six powered subs, two dedicated for LFE channel, two center speakers for over/under screen placement and three Control Centers. Amaze your friends, terrorize your neighbors, seize the audio bragging rights for your state. Go ahead, buy it; you only go around once.
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  • tryrrthg
    tryrrthg Posts: 1,896
    edited July 2010
    Ricardo wrote: »
    Hey Troy. What format are yo using in itunes? I am considering also keeping itunes, but using "big" files would be a problem for the ipod. I must say though that now that I am listening to the "small" files from itunes I can't complain on quality....

    I only rip to wav files. I don't have an ipod so I have no issues with "big" files.

    I just wish I could figure out how to get DBpoweramp to tag the music files so that squeezebox doesn't screw them up and orders them correctly. I like the accurate rip feature in DBpoweramp.
    Sony KDL-40V2500 HDTV, Rotel RSX-1067 Receiver, Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray, Slim Devices Squeezebox, Polk RTi6, CSi3 & R15, DIY sub with Atlas 15
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited July 2010
    DBpoweramp to rip and Media Monkey to play, organize, catalog, make play lists, etc. It's simple once you get both set up properly.

    Tryrrthg, not sure what issues you're having but, once the files are tagged in DBpoweramp they should carry over intact with out issue. A tag is a tag, it's embedded in the file and is universal if done properly.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • tryrrthg
    tryrrthg Posts: 1,896
    edited July 2010
    heiney9 wrote: »
    DBpoweramp to rip and Media Monkey to play, organize, catalog, make play lists, etc. It's simple once you get both set up properly.

    Tryrrthg, not sure what issues you're having but, once the files are tagged in DBpoweramp they should carry over intact with out issue. A tag is a tag, it's embedded in the file and is universal if done properly.

    H9

    I've tried it a few times with no success. I want my songs to be named:

    FolderArtist/FolderAlbum/Track# - Track_Name.wav

    I'm still not sure how to set everything up correctly to set tags. If they're setup automatically then for some reason my squeezebox is not recognizing them.
    Sony KDL-40V2500 HDTV, Rotel RSX-1067 Receiver, Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray, Slim Devices Squeezebox, Polk RTi6, CSi3 & R15, DIY sub with Atlas 15
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  • Tomasito
    Tomasito Posts: 142
    edited July 2010
    H9,
    Since you have both the mediamonkey and the DBpoweramp.
    Is there a sonic difference (flac rip) between a mediamonkey rip and a DBpoweramp rip?
    thanks,
    tomasito
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited July 2010
    Yes.

    DB uses accurate rip to compare the rip to a database of known exact perfect copies and it will tell you it's a perfect rip or if there was a problem when it's done extracting. It also adds a "check sum" embedded in the extracted file.

    MM, just rips it and if it has any scratches that could cause noise or pops or clicks it just transfers that to the rip. MM will not make verified bit perfect copies or alert you when there is an issue with the extraction process unless the rip completely fails.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • bikerboy
    bikerboy Posts: 1,211
    edited July 2010
    I have been ripping cds to MM to flac for 6 months now. I havent had any issues. I have almost 20 days of audio on the pc now! I dont use any apple stuff. Easy to use, fast with the paid version. It will give error notices after a rip if there are errors. I tried Dbpoweramp and didnt find it as user friendly. I may try it again, maybe I have a little more smarts about this stuff now. To the person using wav files: my understanding is that it will not support tags and art so you will always have issues with that. Thats why mp3, flac, AAC ect are used. MM database of tags will find almost all of the music I have ripped. I am happy with flac. I can record vinyl to the computer and listen to it in the car or portable or when I am all greasy or dusty when working in the shop. I thought about a squeeze box but want something for video and audio to all players. Thats for the next generation of computers in our house. MM will convert to almost any file type and synces with the two mp3 portables we use. Music played from the pc though the Twisted Pair Audio Buffalo II(ESS 9018) sounds almost as good as played from the cd on the Shigaclone. So I'm with you on being able to move away from the disc and use the pc as a source.
    Main system: Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 w/ Pioneer 42" plazma-> Polk LSiM 703 w/Tivo, Marantz tuner, BRPTT: Nothingham Spacedeck-> Pioneer PL L1000 linear arm-> Soundsmith DL 103R-> SUT->Bottlehead ErosDigital: I3 PC w/ Jriver playing flac -> Sonore Ultrarendu -> Twisted Pair Audio ESS 9028 w/ Mercury IVY Vinyl rips: ESI Juli@24/192-> i3 PC server
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited July 2010
    Ricardo wrote: »
    Amazing what things have gone through my mind in the last couple of days. I am SERIOUSLY considering selling my ref. CD player and tubed preamp and get a benchmark DAC-Pre or someting similar.

    Internet radio, Pandora, my entire music collection...... Gotta love it!!

    Been doing that for almost 2 years....slowpoke, sheesh.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • Janne
    Janne Posts: 139
    edited July 2010
    tryrrthg wrote: »
    I've tried it a few times with no success. I want my songs to be named:

    FolderArtist/FolderAlbum/Track# - Track_Name.wav

    I'm still not sure how to set everything up correctly to set tags. If they're setup automatically then for some reason my squeezebox is not recognizing them.

    Have you ever ripped in Windows Media Player? You have it there fully automatic.

    Rip setting: WAV (lossless)

    File name: Artist Name / Album Name / 01 Song Name.WAV

    Surprised people are struggling with additional programs when it is already there in Windows.
    HT/2 CH
    McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
    polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
    MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect.
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