Need some Ripping format advice from people with better ears than me
Reply #10 – 2007-05-02 05:09:01
Thanks for the pointers Michael. I guess when I select the import I will just try to link the files as opposed to importing the actual file. I am actually leaning towards just using Apple's rip within Itunes and going Apple lossless. Does anyone know if Max is faster than Apple to rip CD's? Also, does Max have an Apple lossless rip option? Yes:[...]Max supports Apple Lossless for instance.[...] Don't know about the speed difference, though...it's been awhile since I've used Max (I did most of my ripping on my PC, due to the difference in drive speeds outlined below - that, and the ability to use EAC ).I like the idea of simultaneous lossless and lossy rips. I actually have a few Ipods now, but have never been that concerned with having ALL of my music on them. How would you manage the two libraries without worrying about the overlap? Dan Smart playlists - create one with "Kind" "contains" "lossless", and another with "Kind" "does not contain" "lossless", check "Live updating" - done. You'll then need to either transfer songs to your iPod(s) manually, i.e. no automatic syncing, or you can do what I do (or a variant of what I do - I don't have any ALAC files in my library): create a smart playlist with "Kind" "does not contain" "lossless" and check "Match only checked items", then check only the songs you want to transfer in your non-lossless smart playlist. Set your iPod(s) to only update checked items, and you're good to go. I also have a Mac mini, and be aware that the CD/DVD drive - being a laptop drive - is very slow at ripping audio CDs, or at least compared to full-sized drives. When ripping to either AIFF or Apple Lossless, the speed ranges from ~6x at the inside of the disc to ~13x at the outside of a 78 minute CD - most full-sized drives have no problem hitting ~13x at the inside and 40x or higher at the outside. Getting a full-sized drive in an external USB or FireWire enclosure might be well worth the money, considering the number of CDs you have to rip... Edit: After reading it again, the creation of the "match only checked items" playlist seems strange, as it's not necessary - the iPod will sync to checked songs no matter what playlist they're in...having the "checked items" playlist is for the benefit of the user, as it makes it much, much easier to know exactly what is/is going to be on your iPod when you have a library that is many times the size of the storage capacity of your iPod.