Best (reasonable) CD Ripping Practice

[sandyk]

Nobody wants a petulant whiner hanging around. Please respect my wishes.

 

The only petulant whiner here is you ! If you don't want advice from others, then don't ask in the first place.

If you only wanted to hear what Chris had to say, you could have sent him a PM!

[Sal1950]

Where did I ever include John Swenson in that statement ? Many members report improvements when using Paul Pang or Pachanko SATA cables.

Many people report being abducted by aliens, seeing yeti's, and talking to the dead.

Delustions are quite common. That don't make them real. LOL

[Jean]

All I can say is that, accurately ripped CDs are as good as it gets. I'm on a few private music sites that verify checksums and such, but ultimately accurately ripped data is exactly that.

 

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[ElviaCaprice]

BTW, I have heard the HDPlex 300W Linear PSUs that are owned by 2 Sydney members and the +5V or +9V (nominal) supplies are capable of a further marked improvement.

We have also used both the +19V rail regulated down to +9V for the Regen using a JLH PSU add-on, and the adjustable rail set to +12V , then regulated down to +9V for the Regen using a JLH PSU add-on.

There was a marked improvement over direct power from the HDPlex 300W itself.

After the effect of the original add on from the +12V rail was heard, another friend asked me to make a similar one for operation from his spare +19V rail.

 

I agree that the HDPlex 300W ATX needs work. I sent it back. Am using the HDPlex 100W. No problems anymore with picture flickering. All outputs are within ATX specs. Overall my system now operates much smoother.

[jroyer]

kilroy, this is a very exciting topic and it is funny that I am asking myself similar questions these days regarding ripping. I would venture to offer maybe provocative statement here based on my own experience. In my system, bits are not just bits! I found that ripping configuration makes as much of an impact on sound as playback! So far what worked well for me is using a USB external drive with its own 12v linear supply, feeding my PC which has a Teradak linears supply, and saving the files in an external USB hard drive with yet again its own seperate 12V linear supply. I suspect as you may power management is the key factor in my setup.

 

Everytime I try something different like ripping with an internal drive or saving to an external drive i get lesser resut. My biggest pain however today is that I use mac mini with Audirvana+ for my main system which doessnot rip. I still need to revert back to my PC setup above to rip and than transfer to my mac mini external drive. I rip everything in WAV.

 

Hope this helps...Jacques

[Distinctive]

It seems that the audio cd collection ripping robots are discontinued one after one (?)

I would love to do automatic batch ripping with metadata tagging at a reasonable expense.....

[The Computer Audiophile]

It seems that the audio cd collection ripping robots are discontinued one after one (?)

I would love to do automatic batch ripping with metadata tagging at a reasonable expense.....

Does MF digital still sell them?

[sandyk]

kilroy, this is a very exciting topic and it is funny that I am asking myself similar questions these days regarding ripping. I would venture to offer maybe provocative statement here based on my own experience. In my system, bits are not just bits! I found that ripping configuration makes as much of an impact on sound as playback! So far what worked well for me is using a USB external drive with its own 12v linear supply, feeding my PC which has a Teradak linears supply, and saving the files in an external USB hard drive with yet again its own seperate 12V linear supply. I suspect as you may power management is the key factor in my setup.

 

Everytime I try something different like ripping with an internal drive or saving to an external drive i get lesser resut. My biggest pain however today is that I use mac mini with Audirvana+ for my main system which doessnot rip. I still need to revert back to my PC setup above to rip and than transfer to my mac mini external drive. I rip everything in WAV.

 

Hope this helps...Jacques

 

Hi Jacques

Unfortunately you may as well be talking to a brick wall here as many members want to stay in their comfort zones and don't wish to know, at least in the General area of the forum! They could learn a lot from members like John Swenson, but unfortunately many of the guys who are involved in the R and D areas get driven away by a few .

Alfe who designed my internal LG BR writer is a recent casualty, and even highly respected recording and mastering engineer Barry Diament no longer posts in forums for similar reasons.

 

Regards

Alex

[Hailey]

I rip everything in AIFF using dBpoweramp's "ultrasecure" setting. It sounds great. I'm unable to hear any difference between the resulting file and the original CD. I've tried all kinds of arcane techniques to "improve" sq. None have resulted in any difference that I can hear. The fact that the reasoning behind these techniques is, to say the least, suspect, leads me to conclude that it's placebo at work.

 

Of course, I'm always ready and willing to have my mind changed.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Jacques

Unfortunately you may as well be talking to a brick wall here as many members want to stay in their comfort zones and don't wish to know, at least in the General area of the forum! They could learn a lot from members like John Swenson, but unfortunately many of the guys who are involved in the R and D areas get driven away by a few .

