Hello to all!

I am new here and I think that this place is quite adequate to me. I love very much the music and I would need your help.

Ok...I am sure that in this forum I might find already an answer to my need, but I have no idea what to look for.

Please, at least give me some links, answering completely. Thank you!

Ok...I bought recently the complete works of J.S.Bach.

I want to rip all these CDs, also the Mozart, Wagner, Beethoven, Chopin Complete Works Editions to a very high quality.

I have for this a HDD of 320 GB, a LG 18x DVD-RW. What format to choose, what is the best in your opinion? What are the tools I need for ripping? I mean what software must I have? Ripping, tags, etc etc.

I need a complete step-by-step guide. COMPLETE. I do not know , for example, what difference is between flac and ape.

Thank you

Marian

Have you tried the search function? Have you tried http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org? At least do the courtesy of searching first before asking for help.

Just as a start, so you know up from down
Lossless is recommended if you aren't worried about drive space. There isn't such a difference which lossless format you choose - but it's recommended to stick with a popular format.

The Wiki also has articles about setting up EAC - which is a popular and safe ripper. Take a look at the other guides for codec specific setup.

Creating a long-term archive is a guide which might fit your questions, also.

Feel welcome a HA, but please save the most basic questions until you've read the stickies and the Wiki.

Hello Kirby,

I arrived to this forum using the google search function, about ripping cd collection. I truly do not want to bother you, but I have no idea what to look for. This forum contains too much information, and my skills have no touch with the technical ones.

Hello, Abasher,

Thank you much for your links. This I wanted, thank you again. I can read in English and I will dig into those links.

All the best for you all.

Windows or Mac? Also, I'd think someone's familiarity with software in general and willingness to learn new programs and invest time in setting-up and using them is a factor. There's surely a trade-off here. On the OS I use most (Mac OS X) there is, as far as I know, no ripping program that is capable of stopping a drive from caching audio; so I can't use software that makes multiple rips and compares them. I doubt that would be likely to be a problem unless I had badly scratched discs, so I don't worry about it.

But I guess absher's links will help more. I just wanted to make the point that there's no one answer, but whatever trade-off someone's prepared to make.



The important thing to know here, IMO, is that FLAC is very much more widely supported. If you want a straight opinion, use that, because it's rapidly becoming a de facto standard.

Most people here use lossless for archival purposes, but not necessarily for listening.

Marian,
At the top of this forum there are 2 stickies with step, by step instructions.

Like I said, the Hydrogenaudio wiki (http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org) was created to reduce these kinds of questions on the main forum. You should take your time to read up on the different articles on the Hydrogenaudio wiki. Try reading about lossless compression, the comparisons between the various lossless codecs, and the multiple guides to ripping music using EAC (considered to be the best CD ripper) and certain lossless codecs such as FLAC, APE, and Wavpack.

A member Nik started exactly where you are, and through research came up with these:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=52292
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=53440

EDIT: I like your taste in classical. I purchased Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium--a 20 disc set!--and ripped them all to lossless APE images with CUE sheets. Since classical music does not have too much disparity between the left and right audio, you can get up to 65% reduction of size (to reiterate, without reduction in quality since it is lossless).