Hi!

I've just done a huge job with ripping my music library to AAC@320 in iTunes, but I realize that CDs don't last forever and I might someday get a more expensive stereo that will expose possible flaws in the AAC-files. I think this can be an issue especially with classical recordings.

Anyway, I use a MacBook with the newest osx (10.5.2) and software.
What is the best way to get guaranteed 100% accurate CD-rips (I've used iTunes so far, but I've read that it isn't trustworthy with scratched CDs etc.)?
I know EAC is the best, but that is for Windows/PCs.

I know xACT can be used, but I've read CD-Paranoia (which does the ripping part in xACT) has some bugs with the way it handles cache - which can result in a flawed copy although the log states a perfect transfer.
I really don't want to do this more than one time, as I've been spending waaayyyy too much time on this stuff already..

Also, I would prefer a CD-ripping method where I can download automatically the ID-tags (like iTunes does), so I don't have to write all the info (tracks, recording, composer) stuff manually - which will take a lot more time.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks. (I have toast titanium if that's a good option btw..)

PS: Should I bother with getting a new external CD-rom, or is the DVD/CD-rom in my MacBook good enough? (I've already ripped about 1000 cds with it...)
Thanks!

Max from http://www.sbooth.org is the answer.

Thanks! Max look very good indeed.

But, there are plenty of opinionated individuals on the net claiming this or that, so it's difficult to know what to think.
Is really iTunes inferior to EAC or Max when ripping normal CDs? I mean it's definately the easiest way to do it...
Are programs like Max or EAC only necessary with scratched/damaged CDs, or do they consistantly gives better rips? Have any real testing or research into this been done, or is the use of EAC etc. just from a "better safe than sorry" perspective?

Just trying to get all the facts...
thanks!

I use ITUNES for syncing files to my IPOD. I have nothing against ITUNES as a program for managing music files. But I've ripped 1000s of CDs and would NOT use ITUNES. ITUNES does not have the secure ripping functions of say EAC or dbpoweramp (I use dbpoweramp > FLAC > mp3 for ipod use). And don't think you only have to worry about this with old or damaged CDs. I've had brand new out-of-the box CDs require extra effort in ripping because of disc problems (and ITUNES would not have even told you about the problem). You can't determine whether a disc has potential problems by simply looking at it. This said, if you're not anal about having exact rips, you're unlikely to run into many, if any, CDs you can't rip with ITUNES, play on any system, and never notice any bad rips. It's simply a matter of choice. That's why some folks use FLAC, apple lossless, mp3, ogg, etc. My preference is to rip once, securely, to a lossless format, file the CD away, and be done with the CD.

Just to give my input although it's a relative old topic:

I have done extensive reading on this topic - i.e. secure ripping in Mac OS X. After much testing using (Max, XLD etc) I reached the conclusion that there is no such thing as secure ripping on a Mac. (Btw, I have asked the author of Max to seriously consider adding a more secure ripper (incl. log files) to his app.)

So, I did what I had to do to achieve my goal of - as garym said - do it once and archive the CD: I created a BootCamp partition (to get faster disk access) and installed WINXP on that.

This "one time rip" should be as secure as possible. I tested the Win programs EAC and dBpoweramp.

After some testing I bought dBpoweramp with its secure ripping options and extensive tagging feature - the latter something EAC lacks.

So, the workflow is the following:

1. Rip CD in Win/dBpa to AIFF files (automatically getting a lot of the iTunes supported tags correct the first time).
2. Restart into Leopard
3. (I have created a shortcut to the My Music folder on the Win partition in the sidebar of the Finder to give me quick access). Drag the AIFF files from the Win partition into iTunes - which automatically transfers them over.
3. Convert them to Apple Lossless
4. Fix all tags - if not correct
5. Scan cover art alt. get it from iTunes. Apply cover art.
6. Convert to AAC 256 VBR using Doug's iTunes script "Convert and Export" (if you don't have it download it now!). The script moves the created AAC files to a folder of your choice for easy importing to another library, i.e. they do not remain in the "lossless" library.
7. Switch to your main iTunes library. Click "Add to library..." in the file menu in iTunes and voila the AAC's have been added to the main library. NB: By doing this you will have on the fly created a lossless copy and a lossy copy.

