Ripping a CD the best way w/ a mac

Rip to ALAC. No question about it. Unless you have a PC, then do FLAC.

Easy as can be. If another compressed lossless codec develops in time, you can convert to it without problem.

Whatever you do, don't rip to any lossy formats (mp3) regardless what is said about their quality. Any discerning ear will identify a lossy file immediately.

If you NEED lossy formats for use in your ipod or for a friend (i dont think ipods support ALAC, i could be wrong on that though), make sure to sure V0, variable bit rate mp3s. At least then you wont be wasting space.

quote:

I use a Mac and only a Mac.

Dean,

For lossless quality using a Mac there is no point in ripping to anything other than Apple Lossless. If you then want to fill an iPod, you can either use lossless files (if your Pod has the capacity) or create copies in a suitable MP3 rate.

Googling will get you plenty of information, as will Apple's forum.

Steve

Also make sure you check the error correction box (yes i remembered Steve

The quality is very good and I can't distingiush between it and cd. Also the SB outputs automatically in 24bit.....it makes a difference, thats all I'll say.

Ryan

Use iTunes with error correction enabled, or download Max and try cdparanoia mode, which is about as good as you will get on OS X.

For what it's worth I've ripped my most scratched and scuffed CD a few times using Max just to experiment and the output files have always been byte for byte identical regardless of the method used.

As others have said, use Apple Lossless, there's no difference in quality but you get artwork and tags etc. whilst with Wave all you get is the audio.

I hope your retirement is going well Paul?

quote:

As others have said, use Apple Lossless, there's no difference in quality but you get artwork and tags etc. whilst with Wave all you get is the audio.

You also get the full works with uncompressed aiff. The choice is yours. I wonder why Naim went for uncompressed wav, rather than flac.

Keith

That would be because netstreams only supports wav and mp3. If customers want to send an analogue signal over the network then naim has done the right thing. If not they have bought into a proprietry network that restricts where they can sell their boxes. It is a gamble that i hope pays off for them as a company, but I also hope that open standards are the future for the consumer.

quote:

Originally posted by Keith L:
I wonder why Naim went for uncompressed wav, rather than flac.

Keith

You are certainly not the only one.

Can you imagine what a s/h HDX will be worth in 5 years???? Not much.

Thanks everyone!

Paul : If you rip in Max will it save to ITunes?

Does the drive make a difference?

quote:

Originally posted by pcstockton:

quote:

Originally posted by Keith L:
I wonder why Naim went for uncompressed wav, rather than flac.

Keith

You are certainly not the only one.

Can you imagine what a s/h HDX will be worth in 5 years???? Not much.

One only needs to look at the latest release of Nine Inch Nails album in 24/96 to understand the purpose of WAV formatted files.

If I buy a new car today, what's it worth in 5 years time as well...everything de-values, but I am sure that Naim has thought of the bigger picture and typically plans for their products to have long term benefits and usability for it's client base.

quote:

Originally posted by Macker:
One only needs to look at the latest release of Nine Inch Nails album in 24/96 to understand the purpose of WAV formatted files.

Macker, what do you see as the difference between WAV and FLAC (functionally that is)?

Is not one an exact duplicate of the other (once the FLAC is re-hydrated)?

Would be nice if someone from Naim would explain the reason for the choice.

NaimNet uses NetStreams technology for it's networked audio distribution and that is MP3 or WAV file compatible only (there will be solid reasons why it is limited to those formats) and can handle the higher bit rate WAV formats (it's MediaLinx products will capture analogue input at 24bit and distribute it via IP).

So, while NaimNet products (aka HDX) can play a wider variety of formats (other than WAV & MP3) via USB connected devices it's distribution of audio streams to NetStreams devices is MP3 or WAV only.

I guess it is all about connectivity and consistancy with it's technology partners...

Yes, I agree with Macker. The HDX is only limited at this point if you intend upon using your system for Home Audio Distribution with NetStreams, not for single system playback as the HDX supports more formats including Flac. So, if your single system and connected to the HDX via PC or NAS there is no problem. I don't know why specifically Medialinx does not support other codecs, but if there is no technical barrier I would not be surprised to see this support added to their product. IMO you have to remember that most people who go the Home Audio distribution route are not looking for the high quality playback that the Naim user is and the majority of files used at this point will be MP3. In my home I was really happy to be able to rip my CDs to the computer as MP3 3+ years ago and have it distributed as background music to the zones or plug in an ipod and do the same. Now I do this with Sonos and the PC based or handheld controller. When I want to listen to music, I listen to my Naim system.

There is a real problem with the Home Automation/audio/video distribution world and that is most products after installed do not get used by their homeowners. I have seen this time and again. This is not a comment on NetStreams or any other product. The fact is that even when spending this kind of money the User Interface is terrible. Bidirectional feedback is missing, the menus are too difficult to navigate despite claims to the contrary by the companies, remotes are bad, and you also very often wind up purchasing a very expensive Tablet PC to control the system with the above issues and it can only be used with the system and nothing else. Everything is proprietary. It's incredible. I have actually looked a 5-6 different systems and only once could I pick up the remote and do everything without having someone sitting over my shoulder and have to tell me what to do. Not one company had produced a handheld internet tablet like Sonos with a easy UI at a reasonable price so this would become your remote and a few allowed you to use a Nokia N800/810 and create a web browser, but their UI was still difficult. With Sonos/Rhapsody I gave my wife a 5 minute lesson and she has only asked me one additional question since, now that's a friendly UI.

Sorry to digress, but with distribution it is about a lot more than just the quality.

quote:

Originally posted by Slabwax:
Thanks everyone!

Paul : If you rip in Max will it save to ITunes?

Does the drive make a difference?

It should do as there's an option that says to send the output to your iTunes library.

I'll let others answer the question about the drive, my view is that on a modern PC/Mac with a good quality drive and CDs that aren't scuffed to bits you would have to try pretty hard to have a poor quality rip, my Meridian F80 contains a laptop CD drive as far as I know, and I believe that if you look at a Meridian 808 you'll find a $20 ROM inside it.

quote:

my view is that on a modern PC/Mac with a good quality drive and CDs that aren't scuffed to bits you would have to try pretty hard to have a poor quality rip

...but it happens, especially with discs that might have a minor scratch or two–my MacBook Pro's Matsushita drive is AccurateRIP compatible, but still caches the data stream:

quote:

Caching causes havoc; as a one-off bad read of audio from the disc, will keep on returning the same bad data when asked to read the disc again.

In the end, it all comes down to quality....

quote:

Originally posted by gary1:
There is a real problem with the Home Automation/audio/video distribution world and that is most products after installed do not get used by their homeowners...etc

I would have to agree that that is where it has been in the past...NetStreams is a breath of fresh air and I beleive will tick all of the boxes that people demand of such systems. NetStreams just works and could not be simpler for us to install (from a delaer perspective) and is easy to use as well...I have been a happy sonos user and am just as happy with the NaimNet/NetStreams products.

For those very reasons you mentioned, I would not have otherwise become a dealer...everything else just seemed messy and cobbled together from different technolgies and companies..