Another EAC/Lame question

[mariner]

I'm new to ripping/encoding and have searched for, and read, many threads from the anandtech forums. I have been using EAC to rip and Lame/Razorlame to encode. I have been satisfied with the results so far; but I'm no audiophile I have 2 questions.

First, what is trick to linking EAC and Lame so that I can rip/enc on the fly instead of ripping and then encoding in separate actions? I have tried using the "Compression" option in EAC to select Lame. EAC rips, then there is a brief 'flash' of what looks like a DOS window and everything is over; but I can find no mp3 - anywhere

Second, I have read here that CDex, using Lame, is very good. Which ripper does it use?

 

[Workin']

CDEX is a ripper! And when you go here to download it, you get the latest LAME .dll with it. I think you need the LAME .dll to use with EAC, as well, I don't recall. I use CDEX w/LAME and I am an audiophile. I like CDEX better than EAC, it seems to work better on my system. And they sound pretty darn good on my $6000 audio system.

If you are not too worried about file size of your mp3's, I recommend the following settings for LAME:

Variable Bit Rate (quality setting 1)
Minimum Bit Rate = 128 kbps
Joint Stereo

This makes mp3's that are virtually impossible to distinguish from the original CD source.

 

[mariner]

Thanks Workin'. I'll have to give CDex a try. Almost anything sounds good on my $150 Altecs

 

[edm]

When creating MP3's with Lame I usually use 256 kbps with joint stereo, but which is a better setting to use, stereo or joint Stereo?

Thanks, Merry X-mas all

 

[Workin']

At 256 kbps it doesn't make a huge difference which one you pick. Joint Stereo allocates bandwidth better at lower bitrates. I always use joint stereo, there's really no reason not to - it has no drawbacks, only benefits. At worst, it won't make a difference.

Plain stereo forces exactly half the bitrate to be used for each channel, regardless of the content of the channels. Joint stereo uses a matrixing scheme where the info common to both channels is encoded and the "difference" information is encoded and then both are matrixed (combined in a specific way) into the full bitstream width. When you play it back the signal is properly reconstructed by the player. This can sometimes nearly double your effective bitrate, since otherwise bits would be "wasted" encoding silence.

 

[Mytv]

CD'n'Go www.cdngo.com
Compatible Encoder Plugins
-LameDLL
-BladeDLL
-Fraunhofer IIS (if installed)
-XingMP3
-VorbisDLL (.ogg format)
-Psytel MP4 (aac coding)
-MP3Enc
-L3Enc
- And More

Bitrate Quality
-Your choice of bitrate
-8 Bit to 320 Bit (The lower the bitrate the faster the encoding process but a degradation of sound quality. Leaving the higher bitrate as CD-Quality but at the cost of more space)

CDDB
-Integrated into CD'n'Go for a no hassle lookup of your favorite CD Artist, Track, and Song names
-CDDB has nearly a million CD titles meant for a no hassle IDdentifaction of a CD

Files Supported
-Mp3, Wav, and a new format Ogg

Extra's
-Reads CD-text
-Built-In ID3 TAG Editor with Artist, Track, and Song Name, Just to name a few
-Supports CDPlayer.INI
-On the Fly Ripping
-Support for nearly 20 Languages
-Built-In CD player
-Too much to list

All in One product for the cost of: FREE

CD'n'Go has been added to my list.
www.liquid2k.com/mtv/mpaudio.html

 

[mariner]

Thx peeps I have EAC/Lame ripping/encoding all in one action. I'm using a min variable bitrate of 160 with JS. Have had no problems so far. I finally got EAC to automatically link with Lame by placing the Lame dll in the EAC folder. And the CDDB link is just like Jeff Lynn said, "Strange Magic"

Thx for the link Mytv; I'll check it out.

FYI, the best tutorial on using EAC and Lame I have found is here.

 

[randypj]

But mariner.....can you rip/encode/burn....all in one fell swoop?
Using SCSI reader and writer? Or burnproof?

And, don't tell us you don't have a burner. That would be pretty much unbelievable, ya know.
--Randy

 

[mariner]

I thought your mom locked you in the basement randypj

No, I can't rip/enc/burn in one "fell swoop" yet. Don't know if I want to. After downloading so many really bad mp3's I think I would like to listen to mine before committing them to CD.

Question: Doesn't everyone have a burner?
Answer: NO!