Best audio ripper for my needs

[Blackened Apple]

Hey everyone,

I've recently started noticing that a lot of my albums ripped with iTunes have some popping and crackling sounds, which are really bugging me. I intend to re-rip my entire collection to both ALAC for archival and 256 kpbs for regular listening and portable devices. I need something better than iTunes when it comes to error correction, or at least letting me know that the ripped audio has some issues that can't be fixed.

I've heard good things about Max and XLD. Which of these is better suited for my needs? Metadata and album cover fetching is a major plus if available.

Cheers

 

[inscrewtable]

...

Max.

 

[Blackened Apple]

Thank you for your input.

Alternatively, is there anyway I can check my existing collection against the AccurateRip database? So that I only have to re-rip those that aren't perfect...

 

[MiesVanDerRobot]

+1 on Max. XLD is also a good one.

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Also, I know CueTools will do rechecking of lossless files on Windows. Don't know of a Mac alternative. Never had need of the feature, myself.

 

[Johbremat]

On the off chance you have a Windows machine lying around, I'd happily recommend using EAC.

Me? I use it rip to FLAC - ALAC is supported - then use XRecode to rip to alternate formats (using the Nero encoder I can raise the bitrate beyond iTunes' limit).

 

[Julien]

An alternate method is using iTunes Match and deleting your rip (is this vinyl or damaged CD's?) and downloading the Match.

 

[Destroysall]

Did you rip your music into iTunes with Error Correction checked?

 

[wrx09md]

I use Xld for everything. Rip 2 formats at once and auto imports to I tunes and my Jriver. Everything sounds great and functions perfect. Xld takes a bit to get set up for your needs but was way worth it for me.

 

[ChrisA]

I've recently started noticing that a lot of my albums ripped with iTunes have some popping and crackling sounds, which are really bugging me...

In iTunes Preferences under import settings be sure to check "Use Error Correction when reading CDs." Do you have that checked? The other software like XLD can't do any better or worse then this they all have to use the same method.

 

[Macman45]

If you want the ability to really fine tune your rips, I'd take a look at Audacity. It's free, as are the plugins, but does require a certain amount of babysitting at first.

Each CD / LP needs to have it's volume and balance set, so an initial run through the first few mins. of each is what I did.

After that, there is just about every filter ( Including the Apple offerings) that you can apply post, or during the rip.

The end result is very good indeed and knocks iTunes into a cocked hoop. I have been working my way through my collection of vinyl but it's a time consuming job. Worthwhile for sure though.

 

[ChrisA]

If you want the ability to really fine tune your rips, I'd take a look at Audacity. It's free, as are the plugins, but does require a certain amount of babysitting at first.

Each CD / LP needs to have it's volume and balance set, so an initial run through the first few mins. of each is what I did.

After that, there is just about every filter ( Including the Apple offerings) that you can apply post, or during the rip.

The end result is very good indeed and knocks iTunes into a cocked hoop. I have been working my way through my collection of vinyl but it's a time consuming job. Worthwhile for sure though.

Don't do that. What you want is an EXACT BIT FOR BIT copy of what's on the CD.

Don't try to "improve" the mix. OK if you do then be sure to keep an exact bib for bit copy of the CD some place. Even a volume adjustment modifies the music. The "correct" way to volume adjust music is to make a change to the meta-data field that describes a preferred playback volume. This is just one number in the header and does not change the bits in the music. iTunes will do this for you when you import the file.

People make this more complex than it needs to be. All you do to copy the data with zero changes. OK you are two options: You can enable error correction or not. If you disable it any scratches on the disc show up as drop outs in the audio. If you enable it the software can try and re-construct the missing data from redundant data stored on the disc. ALL software uses the exact asme re-construction method.

 

[sivamani]

Valuable tips for making successful audio mix