Hi, sorry for the basic question, but I am new of this matter.
So I have my old beloved CDs from the 80s and I do realise that they will not last forever. I lost already a first edition of Pink Floyd´s " Whish You Where Here", to just to say the pain. In the past I had some of them converted in MP3s with altern results. So here are the my two questions.
1) What is basically the best PC system to make a digital backup copy of them?
I am inclinded to use some Linux PC and some old expensive Plextor SCSI drive to read them, but I have also some modern machines with modern CD/DVD readers. Also I can setu ip a Sun Sparc workstation in case 😀😀
2) What file format for maximum fidelity and future-proofness? I would like to avoid proprietary (i.e. Apple, Microsoft) format.
Thanks in advance
So I have my old beloved CDs from the 80s and I do realise that they will not last forever. I lost already a first edition of Pink Floyd´s " Whish You Where Here", to just to say the pain. In the past I had some of them converted in MP3s with altern results. So here are the my two questions.
1) What is basically the best PC system to make a digital backup copy of them?
I am inclinded to use some Linux PC and some old expensive Plextor SCSI drive to read them, but I have also some modern machines with modern CD/DVD readers. Also I can setu ip a Sun Sparc workstation in case 😀😀
2) What file format for maximum fidelity and future-proofness? I would like to avoid proprietary (i.e. Apple, Microsoft) format.
Thanks in advance
I use Free-rip and it will convert to what ever format you want.
I use it to convert cdrom to .wma files for my mp3 player.
I use it to convert cdrom to .wma files for my mp3 player.
Thanks For the quick answer . This answers my 2nd question.
What about the 1st? I know that some older (they called them AAD) CSs are "harder" to read on modern ulötra-fast readers and give in reading errors and horrible "cracks" in the converted recording.
BTW is it WMA a lossless format (i.e wav) or compressed with some psyco-acoustic lossy algorithm (i.e. MP3 ) ?
What about the 1st? I know that some older (they called them AAD) CSs are "harder" to read on modern ulötra-fast readers and give in reading errors and horrible "cracks" in the converted recording.
BTW is it WMA a lossless format (i.e wav) or compressed with some psyco-acoustic lossy algorithm (i.e. MP3 ) ?
Hi,
I've used EAC (Exact Audio Copy) for years with no problems on various standard PC platforms. It copies the CD to a number of formats but I use lossless WAV as these can be written back to a CD easily. The drawback is that there is no compression so you need plenty of space for a large collection (not such an issue these days). AS I understand it EAC will re-read each sector at least twice to perform a level of error correction so it can be a bit slow.
I'm not convinced that the quality of the hardware will make a difference to the extracted copy (as long as it works as designed!) but it may affect the speed at which you can rip!
Hope this helps!
I've used EAC (Exact Audio Copy) for years with no problems on various standard PC platforms. It copies the CD to a number of formats but I use lossless WAV as these can be written back to a CD easily. The drawback is that there is no compression so you need plenty of space for a large collection (not such an issue these days). AS I understand it EAC will re-read each sector at least twice to perform a level of error correction so it can be a bit slow.
I'm not convinced that the quality of the hardware will make a difference to the extracted copy (as long as it works as designed!) but it may affect the speed at which you can rip!
Hope this helps!
2nd EAC, it will compress as well, but can only read WAV, you can then opt to delete the WAV after ripping.
Any half decent PC will do the job.
Any half decent PC will do the job.
How could it have happened? I destroyed only one CD by a faulty mechanism that scratched the surface. Polishing with Displex could not help, the faulty track can't be read with EAC either. CDRs are a different story...
Being a Linux user I use (and recommend) Rubyripper. Apart from being a secure ripper that will read each sector twice (or more if you wish, I think) and re-read if they do not match until it gets two matching reads of the same sector, it can also encode directly to your format of choice. I prefer FLAC myself. Rubyripper can also pull CD info from a database of your choice if you don't fancy inputting album and song titles yourself and automatically tags the output files according to rules that you specify. These features are not unique, but they certainly make Rubyripper a well rounded tool.
I'm inclined to agree that the hardware itself should not matter, as long as it's functioning properly. The whole point of a secure ripper is avoiding read errors by checking each sector at least twice, effectively eliminating the impact of a "good" or "bad" drive.
I'm inclined to agree that the hardware itself should not matter, as long as it's functioning properly. The whole point of a secure ripper is avoiding read errors by checking each sector at least twice, effectively eliminating the impact of a "good" or "bad" drive.
Hi there,
If you just want a backup and do have no disk space restriction, I would recommend to just make a disk image or to keep the original wav files.
If you want to save a bit of space I would go with FLAC format, as it is open (thus free) and lossless.
As I use Mac's only I cant help on the Linux side.
Best
Michael
If you just want a backup and do have no disk space restriction, I would recommend to just make a disk image or to keep the original wav files.
If you want to save a bit of space I would go with FLAC format, as it is open (thus free) and lossless.
