TubeLover Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 As the title says, I am looking for a recommendation for an external cd drive to use for ripping my 3000 cd's. Because of where the pc is placed, the internal cd drive is simply not at all easily accessible, and thus, not usable for this purpose. Thanks for any help with this. JC Link to comment
crisnee Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 You should clarify a bit. How far away from the pc will this drive need to be? I took the drive out of my pc and connected it via a sata cable and external power supply but I don't know how long sata cables can be; mine is pretty short. Usb 2 drives are pretty slow; I don't know if any usb 3 drives are in existence. Chris Link to comment
DigiPete Posted May 13, 2014 Share Posted May 13, 2014 OWC delivers parts and accessories that are Mac compatible. Great source of RAM, SSD's etc. I use an external Bluray drive from OWC: OWC Mercury Pro 16X External Blu-ray Burner Speeds are CD: X40, DVD/Bluray: X16 USD 167,- In case you want maximum speed and don't need Bluray: OWC Mercury Pro 24X External DVD Burner Speeds are CD: X48, DVD single layer: X24 USD 99,- OWC is also available in Europe: Mac Upgrade Firewire is OK up to 5m (16,7') Promise Pegasus2 R6 12TB -> Thunderbolt2 -> MacBook Pro M1 Pro -> Motu 8D -> AES/EBU -> Main: Genelec 5 x 8260A + 2 x 8250 + 2 x 8330 + 7271A sub Boat: Genelec 8010 + 5040 sub Hifiman Sundara, Sennheiser PXC 550 II Blog: “Confessions of a DigiPhile” Link to comment
TubeLover Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 The external drive would be about three feet from my Windows pc. JC You should clarify a bit. How far away from the pc will this drive need to be? I took the drive out of my pc and connected it via a sata cable and external power supply but I don't know how long sata cables can be; mine is pretty short. Usb 2 drives are pretty slow; I don't know if any usb 3 drives are in existence. Chris Link to comment
crisnee Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 If you're comfortable mucking about inside your pc let me know and I'll give you details as to what I did to make my internal cd drive into an external drive. Otherwise... Take a look on Amazon or Newegg for a usb drive. I think they're pretty much similar, nothing stands out as great. 3000 cds is going to take forever to rip and even longer with a usb drive. Do you have kids, grand kids, friends with kids or bored adults who you can pay a few bucks to do the ripping? That might be your best option if you don't want to go nuts before you get to listen to your ripped bounty. Chris Link to comment
DigiPete Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 As I see it you have plenty of options: a) A very fast external drive (X40 - X48) with a fast connection (USB3 or Firewire) LG USB 3.0 Super Multi Blue External 14x Blu-ray (X48) OWC Mercury Pro 24X External DVD Burner LG WH14NS40 USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Disc Rewriter with Bytecc Enclosure b) A CD Rip Robot Nimbie USB Plus CD/DVD Auto Loader/Duplicator/Ripper (USB 3.0/2.0) c) Using a ripping service if appropriate in your area Ready to play No endorsements meant except the OWC Mercury Pro - it is lightning fast, usually rips a CD in 2 min. Promise Pegasus2 R6 12TB -> Thunderbolt2 -> MacBook Pro M1 Pro -> Motu 8D -> AES/EBU -> Main: Genelec 5 x 8260A + 2 x 8250 + 2 x 8330 + 7271A sub Boat: Genelec 8010 + 5040 sub Hifiman Sundara, Sennheiser PXC 550 II Blog: “Confessions of a DigiPhile” Link to comment
KingCrimson Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 What about this as an option? VortexBox 1TB Automatic CD ripping NAS Link to comment
crisnee Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 What about this as an option? VortexBox 1TB Automatic CD ripping NAS That sounds like a pretty interesting option, particularly if you also want a NAS. There are also 2TB and 3TB drives available. Chris Link to comment
kirkmc Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 The LG is very fast, but mine has died. It started doing a lot of seeks on multiple CDs. I'm in the UK, and I called LG for support, and they informed me that they don't sell the drive in the UK, and haven't for two years. (I bought mine about six months ago from Amazon.) Fortunately, Amazon was willing to give me a refund; otherwise, I'd be out £109. Any recommendations for other fast drives, now that I need a new one? I have Plextor Blu-Ray drive that I'll continue using for Blu-Rays (which I don't rip often), though it's pretty slow. I'd be interested either in a drive that does CD, DVD and BD, or just a fast CD drive, because I have several hundred CDs to rip, and get more all the time. I write about Macs, music, and more at Kirkville. Author of Take Control of macOS Media Apps. Co-host of The Next Track podcast. Link to comment
