FYI ripping CD's to Apple Lossless in iTunes

[mrlemon]

 

Hi everybody,

 

Not sure if this was covered, but I am new to Mac and OS X, but have been reading a lot of good stuff in these forums.

 

If you are using iTunes to rip your CD's to a lossless format, remember to check the Error Correction box in the import settings. I believe this was info from someone at Empirical Audio.

 

The imported uncompressed files sound much much better with the error correction engaged. With error correction you get a much smoother and more realistic tone to everything in the recording.

 

I am using the Mac Mini optical output to an older Aragon D2A converter and was a little disappointed with the somewhat haze, somewhat unclear sound. Once the error correction is turned on, the rips sound great, or at least i can not complain about their sound quality.

 

Now i have to see if a Glass Toslink cable will improve things. Currently, it's a plastic fiber using a mini-toslink adapter.

 

Thanks...

 

TOM...

 

[BEEMB]

 

Hi Tom,

 

Hopefully you'll find the error correction thing mentioned a number of times within these forum walls. Having all your audio pre corrected is one of the advantages computer audio has over good old cd players.

 

Welcome to the site and keep us up to date with how you're getting on. Hopefully even though you're new to the Mac it won't take you too long to get used to it.

 

Matt.

 

[audioengr]

Another thing you want to be sure to do is download the latest version of iTunes. The ripper is "fixed" in this one. Big improvement.

 

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

 

[BEEMB]

Steve,

Fixed? How do you mean?

 

 

[mrlemon]

My Mac Mini is so new (March 8th) that it is mostly all up to date.

 

iTunes version 8.1, which I am sure has the 'fixed' ripper.

 

 

TOM...

 

[HarryHWombat]

Another thing you want to be sure to do is download the latest version of iTunes. The ripper is "fixed" in this one. Big improvement.

 

Steve - what do you mean by this? The only change I have seen publicised is that it imports 256 AAC by default - hardly "fixing" the ripper. Also, I and others have compared the output from iTunes to XLD (and other rippers) using wave inversion and found the ripped files to be identical (apart from different lengths of silent lead in).