Proper compression options on EAC Options

[androdion]

Hi all. I've been using EAC to make CBR320 CD rips for a while now and I've been extremely happy with the way the program works. I currently use LAME 3.98.4 and EAC 0.95 with the settings configured from this internet guide which was passed down to me: http://fred.pouchayret.free.fr/eac-qs-en.htm

Now what I'd like to know is this. Am I losing anything by not using a more updated version of both LAME and EAC, and if so what is it that I'm loosing? In terms of CD to MP3 conversion will I notice any kind of difference by updating the program and encoder? One other thing I wanted to ask is about the compression options present in that same guide. How outdated are they? Or are they still valid?

And I mean these: -b 320 --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

Is there anything off with the versions and settings I'm using, and if so am I going to notice any difference in changing them?

[androdion]

Thanks for the reply.

I have my entire CD collection in CBR320, that's the format I use for reasons that I won't start enumerating here. The point of this thread was to realize if the settings and versions I'm using were outdated or not, and given your response it seems that only marginal improvements can be found by updating either, at least at the current bit rate I'm using. I always use "Secure Mode" when ripping CDs on both drives I have on my PC and I don't care much for extra metadata in the MP3 files, since I tend to do cover art and genre tags manually. The rest of the fields are left blank because I don't really use them. So is there any point in updating EAC?

By the way, when you use EAC to create an image does it use FLAC as an encoder? So it can store a CD in FLAC as individual tracks as well as a contiguous file?

[Dynamic]

You don't get more fields of metadata, just more sources to choose from.

So is there any point in updating EAC?

By the way, when you use EAC to create an image does it use FLAC as an encoder? So it can store a CD in FLAC as individual tracks as well as a contiguous file?

Personally, I think the CTDB checking & error correction is an advantage of upgrading, slightly better than Accurate Rip alone, for two reasons:

1. Like Accurate Rip it allows me to use Burst Mode yet be sure of a good rip
2. It allows me to correct errors even in Burst Mode, without spending hours trying to secure rip a really bad CD.

You can rip to Image Uncompressed or Compressed. It will store as a single file - that's what an image is - in WAV (uncompressed) or any compressed format you've selected (e.g. MP3, FLAC, etc.)

CUETools or foobar2000 can convert to individual tracks. CUEripper can rip as an image+CUE or multple track files+single CUE file.

You can rip in normal track mode with FLAC as your encoder if you want individual FLACs from EAC.