Ripping Speed? Wave Files/Sound Quality

Sorry, I still don't get it. Why put forth all that effort if it doesn't make any
difference? You said, "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."

I've been trying to figure out to burn CDs with quality equal to the original.
Some people say you need a program like EAC, but I can't believe that is the key
to it.

Let's put this another way. Data programs are not time sensitive when they install. The CD drive can re-read the disk as many times as it wants. If the disk is in good shape, it reads the disk perfectly at 50X (or whatever.) If the disk is in poor shape, it tries until it gets it right. If it never gets it right, you get an error message that the program can't install correctly.

When you rip a CD on a computer, the drive has a similar opportunity for multiple reads within the confines of Reed Solomon. If an audio CD does not need to be re-read, it rips quickly. If the drive is having trouble getting an accurate read in an error correction mode, it reads slowly. Slow ripping does not improve error correction if no errors are popping up.

When a regular audio player plays a disk in real time, it has to read it at 1X and get it the best it can the first try. If it has to re-read a section of the disk it can't deliver the music in real time, so audio players typically don't re-read. They may interpolate to fill in the error with a "guess" about the music that should have been there.

Players like the memory player are more like a computer drive. They stream the data into a memory buffer and the actual 1X output is sent to the DAC from the memory, not the CD itself.

However, with your last sentence you introduced a variable that hadn't been on the table in the earlier discussions. You indicated you want to "burn a copy." An original CD is encoded using pits and lands that are pressed into the CD. A CDR is layered with a special coating that creates the binary code by burning the appropriate areas with a laser, which then become non-reflective.

It can be argued that some stand-alone players read a commercially produced CD differently than a CDR. (Some audiophiles claim that CDRs are generally superior to CDs.) However, anytime you're playing something in real time, jitter becomes an issue. Jitter is a function of timing precision in the decoding from digital to analog. It is not an issue when you're only talking about accurate data transfer during the ripping process.

So two different issues at work. Ripping is a data transfer function. Playback (from whatever source) is a different can of worms.

Thanks, very clear and helpful. And I'm sorry to be so dense about this, but would EAC be meaningfully better at capturing the data of an audio CD than, say, iTunes, which also rips at whatever speed it needs and uses error correction?

All of this argues for the inherent superiority -- theoretically at least -- of a hard drive based music system, doesn't it, since the data will be captured with whatever it takes to read it all, in contrast to the real-time reading of your typical CD transport (the new PS Audio transport will be an exception). Assuming jitter is managed sufficiently well.

I personally don't know how extensive the iTune error correction system is. EAC has an "Accurip" feature that compares your rip against a database and gives you a "confidence" reading for the quality of your rip.

However, over the years I've not had too much problem ripping disks. As noted before, I do most of mine on a Linux system, but I have done ripping on a variety of other systems over the years and never been displeased with results when the CD is in good condition. I use a music server with a Squeezebox and an external Lavry DA10 DAC. It handles my collection in a way that allows me to enjoy the music without constantly obsessing over things.

>Squeezebox and an external Lavry DA10 DAC

That's exactly what I'm running right now.