What's the best method to rip CD to HDD?

[kop89]

Hi,

I have a few questions:
1. What is the best software to use for ripping CD to Hard Drive?
2. Do I need to enter information (artist, track title, album cover, etc) for each album manually, or is there any way this process can be automated by using Gracenote database?

Thanks!

[Mr Evil]

1) EAC
2) EAC can grab that information from a CDDB.

[kevinkr]

EAC, highly recommended.. Save some hard disk space and convert the files to FLAC format as you rip. (FLAC is lossless and is now supported by just about any media player worth its salt.)

Access to the online database (not gracenote) requires concurrent internet access - probably not an issue unless you have dial up in which case make sure you are connected before ripping if you want to auto populate the title, artist, track names, etc.. Most but not all recordings are in this data base - if not you will be prompted to add the required information and when done can upload to the database.

Use accurate rip as it provides an additional indication that the rip you have performed is accurate.

Read the online user information and run all of the drive tests, and adjust drive offset as recommended.

[sandyK]

kop89
The best way to rip CD to the HDD, is to use E.A.C. and save as .wav files. The best writer to use is a BluRay writer.

Forget all the theory about "lossless" files, and all recovered audio files must sound identical, provided that the check sums are identical. Forget also about ABX testing too.

If you have high quality playback gear from the P.C.,and a good headphone amplifier as well as decent headphones, rip a high quality CD to 2 different HDD folders (to avoid confusion) using both a normal DVD writer and a BluRay writer. Listen to one version of the track, and jot down any special things you notice. Try the same track ripped from the other writer, and I am confident you will hear a difference in favour of the BluRay ripped version. i.e. Cleaner sounding, more precise localisation,better soundstage, better HF detail.
I believe it may be due to the higher precision of the shorter wavelength Blue Laser, and far less jitter to blur transient details.
P.S.
I will not be entering into any further arguments as to why what I claim is rubbish, according to mathematical theory. I suggest that members with an open mind ,try this for themselves
BTW, there has already been discussion in diyAudio as to why BluRay ripped and burned copies often sound better than the original CD.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...08#post1686208

Sony now has available a couple of sampler recordings, with both a CD created using a stamper burned by Blue Laser,and a conventional recording of the same material,for comparison.
N.B. The checksums are identical from both versions.
The discs are called "Feel the Difference of the Blu-spec CD,Rock Selection,and Jazz selection.They are available from CD Japan.

SandyK

[dangus]

Like everyone else said, EAC.

But, if you're digitizing a lot of CDs, consider using something more automatic, like dBpoweramp Batch Ripper http://www.dbpoweramp.com/download.htm
It also uses Accuraterip to verify rips, and is very configurable. You can churn through a heap of CDs without having to touch the keyboard, just put a new disc in the tray and close it.

If you have various CD and DVD drives lying around, and patience, try getting EAC to identify their ripping features. I went through a heap and found one Mitsumi CD-R/RW and one LG DVD-ROM that had all three desirable features: accurate stream, no caching, and C2 error detection.

[glt]

In reality, your weak link is your cdrom drive. Tests in cdrinfo.com have shown some models are better than others in reading audio cds that have errors in them (which in real life are introduced during the manufacturing of the CDs). Error correction is also built into the hardware.

EAC can do no better than other s/w rippers, except that EAC allows you to compare with a database to give you peace of mind. But if your rip is different from that in the database, then the only solution is to get another CD.

[SoNic_real_one]

The statement about the Bluray drive is false.
CD are ALLWAYS read with a infra red laser - 780nm. DVD's are always read with a red 650nm laser. Laser heads for an DVD/CD unit have both of those laser diodes.
Bluray block has three lasers and it will use the IR one for CD's.

[BionicSniper]

I use EAC and rip a wav and a 320vbr at the same time

[Zero Cool]

EAC, Exact Audio Copy!

[sandyK]

SoNic_real_one
In that case it must come down to the far better jitter correction abilities and precision of the BluRay drive's laser assembly. Are you also saying that the CDs wriitten by a BluRay writer do not use the Blue laser ? If you are, then please follow the previously mentioned link, and you will see photos of the difference in the discs burned by a BluRay writer.I use the same BluRay writer mentioned in that thread.
Irrespective, I stand by my claim that the EAC copy via the BluRay writer , despite check sums being identical, is audibly superior when played back from the HDD. In fact,with higher resolution
material such as 24/96, and even more so with 24/192 material ripped from DVD-A using DVD-A Explorer 2008 , are markedly better audibly , almost sounding like the rip from a normal DVD writer, and the rip from a BluRay writer are from different discs.

SandyK