CD Ripping

Hi,

Some time ago @Fat Controller suggested I should use the FairStars program to rip out CDs.

Just starting with them, but fallen at the first hurdle, in that what is the best format to use, eg Flac,WAV, MP3 etc.

The main purpose is to hold them on the PC for playpack to the hifi, so would like quality as good as the original CDs, for the number of our CDs do not think Hdd space is going to be an issue.

Having done a few test runs seem the rates eg BPS etc are determined from the CD itself ? but we still have some choices like the Format.
Tried Flac first but was surprised to see it offering several different compression rates, though the WAV file option does not ?

The other thing we wanted to check on is what is the best format to then use for creating say a USB stick for use in Cars and transfering onto Mobys , just MP3 and MP4?

 

The jury is out when it comes to audible quality that can be differentiated, between the formats. I’d suggest MP3 will suffice, at 192. Although you say you have a lot of space, MP3 rips a lot quicker, ime.

 

WAV is the format that the vast majority of CDs come in AFAIK, so you'll basically have a file version of your CD. I have my favourite albums as WAV and the rest in 320 MP3, but the latter is just a space-saving compromise for me because I have hundreds of albums.

Nick

 

Without knowing how many albums require ripping, I’d suggest trying a couple of formats, including different MP3 br’s, and playing them back to compare with the cd. Regarding MP3, my understanding is that it discards inaudible Information, but there’s probably more to it than that. For a memory stick for use in the car, you’d need to find out which format the onboard player will recognise, but my guess is that it will recognise MP3.

 

I always go Mp4, and use a software called convert any file, available on the play sore, easy peasy, open app, select the file, even if on a cd, once its loaded source file, click on the drop down menu, on the convert menu, choose format click convert, once converted save file where you want.

 

Will a car player recognise MP4 though? I must admit I haven’t kept up with the latest tech so I really don’t know. If it were me, I’d want to try to stick with one format, to save having to re-convert.

 

The stereo in my vans do, the vito is 5 years old, so I imagine, if the stereo is bluetooth connectable with a smart phone yes, I usually put my playlists on a usb memory stick for other items such as the PC, and my older android tv box, but have not tried it on the new one, hang fire....
Yes on the Android 10 tv box, and yes when I plugged the memory stick into the tv, which I have had for about 5 years, but it may depend on the manufacturer.

 

Ricky says he wants to use a USB stick for the car, so that might suggest that there’s no Bluetooth compatibility?
I’m aware of MP4, it’s been around for a long time now, but I have no idea as to it’s advantages over MP3. My view is that car stereos are very poor when it comes to sound quality, compared to ‘proper’ HiFi, so it won’t make a lot, if any, difference what format is used, I think. Maybe MP4 could be one that Ricky could also try for comparison, for home use.

 

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies, the main goal is to get the CDs onto the HDD, the USB and moby was more for the future as our old integrated radio /cd player does not have any extra inputs, no usb or Aux. Might be a new head unit or newer car sometimes soon.

As said, seems like WAV files is the better way, we do not have that many CDs and plenty of HDD space now our security camera system / footage has been moved to its own dvr box.

Have been testing out things and yes we can get the CDs onto the HDD ok, but it has raised a few points we cannot quiet understand, and would appreciate any comments.

We first used the FairStars Cd ripper to copy the 18 track Corrs CD , using WAV at the standard 16bit rates and it seemed very fast, just over 5 mins.

While looking around we also tried another popular program, ExactAudioCopy and did a trial with that at its default WAV settings, but it ran very slow in comparison, taking 40mins for the whole album ?

No idea why the difference, but surely must be good reason ? Does it mean EAC it better ??

Though we will use WAV, noticed when using the FLAC setting in FairStars it shows 8 Levels of Compression including a Recommended level to use , why all these levels ??

One last point, in the EAC you can download the CD Cover, but not sure how we are supposed to use that ?
To add to the confusion, if we open Foobar or VCL player it just lists our My Music folder as a normal windows list of folders and files.
If we let Groove music open it does so with the CD covers.
Is this just down to the type of program that reads the audio folders or something we can add the Cd Cover to that would similarly show up in Foobar ??

 

I agree if the stereo is pants, then mp3 or radio 4, however if you have an excellent stereo as I do in one of my cars, definately mp4, as I understand it mp3 is SD, and mp4 is HD, but you can use the sound clarity through your audio equipment.

 

The levels of compression are for different devices, i.e an I phone will have a different compression ability than A Windows or Android based phone, as will PCs and smart tvs, one assumes you understand file compression.

 

I cannot comment on the software you use, as I have not used them, however,nthe album picture first came about during the piracy age, so copies of an album covers could be printed to make the copies look more genuine, but nowdays it is used in downloads to identify the album by its icon, and the information about the album, extras, track numbers etc.

 

Hiya Ricky. I have no knowledge of that software either. I can only suggest that you run a comparison between the two, in terms of sound quality. I would expect that you won’t be able notice any difference, in which case I would go with the faster one.

 

I have a very good sound system in my Kuga, but there’s no comparison to my HiFi, poles apart really. Sticking speakers with limited frequency range in doors and the like, along with general road/engine noise means it’s always going to be very low fi, imo.

 

I always thought MP3 was best in terms of car stereo compatibility, can't remember a car stereo failing to recognise the format with any of my friends' cars.

After reading a bit about EAC, large disparity in burn time is probably due to tagging, album art, comparing yours to other rips to locate possible flaws in yours etc. I'm only bothered about tagging and not much else, TBH (songs coming through as their titles rather than "Track 1", "Track 2" etc)

Nick