I'm thinking about switching my encoding method from EAC+ Monkeys audio to iTunes+ ALAC.

The main reason is speed. EAC + MAC encodes at maybe 5x on my laptop drive. iTunes+ALAC is running at 12x.

THe only hurdle that I have right now is finding a way to transcode from ALAC to the latest version of LAME. Any thoughts?

yup.. encode to lame right away, using EAC

I think I remember reading that someone wrote an ALAC decoder component for Foobar, but I don't currently have a link. Maybe someone else can ring in on this. As you may already know, Foobar is great for transcoding.

I don't use EAC much, but generally speaking... if ripping is slow, that means the CD is hard to read. Faster ripping could have errors, like skipping.

Keep watch on your CPU usage when using EAC with monkeys audio. If it is at 100% then try lowering the compression efficiency of monkeys audio, to 'normal' or 'fast/quick' (i dont remeber what its called)

If your CPU isn't being used that much, then it's the CD and your ripping settings in EAC. (it can be adjusted to rip faster, but not as secure.. i think )

alac -> mp3... dBpowerAMP comes to mind (you could also use that to rip to monkeys audio too )

I'm not a fan of iTunes... so I don't have anything more to say.

Well, another big reason is that the iTunes database often has entries that EAC doesn't.

I encoded 40 cds onto my hardrive with Itunes - loved the interface, sounded great, ripped quickly too, was lovin it.

Then the dreaded DRM kicked in.

I Reinstalled my computer cos it needed it. 5 drops to 4.

I then ran something on my computer which made it look like a different one. Ahem.

4 drops to 3.

Virus. Reinstalled.

3 drops to 2.

That was only 3 months elapsing. At that point i gave up - tried to recover the files and convert them to no avail, although apparently foobar can now do this...??? dont listen to me though - i know naaathing.

Files are long since deleted now.

Now i use MP3 and FLAC files.

First the DRM only applies to (iTMS) music store tracks. Deathorise the computer before reinstalling. If this cannot be done, say catastrophic hardware failure then contact Apple support who will do it for you as an emergency measure if you ask nicely.

Fairy

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/ The dBPoweramp music converter will do the job for you nicely. In fact it will do the ripping too.

Use Max.
http://www.sbooth.org/Max/

I know the version number is only 0.5.4, but this is great software.

.dave

DRM only applies to music you purchase from the iTunes music store, not to CD's you ripped yourself.


a) Dude, it's called "system stability". Look into it. I have an XP box that hasn't been reinstalled or even been rebooted (except for some of the security updates) for a couple years now. Works like a champ.
b) If you do get to zero and can't reauthorize, there's a button in the music store that lets you reset your authorization count. You can click that button once per year.

Unless you're a record company (the only ones who can use iTunes DRM), I kind of doubt your story.

That said, if EAC in secure mode is too slow, you could just turn off secure mode.

Test and copy and use FLAC.