blownsi Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I used the vortexbox option for my multi-thousand rips and I have zero complaints. You don't have to buy the Vortexbox machine either. The software is free. I bought an old PC (P4 IBM workcentre) off of craigslist for $45 then dropped a 3tb drive in it. Link to comment
Guidof Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Even though I have a Vortexbox appliance, I much prefer ripping with the excellent dBPoweramp and a USB drive. I use a Samsung external drive. Fast, reliable. For my system details, please see my profile. Thank you. Link to comment
fwiw Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Can't believe you guys do it one CD at a time. Easier and cheap answer: Buy a Sony VAIO VGP-XL1B off of Ebay for under $200. Hook it up to a PC with a Firewire interface running Windows XP (NB: needs to be XP - problems with Windows 7/8). Load up 200 CD's. Run dBpoweramp batch ripper (yields about 15-17 CD's/hour). Sleep while your CD's rip to FLAC. Repeat 200 till finished. Sell the VAIO to somebody else for $200. Put windows XP machine onto free stuff on craigslist (don't forget to remove your hard won audio booty). You're done. Viola. Link to comment
TubeLover Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Digipete: "No endorsements meant except the OWC Mercury Pro - it is lightning fast, usually rips a CD in 2 min. Okay, this thread has been gone for sometime, but I am now in a position where my first NAS is about to arrive, and I need to start ripping shortly. I just want to be clear that I can put any cd into this unit and it will rip the cd to an AIFF file, using DB Poweramp, in just a couple minutes? I apologize for the request for clarification, but I've never ripped a cd in my life. Thanks. JC Link to comment
DigiPete Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yes, it should take 2-3 minutes to rip a a pristine CD - longer if it is scratched. Promise Pegasus2 R6 12TB -> Thunderbolt2 -> MacBook Pro M1 Pro -> Motu 8D -> AES/EBU -> Main: Genelec 5 x 8260A + 2 x 8250 + 2 x 8330 + 7271A sub Boat: Genelec 8010 + 5040 sub Hifiman Sundara, Sennheiser PXC 550 II Blog: “Confessions of a DigiPhile” Link to comment
alfe Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 dBpoweramp Secure Ripping Test All drives are not equal:) Link to comment
One and a half Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Just a few tips. DB poweramp can rip the files to a specific path, sorted by Artist\album\Disc number - Track number - Track name by default. If your Folder for music is M:\Music\ (as set in the path in DBpoweramp), the Naming follows: Metadata is found on the net, but please check the values which will pop up on screen. As a guess, the data is 90% accurate. A classic case is "The Eagles" which changed to "Eagles" dropping the "The". So dbpoweramp will rip to folders The Eagles as well as Eagles depending on the album. I also wonder what speed to rip, the notes on the MFSL CD-R advise to burn at 1x speed mainly to keep the vibration down. Wheter that would apply to ripping, certainly some discs really take off and vibrate the CD tray quite violently. AS Profile Equipment List Say NO to MQA Link to comment
ted_b Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yes, I highly recommend DB Poweramp for ripping, and following One-and-a-half's advice to set up the metadata/tagging path upfront. I personally don't nest albums within artists but who cares. My folders are artist-album (and my tracks always begin with track number) but I collect them into separate large directories like redbook, hirez, DSF, ISOs, multichannel, etc. I do that so that when I have a 2nd system and let's say it doesn't support DSD or doesn't support hirez or is only for multichannel I can tell the library manager (JRiver, Minimserver, etc) to just watch certain directories. I guess I'd buy a fast bluray like Pete is suggesting; that way you can rip DVD-A, DVD-D and BluRay audio down the line (not to mention video, which is not part of this thread subject). Damn, if Mr Wicked's project were going any faster you could just buy his (which will then rip SACDs too) but it's unknown when those will be ready. "We're all bozos on this bus"....F.T. My JRIver tutorial videos Actual JRIver tutorial MP4 video links My eleven yr old SACD Ripping Guide for PS3 (needs updating but still works) US Technical Advisor, NativeDSD.com Link to comment
