Anyone know any good free CD copying/ripping software?

April 19, 2004 6:38 PM

This question has been asked before a few months ago, I'm sure, but I can't find it so.... Anyone know any good free CD copying/ripping software (better than Windows Media anyway)? Everything I copy with windows media comes out weird and it skips even though it doesnt skip when i play the CD normally.
posted by Slimemonster to computers & internet (15 comments total)

I like cdex!
posted by mcsweetie at 6:54 PM on April 19, 2004

Exact Audio Copy is good. A little slower than most, but it makes error-free rips.
posted by nixxon at 6:56 PM on April 19, 2004

Download Exact Audio Copier, then download LAME and use LAME as your MP3 encoder. This is easy and EAC will even search your hard drive for LAME after youve installed it.

This is regarded by many circles as the most correct and standard way of copying your music to Mp3 format, or just about any other format you have in Codec form on your computer (Like Wave files, etcetera).

Look on Google for both programs. EAC will also burn Cds.
posted by Keyser Soze at 6:57 PM on April 19, 2004

Note: LAME is a codec, that is, something that makes one thing another. What I mean exactly is turning CD-Audio into MP3 Audio. LAME is open licensed software, legal, and the most well made encoder for Mp3, ever. Do yourself and anyone who copies from you a favor: 192k at least.
posted by Keyser Soze at 6:59 PM on April 19, 2004

http://www.mp3-tech.org/software/encoders/lamewin32.exe
posted by Keyser Soze at 7:02 PM on April 19, 2004

I think the question's been asked three times so far. Unfortunately, Google's index of Ask is both incomplete and difficult to use because of the lack of page titles.

The answer in every one of those threads was CDex, although there are people who prefer EAC. Both offer roughly the same functionality, including "paranoia" mode ripping, but if I remember correctly, EAC doesn't have the handy built-in hooks to LAME and Vorbis (or rather, comes with LAME and Vorbis encoders built in) like CDex does.

In general, I'd consider CDex the better choice for most uses, such as "please rip, tag, and encode this with one click."

I've seen some weirdness with it using SCSI drives in the past, like my trusty UltraPlex 40, but versions in the last year or so seem to work just fine.
posted by majick at 7:23 PM on April 19, 2004

Both EAC and CDEx are good one-shot solutions. CDEx has the slight edge of being a good deal more user-friendly, but EAC has the edge of being rock-solid accurate in its ripping (and when there's a potential problem, it's sure to tell you).

It's easy to integrate LAME into EAC. Just download the LAME DLL, drop it in the EAC directory, and select it in the codecs menu.
posted by neckro23 at 8:17 PM on April 19, 2004

Here's one of the prior questions on this topic.
posted by anastasiav at 9:10 PM on April 19, 2004

I vote EAC: I think it's got the edge on accuracy.

You might want to consider ripping to Ogg instead of MP3. There are good portable players that do Ogg (iRiver springs to mind), and it achieves better quality in smaller file sizes.

Not so handy for sharing your music, 'cause it hasn't taken the world by storm like MP3 has.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:13 PM on April 19, 2004

Ogg is pretty standard if your playing primarily through your PC, because newer versions of Winamp support it. Ogg is a better choice for lower bitrate recordings, although encoding higher than 160Kbps they are rather neck to neck. Mp3 is obviously the standard, and hard drive space is not much of an issue anymore. If you are playing it through a portable music player go to the manufacturers website and see if it supports Ogg. If it does, you are better off using Ogg (if you dont have a lot of room in said portable player) otherwise stick with Mp3.
posted by Keyser Soze at 9:18 PM on April 19, 2004

This is the best tutorial on using EAC/LAME to make wicked MP3s.
posted by Jairus at 10:40 PM on April 19, 2004

EAC has got my vote - easy to use, and you can record from line in.
posted by FidelDonson at 1:25 AM on April 20, 2004

When I ran Windows, one of my favorites was CDex, so another vote in it's favor.
posted by mkelley at 10:14 AM on April 20, 2004

The Red Ferret Journal recently posted an answer to this.
posted by scarabic at 10:38 AM on April 20, 2004

Wow, in one of those recursive, surreal, technicolour waking dreams, I find my small site suddenly mentioned by the mighty Metas. Thanks scarabic. :-)

duug (aka Red).
posted by Duug at 11:16 AM on April 20, 2004