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best external drive for ripping CDs

I am doing a little test drive of an LG external drive and DBPowerAmp ripping CDs to storage.   Appears to be working fine.

 

But the drive was purdy cheap ($50).  It hums and has a buzz to the case while reading. Makes me wonder about the quality of the rip.  What brands/models of external drives do people use for ripping CDs to ensure the file quality is not affected?  Or does it not matter?

128x128jbuhl
clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 

You shouldn't RIP CDs.  It is a breach of copyright.

Think of yourself as a thief.  Small penalties if you ever get caught does not compensate the artists that made the music.

Shame on you (all).  You are worse than parasites. Rip and burn takes you back to pre-civilisation.

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,229 posts
 

As long as you own the CD you have the fair use to rip it to your personal computer(s).  If you then sell or trade the CD, then you no longer have the fair use of the ripped files.

mahler123
3,361 posts
 

+1 @onhwy61 

 

I checked with a copyright lawyer before I started burning CDs.  As long as I don’t sell or broadcast or make copies off my HD, it’s all legal.  So I guess we are better than parasites, (un)clearthinker

duckworp's avatar
duckworp
257 posts
 

Any cd-rom drive is good enough as long as you use dbpoweramp to check the rip for 100% accuracy. 

kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 

You have to pay royalties.  As long as you own media that pays royalties you are OK.  Manufacturers of R2R tape pay tiny amount for each foot of the tape.  Same goes for digital tape or Audio CD-R.  Technically you could copy your friend's CD into Audio CD-R and you will be OK since royalties are paid.  It is all assuming personal use.  Exact explanation is on the RIAA  website:

Copying CDs

  • It’s okay to copy music onto special Audio CD-R’s, mini-discs, and digital tapes (because royalties have been paid on them) – but not for commercial purposes.
  • Beyond that, there’s no legal “right” to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R. However, burning a copy of CD onto a CD-R, or transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player, won’t usually raise concerns so long as:
    • The copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own
    • The copy is just for your personal use. It’s not a personal use – in fact, it’s illegal – to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying.
    • The owners of copyrighted music have the right to use protection technology to allow or prevent copying.
    • Remember, it’s never okay to sell or make commercial use of a copy that you make.
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