Help! Please! I've read until I think I'm going blind!

I've FINALLY (at least I think I have... ) figured out how to rip my CD collection to lossless & MP3 using EAC-MAREO-FLAC-LAME.

I've decided to go with the "file" option rather than "image" for my FLAC files since I'm not using them as backups .. simply for possibly listening to and making files in a different format later on.

Now my "really stupid questions" are ...

1-Should I make Que sheets with my files ... what advantages would that be for me later.

2-OK, say I've got all my files encoded using EAC, MAREO, etc, and later on, I decide I want a different format such as ACC or MP4, how do I do that? Everything I've read is talking about starting with a CD vs files already on the hard drive.

3-Or if I decide that I want my main lossless library to be in the ALAC format instead of Flac, how is that done ... or is that the same thing as the the 2nd question? (I'm sooooo confused!)

4-What would be the simplest programs to use for questions 2 & 3?

Thanks so much for your help!

(edited spelling)

1 - burning
2 - encode the lossless FLAC file to whatever format you choose
3 - you'd need to transcode the flac to alac. you might have to decode the FLAC to WAV first.
4 - foobar or sweep+flac+"encoder-of-choice"

your best bet is foobar


later

If you're using individual song files rather than disc images, cue sheets are of little use to you.


Yes, they are really the same question; just the output file is different.
It is rather simple to re-encode files that are already on your system; no need to start with a CD once the lossless files are on the computer.


Foobar2000 (as mentioned above) is a great tool for this, as is dBpowerAmp. There are also many front-end programs that are quite useful.

Hope this helps!



~esa

Thanks ... This is really helping!

However in regards to: "Foobar2000 (as mentioned above) is a great tool for this, as is dBpowerAmp. There are also many front-end programs that are quite useful."
(Sorry, I haven't figured out how to "quote" a specific remark yet ).

Would one program be better suited for converting the entire data base to a different type of lossless format (which would be done VERY seldom) ... and maybe a different program for converting only a few files at a time (but would probably be done fairly often?)

For example, should I use one type of program if I wanted to change my entire library from one lossless type to another ... and then a different program to encode selected files to a lossy format for transfer to my MP3 player?

If so, which ones would you recommend for each project?

Foobar and dBpowerAMP are perfectly suited for both tasks. Foobar has the added advantage of organizing and playing your music, but both are great for conversions (lossless-to-lossless and lossless-to-lossy).

Try running a few tests and see which one is more intuitive for you. (I use them both. )

I will ... and thank you so very much for helping me!

I've been working on this stuff almost non-stop for over a week now, just trying to learn enough to know which programs to use & how to use them. I've got papers and CD's scattered all over the place!

If I don't finish soon and take a break from this computer, I'm afraid that my husband is going to divorce me! Not to mention that I think my brain is completely fried!

I've just remembered another great program for encoding audio: Frontah.