Which computer DVDrom is the best for ripping?

A CD rip is a (hopefully) bit-perfect transfer of the disc data, i.e. its ones and zeroes. There is no clock involved at this stage, so jitter is not a factor. This in turn means that unless data is read incorrectly (which would give gaps, digital clipping or other distinctly digital artifacts) the output from one drive is sonically indistinguishable from the other – the data is byte for byte absolutely 100% identical. Hence I am inclined to believe that the brand differences Blindjim refers to are placebo.

Blindjim is however entirely correct in that good ripping software is key, and like many others I rely on Exact Audio Copy. But beyond this, drives *do* matter – their ability to retrieve bit-perfect data off of the disc can vary greatly. Plextor have a tremendous reputation (and accompanying price tag) for a reason, but with my limited experience I have also found Samsung drives to generally be better at this than NEC/Optiarc.

I have many discs that can only be ripped correctly (and verified as such by EAC) from one of my three drives and it's always, without exception, the Samsung that wins. It's an older DVD-Rom though, and I can't speak for more recent DVD-RW models.

I actually have 2 burners right now, both from Samsung. They are 16xx series. When I use EAC, actually it prefers one over the other and the reason is that one of them has buffer. To my surprise, it prefers the one without buffer, which is an older model. I don't know if it's only applicable to the burning process or the ripping process. That's why I'm asking ...

I haven't checked if the files are bit identical, although I assume so.

Using EAC, I actually misplaced my two drives once, repalcing the dead LG with the neweer one... and which ever drive was set to MASTER, was always the preffered EAC choice. Switching them back, the other unit was now the preffered EAC choice... maybe it's more than buffering... I don't know.

I did find that true on one other box I own as well... who ever is set as main/master, gets the nod by EAC.

My notes on the sound of the drives was via USB out to a BC DAC3 and my main system playing one against the other as one might play two CD box players using only one DAC.

I've entirely too much time on my hands. oddly though the ripped tracks do not cary the 'house' sound of the various romdrives...

The NEC Optiarc drive is not among my preffs for anything save DVD making, and due to it's price. ... and it came with the box... the LG firmware update killed it too.

One other thought is ensure the method your pc requires for connectivity.... some Plextor are IDE only... more new pcs are going away from ATA and using ESATA for greater sppeds. With DVD ripping and vurning this is a big deal, for CDs, not so much.

Blindjim: When playing a disc in real time through a computer drive there is a clock to the signal of course, so then I fully understand that there is an audible difference. No placebo needed! Thanks for clearing that up.

I think the general recommendation ought to be Plextor. In the grand scheme of things the extra money is rather insignificant, and getting a proper bit-perfect rip once and for all is certainly worth the small additional cost.

If you get read errors in EAC and the CD looks unscratched, you've got a problematic drive and should consider an upgrade. If only visually beat-up discs give you problems, you might want to repurchase the CD instead.

I really like my outboard Lacie w/firewire. Great, accurate, noise free, bloody fast rips.