CD to FLAC on a MAC ?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by UglyAudio, Nov 26, 2014.

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  1. UglyAudio

    UglyAudio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    HBG, PA
    I'm looking to rip my CDs to FLAC files so I can play them from a NAS music server connected to my HI-FI stereo system.

    I did several searches and am unsure what is available to work on my imac. I dont want to lose any quality in the ripping process. I have quite a few older cds that have great DR range before the big remastering/compression era began.

    I would really appreciate your recommendations.
     
  2. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I've heard XLD recommended a few times for MAC users
     
  3. Chauncey

    Chauncey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    X Lossless Decoder, or XLD, is a popular tool for MAC users. I use dbPowerAmp, a Windows program I run on my MAC via Parallels.
     
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  4. JPartyka

    JPartyka I Got a Home on High

    Location:
    USA
    I've been using XLD for years for this on my iMac. Works fantastically.
     
  5. chrischerm

    chrischerm Forum Resident

    Me too!
     
    tyler928 and tmtomh like this.
  6. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I primarily use XLD but I have been playing with the dbpoweramp for Mac beta recently.
     
    Bubbamike likes this.
  7. chrischerm

    chrischerm Forum Resident

    Let us know your findings...
     
  8. UglyAudio

    UglyAudio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    HBG, PA
    DBPoweramp needs bootcamp to run in a windows environment on Mac right?
     
  9. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    There is a Mac-native beta.

    But for ripping CDs to FLAC (or any other format), XLD is free, Mac-native, and not a beta - it works great.

    There is no issue with sound quality - XLD, DBPoweramp, and any other modern app that can rip CDs in secure mode will produce FLAC files that are 100% identical to each other, and 100% identical to the original music on the CD.
     
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  10. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    So far very good. I am very comfortable with XLD and of course less experience with the CD Ripper from dbPoweramp for Mac but there is a little more clarity to me in the way results are reported. Though I tend to select my art manually it auto search function with multiple options is nice. I think I like the basic metadata entry/edit on XLD better. The results? I can't hear a difference but I've only done two rips from each to compare. I like the look of dbPoweramp better I like the "add to iTunes" Feature on XLD (one less thing to do). Also on discs with errors the dbPoweramp seems quicker and more capable in Ultra Secure Mode versus the Test mode of XLD.
     
    chrischerm likes this.
  11. Sevoflurane

    Sevoflurane Forum Resident

    The Windows version of dBPoweamp works well on a Mac with Windows running via Boot Camp, and also works, alebit more slowly, if you use a virtual machine (I used Parallels for a bit but preferred Boot Camp). I haven't tried the Beta of the Mac version of dBPoweramp.

    XLD and Max are both good CD rippers and format converters, and free, and will rip to FLAC. XLD uses Accuraterip and probably does a better job of getting metadata. I replaced my PC last year, though, and use that for ripping / conversion duties instead of my Mac using the mighty dBPoweramp.
     
  12. Macman

    Macman Senior Member

    I used XLD on my Macbook to rip my CDs to flac. After a few bumps and false starts while I figured it out, it worked great.
     
  13. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    I use a utility called "Max". It does very nice rips to a variety of formats and also converts files, all in one program, free. It does lookups, outputs files to where you want, including to iTunes. It also has 3 modes for the rip, from basic to "cdparanoia" modes to help ensure accuracy. I am not connected with the software in any way other than as a happy user. Found after looking at reviews for free rippers... http://sbooth.org/Max/ .
     
  14. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    I love Max - but it's no longer being updated. It actually was written by the same guy who authors XLD, and he sees XLD as the successor to Max.

    But Max does one thing far, far better than XLD - it has a much better interface for bulk-editing metadata and album art when you are converting or transcoding music files that already are on your hard drive (i.e. have been previously ripped, or were purchased as digital downloads to begin with). With XLD you can access the bulk-editing window only when ripping a CD (or when using a CUE sheet file with a single-file rip of an entire CD). If you have an album of, say 10 WAV files and you want to convert them to FLAC but tag them and add album art first, XLD has no convenient way to do it.