Alfe who designed my internal LG BR writer is a recent casualty, and even highly respected recording and mastering engineer Barry Diament no longer posts in forums for similar reasons.

 

Regards

Alex

All forums gain and lose people for any number of reasons. Some people leave because of crazy shit like ripping cds with special tape on the drive. Some people come because of that.

[sandyk]

I rip everything in AIFF using dBpoweramp's "ultrasecure" setting. It sounds great. I'm unable to hear any difference between the resulting file and the original CD. I've tried all kinds of arcane techniques to "improve" sq. None have resulted in any difference that I can hear. The fact that the reasoning behind these techniques is, to say the least, suspect, leads me to conclude that it's placebo at work.

Of course, I'm always ready and willing to have my mind changed

.

Pigs might fly too ?

Try to explain how Martin Colloms was able to obtain 6 out of 6 separate positive Blind A/B/A 3 minute findings with comparison .wav files that I sent him several years ago. They involved 6 separate listening sessions spread over a couple of months. Don't even bother with the usual BS that a highly qualified E.E. was unable to set up proper Blind Listening sessions either !

Eloise has already asked him directly how they were performed and appeared satisfied with his reply in HFC Forum.

Yes, she would have done things differently, but that doesn't make the results invalid.

[sandyk]

All forums gain and lose people for any number of reasons. Some people leave because of crazy shit like ripping cds with special tape on the drive. Some people come because of that.

 

Sorry Chris, but both those members are good on line friends of mine, and both left because of the continual sniping and personal attacks by certain members. Alfe is probably the most highly qualified person in this area that has ever been a C.A. member. Yes, I know who he is, which major company he works for, and the area of research he is involved in.

Alfe had to be very careful with what he posted because of strict N.D.A.s

[The Computer Audiophile]

Sorry Chris, but both those members are good on line friends of mine, and both left because of the continual sniping and personal attacks by certain members. Alfe is probably the most highly qualified person in this area that has ever been a C.A. member. Yes, I know who he is, which major company he works for, and the area of research he is involved in.

Alfe had to be very careful with what he posted because of strict N.D.A.s

Not sure why you're saying sorry. It looks like we agree people come and go for any number of reasons.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Pigs might fly too ?

Try to explain how Martin Colloms was able to obtain 6 out of 6 separate positive Blind A/B/A 3 minute findings with comparison .wav files that I sent him several years ago. They involved 6 separate listening sessions spread over a couple of months. Don't even bother with the usual BS that a highly qualified E.E. was unable to set up proper Blind Listening sessions either !

Eloise has already asked him directly how they were performed and appeared satisfied with his reply in HFC Forum.

Yes, she would have done things differently, but that doesn't make the results invalid.

say what you want about MC and this blind testing. I'm not even close to changing my opinion about the efficacy of what you're saying with respect to ripping.

[sandyk]

say what you want about MC and this blind testing. I'm not even close to changing my opinion about the efficacy of what you're saying with respect to ripping.

 

That's your loss, not mine.

[thuandb]

Wondering if there's any way I might improve my CD rips in any reasonable way, and with any resulting objective SQ improvements.

 

I've used an in-computer CD drive to rip CDs using EAC to flac format for years. This is the main home personal computer, not built special for any audio purposes at all. After the ripping is done I tag and add artwork, then move them to an internal drive on the same computer. This drive is routinely backed up to an external drive. The rips can be transferred to the server over a wired network connection. The server music player is JRiver.

 

Would an external CD drive with a USB connection or other hardware improvements make a difference? Would this removal from the internal computer noise (of all types) make any meaningful difference? What about the quality of the USB cable? Specific hardware recommendations if any are appreciated.

 

I've also read about the use of at least one of the current USB improvement devices installed in line and the possible improvements that can make.

 

I believe EAC is one of, or maybe the best ripper, unless someone can suggest another to try. Many people seem to use foobar but I found this a bit kludgey to use. I get tagging info through EAC's internet connection to external data bases, but usually do some manual tagging cleanup with Tag & Rename.

 

Up to now I have not ripped to wave format to keep as "master" files, only directly to flac. Would there be an advantage to ripping to wave to keep on hand, while I still use mostly flac files in the server? What would this advantage be from the viewpoint of improved SQ?

 

It's possible or even likely that I'm either omitting or just not even aware of other potential improvement scenarios, so any other suggestions are appreciated as well.

 

I'm using a Windows Server 2012r2, AO optimized, core mode, i7 laptop PC to rip CDs. PC is powered by HDPLEX PSU, Plextor external Bluray player spinning CDs powered by 12v powerbanks. Cables are short Curious USB, ripping software is dbpoweramp, ripped format is uncompressed .wav. Ripping speed mostly kept as slow as possible, 4x being the maximum.

