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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection
- 1/18/08 4:08 PM
CD Archiving.
by BigEd07 - 1/26/08 8:13 PM In reply to: Thanks Lee and everyone who submitted their answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have been archiving my CD collection for awhile now. First, I use CloneCD v4.x to create an image of a CD that can be loaded and played in a virtual CD disk. I think this is handy as heck.
While CD is "loaded", any songs I want to rip go through Roxio Creator Premier as FLACs, so the encode is lossless.
May sound like extra work, but sometimes I want to listen to a whole album, sometimes just a couple of tracks.
This also allows me to re-create the CD if it gets all scratched up over time.
i read your message
by tr3var - 1/30/08 7:57 AM In reply to: Thanks Lee and everyone who submitted their answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
ive read your mesage what do you mean by the cds
Debatable
by MacBook man - 1/25/08 9:57 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This question could have many answers. Firstly, it depends if you want to digitalize your music onto a portable media device. If you do, I would have to say itunes. Firstly, if you have over 1,000 CDs, the 160 gig ipod is one of the biggest portable devices on the market and you will probably be able to fit all your songs on it. But the problem is itunes is hard to share music with other media players because they want you to not use a different media player, they want it to be all itunes. But since you have hardcopies of all your music, it still wouldn't be that hard to share. If you just want it as a digital backup, media player of itunes. Medial player is good and easy to share music with, and itunes is good too.
Now bit-rate can be debatable. If you want really good quality you would want to go with a 256 bit rate but it you just want to store it do the 128 or 160 bit rate. You wont notice a huge difference unless you have amazing headphones or if you plan on playing it on a good stereo system.
My advice, get media player and itunes and put a couple cds in and see what you like better. As for bit rate it depends on what you want to do with it. Hoped this helped.
MP3 conversions
by EJMagrath - 1/26/08 6:01 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi
I don't know if this will help but I use Ashampoo MP3 Audio Centre, followed by grouping similar music with File Renamer by SherrodComputers. I then write the resultant MP3s to CDs and my collection is now reduced to a fraction of the original size.
I suspect that you may be needing more sophisticated programs but that is my little contribution for you!
Ted Magrath
cakewalk
by Larry2114 - 1/26/08 12:24 PM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you want versitility, Cakewalk Pyro 5 is your best bet. I've used it for years. It also recreate the files. It allows you to import items from cassettes, remove scratches or other problems. I've tried other programs, but they don't seem to have the flexabilty that Pryro has.
Who Knew Having A Monkey On Your Back Could Be A Good Thing?
by DocFlac - 1/26/08 5:50 PM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First off, I'd like to say that while I love using good freeware as much as the next person, some things are so good that they warrant a purchased upgrade.
In your case, the software in question would be MediaMonkey(upgradable to Gold)
I used the free version for quite a while and quickly fell in love with it
So when I upgraded, I couldn't believe how much more I liked the program
There is not enough space for me to describe all the features and I have yet to find anything I could say was a con
For about $30 you can purchase a lifetime license(all upgrades for life)
And I can assure you that if it has anything to do with music, you'd be hard-pressed to find any other software that can compare to MediaMonkey Gold, I dare to say that its the best media player in existence
If you decide to try, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed
Oh yeah, I would suggest a bit-rate from 192-256kbps for the best compromise between file size/sound quality, a sample rate no lower than 44 100Mhz & joint stereo
As for your other requirements, MediaMonkey can handle those without breaking a sweat
And to top all of this off, It looks/sounds great while doing so, it quickly became my default music player
Hope this was helpful
Ripping CD COllection
by shadowca1964 - 1/27/08 9:51 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I too have a large cd collection. I have 1030 cds but I have been been ripping them over a period of years. You have a long task ahead of you if you plan on rippingt everything at once. I use Windows Media Player 11 to rip cds into mp3 format at 192 to 256. I would not go below 128 as sound quality is less. I would stay away from wma and wave as many mp3 players will not accept these file formats. Winamp and Yahoo Music Juke Box are also excellent programs for ripping cds to mp3 format. I would stay away from Apple's Itune to rip though.
I have 292 artists, 1030 cds and 12300 mp3 files for 69GB of mp3 files
I've Used Them All!
by endaugust - 1/31/08 12:07 PM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was going through the same task a couple of years ago, and I tested a dozen rippers and used the same amount of music players and I've "settled" with... ta ta... Winamp. I use the word "settled" b/c I think there is no ONE program that is the best at everything. You will find features in another program that is superior. But Winamp is *overall* the most useful, powerful and friendly application that I've encountered.
Many here swear by MediaMonkey, which is a very good player and manager, but Winamp is still more versatile in the end for me. One of the most important features for me is the Replay Gain (volume balancing between albums and tracks recorded from different eras). You want to be able to play a playlist from different albums and not have to constantly adjust your stereo volume button. MediaMonkey supports Replay Gain, but only in tracks data and not albums (correct me if I'm wrong), which is limited.
But the most attractive feature about Winamp is that it's OPEN. That means there are dozens upon dozens of developers out there designing many attractive/useful (and also not so attractive/useful) plugins for Winamp. So you can expand/customize the player's feature to your content. Add features like this amazing crossfader program designed for Winamp that intelligently crossfade between tracks by matching the mood and beats between the outgoing and incoming tracks (as opposed to systematically cross in and out set at a preset crossfading time). It's like having a personal DJ who knows when to bring in a new track seamelssly. There are also plugins for DSP/Effects, plugins for lyrics (play almost any song from your library and this plugin will locate lyrics from its database for the song and pop it up in your screen)...