    On the other hand, Max has one bizarre and major drawback that I discovered by accident: If you use it to convert high-resolution files, it will produce files that iTunes (and maybe other apps) sees and treats as only 16-bit files. So for example: take a 24-bit, 96kHz high-res FLAC file you bought from HDTracks.com, and then run it through Max to convert it to Apple Lossless so you can play it in iTunes. When you load the Apple Lossless version into iTunes, do a "Get Info" on the track - you will see it listed as a 16-bit, 96kHz file. Run it through a third-party, high-resolution-capable streamer like a Squeezebox Touch, and you will see the same thing: the Touch streams it at 16-bit resolution.

    When I discovered this I had to re-encode more than a thousand high-res files and re-import them into iTunes.

    So to sum up:

    (1) XLD is definitely the way to go for (A) ripping CDs, (B) working with rips and digital albums that have CUE sheets, (C) converting or transcoding high-res files, and (D) converting or transcoding any files that already have most of their metadata tags done.

    (2) Max is more convenient for converting or transcoding 16-bit files that need significant additions or modifications to their metadata tags.
     
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  15. GreenDrazi

    GreenDrazi Truth is beauty

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Since no one's mentioned it, XLD. ;)
     
    eddiel likes this.
  16. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    Interesting and good to know. I realized that it was "orphan ware" but hadn't run into the converting snafu. Thanks for this.
     
    tmtomh likes this.
  17. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    No problem. It's a bizarre glitch in Max with the high-res files. As far as I can tell by the actual file size, Max is retaining all the high-res info when it converts a high-res file. But something about the way it is formatting the file or embedding some kind of metadata in file makes many apps see and trade the file as only 16-bit. Strange.

    EDIT: I just looked up both apps, and it seems the developer is different. I had been told the developer was the same person - and maybe XLD's development company employees the guy who wrote Max. But I'm no longer certain it's the same developer. The rest of my info still holds true, though.
     
  18. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    Stephen Booth created Max, Rip, Tag and Decibel. Rip does just that and well, without the file converting in Max. Tag is what it says, to change the metadata and Decibel is an audio player. All are very nicely done, as far as they go, but it looks like maybe Decibel is the only one to see any attention from the author recently (perhaps because it isn't freeware and may provide some income for the guy). I have used Tag once or twice and it worked fine for what I needed. There is a forum for these programs with many questions answered, although I couldn't immediately see any major thread about the Max problem with FLAC to AIFF being only 16 bit, as I was curious to see if he was aware of the problem. Or--could be it is an "undocumented feature"! :) :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2014
  19. BuddhaBob

    BuddhaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Erie, PA, USA
    Must be it is fixed now. I had no problem converting a 24/96 FLAC into an AIFF file using Max just now. Max conversion window and iTunes info... http://postimg.org/image/nkk4utq3b/
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2014
  20. jerico

    jerico Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    +1 again for XLD. And I love beets for auto-tagging (command-line only though).
     
  21. mj_patrick

    mj_patrick Senior Member

    Location:
    Elkhart, IN, USA
    XLD for now, but I would keep a strong eye on the dBpoweramp's OS X beta progress. In the Windows version, dBpoweramp's tagging workflow is amazing, especially when you have to attack a large stack of discs. XLD's tagging interface works, but it's kind of wonky (for lack of a better term) for a workflow.

    And even when dBpoweramp for OS X matures, I would still hold onto XLD for all your transcoding needs... that's where it shines, imo.
     
  22. cgoodwin22

    cgoodwin22 Senior Member

    Location:
    Severna Park, MD
  23. oktapod

    oktapod Forum Resident

    I've been using Max but it is buggy. Must check out XLD :)
     
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  24. UglyAudio

    UglyAudio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    HBG, PA
    Just got XLD and its working great. Thanks a bunch!
     
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  25. Abbey Road

    Abbey Road Well-Known Member

    XLD, for sure.
     
    chrischerm likes this.
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