CD ripping software

Audio Gear Talk
1

Hello,
I have started using the “freac” application on my iMac to rip CDs into FLAC files. However, I have found that, almost invariably, 1-2 of the ripped tracks are identified as “corrupt” by Roon. When I re-rip the CD in ALAC format into my Apple Music library (which Roon “points to”), none of the tracks show up as corrupt. I’d appreciate any input from someone with more familiarity with “freac.”
Thanks,
Frank

2

You seldom get more than you pay for. dBpoweramp is worth the spend if you have more than a hundred CDs to rip

7 Likes
3

XLD and XaCT are both open source and produce excellent FLAC files. I’ve never had a bad result. 600+ CDs ripped.

2 Likes
4

Get dBpoweramp…you will not be sorry! It uses AccurateRip which is phenomenal technology.

2 Likes
5

I use the same app but on Windows and never had any issue. Do you rip directly into Roon’s watched folder?

6

+1 dbPoweramp

1 Like
7

+1 DBpoweramp

1 Like
8

Another +1 for dBpoweramp

1 Like
9

And with dBpoweramp you get a metadata editor thrown in as well (plus other utilities).

10

BTW, @BlackJack asked an important question: do you rip directly into a Watched Folder?

If so, then try this: rip first to a staging folder, and then copy across the ripped files and folders to the Watched Folder. The reason is that then Roon has a complete folder of tracks to identify, rather than one that is being built up gradually during the ripping process. Using a staging folder is best practice for ripping.

4 Likes
11

…and yet another pair of thumbs up for dBpoweramp from me. I’ve been using it for a great many years.

Michael

1 Like
12

It also makes it easier to do a final check of tagging before dropping the folder into Roon’s library.

Michael

13

dBpoweramp :+1:

1 Like
14

DBpoweramp has always worked perfectly for me as well.

1 Like
15

[Moderated]

So, any takers for that?

As an aside, I’ve tried fre:ac on the Mac, but wasn’t happy with it, for reasons I no longer remember. I switched to using the cdda2track program from Python Audio Tools (which also consults AccurateRip) and have had no reason to switch from that.

My concern with fre:ac would be the list of bugs fixed in each release. If you look at the release notes there seem to be a lot of things like this:

  • fixed writing invalid MP3 bitstreams in rare cases in SuperFast mode

And many of them are format-dependent:

  • fixed crash when writing fields containing only whitespace to Vorbis Comment, APEv2, WMA or RIFF tags

So I think it’s entirely possible the OP’s problems were due to a bug, which may have been fixed by now.

1 Like
16

DBpoweramp. Beginning and end of story.

1 Like
17

DBPoweramp for sure,

1 Like
18

DBPoweramp is the one to use, not some ripping program no one has ever heard of.

19

Wow, really? No one has experiences to share about Fre:ac? [Moderated]

1 Like
20

Thanks to everyone for their input! I had never thought of ripping the files to a “staging” folder, so I gave it a try. No more corrupt files!
I will try DBPoweramp–perhaps they offer a free trial so I can take it for a “test drive.”
Thanks again!

3 Likes