Ripping music CDs

[delta76]

It has been a long time since I touch a music CD, but then my kids got some children music CDs from a service. I am thinking that I may rip them, but want to make sure a few things before buying a CD reader
- as long as I have the physical discs and I do not distribute the ripped files, it should be legal right? I know copy rights vary from country to country, but on a common basis.
- the cd reader does not matter as long as it is working, because it is basically digital and has some error correction, right?
- does it make senses to buy a cd reader which can read SACD, if that thing exists?if i rip to flac could I get better quality than normal cd?

 

[Capitol C]

For your use, if you have a computer with a CD reader, it can save you some money; otherwise, something inexpensive is a good idea. The software that I use for converting CD to FLAC is Exact Audio Copy, which is free, pretty easy to use, and compares CDs to files online for accuracy, so expensive hardware is probably not needed. As for copyright, I believe that you are right. If you make a copy for personal use, there should be no problem

 

[mansr]

as long as I have the physical discs and I do not distribute the ripped files, it should be legal right? I know copy rights vary from country to country, but on a common basis.

In some places, even private copies are technically illegal, but I've never heard of anyone getting caught.

does it make senses to buy a cd reader which can read SACD, if that thing exists?

There is no such thing.

 

[majingotan]

- does it make senses to buy a cd reader which can read SACD, if that thing exists?if i rip to flac could I get better quality than normal cd?

You would need to have an SACD ripper software instead to extract the ISO as DFF or DSF (DSF is preferable because it supports metadata). You can then use Foobar to convert the DSF to PCM flac with +6 dB gain and with standard TPDF dither/noise shaper if you wish.

 

[muslhead]

You would need to have an SACD ripper software instead to extract the ISO as DFF or DSF (DSF is preferable because it supports metadata). You can then use Foobar to convert the DSF to PCM flac with +6 dB gain and with standard TPDF dither/noise shaper if you wish.

In addition, you would need a sacd player that could extract the tracks with the appropriate software. Very few sacd players are capable of doing with the existing software.

 

[tmtomh]

It has been a long time since I touch a music CD, but then my kids got some children music CDs from a service. I am thinking that I may rip them, but want to make sure a few things before buying a CD reader
- as long as I have the physical discs and I do not distribute the ripped files, it should be legal right? I know copy rights vary from country to country, but on a common basis.
- the cd reader does not matter as long as it is working, because it is basically digital and has some error correction, right?
- does it make senses to buy a cd reader which can read SACD, if that thing exists?if i rip to flac could I get better quality than normal cd?

1. As @mansr notes, making private copies of CDs you own is legal in most places, and never prosecuted in the places where it might be technically illegal. So you're good there.

2. Yes, it doesn't matter which CD drive you are using, as long as it's in good working order. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that there are certain apps - some of them free - that can do secure rips: these are rips where the software tells the CD drive to rip each little segment of the data on the CD multiple times to ensure the results are accurate. This software can also optionally compare the ripping results with an online database called AccurateRip to ensure that the results are 100% identical to what dozens or 100s or 1000s of other people around the world have gotten when they've ripped their copies of the same CD. Without secure rip and/or AccurateRip database checks, you cannot be 100% sure that there were no errors when ripping the CDs.

Now, most of the time even if there are some small errors, they are tiny and impossible to hear - a few samples here and there (and remember, CDs have 44,100 samples for every second of music, so most small deviations or errors are literally imperceptible to human ears and brains). But sometimes the errors can be audible. For example, many years ago I used to rip CDs with iTunes, and occasionally when listening to the album in iTunes at a later time I would come across a track that had some static or clicking sounds at a certain point in the song. This was from an error in the rip, which went undetected at the time because iTunes only tends to report errors when it can't read a part of the CD at all. But this is rare, and while I personally only rip my CDs now using a secure-ripping app, honestly the simplest thing is just to rip them with whatever app is handy on your computer, and if you find, say, a glitch in one or two tracks out of 15-20 entire CDs, just re-rip those 1 or 2 tracks and they will probably be fine.

3. It does not make sense to buy a CD reader than can read SACDs. mansr is correct that no such machines exist - but there are certain gaming consoles, Blu-Ray disc players, and universal players that can be used with the right software and hacks to read SACDs. However, your question seems to be whether a machine capable of ripping SACDs could rip CDs in better quality, and the answer there is No - and in fact, the machines that people use to rip SACDs are not capable of ripping CDs at all. (Or they might be hackable to also rip CDs, but no one bothers because CD ripping devices are cheap and plentiful already.)

