Ripping a large cd collection, are these the basics?

After reading numerous threads I'm trying to confirm my understanding of what I need, my understanding is:

1. Use my pc to rip the cds
2. Use dbpoweramp or foobar to rip
3. Ensure the software gathers the cd tags
4. Rip to Flac or WAV
5. Copy the files from the PC to a storage device
6. Keep a spare copy and also put the files in the cloud
7. Purchase a DAC that can connect to the storage device and to my amp (Marantz KI Pearl Lite)

Does this sound about right, what are the traps etc?

Thanks in advance.

 

You can do all that I guess. I use EAC and save a copy to an external hard drive. I don't really do much else except sync to multiple devices.

I'm not sure what you mean by traps. To be honest it is more simple then some would have you believe.

 

I agree Eric, pretty simple, it only gets a little complicated when running into pre-emphasis and those dreaded German Warner CC discs

 

I would definitely recommend FLAC over WAV if you want to be more certain of retaining the tag data across potentially numerous devices (PC, phone, etc.).

dbpoweramp is awesome for tagging / ripping - I have done over 5,000 CDs to date.

 

Thanks for the responses to date.

 

Not only ensure that the software gathers the tag data, but make sure it is correct and consistent before you rip the disc. There are three ways to write The Rolling Stones, Rolling Stones, or Rolling Stones, The. Make up your mind on which is your preferred way before you start, and correct each entry so that you have consistency because the databases are not consistent at all.

Purchase a DAC that can be put between your player and your amplification. The storage drive will connect to your player, not the DAC.

I have used three computers at the same time for ripping, as it goes much faster that way. Borrow an extra or two if need be - if you have a large collection of discs.

I also keep a scanner handy for the cd covers which do not come up in databases and are not found online anywhere. A quick scan, trim, and size does not take up too much time when you have three ripper machines going almost non-stop. Sometimes I would do my own scan because it was a rare import, a boot, or special edition and I wanted a nicer cover than what was offered up.

Use dBpower and FLAC yes.

 

Got a dupe post. So I may as well add something more to the thread.

Some CDs simply are not in any of the databases so tags do not come up at all and you must type it in by hand. If this happens it can be helpful to find the album data at discogs and copy and paste it all into the fields rather than type.

 

Another vote for dBP and FLAC, using AccurateRip / secure ripping to verify the integrity of your rips. This may actually speed up your ripping, as CDs that are in the AccurateRip dtabase and are verified as accurate get ripped in one pass, and you can leave multiple passes for damaged discs or those not in the AccurateRip database. Also agree that a flatbed scanner is handy for artwork that you cannot get via dBP and Google. More than one CD / DVD drive is also useful; if you have damaged CDs you may find they rip on one drive but not another.

 

I'm the complete opposite.I prefer Uncompressed WAV files ripped via EAC..I use Foobar for playback of these files.

Saying that, i do understand the benefit of the smaller file sizes and the better tagging that FLAC provides.

 

Large ripped CD collection and "cloud" don't really go together. Too $$$. Just buy an extra HDD or 2, and save them away from you home, i.e. work or a relative's house.

 

My workflow is basically this:
• Correct tags, rip and encode to FLAC with dbPowerAmp
• Verify that AccurateRip results are shared with at least 2 other user submissions
• If not I may clean disc and re-rip, or try EAC or try using another drive, etc, etc.
• If a few tracks are not matching then I might try to repair with CueTools
• If they match then I add artwork as a separate file called folder_hd.jpg that is no smaller than 1000px X 1000px from Album Art Exchange, Ben Dodson's iTunes Artwork Finder or search Google images.
• If no acceptable artwork results can be found online I scan the cover in myself and do various cleanups needed in Photoshop
• I'll then use XLD or Foobar to transcode files to whatever format I need, embedding the separate album cover artwork in the process
• I back up my files to 2 other hard drives. One is kept offsite.

Using dbPowerAmp and Abum Art Exchange alone will save you a ton of time.

 

I use my PC with either EAC or Foobar to create Flac. files. I add appropriate artwork to the folder. Verify with "Audio Tester" utility for converted file errors. One copy goes to my NAS the other to a dedicated HDD in the PC. I use a Bluesound Node2 to access the NAS library and play through the main system. The PC library is one stage of backup and what I listen to when working on the PC.

