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Re-ripping music collection to new iMac

Over time I have ripped approximately 400 CDs to my PC using WMP 8. Now I am considering the purchase of a new iMac dedicated to music. Would there be any audio advantage to re-ripping the CD collection using EAC or a higher level of WMP to the new iMac rather than simply transfering the stored data from the old PC (Windows 98) to the new iMac.

My hardcopy CDs are, in most cases, copies themselves that I burned from public libraries, friends CDs, etc.
puerto
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
If you can transfer the files to iTunes you can then convert all of the files to AppleLossLess files in iTunes.

then you won't have to re-rip. I recently did something similar.
puerto OP
372 posts
 
Yes, I think I can transfer the files to iTunes without a problem but I'm wondering if I would get better quality sound if I dragged out the back-up CDs themselves and "re-ripped" them using EAC. Nearly all of my music library now stored in the PC was ripped using WMP so starting over may give me better quality. The one problem, as I see it, is that my CDs are copies that I burned from other CDs using Nero Burn so perhaps the damage is already done and the "lower quality" is already inherit now in the same CD copies that I would be using to rip into the new iMac. Maybe that is an issue that even EAC or Apple cannot overcome.
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
I did both, and did not notice any difference with the re-ripped tracks vs. the converted (to AppleLossLess) tracks.

convert them first, then re-rip a few and compare them.

good luck
mondonitro's avatar
mondonitro
8 posts
 
Depends on your system,you may not be able to tell the difference. I don't know about WMP but ripping to a aiff file will include metadata that wav will not. Hard drive space is so cheap there is no reason to compress your files. If it gets cheap enough we may find a way to end those damn MP3's. I say get the mac, load it up, and for now on rip aiff files.
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