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Topic: What version of dBpoweramp do I really need? (Read 5022 times) previous topic - next topic
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What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Hi all. 

If I had the extra money right now, I'd just go ahead and buy the fullest version of it.  But I was out of a job for a while, and I'm still paying back credit cards.  I'm willing to spend the money if it's really necessary, but I'd rather not if possible.

So, to rip CDs into ALAC format using dBpoweramp, what version do I really need?  I found the page below, but to be honest, I'm not sure I understand what all the features really are.  All I want is something that will accurately rip lossless cds, and warn me if something went amiss (I can do album images and tag editing with itunes).

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/db-versions.htm

Thanks for your help. 

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #1
If you want a really good ripper buy the reference one. It steps down in ripper features from there.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #2
I'd suggest a FREE ripper... 

I use EAC.*  It's probably the most popular ripper.  It can do "secure" ripping, it has error correction and error reporting, and it can compare your results to the AccurateRip database.

Another popular FREE (open source) ripper is CDex.

I assume that dBpoweramp is easier to set-up than the free programs, but once configured, EAC is easy to use. 

Any ripping program can rip losslessly (and without errors, if the CD is in good condition).  Audio CDs use uncompressed PCM which is the same format used in (regular uncompressed) WAV files.

Some programs are better at reporting & correcting errors.  And, with some programs you might need to use a 3rd-party program to convert the WAV file to the format of your choice.  I Don't know if EAC can rip directly to ALAC.  The downside of ripping to WAV is that WAV files don't have ID3 tags, so you'd have to manually tag the ALAC files. 



* As I'm writing this, that link is down.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #3
Considering your comments about finances, I'd go the EAC route.  Everything dbpoweramp can do you can do with a small bit of work and free software.

I used EAC for many years and found it to be a great solution for my ripping needs.  I later added Mp3tag to fix tags and embed album arts and AlbumArt Downloader to find album art.

However, I recently purchased dbpoweramp reference.  dbpoweramp automatically embeds album art and it's quite brainless to use and configure and I wanted to go the brainless (easy to use GUI) route.  But dbpoweramp is not doing anything I couldn't do before.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #4
And I am told no one over-promotes EAC. The question is what version of dBpoweramp does he need and most of the answers are EAC?

That being said, as far as I know, every level of dBpoweramp can rip to ALAC. That would mean if your only requirement is the need for ALAC you should be able to get away with the FREE version of dbpoweramp. This will not get you secure ripping. You can confirm this in the dBpoweramp forums. I would echo what odigg says regarding the benefits of dBpoweramp in terms of ease of use.

Regarding EAC, I think you can get ALAC with itunesencode. This would give you a free alternative.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #5
Regarding EAC, I think you can get ALAC with itunesencode. This would give you a free alternative.


The latest version of iTunes broke compatibility with iTunesencode.  So that is pretty much an option that can't be used.  EAC will eventually get ALAC ripping with the open source ALAC encoder/decoder that people are working on but it appears to be in a really buggy state right now.

I purchased the reference version of dBpowerAMP.  If I remember correctly, the differences between the versions totaled only a few dollars so I decided to go with the reference version.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #6
Quote
The latest version of iTunes broke compatibility with iTunesencode. So that is pretty much an option that can't be used.
Well...  I don't use iTunes, but I assume iTunes can make an ALAC file!  I think iTunes can handle the ripping too, but I don't know about it's error handling capabilities.


Quote
, as far as I know, every level of dBpoweramp can rip to ALAC.
  In that case, it should be possible to rip with EAC (in secure mode, etc.) and then use the free version of dBpoweramp to make the ALAC file.

In any case, you should be able to accomplish this task (good quality rip and conversion to ALAC) without spending ANY money on software!

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #7
Stay away from CDex if you want a ripper that "accurately rip lossless cds, and warn me if something went amiss".

 

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #8
I appreciate all the comments on EAC, I actually looked into EAC, but decided against it because I couldn't work out how to get the files into ALAC format.  I'm sure I could use EAC to make wav, and then use db... but I feel like if I'm going to use it anyway, I might as well just use dbpoweramp... especially since I would have to then fill in tags by hand.

So having decided that, I'm really just wondering what the cheapest/free version is that I could get away with using?  It looked to me like the free version didn't have any way of checking for errors, so it would be roughly the same as using itunes?  Or can it do accurip (and if so, is that enough to determine if the lossless file was correctly made?)?  Like I mentioned, I'll spend the money on a full version if that's what it's going to take, but if I can get what I need without spending the money I'd of course rather not pay extra given my situation for features I don't really need atm.

-------

I'm glad to hear they're coming out with an open source alac encoder... is there an ETA on that?  I assume once it's out, EAC will incorporate it as an option for ripping so it can populate tags and what not at the same time?

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #9
dBpoweramp has the ability to perform test and copy in burst mode using the free version, does it not?

Another option is to rip an image using EAC or some other free secure ripping program, mount it to a virtual drive using free software such as daemon tools and then rip your known secure image using iTunes (or dBpoweramp if you wish to use an alternative program to convert CDDA to ALAC).

This way you don't have to worry about metadata since the ripping program will think it's working from an actual disc.

Interesting that the OP's ears perked right up when he heard about proggies that are not for profit.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #10
You will want the reference version. It supports multi-core encoding and batch encoding which really speeds up the job. Excellent tool.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #11
I appreciate all the comments on EAC, I actually looked into EAC, but decided against it because I couldn't work out how to get the files into ALAC format.  I'm sure I could use EAC to make wav, and then use db... but I feel like if I'm going to use it anyway, I might as well just use dbpoweramp... especially since I would have to then fill in tags by hand.


EAC and dbPowerAmp can both do the job for you.  EAC will require a more complicated process, whereas dbPowerAmp will be your one-stop-shopping.

If you use EAC, you won't necessarily have to fill in tags by hand.  If you rip to wave, you can capture the tag information in the directory structure and file name.  This information can then be parsed out by a tagger later on.  I did this all of the time prior to using dbPowerAmp and using EAC to rip directly to FLAC.

For instance, you can configure EAC to rip your tracks in a structure like this:
genre/artist/(year)album/tracknum title
e.g.
rock/The Beatles/(1969)Abbey Road/01 Come Together.wav

You would then use dbPowerAmp to convert to your format of choice.

Then, you can use a tagger (foobar2000 is what I've used) to parse the information from the directory/file name structure and create the tags accordingly.

Yes, this is a bit more complicated than doing it straight out with dbPowerAmp, but it would work.

The one piece that is missing that can be a PITA is artwork.  I've found MediaMonkey to be usesful there.  Again, dbPowerAmp can do this for you too at rip time.

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #12
Another option is to rip an image using EAC or some other free secure ripping program, mount it to a virtual drive using free software such as daemon tools and then rip your known secure image using iTunes (or dBpoweramp if you wish to use an alternative program to convert CDDA to ALAC).

This way you don't have to worry about metadata since the ripping program will think it's working from an actual disc.

This sounds like a great idea, I didn't realize EAC could do that.  I'll definitely look into that, thanks. 


Interesting that the OP's ears perked right up when he heard about proggies that are not for profit.

Hey now... I contribute to open source and free projects too.    PHP/SQL is my arena... haven't learned 'real' programming yet (that's this years goal)... unless you want to count basic/visual basic.  lol 

What version of dBpoweramp do I really need?

Reply #13
If you plan on going with EAC an essential tool to use would be REACT. It helps automate the process of encoding to multiple formats (eg: lossless & lossy), album art download, replaygain as its main features.
Anish