What software to convert my CD's to MP3's? (1 Viewer)

[Angelo.M]

Neil:

Forgot to mention that I'm using CDex 1.51, which is the latest (non-beta) release.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Angelo: Just wanted to say thanks to you and everyone who recommended CDEX. That users guide you posted was great. I'm sitting here working my way through the AC/DC disks. Eventually I'll make it to ZZ Top.

Thanks again.

 

[Neil White]

Seconded. Been ripping for two nights now. I think the processor in my PC is begging for a rest.

Thanks,

N

 

[Angelo.M]

Bob and Neil:

You are both quite welcome. Happy encoding...

 

[Chris]

I've always used EAC and LAME and have been very happy

 

[Keith Paynter]

Audio Catalyst

 

[Rhett_Y]

Here is another vote for EAC... My personal rip flow..

EAC
Tag and Rename
MP3 Gain

I rip all my cd's at the 320 setting...... I have lots of disk space, so there is no worry about space for the most part.... Now if I had unlimited space that is a whole different story....

R~

 

[Anthony Hom]

For mac users, I have been using SoundJam for years and it's had no problems. It can also convert songs to WAV and AIFF as well. Even though its OS9, I still use it to rip CDs. It can also rip MP3 to MP3. Sometimes I get a file that has problems and it cleans it right up.

I know iTunes is actually Soundjam in disguise, but I would rather use Soundjam to rip, and iTunes to organize a library of MP3s.

 

[joe goswami]

I've been sing Audio Encoder Pro. It cost me $15 on the web and is the easiest most idiotproof way of doing mp3's IMHO. I can do batches of .WAV to.mp3 conversion as big or small as I want. Its fast and sounds pretty clean. File management is easy and the software also supports Vorbis Ogg & Monkey should I ever want to experiment with these doomed yet "better" than mp3 formats.

All my rips are done at 320kbps. No other bitrate has made my ears happy no matter what software or setting that's out there (NERO, Creative Labs, etc.).

I have one question? Is LAME implemented in Audio Encoder Pro. I tried downloading Exact Audio Copy a while back and had problems so I went with AEPro and haven't looked back.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Since this would be more of a limitation of HARDWARE and its ability to read/not read the discs, I'm not sure what EAC can do, besides pretend the errors didn't exist by masking them. No thanks.

As far as my settngs, I use the R3mix preset, which I like a little better than alt-preset-standard. Under settings, just pull down the QUALITY setting, and find R3mix Preset- it will fill in everything else.

 

[Angelo.M]

Vince:

For informational purposes only, and not to try to convince you that there's anything wrong with using the r3mix preset (there isn't), you might be interested to know that it likely will be omitted in the next iteration of the Lame encoder (4.0) (although it was included in Winamp 5). If it winds up being included in Lame 4.0, it will probably be for back-compatability with CDex, Winamp, etc.

The folks at Hydrogenaudio Forums have moved into the camp of alt preset standard (well, actually, many are touting mp4 [AAC] to be superior to mp3, tested at 128 kbps; there is probably no significant difference at higher bitrates, and AAC has no VBR option). Also, www.r3mix.net is no longer maintained.

I continue to use alt preset standard, and I've also encoded some tracks with mp4 at 190 kbps. I can't tell any difference (my "music server" consists of a PC w/Chaintech 710 [Envy24 chipset], analog out to harman/kardon PA2000 [100W x 2, bridged], to JBL S38IIs). I also don't hear a difference on my iPod using Sennheiser headphones.

This post isn't meant to change your mind, only to provide an update on the latest in psychoacoustics. If it sounds transparent to you, then rock on...

 

[ScottH]

Not one mention of AudioGrabber? I've used all of the ones mentioned here and AudioGrabber is by far the best...and it is now free as well. And you can use Lame to encode. For the record, MusicMatch is by far the worst, but it's been like two years since I tried it, so maybe it's gotten better.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

yep- I think it's still a strong standard... the alt-preset ends up with bigger files with no real improvement to my ears. Too bad to hear it might not be included in the future LAME engine- but I'll use it as long as it's available.

-vince

 

[Angelo.M]

Vince:

Do you use iTunes and/or an iPod? You ought to try AAC at 128 kbps and compare it, just for grins, with Lame/mp3 at 128 kbps.

I think that AAC @ 128 is superior to mp3 @ 128. But AAC @ higher bitrates sounds indistinguishable from -alt preset standard.

 

[Marko_J]

I have to give my vote to CDex for 90% of the stuff that you'll convert to MP3.
It's FREE
It's Easy to use
It's QUICK

And for other 10% of the CD's that are copy protected I reccomend MusicMatch... I'ts also free, but CDex is realy barebone - nothing fancy, and it gets the job done easily and quickly

 

[Tony-B]

I'll add another vote for CDex. However, two other programs I like for ripping CDs are Easy CD-DA Extractor, and Exact Audio Copy.

 

[Richard Gilmore]

Easy CD-DA Extractor, rip to FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Encoder). I like the lossless encoders better, Monkey's Audio and FLAC. They compress to about half the size of the original wav but still have all the original information, and IMO sound better than the lossy schemes, though it takes a lot more space to store them.

 

[Cary_H]

Vince....What EAC does when it encounters what it sees as an error is re-read it 'til it has determined whether it is in fact, part of the data and belongs there, or is an error to be excluded.
The developer of EAC was disatisfied with the audio ripping capabilities of what was out there and decided to make his own. Primarily it was their inability to seperate the chaff from the wheat which he felt is absolutely essential for creating flawless images of original discs.

 

[Angelo.M]

One advantage of storing your music files this way is that you can re-encode them for your portable in whatever format you like.

Just bought an iPod? Re-encode to AAC. Received a Karma for your birthday? Re-encode to Ogg Vorbis. Nice.

 

[John Wes]

Hardware has nothing to do with reading very scratched disc....Sorry...unless your talking about the DAC's..and they are bypassed in ripping audio to your harddrive..

However, you can set EAC to rip just about any scratched audio disc and you don't need a very expensive CDROM or DVDRom to do it... For myself, this isn't a problem as I take VERY good care of my CD's, but I've copied several friends CD's for them that even DiscDoctor wouldn't repair. It may have taken a while but EAC rocks for this...

Also, the part about remix...I took part in his settings.. If you read much at Hydrogen Audio...you'll see the rmix settings not being recommend anymore....