 

[digitalfrost]

The software that I use for converting CD to FLAC is Exact Audio Copy, which is free, pretty easy to use, and compares CDs to files online for accuracy, so expensive hardware is probably not needed.

I recommend to follow this guide

https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/i9wurd

 

[DVDdoug]

Some CD readers are better than others and there is a list (derived from AccurateRip statistics). But it is "statistical" and since new models are constantly being introduced and older models obsoleted it can get "complicated".

Almost all drives are now CD/DVD players and of course some are also burners, and some can burn CDs but only play DVD, or can play and burn Blu-Ray, etc.

AccurateRip is an online database and EAC (Exact Audio Copy) and CueRipper will check your rip against the database to confirm you have no errors. Not all ripping applications support AccurateRip, and if the CDs are "rare" they may not be in the database.

Even without AccurateRip EAC will usually report errors but the nature of CD data means that some errors are not reported.* I ripped lots of CDs before AccurateRip existed and I never got an audible error when EAC reported "no errors". And sometimes when it reports an error there is nothing audible.

CueRipper is easier to setup than EAC but if the CD is not in the AccurateRip database it may not report all errors.

- as long as I have the physical discs and I do not distribute the ripped files, it should be legal right? I know copy rights vary from country to country, but on a common basis.

Here in the U.S. it's OK to make personal use copies per the Home Audio Recording Act, 1992.

But for video, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 made it illegal to crack copy protection and since commercial VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray all have copy protection it's illegal to make copies, even for personal use. There is (illegal) software for copying DVD & Blu-Ray.

does it make senses to buy a cd reader which can read SACD, if that thing exists?if i rip to flac could I get better quality than normal cd?

Not all CD readers can read SACD and the discs are encrypted, but apparently Foobar2000 can crack the copy protection,

SACD as theoretically higher quality and it can be converted to "higher resolution" WAV or FLAC than CD audio but usually there is no audible difference (audio CD is generally better than human hearing) SACD does support multi-channel audio, but I think most are regular 2-channel stereo.



* The error detection/correction on audio CDs is not as good as "computer files". But that might be a good thing because of you burn computer files to a CD (WAV FLAC, MP3, etc.) and you get an error while playing the computer will just stop reading/playing and report an error. With CD audio, if the error isn't too bad it will keep playing and you might hear a defect. (A regular CD player can't play computer files, but most DVD & Blu-Ray players can.)

 

[digitalfrost]

Some CD readers are better than others and there is a list (derived from AccurateRip statistics). But it is "statistical" and since new models are constantly being introduced and older models obsoleted it can get "complicated".

I didn't own a regular CD drive for a couple of years. The last ones that I actively used were with IDE interface I ended up getting a cheap 20$ LG USB drive. It works just fine. Since we have AccurateRip I would not spend a ton of money on expensive drives unless other features (bluray) are desired. I think today's drives are probably not up to the legendary Plextor devices, but they are more than good enough to rip CDs. No need to spend a ton of money.

 

[Matthias McCready]

I use Foobar 2000 to rip my cd's to Flac. It is fairly quick and rarely has problems.

If I have problems I use another computer (sometimes a disc will rip just fine with a different drive).

If things still aren't working I will use Exact Audio Copy.

----

As stated in previous posts Exact Audio Copy is fantastic, it just usually take longer than Foobar, so I only use it when Foobar won't rip the disc without problems.

 

[mansr]

I didn't own a regular CD drive for a couple of years. The last ones that I actively used were with IDE interface I ended up getting a cheap 20$ LG USB drive. It works just fine. Since we have AccurateRip I would not spend a ton of money on expensive drives unless other features (bluray) are desired. I think today's drives are probably not up to the legendary Plextor devices, but they are more than good enough to rip CDs. No need to spend a ton of money.

Any non-defective drive is capable of ripping a clean audio CD accurately. If the CD surface is dirty or has scratches, some drives might do better than others. Mostly, differences with more expensive drives are in secondary attributes like spin-up and seek times, acoustic noise level, longevity, etc, none of which are relevant for ripping a handful of CDs.

 

[Tks]

In some places, even private copies are technically illegal, but I've never heard of anyone getting caught.


There is no such thing.

Idk what he really means when he says CD "reader" (I assume simply something that supports playback?)

But I think the original PS3 SKU's were capable of DVD,CD,SACD,and Blu-ray playback with no problem.

 

[bennetng]

A quick Google search I found something like this, quite detailed instructions as well. However OP seems to have some worries about legal stuff so it is probably useless.

