dBpoweramp : Optimum Settings?

No, if flac is transcoded in nas to wav then no difference, no matter if the flac compression is 5 or lossless. I have not compared if flac lossless or 5 sent without transcoding to NDS, I prefer transcoding to wav.

ok i see - yes that is what i would expect...

S

I'm confused. If you have not compared the two, how do you know there is no difference? And if there is no difference, why are you bothering to transcode?

I have only doing comparison when transcoding to wav was on. Trusting my ears & testing several same flac lossless & 5 songs tells the truth. Why transcoding to wav was on? Because wav sounds better than flac to NDS, no matter if flac is uncompressed or whatever.

Thanks for confirming your artwork size folks, I’ll keep the images to 1000px sq so that there is a little leeway. 

Yesterday, I experimented and ripped a few CD’s to AIFF. Sure enough the dBpoweramp software seems more accurate than iTunes, discovering issues with a couple of tracks where iTunes (with error correction) missed on its initial rip!

Novice question alert! ...

Am I correct in that if I rip to any chosen format in dBpoweramp, at a later date I can still use dBpoweramp to convert the files - an AIFF to a WAV or FLAC for example? Can this be done accurately enough or are there errors? Just wondering whether I need to rip more than once? Happy to do that if need be. Storage isn’t an issue, so wondering whether to have two sets of files, one FLAC and one AIFF for iTunes playlists for iPhones / iPods etc?

And, is there a definitive answer of FLAC vs WAV? A consensus seems to be to rip to FLAC at a high setting and then convert to WAV if needed - correct?

Providing you are operating solely in lossless formats, you can convert them a million times and they will still be identical. There is no loss, that's the point. You don't need to keep multiple formats, providing you have a lossless version.

On iTunes, my main advice would be to ditch it and get something, anything, else, but . . . since people do insist on using it, there are lots of ways, depending on what you want. You could operate solely in an Apple-friendly format like ALAC or AIFF; or you could keep a 'master' version in, say, FLAC, and then an MP3 (lossy) version for your iPhone/iPad. I do the latter, having a 256 MP3 version for the car and my tablet.

I wouldn't say there's a definitive answer on FLAC/WAV. Opinions vary. Most agree that WAV sounds better than the alternatives, and some people say they can tell between native WAV and FLAC transcoded to WAV, but I can't. So storing in FLAC and transcoding makes to me - the handling of metadata is better. (At this point, WAV users will say, rightly, that WAV can do metadata and they've never had a problem, but the fact is that WAV's metadata standards are still ambiguous and there can be problems moving from one UPNP server to another.) And since I can't tell the difference, why not just store in FLAC? As for the level of compression, it seems to make no difference to the sound, so you may as well go to the max and save disk and back-up time.

Solid Air posted:

On iTunes, my main advice would be to ditch it and get something, anything, else, 

TIP of the DAY    ............     

I'm not disagreeing over the fact that WAV metadata can have problems when moving between some UPnP servers.  It just that I personally have never encountered any problems swapping between my own Synology's Media Server & Minimserver or with other peoples systems with both the above & Asset.   I have however been asked to fix a friends problems with tWonky (another story) but the majority of that was self inflicted, crashing around, & dare I mention iTunes.

I agree its hard to tell the SQ difference between WAV & FLAC/transcode/WAV,  so much so its not worth the discussion;  I would just go with FLAC/transcode/WAV & be done with it, there really is not much point in trying it all yourself as its such a well trodden path.  FLAC is probably the best option,  reduced file size &  (yes begrudgingly admits)  it is the most user friendly for editing.

Great - many thanks SOLID AIR and MIKE-B 

OK, FLAC it is then. I’ll get started with the rip's a proper this week - any more specific tips as to dBpoweramp settings? 

I'm slightly confused by transcoding from FLAC to WAV though. Again, novice question alert! How is this done and can this be handled by the NAS?

iTunes. The main reason I use iTunes is that I have to use a common software that ties together Intel & Power PC Macs. The up to date family Mac Mini houses the music collection and I play music in my office with iTunes Home Sharing via an old 2005 Apple Mac G5 tower (my work Mac). To my knowledge there are no specific dedicated music players like Audirvana that work on older Power PC Macs with OSX 10.5 Leopard - which is a high as I can go on my G5 - unless anyone knows otherwise? 

Yetizone posted:

. Again, novice question alert! How is this done and can this be handled by the NAS?

Its done by the UPnP/DLNA media server that is normally installed in the NAS.    Minimserver & Asset are good for transcoding, 

Ripping anomalies! Last night I came across a couple of issues...

1. I had an ‘insecure’ rip on only one track on a new CD: David Bowie. Diamond Dogs. Track 8. We Are The Dead. Zero visible defects, disc wiped clean with glass cleaner and micro fibre cloth to ensure optical clarity. The track does play when introduced to iTunes strangely. Similarly, The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage has one track that refuses to rip cleanly, again, as new condition and plays in iTunes when introduced? Most peculiar and frustrating!

2. Copy Controlled? Goldfrapp: Supernature, refuses to rip in dBpoweramp, but will do so in iTunes? Is there a way round a Copy Controlled CD in dBpoweramp? Or is that disc destined for the car!

I've only ever had one disc that I couldn't rip easily. I was a bit suspicious when I noticed a tiny MCPS logo on it. Tried it in my Unitiserve, but it didn't want to know. I then tried with XLD on an iMac, and this worked, but it took nine hours! At the end of that, I accidentally ripped it again with iTunes, which managed it in four minutes.

1:  Insecure rip - a few tricks might work (or might not)  - try ripping with another DVD drive if you have/borrow one.  If you can control the disc speed,  play with slower.  Try running a basic rip rather than secure rip.   Also an insecure rip does not mean it's an audible horridiable or unplayable,  it might just be an anomaly in that CD copy.    Finally think about replacing some CD's with downloads:  The 30th anniversary edition of Diamond Dogs has 19 tracks,  unfortunately it seems its never been remastered as a 24-bit.   

2:  Sony copy protected CD's.  No easy way round.    I have limited success with a black marker pen around the outer few mm of the disc to hide the copy-protection data track to the outside of the disc.     Maybe another reason to replace it with a download,  again no 24-bit remasters that I can find. 

Thanks Mike. Superb help as always. OK, I'll plunge for an alternative CD / DVD Reader to experiment I think. Currently have a Samsung (SE-208DB/TSBS) portable unit at the moment, so will explore alternatives for these recalcitrant discs to start with. But you are right, from here on I think I'll be seeking out new higher res variants of fav albums to that don't rip accurately