Brock, ref SqueezeboxTouch

steveinaz
steveinaz Posts: 19,545
edited November 2010 in Electronics
Brock,
I finally got some programs downloaded to the new laptop, to resume copying my cd's. Take a look at my software, and let me know if these are good choices:

Exact Audio Copy (For ripping; using flac)
Foobar2000 (for listening to *.flac files)
Burrrn (For making CD's from .flac files)

Couple questions; should it take 15 minutes to rip a CD w/EAC? I don't remember it taking that long before. Using a few guides on the web, I believe I have EAC optimized for best quality.

TAGS. How important is it to look at/edit tags? What is a good software to do this if necessary? When you correct information in EAC before ripping, does it just correct the directory information, or is also correcting tag info?

Burrrn seems really easy to use, do you know anything about this software--is it any good?
Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    Others familiar with is info are welcomed to join in....
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    Steve,

    I am at work and really can't spend a whole lot of time at the moment but I'll get back to you.

    Here are a few programs to research

    I use Media Monkey for a player and database. It's awesome and powerful. And it syncs up with any iPod. This is also the program I use to edit the tags, create tags, and store info about my rips.

    http://www.mediamonkey.com/

    I use dB Poweramp for ripping it's faster than EAC and the rips are secure and bit for bit perfect.

    http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

    You can use either/or to burn cd's. Both are awesome and powerful and make just about the best digital conversions around.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • punk-roc
    punk-roc Posts: 1,150
    edited November 2010
    I really like EAC.. and yes it takes about 15min or so.. especially if you are "detecting gaps" first to make the .cue sheet

    Jason
    2-Channel - So far...
    Pre: Dodd ELP
    DAC: W4S-Dac2
    Source(s): Computer and Denon 2910
    Amp: Parasound HCA-1200II
    Speakers: LSi9s - Vr3 Fortress Mod
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  • punk-roc
    punk-roc Posts: 1,150
    edited November 2010
    I've never messed with the ID tags.. usually EAC pulls up the correct CD from the online database. I just manually adjust a few things as i see fit..

    Never sought or used a program to try and mass edit the tags before..

    Jason
    2-Channel - So far...
    Pre: Dodd ELP
    DAC: W4S-Dac2
    Source(s): Computer and Denon 2910
    Amp: Parasound HCA-1200II
    Speakers: LSi9s - Vr3 Fortress Mod
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    Thanks Jason. The "new" version of EAC has flac packaged with it, nice!

    I see people talking about editing tags, etc, etc--I don't really know what the hell they are talking about; but I want to make sure I do this right the first time. I assumed it was info about the CD and/or track? I dunno.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • punk-roc
    punk-roc Posts: 1,150
    edited November 2010
    np. happy ripping! I recently deleted a ton of my .flac files by accident, so I'm in the process of re-ripping half my collection.. FUN! haha

    Jason
    2-Channel - So far...
    Pre: Dodd ELP
    DAC: W4S-Dac2
    Source(s): Computer and Denon 2910
    Amp: Parasound HCA-1200II
    Speakers: LSi9s - Vr3 Fortress Mod
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    I did the same thing when my old desktop bit the bullet. For some (stupid) reason, I forgot to transfer about 30% of my CD collection in .flac to my new laptop. I thought I had backed them up on my ext USB drive--nope. So I'm starting all over.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    Don't always assume the database you are pulling the tag info from is correct and many times with "various artist" cd's I need to re-tag stuff based on how I organize my music database. It becomes an issue when you have 5000 music files and you want to search for something. So organizing and getting the tags correct from the beginning helps later on down the road.

    I'll say it again, MEDIA MONKEY is an AWESOME program for organizing, cataloging and managing your digital music. There really is no other program like it. Eventually I'll use the report function to create a music list I can load onto the iPod Touch so when I'm in a cd store I don't continue to buy duplicate titles because I'll have my whole library at my finger tips.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    I'll have to check that out. Thanks Brock.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited November 2010
    With Heiney9 on this one, Media Monkey does everything. If you look hard enough you can get the full version pretty easy. Highly recommended.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

    Home Theater Pics in the Showcase :cool:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=73580
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    What do you think about running a dedicated USB HDD for the Touch? Plugging directly into the SBT? As cheap as they are, I'd like to just go this route...thoughts?
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    steveinaz wrote: »
    What do you think about running a dedicated USB HDD for the Touch? Plugging directly into the SBT? As cheap as they are, I'd like to just go this route...thoughts?

    It's a nice convenience but I wouldn't run it as the only option. You loose a lot of the SQB features because the software they use to run direct from the USB is very limited. I have tried on 3 occasions to use a thumb drive and haven't successfully been able to do it. I tried when I visited Ricardo before Polkfest, at home and at my brothers.

    I guess what I'm saying is the USB interphase is clumsy, slow and limited and not ideal if you want to access your entire collection consistently. If you go over to the SQB forum they might be able to shed some more light on the subject. It's one I've not explored 100% because of the limitations like not being able to make playlists, etc, etc.

