Ripping CDs

machone

I have been ripping my cds using Windows.
I have read that JRiver has better error checking/correction.
Is there any reason I should re-rip my cds using JRiver?

tonyb

Unless you want to pay for the JRIVER. Jriver is slightly better, are you using ITunes to rip or windows media server ? Hopefully your ripping into a lossless format.

heiney9

Depends on if you want bit perfect copies of whatever you are ripping. I use DbPower amp. Windows is the last choice I would use to rip to a lossless format.

If it's for lossy mp3's then it doesn't matter. You are sacrificing far more fidelity by using mp3 format than you will ever sacrifice by not using a bit perfect ripping program.

H9

SCompRacer

To me ripping a CD to my library is the most important thing I do. Even tough I acquired JRiver afterwards, I still use dBpoweramp for ripping to flac. I like AccurateRip and PerfectMeta for the artwork. At one time dB had more functional capabilities if you need or use them, like rip to multiple formats and locations. I have no idea if JRiver added these functions.

They have free trials, give them a go and keep what works best for you.

From dB site:

"Overtime AccurateRip can become like a wise-friend, someone you can rely on and trust. It works by storing peoples ripping results and comparing your result with theirs. For example 100 people rip Madonnas latest CD, of those 100 twenty have errors, the other 80 all have identical rips. If you were to rip your Madonna CD there are 2 possibilities, AccurateRip would report that 80 other people agree with your rip (confidence of 80), or that 80 disagree if your had errors. What are the odds of 80 people agreeing with your rip, but they really had a bad rip (ie those 80 people had bad rips which happened to give the same check code)? the odds are 4 billion x 4 billion (repeated 80 times), an astronomical number. If more than 3 people agree with your rip, it is 100% certainty it is accurate."

gce

I also use dbPoweramp to rip my CD's to FLAC. Very easy to use.

machone

I have been using Windows to rip cds to .wav files for archiving.
I have been using Korg Audiogate 3 software to upconvert .wav files to DSD on the fly and send then to the Korg DSDAC 100 via usb.
Now I have decided to upgrade to the Marantz SA 8005 (on order) and use its internal dac via usb.
So I will not need the Audiogate 3 software anymore. I will need a replacement software to both rip cds and playback files stored on my computer. The files at present are .wav and .dsf but could include other formats in the future. The Marantz can handle just about any file but it is the software that I need to select.
So my question should not be limited to ripping cds but to include playback via usb to the Marantz.

ukcolin99

Using iTunes to ALAC on my Mac.

helipilotdoug

I use a wonderful little app called XLD for ripping CD's on a Mac. I tried using itunes and was not happy with the sound. Also, when I first tried using XLD ripping CD's from the drive in the macbook pro, I kept getting lots of errors. I tried cleaning the drive but had no success. Bought a OWC drive that will do everything from Bluray to CD's and no more errors. The drives in macs are not the most reliable. Anyway, XLD is a great app and it can do most any format you want.

machone

I forgot to mention that I do not own any Apple products.

steveinaz

I use Foobar 2000 with Accu-rip/*.flac. Way less complicated than EAC.

honestaquarian

Windows Media Player in Windows 10 allows one to rip to WAV,FLAC and ALAC lossless formats now.
I was shocked to discover quite by accident one day Apple Lossless (ALAC) actually sounds BETTER than FLAC in High resolution! I downloaded the same albums in ALAC and FLAC and discovered FLAC has a digital grunge in the midrange that was absent in ALAC. I had a friend come over and confirm it. I didn't tell him what I heard or what format was playing each time. I just had him listen and played them back to back and he heard the same thing I did.These were 24/96 files downloaded from HDTracks.
I later tried to hear a difference between WAV and ALAC in CD resolution and could not.

steveinaz

I have compared wav to flac on many occasions and couldn't tell any difference between the two. I have many 24/96 downloads from HDTracks as well in flac format, and they are phenominal sounding.

gce

Yeah, my 24/96 flac downloads from HDtracks sound phenomenal too. Even the CD's I've burned to flac sound good. I've also compared the two and couldn't hear a difference.

