Ripping methodology dbPoweramp vs. Max

[mgsylvestre]

I have read the suggested ripping methodology available on this site.

 

Before committing to anything and embarking on ripping my library (again), I have some questions.

 

I mainly use Macs at home (my use of Windows at home it pretty much restricted to gaming at this point). Doing everything in the Mac is more convenient than rebooting Windows and the PCs I have lying around are getting old.

 

My questions are the following:

 

1-Is there any disadvantage to using Max to rip everything to FLAC as opposed to dbPoweramp? If not, why use dbPoweramp in the first place?

 

2-Assuming there is no compelling reason to use dbPoweramp, what is the best Mac ripping utility? Max? Something else?

 

3-Assuming that Max is the Mac solution, any step by step tutorial available or documentation which explains the options?

 

4-Is there software available to incorporate cover art in FLAC files? Max seems to be quirky in that regard, I can only get it to do it when converting, not when ripping or as a standalone function.

 

5-Speaking of coverart, any restriction as to the use of jpegs? Is it better to do it in TIFF?

 

[cfmsp]

 

Check the archives for XLD threads, such as:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/XLD-ripping-AIFF-files-Mac

 

With regards to a couple of your questions,

 

I use XLD instead of Max on Mac systems. I don't have/use PCs so can't comment on the EAC/dbpoweramp debate, and will defer to Chris' article on this.

 

I convert only to AIFF (NOT Flac), as AIFF on Mac has better support for metadata, and I don't convert enough files that the storage advantage of FLAC outweighs the disadvantages of using FLAC on a Mac, i.e. iTunes does not play it natively.

 

If you do want Lossless files on a Mac, FLAC still has this disadvantage as compared to Apple Lossless (ALAC), which is therefore preferable, to my mind.

 

I believe my post above has a link to setup guide to XLD. XLD has many options, but I believe mostly can be left off safely.

 

clay

 

 

 

 

 

[pcfixer]

I agree with Clay that ALAC is the way to go if you're interested in lossless compression. I read somewhere that ALAC is an extended version of FLAC that has a few features the original standard left out like support for up to 32bit/192KHz original files.

 

Regarding Max, personally I wouldn't use anything else. I paired my Mac pro up with an external USB DVD and five external eSata DVDs when I went to rip my CDs. The great benefit of Max is that it allows you to rip and encode multiple discs simultaneously while outputting to multiple formats if you so choose. I will agree that tagging is it's weakness but I use the TuneUp plugin for iTunes to tag everything once I'm done ripping. Max also utilizes the CD Paranoia libraries so you can get great rips from questionable discs. Even with paranoia enabled, I was still able to rip 50-60 CDs an hour using this setup.