 

Results make me happy. Ripping CDs that way gives me the riches tone, most relaxing music flow. YMMV.

[jroyer]

I'm using a Windows Server 2012r2, AO optimized, core mode, i7 laptop PC to rip CDs. PC is powered by HDPLEX PSU, Plextor external Bluray player spinning CDs powered by 12v powerbanks. Cables are short Curious USB, ripping software is dbpoweramp, ripped format is uncompressed .wav. Ripping speed mostly kept as slow as possible, 4x being the maximum.

 

Results make me happy. Ripping CDs that way gives me the riches tone, most relaxing music flow. YMMV.

 

Love your ripping setup! Mine is very similar without AO however. I just installed AO on my ripping PC to try it...best, Jacques

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

[Hailey]

Pigs might fly too ?

Try to explain how Martin Colloms was able to obtain 6 out of 6 separate positive Blind A/B/A 3 minute findings with comparison .wav files that I sent him several years ago. They involved 6 separate listening sessions spread over a couple of months. Don't even bother with the usual BS that a highly qualified E.E. was unable to set up proper Blind Listening sessions either !

Eloise has already asked him directly how they were performed and appeared satisfied with his reply in HFC Forum.

Yes, she would have done things differently, but that doesn't make the results invalid.

 

Maybe my ears just suck.

[thuandb]

Love your ripping setup! Mine is very similar without AO however. I just installed AO on my ripping PC to try it...best, Jacques

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

 

I plan also to install FP (Fidelizer) and PL (Process Lasso) on it to push the envelope further. I could ask PL to prioritize only the CD ripping process, FP to optimize audio aspects of the PC. EMI / RFI can be reduced by using such devices as Shakti Stones or Online, and copper foil. These tweaks already applied to my playback chain and have given me audio heaven: holographic soundstage, extended spectrum, detailed highs mids and bass [yes it's true], and to-die-for vocals.

 

Oh, let's not forget electrically isolated audio network. During the ripping as well as playback, I use a pair of FMCs (fiber media converters) between the cable modem and PC in order to block noise coming from the Internet and home network.

[wdw]

say what you want about MC and this blind testing. I'm not even close to changing my opinion about the efficacy of what you're saying with respect to ripping.

 

My mac died recently so replaced it without even suspecting it wouldn't have an internal dvd/cd drive. So bought the Apple Superdrive which is connected by USB to the Mac. Tried a DBPoweramp rip with the AQ jitterbug in line with the usb cable and the rip seems to have a lower noise foor and larger dynamic contrasts...placebo? Dunno

[The Computer Audiophile]

My mac died recently so replaced it without even suspecting it wouldn't have an internal dvd/cd drive. So bought the Apple Superdrive which is connected by USB to the Mac. Tried a DBPoweramp rip with the AQ jitterbug in line with the usb cable and the rip seems to have a lower noise foor and larger dynamic contrasts...placebo? Dunno

Did you compare two rips' MD5 checksums to make sure the files are identical?

[wdw]

Did you compare two rips' MD5 checksums to make sure the files are identical?

 

No ...this is where I'm more Audiophile that Computer Audiophile but why do differing USB cables influence the musical presentation when the data, if measured, is identical at the recieving end.

[sandyk]

No ...this is where I'm more Audiophile that Computer Audiophile but why do differing USB cables influence the musical presentation when the data, if measured, is identical at the recieving end.

 

wdw

Are you able to clearly identify which rip is which under non sighted conditions ?

Try both versions on SWMBO too ,as the ladies are often able to more readily hear these small details.

If so, then see if the checksums are identical. There are freeware programs to do this for both PC and Mac

The only way you will ever convince Network guys and EEs is by direct comparisons so they can hear the difference for themselves. Just don't tell them the checksums are identical beforehand, or their huge dose of Expectation Bias will prevent them hearing the differences unless they are huge !

 

 

Alex

 

P.S.

As an aside, perhaps Chris can explain how even a couple of minor (perhaps masked) errors, which will result in different checksums, can alter the sound of the WHOLE track !!!

[ElviaCaprice]

No ...this is where I'm more Audiophile that Computer Audiophile but why do differing USB cables influence the musical presentation when the data, if measured, is identical at the recieving end.

 

Your confusing streamed music with data transfer. Big difference. If the checksums on the data transfer match from original to copy/rip. They are identical.

[wdw]

Your confusing streamed music with data transfer. Big difference. If the checksums on the data transfer match from original to copy/rip. They are identical.

Isn't it true that the data is transferred using a usb protocol, whether between the SuperDrive to my hard drive or from my hard drive to my DAC. If one accepts the debatable premise that various constructions of USB cable can influence the sonic picture, and that various file transfer protocols may have inherent noise, it may follow that the jitterbug may also influence the rip...dunno.