Advice: CD's to Hard Drive and Back Again

Use EAC in test and copy mode and create a cue file. Check the log to make sure there were no errors and to see if the tracks match the Accurip database. If the rip matches the Accurip database then you know it is bit perfect. I always make an sfv of the wav files before I convert them to flac.

You can also use EAC to burn disc using the cue file. You can play with the burn speed. I prefer to burn disc at a slow speed. Use a good quality disc made in Japan such as Taiyo Yuden. If the package says made in Japan it is a good quality disc.

I have found that a CDR only burner makes a better sounding disc then a DVD burner. I don't know if you can still find CDR only burners though. I like to use a drive in an external case with a good quality USB cable. I personally use a Plextor Premium in an external case that is sitting on sorbothane feet. The less errors the less error correction that is needed.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or need more help.

Maybe I am making it sound overly complicated. It is really not. Nero or Roxio will not give you an accurate rip. There are other programs that will give you an accurate rip but EAC is probably the most popular. There is a database of signatures for most CDs. It is called the Accurip database. EAC will automatically check your rip against this database. If your rip matches in the database then you can be pretty sure it is a proper rip.

EAC will give you a better rip than any disc copy machine. If EAC finds an error on a disc. It will reread that section over and over as many times as necessary to try and resolve the error. An "on the fly" rip can not do this. There can occasionally be timing errors but not often. If there is a timing error EAC will let you know. You can then try to rerip that track. That is why it is always good to check the log and see if there were errors and if the tracks match the database.

Ripping is black and white, either the rip is accurate or it is not. It does not matter what type of drive you use to rip the disc. If the disc matches other discs in the database than you can be pretty sure it is accurate. The more discs it matches the better. Accurip will tell you how many matches there are. I use EAC and rip to wav files. I then create an sfv checksum for the wav files. I then convert the wav files to flac and store them on my hard drive. Unless you have a good rip to start with, you can't make a good copy.

"I've found that CD's are neither indestructable nor unscratchable"

This can not be! In 1982 when Phillips and Sony introduced the Compact disc they promised it would bring you perfect sound forever!

Timrhu,

just for fun, take a couple of the discs folders of AIFF files and convert them to flac. Then compare them to the Accurip database. I don't know if there is a program for the Mac that will do this. There are a number of free programs such as CUETools that will do this on a PC. Flac is a lossless archive so if the rip is accurate it will match.