 

I think your steps are a little confusing. Your step 1 is to rip the CDs then step 4 is to rip to a specific file type. This should not be a two step process. The initial rip will be directly to whatever file type your choose.

Also, step 5 should not be a separate step. As long as you have initially pointed to the correct directory, you shouldn't rip then move those files around. If you're referring to your backup system then that's a different story but it's still not as simple as just copying the ripped files to an external drive.

 

I have a very simple method that can hardly be called a work flow.

• Rip using iTunes on a Mac Mini and save as AIFF
• Download the artwork
• Make a minor edit to add the album name/artist (Last Name, First Name) to assist sorting

I have a FireWire connection to a Metric Halo LIO-8 DAC.

 

If you want to keep a good list of what you have, I recommend using Discogs.com as your database. Start with putting all discs in there.

Using this in combination with Foobar allows you to easy tag stuff. (importing tags after rip, from discogs with a plugin)

Use mp3tag for manual editing and coverart. Good covers can be found at Album Art Exchange.

After that, I recommend Tagscanner to use it for setting up and writing the flac files to a good directory structure (Artist - Year - Album, whatever, keep it simple)

As recommended, keep 2 or 3 backups.

Advice...work out a good detailed workflow before you start the project. Depending how many discs / recordings you have, handle it like a 'project' and take time. I think its fun to do, but there comes a time it feels like work

 

Two subtle things are pre-emphasis, both in the TOC and sub-code, and pre-gaps. Make sure your workflow captures all three of those cases properly with CDs that are known to have each. There is a thread here with all the pre-emphasis CDs, and often lists if they are marked in the TOC or sub-code, and two CDs I have with content in the pre-gap are NIN The Fragile and Arcade Fire Reflector.

 

dBpoweramp strongly recommended over all others - superior metadata and verified Accurate rips.

Be sure to tag your files with Replaygain values (EBU R128). dBpoweramp has a DSP plug-in that will add Album, Track and iTunes values at the end of a rip.

 

DBpoweramp has many virtues.For me though, FLAC files ripped via this program didn't sound quite as rock solid as WAV ripped via EAC.

 

Although this might have been mentioned, a recommendation I can make is that before you begin a massive ripping job you should do the following first to save yourself a lot of work later:

• Decide what program you are going to use, which codec you wish to rip to and at what quality to save yourself from having to rerip the CDs later (it looks like you have done this).
• Do a few test rips first of CDs that you are familiar with and listen to them to make sure that the resulting files are acceptable.
• Decide how you are going to organize your music files (name and file structure).

The above recommendations are based on my own experience, where I've reripped a number of CDs multiple times due to mistakes I've made with the earlier rips (ripping to low-quality lossy, using a not-so-good ripping program, ripping again using a better encoder, and now ripping to a lossless codec with on-the-fly conversion when needed for my player). I would have saved myself a great deal of work if I had first ripped to WAV (before FLAC became available) and then used the file structure and file names to provide some metadata for the files, and then convert them to another format for use on my player. Then when FLAC became available I could have just converted to it rather than having to rip the CDs again.

 

There is zero advantage to WAV over FLAC for storage or playback purposes, unless you want to play the WAVs (lossless files) in a car or something.

 

At this point I think the op has all the info needed.

 

I am overwhelmed by the depth, breadth and quality of the advice provided by fellow members, thank you all very much.

This morning I will phone local retailers and consider which DAC and storage device to use. Initial thoughts are a Marantz NA 8005 combined with an external hard drive plus at least one other hard drive for a safety copy.

Totally agree that planning is appropriate and that the ripping process should be done systematically whilst trying to ensure that it remains fun rather than becoming work.

Thanks again.

 

Use the Geek Out V2. It's amazing.Or I guess it depends on your source.

https://www.amazon.com/LH-Labs-Geek...F8&qid=1472417977&sr=8-1&keywords=geek+out+v2

 

Nobody use Windows media player to rip cd,s to wav?

 

Don't forget the DSP setting in dBpoweramp to rip HDCD discs to 24-bit.