Ripping in Max

[wazza69]

Hi,

 

I am about to rip my 2000 CDs on my Mac to Apple Lossless and was intending on using Max. I am a bit new to all this, can anyone recommend some detailed settings to ensure it is done to maximise sound quality. I would hate to have to do it twice!!

 

Thanks,

Waz

 

 

[TimH]

Hey Waz,

 

At the risk of sort of hijacking your thread right out of the gate......I don't have much to offer r.e. ripping using Max, but thought I'd ask if you are dead set on using Max or if iTunes meets your requirements. I think you'll find that a lot of folks around here feel that iTunes is actually one of, if not the best music manager out there, even for ripping. If you'd consider iTunes, here is a post by Chris with some recommended settings:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/node/255

 

Having error correction turned on is a big deal. Also be aware that some screens have changed a little with iTunes version 8 that was just released.

 

I'm relatively new at this also, so I'd be interested in your opinions about ripping with Max if you are a big fan of it. I've used Max for converting files between formats, but not for ripping. ITunes isn't perfect (missing artwork, funky handling of compilations) so I'm open to new ideas.

 

TheOtherTim

 

 

[bmerikal]

Hey Waz,

 

Why not just rip in iTunes instead? Does Max do a better job? (It certainly has more — and more confusing — options than iTunes does.)

 

And from what I gather, if you REALLY want to maximize sound quality, you should rip to AIFF instead of Apple Lossless.

 

Bill

 

[TheRocker]

Hi Waz, the advantage of ripping with Max is that you can rip to several formats at once so you could rip to AIFF and MP3 at the same time if you wanted files for archive and for a portable player. Each format that Max can rip to / convert to, has options for the encoder settings too eg. MP3 quality, bitrate, VBR etc.

 

When using Max for ripping, use the cdparanoia option, enable the error correction checkbox, and select the 'full paranoia' type of error correction. You can leave the other ripper settings as defaults unless you know what you are doing and want to change them.

 

HTH!

 

[ajay556]

I have been recently using MAX to rip CDs. I accidentally selected 24bit AIFF in MAX preferences, for my CD. i noticed that the file is larger than using 16bit AIFF iTunes to rip the same CD. Moreover, the sample rate is much higher in MAX 24bit versus iTunes 16 bit. This is strange since its a 16 bit CD. I also noticed it sounds better than ripping with iTunes in 16 bit format.

 

Anyone else have this experience...

 

Thanks

 

[ajay556]

I have been recently using MAX to rip CDs. I accidentally selected 24bit AIFF in MAX preferences, for my CD. i noticed that the file is larger than using 16bit AIFF iTunes to rip the same CD. Moreover, the sample rate is much higher in MAX 24bit versus iTunes 16 bit. This is strange since its a 16 bit CD. I also noticed MAX copy sounds better than ripping with iTunes in 16 bit format.

 

Anyone else have this experience...

 

Thanks

 

[ajay556]

I have been recently using MAX to rip CDs. I accidentally selected 24bit AIFF in MAX preferences, for my CD. i noticed that the file is larger than using 16bit AIFF iTunes to rip the same CD. Moreover, the sample rate is much higher in MAX 24bit versus iTunes 16 bit. This is strange since its a 16 bit CD. I also noticed MAX copy sounds better than ripping with iTunes in 16 bit format.

 

Anyone else have this experience...

 

Thanks