Winamp skin can be simple or beautiful depending on your choice. Its library management is intuitive and fast and its Milkdrop visualization is mindblowingly beautiful (I'm not exaggerating).
Winamp supports almost ALL (if not all) of music formats, so you can put anything into it and it will play. It can convert between music formats files. Change an MP3 file to an Ogg in a couple of clicks.
All of that for free. You can upgrade (pay $20) and burn/rip faster.
I agree with the poster who say that you can't rely on one music application to do everything and do it well. For instance, I recommend dbPoweramp over EAC b/c it does what EAC does, but much easier. I had to tear my hair out when I was trying to set EAC up. It was designed for MIT programers I feel. Winamp is also great b/c it uses Gracenote (more up to date than freedb) for tagging.
MP3tag is excellent for revising your tag IDs.
I concur with posters who recommend ripping in Lossless formats, whether in WMA Lossless, AAC Lossless or FLAC or others. The sound difference vs. Lossy is noticeable in a high-quality stereo system. When transferring music to your portables, you can use Winamp or dbPoweramp to convert to smaller lossy files. 128k for portables is more than fine.
Here are my opinions on music formats... as for sound quality.
Best low bitrate (96k-128k) - Ogg
Best higher bitrate (256k) - MPC (or Musepacks)
Best Lossless - no difference between lossless formats. Lossless is lossless.
My advice is to read many different opinions and spend time experimenting before embarking on ripping your entire collection of CDs.
Winamp cross fader
by davolente - 1/31/08 1:34 PM In reply to: I've Used Them All! by endaugust"Add features like this amazing crossfader program designed for Winamp that intelligently crossfade between tracks by matching the mood and beats between the outgoing and incoming tracks (as opposed to systematically cross in and out set at a preset crossfading time)"
Is this a freebie plug-in? If so, where is it obtainable? Don`t keep us all in suspense! 
Intelligent Crossfader
by endaugust - 1/31/08 1:51 PM In reply to: Winamp cross fader by davolenteHaha. Yes, it's a freebie. It's an "old" plugin that was created for v. 1.75, but it still works with the latest Winamp version. It is called "SqrSoft Advanced Crossfading Output". You can google it and go directly to their site or search it in the Winamp Plugin site for it.
I don't think it's still being supported or updated by its creator, but who needs supports when it works like a charm?
It rocks! Especially when you're playing a dance playlist. Send me $$ for a referral fee.
Advice for ripping a huge music CD collection
by NavsAks123 - 2/3/08 1:27 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
==> I prefer to use MusicMatch JukeBox for ripping such Music CDs.
- If you are an Apple ipod user, it is reccomended that you should stick to their given software i.e. iTunes. Try installing its higher version for better effects.
==> For the best hearing of mp3 songs,
bitrate: 192 kbps
format: .mp3 Pro (Can be converted using MusicMatch JukeBox9.0)
==>This program allows you to do file naming, auto tagging, look-up, and download the album art, and do reports for collection management. Auto Star/Cow Ratings, Variety of Changing formatable choices and faster speed than a normal Windows Media Player.
Anybody using WAVPACK?
by nealmiller1 - 2/3/08 10:58 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I just found about about WAVPACK codec, which uses a split file format, one lossy and one correction file, which together are lossless, as I understand it. I had been ripping my CDs to FLAC, and then 192 VBR MP3
Is anyone using this successfully with portable players? How would I do that with a large CD Collection?
Thanks in Advance!
i think its fastest
by wasimfiroz - 2/16/08 4:13 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Use sony ericsson's disc to phone software.It will allow you to choose bit rate between 32 to 128 or even leave it as it is.It takes 10 to 20 seconds for ripping one song.You might need a SE phone or a removable usb memory.If you need i can give you the programme.
Md. Wasim Firoz
For any onewith hearing problems
by lidkid11 - 3/15/08 10:21 PM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I can only hear out of 1 ear so headphones are aproblem for some songs. I fornd a free download called express rip that will rip in momo. this obviously for everyone, but i'm sure others have the same problem. Also is anyone aware of any other program that rip in mono and also rip from 2 drives
iTunes will do the work
by kotsakos - 4/4/08 2:57 AM In reply to: Advice needed for ripping a huge music CD collection by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm 17 and would like to be a sound engineer. So, I believe my opinion will help you, as I'm in to different music programs the whole day! I think the best format is mp3. Wanna know why? It's the most ********** popular! If you ever want to transfer all of your songs into an iPod (I have the Black Classic 160GB - awesome, 40.000 songs), mp3 would be the best solution. Maybe you could use mp4, for more free space in your PC. I have a hard drive of 1 Terra and I connect it with the USB port of my laptop and don't have to worry about space! All of my music files are in an mp3 format and I'm thinking of turning all of them in an mp4 format. Anyway, most programs play mp3, everyone uses mp3 in their m-p-3 players (!!!), so...
You should use the highest possible bit rate. I know, more space, but better quality. Also, if you want to transfer your songs to an mp3 player, an iPod or burn them in a CD, you should set the volume from the settings to +100%. Nothing will happen to the sound quality, believe me.
And, of course, I'm writing about iTunes. It's a great program. You insert a CD and if you're connected to the Internet, you have all the songs, artists, albums, year, genre listed in a matter of seconds. Windows Media Player can do that too, but it is slower at burning CDs, don't you think?
OK, I hope I helped you and good luyck with this huuuge collection! I only have 400+ CDs. I have lots, lots, lots of music files in my hard drive, though. Take care...
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