Emlyn

I have used several different media players to rip CDs. I settled on JRiver a few years ago, not because it's the quickest or easiest to use but because it does secure rips and is a complete media management package that is continuously updated and well supported. Once I got used to using it, it became very difficult to justify using any other program, even one that rips CDs faster while still doing it accurately. I also use JRiver to manage more than one file library. One in WAV format, one in portable MP3 format, and one in 320kbps format.

Regarding dBpoweramp, it is definitely faster at doing secure rips than JRiver. For comparison, I just ripped a CD to WAV format using dBoweramp in error detecting mode and it took 2 minutes 43 seconds. The same CD ripped to WAV format using JRiver Version 18 took 4 minutes 50 seconds. Neither method produced any error readouts. I'm not sure what causes the time differences, but I'm guessing it has something to do with CD drive optimization used by dBpoweramp.

ukcolin99

machone wrote: »

I forgot to mention that I do not own any Apple products.

I ran iTunes on Windows for years until my son gave me a Mac. I like the album cover format and ease of creating Playlists. Just sayin'.

honestaquarian

Whether or not you hear a difference between ALAC and FLAC will definitely depend on not only the program material,but the system and the listener. Some things can be a lot more revealing(*or not*) I was SHOCKED when I heard the difference in the voice of the lead singer of Foreigner on 4 and Inside Information. I was NOT looking for this at first when I heard it!!
For some reason "Waiting for a girl like you" is a VERY revealing track.

seabeerob213

Well don't I feel left out using zune to rip WMA lossless, but I can't get audacity to rip cd's and I haven't tried anything else yet.

leftwinger57

SEE you dudes are so way over my head. You call it ripping and I still call burning CDs. I go to my local library and they have a very wide selection of music and your allowed any number of discs to take out for 2 weeks only. I run them 1st to see if I want them in my I-Tunes Library and if yes just import them. If I want a hard copy I go to the burn cd feature and it does it's thing. Like I told Tony I have a 23 y/o Gateway w/ a newer hard drive w/ Windows XP and that's as far as I know. I have zero knowledge of sound cards or any of the other stuff you dudes talked about. Me and Steve p/md and I told him treat me like I'm a freaking moron on this here machine. The only thing was, that typing came very easy to me and I have no reason why that is. Grammar is another story. I have never paid for a d/l and on occasion do listen to Pandora .Wow look at me just creeping into the 21st century ever so slowly...

tonyb

Lew, by the time your totally immersed into the 21st century.....it's gonna be the 22nd. lol

When you import the cd's into ITunes, do you use apple lossless....error correction on ? If not...you should be.

mhardy6647

leftwinger57 wrote: »

SEE you dudes are so way over my head. You call it ripping and I still call burning CDs. I go to my local library and they have a very wide selection of music and your allowed any number of discs to take out for 2 weeks only. I run them 1st to see if I want them in my I-Tunes Library and if yes just import them. If I want a hard copy I go to the burn cd feature and it does it's thing. Like I told Tony I have a 23 y/o Gateway w/ a newer hard drive w/ Windows XP and that's as far as I know. I have zero knowledge of sound cards or any of the other stuff you dudes talked about. Me and Steve p/md and I told him treat me like I'm a freaking moron on this here machine. The only thing was, that typing came very easy to me and I have no reason why that is. Grammar is another story. I have never paid for a d/l and on occasion do listen to Pandora .Wow look at me just creeping into the 21st century ever so slowly...

Don't feel bad -- when I "read" (i.e., look at the words) in a thread like this... I know how a dog feels when it watches television :- )

"Ripping" has at least the connotation of changing the format of the data -- e.g., from the "redbook" CD format (which is AFAIK identical to the .WAV file format) to a lossless or a compressed format.

But, then, you've got stuff like DSD that I totally don't understand -- I mean, doesn't reading data from any storage medium just generate a stream of binary data in time?
And... bits are bits, right?