    EDIT: If you run a Qnap NAS it might be different since Qnap interphases with the SQB software your computer would use and you can run the NAS as a stand alone piece. But the Qnap NAS is pretty pricey just to use the USB on the SQT. I want to get a Qnap NAS but with 3 drives and Qnap unit you're looking at $600-800.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    Steve see my edit above
    "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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    Thanks Brock. I was also concerned about noise---with an electrical connection rather than streaming wirelessly--this could maybe be an issue as well correct?
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    As far as I know noise is not an issue either way. I just haven't explored using the USB because it limits the features the SQB software has when used with a computer. A big one for me is the ability to make and use playlists. Using the USB doesn't allow for it, so I really haven't had much motivation to see how the USB works with an external HD or thumb drive.

    Although using the USB option is nice when you have visitors, etc. I brought a bunch of music to Ricardo's on a thumb drive and we never could figure how to use the USB with my thumb drive, so he just copied everything on his computer and added it to his music library. We just listened to the music that way.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    When I finally order the touch, I'll try it both ways and let you know what I find...
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,564
    edited November 2010
    I was able to get the Touch to play off of a thumb drive but I found it to sound horrible. It is not the effort in my opinion unless you want to take the Touch with with you on vacation, But you might as well take and iPod.

    YMMV.
    Scott
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • PrazVT
    PrazVT Posts: 1,607
    edited November 2010
    FYI ...

    I rip CDs to FLAC using dbPowerAmp; I like the replay gain, and 24 bit ripping (for HDCDs).

    For tagging, I use Tag&Rename - works really well. Tags, art, reviews, renaming, etc.

    Neither are free, but they work well.
    Dali Optikon 1Mk2
    NAD D3020 V2
    Schiit Bifrost 2/64

    ..the rest are headphone setups.
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited November 2010
    From what I have read, the USB input on the SBT works fairly well once you get it figured out, but does have limitations and takes a long time to scan the attached drive. I really don't need to use it, so haven't attempted to figure it out.

    While there is discussion and view-points to the contrary I found that running wired vs wireless made a nice improvement in the sound of the SBT. Not sure if the wireless in the SBT has some inherent noise, but if you can run wired you might see if in your system you get just a tad better dynamics and clarity.

    dbPowerAmp & MediaMonkey. I have to do some more research and learning on the whole tagging thing.
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited November 2010
    One more for dbpoweramp. Mediamonkey, I think it is great, but once I learned how to set dbpoweramp to rip and save the files in the place and in the way I want, I have not used it.

    Ripping with dbpoweramp is 3-4 minutes average.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... 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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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    Cool, thanks fellers. I will look into these other programs.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    I admit most of the reason I use Media Monkey is because I use it as the player for the office rig. But I also use the report feature, iPod sync and I tend to add a lot of info when I rip stuff. For instance every bootleg I own has info put in the database about that particular concert. Like for a Steve Hoffman Mobile Fidelity rip, I'll add perhaps a short review, label, catalog number, etc, etc. Sort of a "note pad" of sorts for special releases or versions of songs, etc.

    The reason I mentioned MM Steve, is beacuse you said you used Foobar. I used to use Foobar a long time ago as my player on the computer but MM is so much better in that it gives you a whole lot more. The free version of MM is almost complete. There are about 3 features that are either, reduced as in MP3 rips can only be done at 4X and a couple other things, otherwise it's very close to the full version.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,545
    edited November 2010
    Do you rate your music for quality? I have a column in my CD database where I put "RR" for reference recordings--mostly for showing off :biggrin:
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited November 2010
    In MM sometimes things get tagged with a rating when I use the tag from web option. Not sure where those come from. I just need to spend some time researching tags and options. Is there a tagging FLAC files for Dummies book?
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited November 2010
    heiney9 wrote: »
    But I also use the report feature, iPod sync and I tend to add a lot of info when I rip stuff.

    Great point and I forgot about that because I have not messed with the ipod library for some time. But MM will sync with the ipod (converting FLAC to MP3 in the fly if you want it to).
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... 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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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited November 2010
    One of my questions with removing iBadIdeaTunes from my pc is if you can update the firmware/software on your iPod any other way?
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    Doug, that's why it's nice to be able to retag stuff because there is no consistency to the way those tags are in the database. You'll notice sometimes everything is in caps, etc.
    "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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,421
    edited November 2010
    dkg999 wrote: »
    One of my questions with removing iBadIdeaTunes from my pc is if you can update the firmware/software on your iPod any other way?

    I doubt it. One thing I'm a less than thrilled about is having to install iTunes so I can use iPeng on the iPod Touch to run the Squeezebox and to Dl other apps.

    The main reason I bought the iPod Touch was so I could run SQT with it. I'm sure I'll it for other things as well, but I need a new phone soon and the Droid has a SQT app as well.

    Oh well, it can be a nightmare trying to keep up with all the latest technology.

    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 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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