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CD ripping for the lower end.

I have a decent hifi system. I listen to CDs mostly. Thinking about going modestly digital just to test the waters. Right now I have an old iMac that will be my server. It is too old for all current ripping and cataloging software so it will probably be iTunes for ripping and playing. I will use Apple Remote on my cell phone which is a fairly capable remote at this level and works with the older version of iTunes on this old iMac.This is all probably commensurate with the entry level DAC I just got used off eBay, a Schiit Modi 2 Uber. I’ll get a Monoprice USB cable for it. I’ve got some high end RCA cables for DAC to Pre-amp.

If this works out okay and the SQ is tolerable I might step things up and use my MacBook Pro in which case I could get dBpoweramp for ripping and something to bypass iTunes for playback. Might even upgrade the DAC.

The first question I have is that for right now, what format should I rip the CDs to? Space is not a big concern. I’ve only got about 150 CDs and won’t rip them all. The primary consideration would be sound quality and future ’portability’ if I move up to higher end DAC and all that.

The second question is should I use my MacBook or new iMac to rip using dBpoweramp and then move the files to the old iMac?

Thanks for your help.

George
n80
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

I would recommend to use XLD on a Mac to rip CD's.  Every bit as good as dbpoweramp and it's free.  I use both.

As for format, I want the very best quality, so I rip to .wav files.  If you want all lf the tags, then FLAC is probably best for you.  You lose a bit of SQ, but if you don't have an uber system, you probably won't notice.

As for player S/W, I have found Amarra to be best and I've tried them all.  I do use a previous version of Amarra that is no longer available though.  Others use Audirvana and Jriver.   I have these also because I' im the biz.

Steve N.

n80 OP
2,116 posts
 
Why would there be a loss in quality between WAV and FLAC? I know that FLAC is compressed but it is still lossless. Is quality lost in uncompressing the file?

Anyway, yes, I would probably like to have tags and such. Does AIFF support tags/metadata?

Also, thanks for the reference to XLD. I’ll look that up.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Free XLD on your Mac is the way to go. Rip them to AIFF if you want to use with iTunes(which I hate), Audirvana+, Amarra or anything else. It supports tags, art etc. and is lossless. With AIFF you can download same files to your iphone for portable or car listening. FLAC is a nuisance in appleland, as they don't support it. You can convert FLAC to AIFF with many free or cheap software programs.
On mac, it's a worthwhile small investment to buy the Yate app to manage/edit your tags. 
Your 2nd step is on the right track. Just skip the 1st step. iTunes sux.
If you rip to AIFF or FLAC you will also be able to eventually copy the files to a true NAS if you decide to upgrade and then still use the mac for accessing the server, ripping to the server on your network etc. 
FYI, one of the worst things about building a library in iTunes is that art is embedded on the songs in a way that when you copy the files elsewhere, you lose all the art. Rip to AIFF, save cover.jpg to each album's folder(XLD does this automatically). Then you will have a portable, extractable library including art. Cheers,
Spencer
mahler123
3,253 posts
 
Hey n80
CDs are digital.  The digits are stored on a disc, are read by a scanning laser, and then fed to a DAC contained within the player.
That is what Clearthink was getting at.  You are interested in moving the digits from your CDs to have them reside in one place, on a Hard Drive.
   WAVis total uncompression.  FLAC compresses the digits a bit, but nothing like MP3 or it’s equivalents.  The digits are then mostly uncompressed on playback.  Think of it as jamming socks into a drawer.  When you pull out the smooshed item, it will probably look just fine when you put them on your feet.  A real nit picker, like your wife or mother, may notice a slight inconsequential wrinkle.  Most people can’t hear a difference between FLAC and WAV, or Apple Lossless, but perhaps an Audio Professional like audioenginr can.
Where FLAC really shines is in the handling of metadata 
erik_squires
16,009 posts
 
Look into volumio or Picore player. 
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