CD to MP3: pops and clicks, I just can't get it done Options

[koenimex]

I'm a total newbie on this forum, this is my first post, so I don't know if I'm posting this in the right section. If not, please move it, and accept my apologies .

I'm having trouble with the following: When I rip a officially purchased, new & clean Audio CD to MP3, I always have pops and clicks during the songs. Approx. 10-15 per CD, which is approx. 1-2 per song. This sounds like only a few, but it's still irritating to me.

I have tried the following programs to rip the CD:
- CDex
- iTunes 6
- Windows Media Player 10
- CD-DA Extractor 8.2
- Winamp 5
- EAC (with a special guide, to configure it, using Lame 3.96)

My computer is quite new, Pentium IV 3 Ghz, 1 GB of RAM-memory, a cd/dvd-romplayer and a cd/dvd-burner:

Player: ASUS DVD-E616P2
Burner: BENQ DVD DD DW1620

I tried both the burner and the player to rip a CD, but it still doesn't work. I also upgraded the firmware for the player, to the newest version, still no result.

Can you tell me what else I can do, to fix this? Every suggestion is much appreciated.

Thank you!

Regards from a newbie from the Netherlands,

Koen

[kjoonlee]

Do the discs in question have the "compact disc digital audio" logo printed on their jewelcase covers? If not, have you tried with old discs that do have the logo?

edit: By jewelcase cover I mean the bits of paper that are underneath the plastic.

This post has been edited by kjoonlee: Oct 19 2005, 14:46

[koenimex]

Yes, most of the discs have that logo, printed on the disc itself, actually. Some of them don't have that (especially older cds). I tried ripping with kind of discs, but it's not working out.

This post has been edited by koenimex: Oct 19 2005, 14:55

[dreamliner77]

1) could be a newer, copy protected disc, or

2) could be a newer disc that has been mastered to include clipping (see also "clipression").

[koenimex]

I checked the discs for copy-protectedlogos, but I didn't find them. I will look into this whole clipression thing. Is there anyway to fix either of these problems?

[crazyman]

I checked the discs for copy-protectedlogos, but I didn't find them. I will look into this whole clipression thing. Is there anyway to fix either of these problems?

Hi,
how about trying to rip/burn the discs on another computer?

Regards,

Crzmn

[odious malefacto...]

Try this....

Download WNASPI32.DLL here:

http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/enu/WNASPI32.DLL.html

Put it in the same folder as EAC.EXE.

In EAC, hit F9 (EAC Options). Go to the Interface tab, and click the "Installed External Aspi Interface" option. Click OK, exit EAC, and restart it. Good luck!

Also, give LAME 3.97b1 a try. It is now HA's recommended version.
http://www.rarewares.org/mp3.html

This post has been edited by odious malefactor: Oct 19 2005, 16:46

[koenimex]

I did what odious malefactor suggested, but it's not working. I ripped 2 cds, one from 2002, A New Day At Midnight by David Gray, and one released in 1995, Oasis' Morning Glory (though I bought it only 2 weeks ago).

The DG cd seems fine (not listened to all the tracks), but the Oasis MP3's still have pops, on the left and right channel, seperately, and some very loud ones as well.

I converted one mp3 back to wav, and found out that the volume-levels are very high. So I ripped that very same track directly from the CD to WAV, which gave me the same levels. I attached a screenshot, so you can see what I mean (click to enlarge):



Can that have something to do with it? I really don't know. I hope you guys do =).

EDIT: The David Gray is *not* ripped ok, so it's still not working at all.

This post has been edited by koenimex: Oct 20 2005, 10:56

[kjoonlee]

What happens if you listen to the songs at a lower level? Try opening your mixer and adjusting the master volume and the PCM volume.

If it's at 100%, please try lowering it to about 50%. If that sounds good, try raising it to about 70%.

[dreamliner77]

Morning Glory is a notoriously clippressed cd.

[koenimex]

Morning Glory is a notoriously clippressed cd.

Really? So the quality of the rips vary from disc to disc? There's nothing I can do about clippressing, right?

This post has been edited by koenimex: Oct 20 2005, 14:00

[Cyaneyes]

What should have been the first question asked:

When you listen to the original CD on a standalone player, are the pops there?

