Ripping

[Hofnar]

Revisiting, after a ten year hiatus, CD:s I wonder if Windows Media Player (Legacy) is still OK?

[willbewill]

My preference would be Exact Audio Copy
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exact_Audio_Copy

[Hofnar]

My preference would be Exact Audio Copy
https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exact_Audio_Copy

Thx!

[Jonpw98]

dBpoweramp is also very good.

https://www.dbpoweramp.com/

[jestocost]

I finally settled on Foobar2000 as a player and for ripping.
Less intuitive than some but I found it worth the effort.

https://www.foobar2000.org

[Nordfinn]

Another vote for Foobar.  Has the added benefit of being a good, versatile player, and very configurable.  I use it also to play streaming radio, as illustrated:

[eduardo]

XLD is just fine in my older Mac OS X systems.
Requires OS X 10.4 Tiger or higher.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/xld/

[GP49]

I use Foobar.  By now, familiarity is probably the reason.

[willbewill]

Exact Audio Copy vs foobar2000 vs dbpoweramp

Exact Audio Copy (EAC), foobar2000, and dBpoweramp are all highly regarded for their accuracy and features.

Here’s a breakdown of each:

Exact Audio Copy (EAC):
Accuracy: EAC is known for its robust error correction and secure ripping capabilities. It is often considered the gold standard for CD ripping, especially for damaged or scratched discs.
Features: Supports AccurateRip and CUETools DB for verifying the accuracy of rips. It can also download album art and generate log files.
User Interface: The interface is more technical and less user-friendly compared to foobar2000 and dBpoweramp. It is primarily focused on the ripping process rather than being a full-featured media player.
Free to use
Platform: Windows only.

foobar2000:
Accuracy: foobar2000 is also highly accurate and supports AccurateRip for verifying rips. It is a versatile media player with a strong focus on audio quality and customization.
Features: In addition to ripping, foobar2000 offers advanced playback features, tagging, and conversion capabilities. It can rip to various formats, including FLAC and MP3.
User Interface: The interface is more user-friendly and customizable, making it suitable for both ripping and everyday music playback.
Free to use.
Platform: Windows.

dBpoweramp:
Accuracy: dBpoweramp is known for its speed and accuracy, with unique error correction features. It can also verify rips using AccurateRip and automatically retrieve metadata and album art.
Features: dBpoweramp supports ripping to multiple formats simultaneously, making it efficient for creating both lossless and lossy versions of your music. It also has strong metadata handling capabilities.
User Interface: The interface is user-friendly and straightforward, making it accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
Free trial for 21 days then paid
Platform: Windows.

Summary
EAC is the best choice if you prioritize the highest accuracy and are willing to deal with a more technical interface, especially for damaged discs.
foobar2000 is a versatile option that combines accurate ripping with a full-featured media player, making it suitable for both ripping and everyday use.
dBpoweramp is the fastest and most user-friendly option, with strong error correction and metadata handling, making it a good choice for those who value efficiency and ease of use.

[Hofnar]

Thank you all! Foobar sounds interesting. However, how does Media Player fare?

[willbewill]

Thank you all! Foobar sounds interesting. However, how does Media Player fare?

Simple to use but potentially less accurate, foobar is much more customisable.

[Hofnar]

Now I´ve ripped a CD - Sade´s Soldier of Love - to FLAC files and copied said files to a USB stick. I´m now listening to it, plugged into my Nobsound AV-525 driving a pair of Acoustic Energy AE100/2. So far, so good and it sounds good. However... To copy/rip the files from the CD I used a no-name external CD-ROM/DVD device and for the rest of the processing my Lenovo Thinkpad T480S laptop. Is this equipment fit for the job? I mean a decent CD transport alone costs around fifty times (or more) what I paid the device I used to read the CD and I guess that the electronics in my trusty computer are far from audiophile grade. On the other hand and in another lifetime I was quite happy recording my (vinyl) albums to cassette tapes and playing those on my Walkman...

[willbewill]

Ripping just copies the actual ones and zeros from the cd to computer, so as long as the ripping software does a good job (especially with potential errors on disc)then what you have is an exact copy of the data converted losslessly to flac. So yes what you have is fit for the job.

It's a different matter with a CD player which is doing everything in 'real time'.

[hatehifi]

I use db poweramp

Cheers!

[eduardo]

More information.

https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Comparison_of_CD_rippers