Quality of the Ripping CD Drive: A Factor?

[Flying Sheep]

Hi All

To what degree is the "quality" of the ripping CD-Drive a significant factor?

Part of the premise behind DS is the "perfect digital copy" ripped, and then stored on the NAS. Yet surely the CD-Drive in the average laptop / desktop is a far cry from the audiophile drives in our Linn CD Players.

Or is it possible that the transports in the average laptop and an audiophile CD Player are not that much different, and that the added magic (majik?), and beer-tokens in the audiophile CDP are in the DACs etc - not required in the ripping process.

Nota Bene: I want to concentrate this thread purely on the ripping part of the equitation, and especially on the CD Drive. I am assuming, for the purpose of this thread, that once the perfect copy is achieved, then all the other benefits of the DS equation hold true . Equally I am aware that clever ripping software can make multiple passes over problem areas on the Cd-media, and compare checksums of the ripped result over the internet.

Greetings from an ever snowier Switzerland

Chris

[Linnsomniak]

(2010-01-31 21:52)Flying Sheep Wrote:  Hi All

To what degree is the "quality" of the ripping CD-Drive a significant factor?

Part of the premise behind DS is the "perfect digital copy" ripped, and then stored on the NAS. Yet surely the CD-Drive in the average laptop / desktop is a far cry from the audiophile drives in our Linn CD Players.

Or is it possible that the transports in the average laptop and an audiophile CD Player are not that much different, and that the added magic (majik?), and beer-tokens in the audiophile CDP are in the DACs etc - not required in the ripping process.

Nota Bene: I want to concentrate this thread purely on the ripping part of the equitation, and especially on the CD Drive. I am assuming, for the purpose of this thread, that once the perfect copy is achieved, then all the other benefits of the DS equation hold true . Equally I am aware that clever ripping software can make multiple passes over problem areas on the Cd-media, and compare checksums of the ripped result over the internet.

Greetings from an ever snowier Switzerland

Chris

Generally, the quality of the ripping software is more important than the quality of the CD drive. If the CD drive is reasonably OK then it should suffice.
Take a look at the following thread:
http://forums.linn.co.uk/bb/showthread.php?tid=4960
It indicates the preferred ripping software amongst forum members.

[Klingsor]

Attributing a "quality" to a drive is not really meaningful as the goal is just to get a correct rip of the data. The ripping software has to ensure exactly this happens.
This process is called "secure ripping". On Windows EAC and dBpoweramp are the two universally accepted secure ripping programs. This can in fact be proven. When you compare the data delivered by two different drives and a correctly configured secure ripping software, you will find it to be identical to the last bit. The AccurateRip database is such a tool to validate correct ripping results. Differences between different drives may exist in the ability to cope with scratched or otherwise impaired discs. One drive may give you a secure rip while the other fails.

Beyond this, there is no room for improvement as far as ripping is concerned. As you already said, the "Majik" happens when the DS turns the bits into music again.

[chimar]

The dBpoweramp forum / site has more information on this. TEAC drives appear to be the best with relation to the C2 pointer "stuff" (which I setup but am no expert on how it all works) which when calibrated ensures you get the best secure rip. A good drive can also massively speed up the process.

[MnM]

(2010-02-01 01:14)chimar Wrote:  The dBpoweramp forum / site has more information on this. TEAC drives appear to be the best with relation to the C2 pointer "stuff" (which I setup but am no expert on how it all works) which when calibrated ensures you get the best secure rip. A good drive can also massively speed up the process.

Another good feature for a ripping cd-rom is for it to have no read cache. If re-reads are necessary, then ripping software has to over-read to clear the cache, before getting to the bit it wants, which does slow things down a lot. Like chimar says, there's good info and guides on dbpoweramp.com.

[bez]

Most CD drives should be ok, but reading this setup guide for dbPoweramp may give some insights into what’s going on when you rip. http://dbpoweramp.com/cd-ripper-setup-guide.htm

[billzab]

From what I understand and have read elsewhere, the drive makes no difference whatsoever as long as it can read data. A data file is a data file and it is either read correctly or it is corrupt. If it is corrupt it won't play properly and the glitch will be obvious. EAC AccurateRip database will show this, so it is always worth reading through the report after each rip.

In my early DS days, I tried ripping on several different computers ranging from my home laptop to my office PC's. No difference could be found between them. Provided I made the EAC compression size the same (5), then all test tracks ended up the same file size on each machine.

In saying all this, it is worth remebering that drives can and do get dirty and although they will still read OK, it will involve more re-reading of the CD, so it is a good idea to keep the drive in a clean room. Anyone who has ever opened a PC that belongs to a smoker will know what I mean.

As has already been said, it's the DAC that makes the real difference.

Cheers, Bill.

[ChrisJ123]

The ripping drive, as long as it is working, makes not one iota of difference.

Chris

[moomintroll]

(2010-02-01 15:08)ChrisJ123 Wrote:  The ripping drive, as long as it is working, makes not one iota of difference.

Chris

I had an interesting experience at the weekend. I had ripped a new CD - Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More" using dbPoweramp and got an inaccurate rip on tracks 1 and 3, using my Pioneer DVD-RW drive. I was also in the middle of burning some data to some new DVD-R discs and found that I needed to update the drive's firmware. Once I'd done this, I successfully burned the DVD. I then went back to dbPoweramp and decided to re-rip the entire disc. This time, it ripped without ANY inaccurate tracks.

Coincidence?

'troll

[ChrisJ123]

(2010-02-01 15:15)moomintroll Wrote:  

(2010-02-01 15:08)ChrisJ123 Wrote:  The ripping drive, as long as it is working, makes not one iota of difference.

Chris

I had an interesting experience at the weekend. I had ripped a new CD - Mumford & Sons "Sigh No More" using dbPoweramp and got an inaccurate rip on tracks 1 and 3, using my Pioneer DVD-RW drive. I was also in the middle of burning some data to some new DVD-R discs and found that I needed to update the drive's firmware. Once I'd done this, I successfully burned the DVD. I then went back to dbPoweramp and decided to re-rip the entire disc. This time, it ripped without ANY inaccurate tracks.

Coincidence?

'troll

If it didn't rip properly, Either the drive isn't working correctly, or there is a problem with the disc.

Chris