Down the Rabbit Hole of SACD Ripping and DSD Extraction

I’m a firm believer in fair use when it comes to audio media — if you bought it, you own it, and you’re free to do with it as you please — as long as it’s for your personal enjoyment and you’re not trying to sell it illegally for profit. Apparently the code writers/hackers in the world agree...

www.psaudio.com

 

[mansr]

Idk what he really means when he says CD "reader" (I assume simply something that supports playback?)

I'm assuming he means an optical disc drive with a USB or SATA interface for connection to a PC.

But I think the original PS3 SKU's were capable of DVD,CD,SACD,and Blu-ray playback with no problem.

You cannot buy a drive capable of reading SACD. The SACD feature on the PS3 drives is keyed to the mainboard of the console and will not work in any other machine. All SACD ripping methods rely on firmware bugs in specific players that give the user more access than was intended.

 

[Timcognito]

As veteran of over 1000 CD rips speaking to someone who is new to the game: let us use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). All of the advice above is typical of devoted and well meaning, including my advice too tends to be be long winded and pedantic. It's simple, to summarize;

• Buy an inexpensive CD/DVD drive
• Download free ripping software like EAC
• Copy the CD following software or internet steps (many YouTube posts)
• Store in on your computer, thumb drive or NAS
• If you want the album artwork EAC will help you find it (not sure I use dBPoweramp)
• Flac is not necessary unless you are trying to save space for a lot of CDs and does not play nice with Apple computers or phones without additional apps
• Forget SACDs which generally have a second CD layer that can be copied
• If the CD doesn't rip clean it with soap and water and try again (also I have had success with car headlight restorer to non-metallic side only)
• No one cares if you copy your CDs or at least won't come after you unless you make some kind of business out of the copies

Good Luck and apologies to helpful ASR posters for my condescending remarks

 

[mansr]

If the CD doesn't rip clean it with soap and water and try again (also I have had success with car headlight restorer to non-metallic side only)

It's perhaps worth reminding people that the label side of a CD is quite fragile since there is only a thin layer of lacquer protecting the reflective aluminium layer. Even light damage there can ruin the data beyond recovery. Scratches on the data side can, however, often be polished out to make the disc readable.

 

[digitalfrost]

I have sucessfully repaired unreadable CDs by polishing the data side with a bit of toothpaste. It looked worse than before I started, but it read clean.

 

[Gorgonzola]

I have been using dBpoweramp CD Ripper for a long time and have been totally pleased with the results. In the past I've used EAC but I preferred dBpoweramp for ease of use. The downside of the dBpoweramp is that it isn't free; the one-time charge is US$39 which includes the CD Ripper and also dBpoweramps excellent Music Convert.

dBpoweramp CD Ripper does automatic metadata and artwork download, employs AccurateRip, and also provides various (optional) DSP options. DSP options include, e.g., conversion of HDCD encoded discs to 24 bit depth with a 6 dB gain increase.

FWIW, I have found that the occasional AccurateRip error is usually completely innocuous in terms of audibility. dBpoweramp ripper can do multiple passes and compare them to ensure its own accuracy.

If you listen to Classical music to any extent you may find basic metadata download by (for instance) dBpoweramp is inadequate so you will want some other tool to make you Classical metadata more accurate, complete, and consistent across your collection. A popular free metadata tag editor is MP3tag that does also do FLAC, ALAC, and most other music formats. There are others too.

 

[JSmith]

clean it with soap and water

Hmm... not so good for longevity of the CD though;

The polycarbonate substrate, or the plastic composition, that makes up most of the disc is a polymer material that is vulnerable to moisture. Any prolonged exposure to moisture resulting from a spill, humid air, or immersion allows water to become absorbed into the disc, where it may react with any of the layers. Returning the disc to a dry environment will allow the absorbed moisture or water to dissipate out of the disc over time; however, water or a water-based liquid may leave behind, within the disc, contaminants such as dyes or other dissolved minerals. If the disc has experienced no permanent damage from absorption of the liquid, it should play normally. In NIST tests, a CD totally submerged in clean water for 24 hours was found to be unreadable initially after removal and surface drying. It played normally, however, after 24 hours of drying out at approximately 70¡F and 50% relative humidity (normal room conditions)

5. Conditions That Affect CDs and DVDs • CLIR

CDs and DVDs can be reliable for many decades with proper handling. As with all other types of media, degradation is inevitable over time, but steps can be taken to help prevent it from occurring prematurely. This section covers the effects of environmental conditions and physical handling on...

www.clir.org

JSmith

 

[mansr]

A quick rinse is not "prolonged exposure" and is perfectly fine.