At any rate: I use Audacity and have to re-learn it every time I try to do something :-P

I am still in wonder as to how taking a few billion bits and copying them with 100% "fidelity" takes more than a keystroke... but I'm just an old analog kind of guy.

Well... you know what they say: there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who "get" binary, and those who don't ;- )

leftwinger57

It's pretty obvious of which elkk of men your talking about concerning me Doc. It's and sad and funny at the same time. I should be way ahead of this game by now but things in my life and this is not the Dr.Phil Show so I can't really explain but all this technology just passed me by. Even the bomber Ted Kisinsky who lived in a tiny powerless shack knew more than me. He of course was t way over educated and deplored what technology came to. I guess a bad analogy there. The Grateful Dead were using computers as other bands also to control their vari lights and lasers, that's when I should have jumped on the train.

tonyb

Lew, are you using apple lossless with error correction on at least ?

mhardy6647

leftwinger57 wrote: »

It's pretty obvious of which elkk of men your talking about concerning me Doc. It's and sad and funny at the same time. I should be way ahead of this game by now but things in my life and this is not the Dr.Phil Show so I can't really explain but all this technology just passed me by. Even the bomber Ted Kisinsky who lived in a tiny powerless shack knew more than me. He of course was t way over educated and deplored what technology came to. I guess a bad analogy there. The Grateful Dead were using computers as other bands also to control their vari lights and lasers, that's when I should have jumped on the train.

Trust me -- it's not just you; I don't get it either. 25 (maybe 30) years ago I could program the microprocessors of that era (e.g., Zilog Z-8 80-bit MPU) in their assembly language -- today, I just stare helplessly at messages like "keyboard error. Press F1 to continue"... or read three pages of instructions about how easy it is to change the "skin" on a forum's bulletin board software ;-)

txcoastal1

and I can't find the "any key"

tonyb

I want a keyboard with common slang on it. Like 'eff this" or "get me the eff outta here". Now that's a great idea....I can make a fortune. You heard it here first kids.

Can also be ethnic related. For me....it's gotta have a wine and cheese button.

leftwinger57

Tony sorry I missed you in the morning. What the system that I use I haven't the faintest idea. It is I-Tunes based and goes into my I-Tunes library. Of course when I burned the CDs they sound just the same as store bought and I think that I would hear the difference. There was a change in the Grateful Dead free archive where it used to be pure sound board recordings and Rhino or someone else in the archives vault did something to I think compress the sound and the forumites over on the Dozin site are really pissed about that. This you can hear a difference whether a Dead head or not especially on some of the Wall Of Sound shows.

StantonZ

I've put my entire CD collection on an external HDD (WD Passport) using EAC to rip to FLAC. I can then play the files via USB flash drive on my AVR and display song info, album art, etc. NON-STOP. Cheap and easy (and great quality).

slbenz

I used Audacity to copy a couple of thousand LPs and CDs in my collection. The software was able to capture the warmth of the Jolida JD-9 tube phono preamp that I used with my Pro-Ject turntable. Just don't ask me how long it took to copy all my LPs in my collection.

Gatecrasher

StantonZ wrote: »

I've put my entire CD collection on an external HDD (WD Passport) using EAC to rip to FLAC. I can then play the files via USB flash drive on my AVR and display song info, album art, etc. NON-STOP. Cheap and easy (and great quality).

I bet it sounds great too. You can put a ton of FLAC on a 2 or 3TB USB external hard drive.

That's basically how I do it too. I use either EAC or dBpoweramp to rip or convert everything to FLAC. In the end I don't want any of the other formats (especially ALAC). If ALAC sounds better it's because of your hardware or the software/codecs you are using to rip and/or play it.

I have an Addonics hot-swappable hard drive enclosure with over 14TB of FLAC music and 20TB of video (and continuously growing). I also have a few Passports and a GoFlex that I can take with me on trips or move to any AV system I want. I spent several weeks in China last year and it was nice having a ton of movies and FLAC to keep me occupied instead of watchnig CNN or BBC (the only two english-speaking channels on TV) all day long. The only other thing worth watching on Chinese TV was the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) which is actually pretty-good.