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How to EXACT copy MUSIC cds on Mac

J

JW8725

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 8, 2005
740
3
UK
Hello please can you tell me how I can copy cds on mac. I need exact copies of my cds onto my hard drive as im making a music server. Thanks
 
Use iTunes and import them using the Apple Lossless codec.

Or, if you have endless HD space, just import the aiff files.

Edit: But there is no quality difference between the two (what so ever).
 
rossoUK said:
Hello please can you tell me how I can copy cds on mac. I need exact copies of my cds onto my hard drive as im making a music server. Thanks
Click to expand...

exact copies? apple lossless is great but if you're doing bootleg shows and stuff i'd go with like SHN or FLAC as they are more widely available for multiple platforms.

you didn't give enough info to really ... answer your question i guess. May i recommend giving more info and i'm sure we can provide a lot more info for you.
 
I've just made the switch from PC to MAC to make use of the airport express. I chose the mini due to its near silent operation. Im using it as a music server.

The airport express is connected to my expensive HIFI and i require perfect CD quality music to send to it.

I have been using Exact Audio Copier on the PC as this allows me to rip cds at will and play them in the car. The problem with AIFF files is that a full CD copied in AIFF has a size greater than that available on a CD.

Am i able to convert from AIFF to WAV to apple lossless at will? I would consider keeping everything lossless. What do the wise owls recommend? thanks
 
AIFF are the exact digital copies of files on the CD, they have to fit on a regular cd, if only one album at a time depending on size/length of the album.

converting between different formats will not keep it lossless though. i use Apple Lossless myself for the tracks/albums that i require in prestine quality. AIFF is great if you have the room for the files though
 
If you have a Mac mini, then your hardrive is not that big, if you don't compress your music you're only going to be able to put 80 CDs or so, which may be enough but if you have less than 80 the whole music server thing may be an overkill anyway.

If your are into really high quality equipment the computer and airport is not going to match a 3k CD player.

I would chose 320kps mp3s for the server and keep the CDs. Even if you could convert from aiff to apple lossless to wav at will it will not be a good idea, it would probably be easier to re-rip the CDs.
 
I would definitely go the Apple Lossless route as the previous posts suggest. Also, this will fit within the bandwidth of your airport express while uncompressed aiff may not.
I rip all my CD's using Apple Lossless and am very pleased with the results. BTW, going from a G5's optical out to a digital amp's optical in sounds awsome on a B&W Nautilus surround sound setup (802's, 805's and an HTM2). :D
 
javiercr said:
If you have a Mac mini, then your hardrive is not that big, if you don't compress your music you're only going to be able to put 80 CDs or so, which may be enough but if you have less than 80 the whole music server thing may be an overkill anyway.

If your are into really high quality equipment the computer and airport is not going to match a 3k CD player.
Click to expand...

I intend to use an external HD to store all the music. The 80 gig on the mini is too small for anything but mac programmes.

Also you will be suprised how the addition of a DAC to the airport will sound when compared to a 3K CD player. I've got that angle covered too because ive got a Linn Ikemi.
 
RAS admin said:
I would definitely go the Apple Lossless route as the previous posts suggest. Also, this will fit within the bandwidth of your airport express while uncompressed aiff may not.
I rip all my CD's using Apple Lossless and am very pleased with the results. BTW, going from a G5's optical out to a digital amp's optical in sounds awsome on a B&W Nautilus surround sound setup (802's, 805's and an HTM2). :D
Click to expand...

Man the Nautilus is a bad boy range of speakers. I'll be introducing a DAC to handle the conversion so all i need is a bit perfect stream that the airport happily provides. I've got a Linn Kairn/Klout set up tri-wired to Epos m22s. I feel like a kid at school again learning to copy with all these new programmes on the mac. Exact Audio Copy is awesome, I might just keep that to handle all my copying woes and use the mini to run everything. Mini is fantastically silent. You really have to get up close and listen to hear its slight whisper.
 
rossoUK said:
Man the Nautilus is a bad boy range of speakers. I'll be introducing a DAC to handle the conversion so all i need is a bit perfect stream that the airport happily provides. I've got a Linn Kairn/Klout set up tri-wired to Epos m22s. I feel like a kid at school again learning to copy with all these new programmes on the mac. Exact Audio Copy is awesome, I might just keep that to handle all my copying woes and use the mini to run everything. Mini is fantastically silent. You really have to get up close and listen to hear its slight whisper.
Click to expand...

Not quite understanding what your "woes" are. Just open iTunes and open the preferences, set the importer to "Apple Lossless". Insert CD. Click "Import". Done. iTunes grabs all of the CDDB info from the internet and all of the files are already on your playlist. Apple Lossless format will sound EXACTLY the same as AIFF or WAV, there is no audio loss in Apple Lossless format (hence "lossless").

Believe me, I'm running Klipsch Reference RF-35 floor speakers with the RB-35 bookshelves and a couple of surrounds. Nothing less than Klipsch Refernece will do for me. Running a DJ business for a few years turned me into an audiophile. Using iTunes to import all of your CDs to Apple Lossless will work just fine. Any "difference" you hear between Apple Lossless and AIFF or WAV is purely in your head.
 
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