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Topic: EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion? (Read 6285 times) previous topic - next topic
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EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion?

I'm new to the process of ripping and archiving, but I've spent several weeks experiementing with various software, codecs, and settings. I've settled on DbPowerAmp Reference for any CD's which rip with good AccurateRip results. With CD's I'm unsure of, or with obvious errors, I've been using EAC, configured using the EAC Conficguration guide here at Hydrogen Audio. I'm then having EAC convert to FLAC.

The problem - even on CD's which EAC rips with 100% accuracy (according to the log), and then converts to FLAC, I have distortion appearing in some resulting file. It seems to occur most obviously in simple music sections, with clear, rapid tones; think solo jazz guitar, or piano. I've trolled through the groups here looking for an answer, but haven't found one yet.

I've configured the drive using EAC, and everything seems to be functioning properly. It is not a Plextor, but I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that EAC would provide accurate results regardless, or report an error.

Any ideas? Thanks for anything you can suggest.

Tim

EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion?

Reply #1 –
There are many kinds of distortion and they certainly don’t all sound the same, so saying “distortion” does not convey much information about what might be happening.  Poor extraction from the CD is most likely to result to clicks, pops, and missing data.

You are combining two operations, therefore you have no way to know which is responsible for your problem. Extract. Listen to the wave file. If it is the same, your problem is probably the drive.

Extract with another software tool. Does that confirm that the drive does not work properly, or does this wave file sound good? If it is good, something is wrong with your EAC setup.

If the extraction is good, the problem happens during encoding to, or decoding from, FLAC. This has to be bad software, since FLAC has been rather well tested.

Of course, even if the extraction and the encoding/decoding are good, the music will still sound poor if the soundcard is bad enough.

EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion?

Reply #2 –
Quote from: AndyH-ha on
Of course, even if the extraction and the encoding/decoding are good, the music will still sound poor if the soundcard is bad enough.


...or speakers, even.

EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion?

Reply #3 –
I've tested the WAV files generated by EAC, and the distortion seems to be present there are well. It isn't clicks or pops; this seems more to be a fuzzy quality to the sound, which, I guess, could be lots of little clicks/pops. I'm sure it's not sound cards, or speakers, as I've tried it with several different systems, from a portable to a very good home stereo. From the helpful first post, it sounds like it might be the drive, which I'll have to switch out in the next few days to test.

Thanks

Moderation: Quotation removed.

EAC/FLAC Still Getting Distortion?

Reply #4 –
Before switching out the drive, maybe you could try slowing down the extraction speed or checking your settings in Device Manager.  I've had CD/DVD ROM drives that produce these types of issues when extracting at 12x or 16x, but if I limit the extraction to 8x, they go away.

Also, assuming you are using 32-bit Windows (2000/XP), are your drives and IDE controllers set up properly in Device Manager?

For best extraction results, you should be enabling digital audio and have the IDE controllers using DMA.

Go to System -> Device Manager -> DVD/CD-ROM drives

On each of the CD/DVD devices listed, right-click on them, and chose Properties, then choose the Properties tab sheet again.  Make sure "Enable digital CD audio for this device" is checked.

Again, in Device Manager, go to your IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and do the following for both Primary and Secondary IDE channel:

Right Click on the channel (primary/secondary) and choose Properties.
Click on Advanced Settings tab sheet.
Transfer Mode should be set to "DMA if available."

Using DMA transfers allows for smoother and faster transfers from IDE devices versus PIO mode.


I've had CD ROM drives give weird DA extraction results because they were in PIO mode.  After enabling DMA transfers and using the bus mastering capabilities of the onboard IDE controllers, extraction went much more smoothly.

Moderation: Quotation removed.