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Ripping Speed? Wave Files/Sound Quality

I just started dumping alot of my music into my 750 gig external hard drive and was wondering if a slower ripping speed will have an effect on sound quality? I have been using J River Media Jukebox 12. My burner i don't think can rip any slower than 4x or 8X. The strange thing is that i have my CD-Rom set to rip at the slowest setting and i also have JRiver MJ 12 to rip at 8x, but when i see my ripping progress in MJ12 it regularly shows the CD's ripping at 14X and 15x? But once in awhile a CD will slow down from the beginning and rip at between 4x and 8x(fluctuates during the ripping process). Am i getting less fidelity with these higher speed rips and is there a way to correct this? I listened to a cd that just by chance the machine and program decided to rip at between 4x and 8x and it sounds really good. Just trying to get the best fidelity while taking all this time to rip my collection into the hard drive. Would prefer not to have to do this twice!
Thanks for any help.
seekburk
mlsstl
1,439 posts
 
CDs that are in good condition can be ripped at high speed without error.

Just think, data programs - which are not allowed ANY errors during the installation read - have no problem installing at high speed if the disk isn't damaged. The error correction scheme in audio CDs isn't a robust as for data, but it is still effective.

Many audio ripping programs include an error correction mode that will re-read a damaged or poorly aligned CD sector. When your drive slows down during a rip that is generally the reason.

So, just make sure error correction is turned on for your ripper (or switch to a ripper that includes it.) During simple data transfer (which is what ripping a CD to a hard drive is doing) jitter and other audiophile concerns are not an issue. (Jitter is only an issue when the conversion from digital to analog takes place.) Your only concern is an accurate read of the disk.
seekburk OP
126 posts
 
Thanks Mlsstl!
Yeah after i posted my concern i switched to "secure" mode ripping which is suppose to do what you mention. It slows down the ripping speed to 1/2 but i think it is worth it to make sure i achieve accurate transfer. I only had one file so far in listening back that got stuck so i think if i would have had the secure mode selected that may have corrected that for me. I had read somewhere on a PC audio forum (other then A-gon) that slower rip speeds achieve better depth and soundstage, so that was one of my questions and concerns but your information indicates otherwise. You sound knowledgeable about the process so I appreciate the input. Thank you.
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drubin
3,274 posts
 
My question is this: if ripping speed doesn't matter and bit-perfect copying is assured so long as you rip with error correction, then why are so many audiophiles intent on using Exact Audio Copy and why does the Nova Physics Memory Player tout its Read Until Right methodology as a key component of its great sound? Something doesn't add up.
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