[koenimex]

What should have been the first question asked:

When you listen to the original CD on a standalone player, are the pops there?

No the CDs sound fine then.

[koenimex]

I installed MP3Gain, to check for clipping and all the songs on Morning Glory are marked as 'clipping'. I read the helpfile for MP3Gain and saw that clipping means that the volume is to loud, during some parts of the song. I already noticed very high levels when I opened one track with Cool Edit Pro.

So, can I setup EAC to automaticly set the right levels for volume? IF that can be a solution to my problem, of course...

[dreamliner77]

Rip with EAC and LAME. Then use mp3gain to (at bare minimum) remove the clipping for the tracks.

[koenimex]

What would you suggest as a bare minimum? By default it's set on 89dB, I think.

[kjoonlee]

What should have been the first question asked:

When you listen to the original CD on a standalone player, are the pops there?

No the CDs sound fine then.

Let's try to isolate the differences.

If you rip the tracks to .wav files and listen to those, are the pops still there?

[kjoonlee]

What would you suggest as a bare minimum? By default it's set on 89dB, I think.

89 should be low enough to eliminate clipping. I doubt you'd want to go lower. As for making it higher, I wouldn't recommend it. Most other tools are fixed to target 89 dB.

[yulyo!]

Try this. I hope it won't be too complicated for you.
I see that you have Cool Edit Pro (Adobe Audition) there. Extract all the cds as .wav, load those tracks in Cool Edit Pro, go to Noise Reduction and there you have "Clip restoration". If you write there -2 then Cool Pro will the track with 2 db.
For a much easier clipping restoration, you could use Audiograbber. You have normalize button, "AVERAGE normalizing" and go:) Set Audiograbber as you like. I can give you some ideeas too if you are interesed.

[koenimex]

...I can give you some ideeas too if you are interesed.

Yes tell me!

I dld and installed AudioGrabber, I'll see what result it will give me.

This post has been edited by koenimex: Oct 21 2005, 08:14

[yulyo!]

hy koenimex
sorry for the late answer. i was a little busy.
see if this help:
audiograbber/normalize (push the button)
there you'll have a button called "advanced"
click there and you have a bigger window.
now, on the left upper corner you have "peak" and "average" (avrg)
check average and set it to 80%
lower you have " don't compress songs with compact ratio bigger then" (or something like this) check this box too, and set it to 80%
click add and add your tracks. you have also 3 buttons there: modify, test, preview. and a little box you should check so you still have the original .wav in case the result it's not good: "to new file" then push the "modify" button. if you have the option"to new file" enabled, audiograbber will make you a new file called like the original file, and -1. for example: jessica jay - cassablanca-1 (if the original file is called "jessica jay - cassablanca")
hope this will help. let me know the result.
maybe you could get some better results with Cool Edit Pro (Adobe Audition) and the "clip restoration" option. no, I'M SURE that you could get some better results, but with some extra work.
sorry for my "english"


This post has been edited by yulyo!: Oct 23 2005, 18:55

[Skuzzle-butt]

I tried both the burner and the player to rip a CD, but it still doesn't work. I also upgraded the firmware for the player, to the newest version, still no result.

Can you tell me what else I can do, to fix this? Every suggestion is much appreciated.

Have you tried playing the MP3s on another computer or a MP3 player? If the files play OK then maybe it's your soundcard.

[kjoonlee]

[...] you DON'T want to do it during ripping.

I agree with dreamliner77. Normalization is not the best way to do it. It's bothersome, and you'll no longer be getting pristine rips.

[yulyo!]

you're right kjoonlee, but this is the only solution. i think. as we have all agreed here, this cd is a clippressed cd. so it's not the soundcard, or anything. is the track. there are clipped samples. he can try to lower the volume. i know that the resulted track won't be identical with the ones extracted from the cd, but is better this way i think. or he can keep the clipped wavs and never listen to them.

[kjoonlee]

you're right kjoonlee, but this is the only solution. i think. as we have all agreed here, this cd is a clippressed cd. so it's not the soundcard, or anything. is the track.

Not true.

What should have been the first question asked:

When you listen to the original CD on a standalone player, are the pops there?

No the CDs sound fine then.