As I use Mac's only I cant help on the Linux side.
Best
Michael
I use Exact Audio Copy to extract to wave format,
then convert to FLAC or Quality Based mp3 with LameXP.
Both are free and result in excellent sound quality.
then convert to FLAC or Quality Based mp3 with LameXP.
Both are free and result in excellent sound quality.
Thanks to all for the nice answers.
For whom may have doubts, CDs DO get bad/damaged (I am speaking about "original" music-shop ones). I believe this may depend on the use that you do of them.
Mine had no "audiophile" treatment, I owned a pub years ago and some of them where on use hundreds of times and are litelally badly scretched. I guess that comes from the dust/smoke particles that get inside the drive.
About the copy, I believe I will give Ruby or AEC. a go. I discovered that my newest player (the Sansa Clip+, love that small toy) can do Flac, so I might try that. I had really bad quality experience with old MP3 stuff. It would also make sense for future-proof compatibilty to make wavs and the zip/rar them. I assume they would compress well. Anybody tried that ? It is not for the space, a TB drive will keek a couple of thousands CDs, much more of my needs, but a big hard drive is the least realiable memory that I can think of, in the long time.
For whom may have doubts, CDs DO get bad/damaged (I am speaking about "original" music-shop ones). I believe this may depend on the use that you do of them.
Mine had no "audiophile" treatment, I owned a pub years ago and some of them where on use hundreds of times and are litelally badly scretched. I guess that comes from the dust/smoke particles that get inside the drive.
About the copy, I believe I will give Ruby or AEC. a go. I discovered that my newest player (the Sansa Clip+, love that small toy) can do Flac, so I might try that. I had really bad quality experience with old MP3 stuff. It would also make sense for future-proof compatibilty to make wavs and the zip/rar them. I assume they would compress well. Anybody tried that ? It is not for the space, a TB drive will keek a couple of thousands CDs, much more of my needs, but a big hard drive is the least realiable memory that I can think of, in the long time.
For Linux all ripping tools that I´m aware of, use cdparanoia (which is excellent) as backend:
CDDA Paranoia Frequently Asked Questions
So quality wise your frontend (gui) won´t make any difference. Just use one with good
tagging capabilities, an example:
KDE - KAudioCreator - CD Ripper
File format: zipped wav, no they don´t compress well and they lack tagging.
The two main formats with lossless compression are FLAC and ALAC.
FLAC is more common, ALAC (Apple Lossless) can be played with iTunes and iPod,
both can be created with Linux and both can be converted in a lossless way into
other formats if needed.
CDDA Paranoia Frequently Asked Questions
So quality wise your frontend (gui) won´t make any difference. Just use one with good
tagging capabilities, an example:
KDE - KAudioCreator - CD Ripper
File format: zipped wav, no they don´t compress well and they lack tagging.
The two main formats with lossless compression are FLAC and ALAC.
FLAC is more common, ALAC (Apple Lossless) can be played with iTunes and iPod,
both can be created with Linux and both can be converted in a lossless way into
other formats if needed.
dBPoweramp is also an excellent tool. I haven't been able to get the new version of EAC to work properly, but trial version of dBPoweramp have really impressed me. It's not free but very accurate and intuitive. Artist info, coverart etc. is included.
I use EAC (Exact Audio Copy) and have it set up to directly convert to FLAC, so I don't waste space with WAVs. Many burner programs can recreate a burned CD from FLAC (especially if you have the CUE file as well).
Yap EAC is the way to go,
Try to follow one of the fine setup guides out there
Store and keep all your log files for reference
Try to follow one of the fine setup guides out there
Store and keep all your log files for reference
pc audio
Hi AT
Wiht EAC I too have good experience. But If you want an
increase of your pc sound, start by your power supply.
If you have a scope watching to the voltage form (distortion), you will see too much swing, that's not good
for audio. not a stable output.
A pc power supply is a smps, and made only, as it works, ok. Not made for the best quality.
Regards,
Zjaakco
Hi AT
Wiht EAC I too have good experience. But If you want an
increase of your pc sound, start by your power supply.
If you have a scope watching to the voltage form (distortion), you will see too much swing, that's not good
for audio. not a stable output.
A pc power supply is a smps, and made only, as it works, ok. Not made for the best quality.
Regards,
Zjaakco
Dont matter much if you have an external DAC though, I use Squeezeboxes so wireless so I dont have to worry about the slim chance of some PC noise coming down a copper link....
I can recommend EAC as well.
Interesting about the lifespan of CD's. As I understand, they use an organic dye which will eventually break down. Perfect sound, forever. Nope, and apparently not.
Interesting about the lifespan of CD's. As I understand, they use an organic dye which will eventually break down. Perfect sound, forever. Nope, and apparently not.
Supposedly true for CD-R, though I haven't noticed the problem (yet). CD is recorded physically into the aluminum layer.
And I'm yet another EAC user.
And I'm yet another EAC user.
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