Best way to convert CD's to MP3

EdwardB

I am seeking advice on best solution for ripping my CD's to MP3, up to now I have used Windows Media player in Win7. It defaults to WAV but I want MP3 so changed the default.

I am after quality and not worried about storage, I seem to remember max setting for Media Player is around 320, not sure if this is a standard maximum?

I have Win 10 but I am not going to use their new music app under ANY circumstances, so has it's version of MP improved over Win7

I will be using Media Monkey so wondering if best to use that?

Any other software solutions along with why exactly they are better are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

EdwardB

OK so I have decided to use Media Monkey (alternative to iTunes) to manage my music library.

Now I am considering hardware.

I should point out that I am a tight fisted git and will only spend money for practical functionality that I NEED.

I still have my trustworthy hifi so integration with that might be a consideration.

I am open to suggestions for

Piping music to other rooms
Speakers
any cool stuff

Cheers

psychic_teabag

EdwardB wrote: »

I am seeking advice on best solution for ripping my CD's to MP3, up to now I have used Windows Media player in Win7. It defaults to WAV but I want MP3 so changed the default.

I am after quality and not worried about storage, I seem to remember max setting for Media Player is around 320, not sure if this is a standard maximum?

mp3 is always lossy. One good lossless format is 'flac'. (But obviously if you are keeping the physical CDs then you always have access to the full data if better formats become available.)

Another interesting encoding is ogg/vorbis - like flac (but unlike mp3) it's royalty-free. It is claimed to be better quality than mp3 for a given compression factor.

Obviously you'd have to stick with mp3 if you need to interoperate with other standard devices, but my android smartphone is just as happy with ogg files as mp3, so that's what I tend to choose (except for files downloaded as mp3 originally - don't convert from mp3 to another lossy format since you'll just discard a different bit of the data).

I can't comment on particular software to convert between the various formats since I use linux. But it looks like media monkey can handle ogg and flac.

esuhl

EdwardB wrote: »

I am after quality and not worried about storage, I seem to remember max setting for Media Player is around 320, not sure if this is a standard maximum?

In that case, don't touch MP3! It's low quality lossy audio. Although you might not notice too much difference at 320 kb/s (which is the highest bitrate for MP3). As above, FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) would keep the original CD quality.

https://xiph.org/flac/

Exact Audio Copy (EAC) is a program designed to get the most accurate rip possible. It even works with CDs that are badly scratched and won't play.

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Strider590

MP3 at 320, you won't notice ANY difference to flac, and I don't care what anyone says..... I used to work in professional audio, I setup and built systems that have been use FOH at festivals like Glastonbury, as well as recording studios.
We had hi-fi enthusiasts who used to buy our equipment 2nd hand and rip out ICs, OP-amps, capacitors and replace them with "superior" quality parts, which actually worsened the equipments noise floor by as much as 20db, yet they'd swear it sounded better.

On a top end system you'd struggle to hear any difference between flac and mp3 (320), on the average hifi, car radio, etc you will not hear any difference at all.

The primary reason is digital to analogue (DAC) converters, what you hear is entirely dependant on the sampling/unsampling rate of these devices, your average consumer grade device won't have a sampling rate anywhere near high enough to take advantage of a lossless digital format.

So my suggestion is to use the single format that works for you, across all of your devices.

almillar

Starting out now, no way would I use MP3. FLAC if you've loads of space, or AAC. Whilst AAC is lossy, it's far better and more efficient than MP3 at the same bit-rate. Unless you've got something ancient that can't play AAC, just avoid MP3 altogether.
You need to be more specific about your hardware requirements - are you streaming all of this from your PC? How many rooms? What kind of quality are you after in each room, do you have any kit already? For example - HiFi in the living room, plug in a Chromecast Audio.

forgotmyname

Wireless or bluetooth speakers.

Terry98

Media Monkey can rip the CD's for you http://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/index.php/WebHelp:Ripping_Tracks_from_CDs/4.0

I set it up a few years ago. I think there was a slight problem with a dll for Mp3's which is easy to sort out if you google it

mac.d

esuhl wrote: »

Exact Audio Copy (EAC) is a program designed to get the most accurate rip possible. It even works with CDs that are badly scratched and won't play.

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Just quoting to second this recommendation for ripping your CD's to whichever format you want to use.