alfe Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 For good quality ripping you should use a CD only drives, you may find first generation Plextor or LG on ebay. Link to comment
Solid-State Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Dot Rip as fast as you can RIP as slow as you can, more accurate And if you want best possible sound, LPS power supply or battery supply Link to comment
mayhem13 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 For good quality ripping you should use a CD only drives, you may find first generation Plextor or LG on ebay. Agreed. Baseline CD drivers are more stable and reliable IMO....one laser, one mechanism. Does the OPs machine have external sata port?......or USB3?.......firewire? Without knowing the available interface, hard to suggest the fastest method. Personally id do sata with an external enclosure and a long sata cable snuck into the case. Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Dot Rip as fast as you canRIP as slow as you can, more accurate And if you want best possible sound, LPS power supply or battery supply For good quality ripping you should use a CD only drives, you may find first generation Plextor or LG on ebay. I disagree ... if you use dbPowerAmp and utilise SecureRip then once the CD is ripped and matches to the database, you are assured you have a "perfect" copy. Everything else is irrelevant. Eloise PS. yes I know some people will disagree ... francoamerican 1 Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 As a general reply to the OP ... depending on how much you have to spend on doing this... Buy a case such as... ...and add a high capacity PSU. Then add a motherboard, processor and memory and extra SATA controllers. Stuff it with 6 CD (or DVD) drives. Add a couple of HDDs (for OS and for storages). Then use dbPowerAmp and you can insert 6 CDs at a time, walk away. Next time you pass swap for 6 more. Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
alfe Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I disagree ... if you use dbPowerAmp and utilise SecureRip then once the CD is ripped and matches to the database, you are assured you have a "perfect" copy. Everything else is irrelevant. Eloise PS. yes I know some people will disagree ... Did you read the link dbpoweramp secure ripping test. Link to comment
Audio_ELF Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Did you read the link dbpoweramp secure ripping test. With respect did you? "Overtime AccurateRip can become like a wise-friend, someone you can rely on and trust. It works by storing peoples ripping results and comparing your result with theirs. For example 100 people rip Madonnas latest CD, of those 100 twenty have errors, the other 80 all have identical rips. If you were to rip your Madonna CD there are 2 possibilities, AccurateRip would report that 80 other people agree with your rip (confidence of 80), or that 80 disagree if your had errors. What are the odds of 80 people agreeing with your rip, but they really had a bad rip (ie those 80 people had bad rips which happened to give the same check code)? the odds are 4 billion x 4 billion (repeated 80 times), an astronomical number. If more than 3 people agree with your rip, it is 100% certainty it is accurate." Eloise Eloise --- ...in my opinion / experience... While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing. And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism. keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out. Link to comment
alfe Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 With respect did you? "Overtime AccurateRip can become like a wise-friend, someone you can rely on and trust. It works by storing peoples ripping results and comparing your result with theirs. For example 100 people rip Madonnas latest CD, of those 100 twenty have errors, the other 80 all have identical rips. If you were to rip your Madonna CD there are 2 possibilities, AccurateRip would report that 80 other people agree with your rip (confidence of 80), or that 80 disagree if your had errors. What are the odds of 80 people agreeing with your rip, but they really had a bad rip (ie those 80 people had bad rips which happened to give the same check code)? the odds are 4 billion x 4 billion (repeated 80 times), an astronomical number. If more than 3 people agree with your rip, it is 100% certainty it is accurate." Eloise Yes I did:) but you should read the detailed results. Link to comment
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