[macleod]

Before I got my first iPod I ripped my whole CD collection to my computer; however, I didn't really know anything about the quality loss that resulted from using the iTunes default encoding (128 AAC). I am looking at some new speakers for my setup and realized it would be ridiculous to keep those old low quality music files with nice new speakers. To start this process I am going to re-rip my CD collection and this is where I was looking for some advice.

I want to manage all my content through iTunes still, so I was wondering if iTunes is the best way to rip the CDs? I really want to maintain CD quality as best I can and storage space is not really an issue. Also, I was wondering if anyone has CD drive recommendations for ripping the CDs? I have a Mac Pro, so the CD drive can be either internal or an external if that is the best option. Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[PB PM]

iTunes does a fine job of encoding if you use AAC format. If disk space is not an issue then you could go lossless, such as Apple Lossless. Depending on how many CD you have, that could take up a lot of GBs though, as the songs stay nearly full size. Another option is 256kb AAC, which is what I use most of the time because unless you have super high end speakers you wont notice the difference.

[nikstar101]

Yeah i agree with PB there, but just remember that if you rip them in Apple Lossless format they will be stuck on Apple devices (for now). And i do not believe that other manufacturers are using that format. For example i would rip all mine in Lossless, but then i cannot stream my music to my PS3.

As for mine in now go with 320kbps MP3. Once again because there is a bit of an issue with tags in AAC on the PS3, so good old MP3 wins through.

Anything in 256 or above in either format will sound pretty great.

[macleod]

OK. I will probably do some experimenting with lossless and 320kbps once I get the speakers to see if I can tell the difference. Do you think that the stock drive in the Mac Pro will be good enough for ripping all of my CDs or should I get a second drive that is better for ripping CDs?

[nikstar101]

The stock drive in a Mac Pro will be fine. No need for external drives. Ripping CDs will be a walk in the park for a Mac Pro. I would imagine that the superdrive in a Mac Pro will be of a higher spec (ability to read disks etc) than most CD drives in a HiFi so it won't be a problem.

[PB PM]

Yeah, the Mac Pro is likely to have 48X CD read speed, which is faster than commercial CDs are burned at anyway.

[turtle]

I recently re-ripped a handful of my disks to go up from low quality MP3 to Lossless and iTunes automatically replaced my original titles. The old MP3s were in the trash when it was done and my new Lossless files had my old ratings, play count and such. Very nicely done I must say.

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by turtle2472 I recently re-ripped a handful of my disks to go up from low quality MP3 to Lossless and iTunes automatically replaced my original titles. The old MP3s were in the trash when it was done and my new Lossless files had my old ratings, play count and such. Very nicely done I must say.

Excellent. That's good to know as I can see myself having to do that this year when I get a Mac again. What about album art - did that stay or did you lose some of it? (I think some of my album art is embedded in the file itself and other album art is in a separate iTunes folder.)

[Maciej]

Originally Posted by turtle2472 I recently re-ripped a handful of my disks to go up from low quality MP3 to Lossless and iTunes automatically replaced my original titles. The old MP3s were in the trash when it was done and my new Lossless files had my old ratings, play count and such. Very nicely done I must say.

Yeah, I'm very impressed. I have a bunch of empty space I might be doing this myself soon too...

[ezkcdude]

I use Max to rip - it also can create FLAC files at the same time as mp3's.

[Dorian Gray]

If you have the space or can reasonably afford to get it, ripping to Apple Lossless is the only way to go. Apple Lossless supports full iTunes metadata, it's significantly smaller than AIFF (about 50-75% of the file size depending on music type), it's light on the CPU for both encoding and playback, and it's a perfect copy of the data. This means you can create any other format you like (AAC, MP3, etc.) at any bit-rate you like, at any time in the future, without having to re-rip your music.

I wish I had encoded my music with Apple Lossless. It gives you far more flexibility to match future needs, and with today's hard disks (and future hard disks), the space is not a big issue unless you have a truly massive music collection.

Your optical drive is fine. Turn on error correction in iTunes' Import Settings, clean the CDs before ripping to get rid of any dust or fingerprints, and leave it at that.

By the way, any other lossless format would be fine too, but iTunes natively supports Apple Lossless. Once you've got it in there, it's easy to convert to any other lossless format anyway, of course.

[Maciej]

Does anyone know what kind of increase in file size I'm looking at, say from 256 to Apple Lossless. 100%? 200%?

I know I could figure it out, but I was wondering if anyone knew offhand.

[Dorian Gray]

My Apple Lossless encodes (all 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, stereo) vary from around 500-600 kbps for [bad] solo violin recordings made in the early 1950s, to well over 1000 kbps for busy electronic music or thrashy punk stuff.

[turtle]

The album art stayed with the songs so I'm sure it just re-embedded the art after ripping again.

[curiousuburb]

Originally Posted by PB PM Yeah, the Mac Pro is likely to have 48X CD read speed, which is faster than commercial CDs are burned at anyway.

Mythbusters demonstrate why faster is not better.

[PB PM]

Yeah thats why the average notebook drive reads at 24X.