i'm looking to rip all my cds to my computer. i have a couple of ?'s.what bitrate should i use? probably want to use mp3 files so i can use the file for my mp3 player. whats the best media player or jukebox program? any other info would be great. thanks
greetings. The best CD ripper out there is called EAC (exact audio copy). the best mp3 encoder is called LAME. both are free. EAC is the only ripper trusted to those who want a 100% accurate error-free rip of their CDs, and when combined with the LAME codec using VBR (variable bitrate) settings of 192 or 256kbps you will get the best quality mp3s possible. We have our own guide here on how to install, setup, and use EAC and LAME. you can find the link to the guide in my sig below. feel free to post again with any quesitons of problems
I use Exact Audio Copy with Lame at 128kbps, all freeware. I stick with MP3 format for your mp3 player. there are others, better quality but you can't go wrong. Besides unless you have a studio, quality from Lame is great.
i would recommend going a little higher than 128. even at 192 there is a much noticable difference. unless you have a small portable player, use at least 192. and be sure to use VBR...there is a MAJOR difference in quality between standard constant bitrate and variable bitrate.
quick question. I installed EAC and LAME a while ago using "perfect mp3" adapter but haven't ripped a cd for several months. I ripping to mp3s like I would normally, however, my computer would only copy the .wav track to my destination folder and skipped the whole mp3 compression part. I tried the same thing on another computer I had EAC and LAME installed and it did the same thing, skipping the encoding of the .wav to .mp3? Am I doing something wrong? Has a windows security update disabled my ability to create mp3s?
check the guide again, you probably just skipped a step. did you install lame, and setup lame desination in EAC and its settings? follow the guide in my sig below and make sure you didn't skip anything first...
question @ djscoop What do you think of FreeRIP. It uses LAME and it can do VBR at all different bit rates. I use this as my major ripping tool as it solid and works great and it also can access the Gracenotes database to automatically grab song titles and album details. BTW, I prefer 192k as it gives the best quality vs file size ratio.