Well, that's the way I do it anyway...

Hope this helps.

Nubben

Our latest beta version of AIFF (in the beta section) has better ID tag support for iTunes, also Album art is preserved (you could scan direct from R13 in the beta forum).

Interesting comments from Nubben.
I did do some tests myself (posted them in some other thread). When iTunes weren't able to rip the cd properly, neither paranoia rip (max and xACT) and comparison ripper (max) improved matters much.
If the CD hangs in iTunes, it hangs in the other mac rippers.
It the CD has ticking-noise, then paranoia can make it slightly better (though not remove it), and comparison ripper makes it worse.

Obvisouly the smart thing is to take care of your CDs. I've been borrowing some CDs that were heavily scratched, and most of the iTunes handles just fine. Some however, are just damaged too much for complete data retrival.
I wonder if really EAC could have saved these CDs..?

If EAC is really able to read CDs properly that all the Mac rippers can't do, then some mac programmars need to make something similar for us OSX users!

Been waiting for that particular bus for many years

Well, its been a long wait so far and I don't see a solution coming anytime soon.
Sad, but true!

Don't want to reiterate the obvious here, but does EAC actually retrieve all the data successfully from the kinds of CDs the typical mac-rippers (iTunes, comparison, paranoia) can't? I mean, is EAC really that good at retrieving perfect audio from bad CDs?

Maybe also the internal drive in the MacBook is inferior to a normal size DVD-rom in a PC/computer..
I kinda loath the idea to "contaminate" my Macbook with windows, but if there actually is such a difference between EAC (+dbpoweramp) and mac rippers then maybe I'll have to do it...

You could always install, say, Ubuntu and run Rubyripper.

Perhaps, but this will really depend on the disc and the drive doing the ripping.

Maybe someone would be willing to conduct a test using same optical drive for both systems.

To do this you would need to rip a few dozen discs in varying condition and compare results. You would also need to be able to discern rips that are truly error-free rips from those where no errors were reported by the software being tested. This is not a trivial task unless you have the ability to verify your rips against an alternative sources that are known to be error-free (second original copy of the same title, AccurateRip verification, uncorrupted data used to create a CD-R that has undergone damage).

That's a good point. Some people makes it sound like EAC is the holy grail and it will practically read anything, somehow I doubt that. In my experience (with mac programs) itunes works very well unless the cd has some really big scratches - and then none of the mac rippers will give a flawless rip anyway..

EAC has been considered the holy grail by many for a long period of time and I seriously doubt that it has been without good reason. I have seen many instances where people were dissatisfied with Mac solutions and have turned to EAC. This has especially been the case with respect to iTunes. Times have changed, however, as there is now a greater number of viable alternatives to EAC when it comes to secure ripping.

As far as being able to read anything, this isn't true for EAC or any other program for that matter. Again, this is more a function of the drive provided the program is able to provide the proper instruction.

I have used iTunes for my entire CD collection ever since I got a MacBook. The only difference I have seen in my tests vs. EAC is that EAC will tell you when it discovers an error, while iTunes will not. On CDs with obvious errors, both iTunes and EAC recreated the error when ripping. EAC didn't magically fix the error, only notified me of the error.

I "only" have around 300 CDs, so I am rather familiar with them and which ones have been known to have errors in the past. One thing I did discover on my old PC, is that the CD drive itself (a brand new ASUS 52x) would have obvious audio errors in rips of known damaged CDs, while the MacBook & iTunes could rip the CD flawlessly (at least to the ears, maybe not bit-accurate).

The bulk of my CD collection is ~15 years old and has had heavy wear and use. I have come across a few CDs that both EAC and iTunes had errors with. I simply re-bought those CDs on eBay and junked the old ones.