The best program I have seen so far is FreeRIP MP3.
You can get it here:
http://www.mgshareware.com/frmmain.html

It is really easy to use, and has worked flawlessly for me.

Comments are welcome!

kwag

hey kwag,
i use CDex for more than ripping. Sometimes I load the file in nero and it says it can't read it. I load it into CDex and it fixes it by re-encoding. Does Freerip do that?

You mean you try to load the mp3 in Nero, and it says it can't readit, or you mean the .wav file?

I never see any error when I make a data CD with the MP3's that I make with FreeRIP. I always make the MP3's at 256Kbps and burn them with Nero.

The program only does CBR. Not VBR. So that might be a down side for some people.

It also encodes directly to OGG Vorbis ( My favorite format ) and installs the WinAmp plug-in for it, if you don't have it.

kwag

I'll have to try that program mentioned above and evaluate it myself. I've used a program called Exact Audio Copy combined with Razorlame configured with Lame.....Bit fiddly to set up but copies well. For lossless audio compression I've used Monkey Audio which is very easy to set up but with file sizes being approx 55% of original size. I particularly like the file extension for it .ape

Best one i have found so far is ALTO MP3 maker, its fast and quality is exceptional.

check out the program here :

http://www.yuansoft.com/features.html

i use EAC (exact audio copy) with lame mp3 codec. its a little hard to use but go here: http://www.ping.be/satcp/
this place tells you everything to do and i tell ya, great quality! fast too.

I've been hearing a lot about exact audio copy.
Got to give it a try!.

kwag

I use Musicmatch Jukebox and it is very fast. Has built in CDDB connection and it also creates the filenames by name and title. This is very configurable.
GizmoZ

Regarding "Exact Audio Copy"
I think this program blows all others away!.

It has so many options, that you can do just about anything you want.
It blew away FreeRIP!
However, it's not for newbies.

Just tried it and ripped a couple of songs.
Came out great. Using LAME encoder.


kwag

Yeah, that link that Delta posted was the exact same one that I was struggling to find for everyone. Its really good because it contains a newbieish guide for simplified configuration. The guy who created Razorlame did so because he was dissatisfired with all of the other programs on the market which he felt did not contain accurate error corrections.....EAC is for ripping from cd or creating an image file and Razorlame is the GUI for Lame encoder when your ready to start your conversions.......
Another fantastic site with info and downloads galore is :-

www.audiotools.co.uk

glad to hear you like EAC, Kwag.

as it is possibly the best ripper, if it wasnt for that guide, id be in shambles. but once you set it up, its as easy as point-click. i belive most of those mp3 album teams/rippers use EAC along with the latest version of LAME.

question: wondering if people use stereo or joint-stereo for ripping their CDs? maybe we should make a poll. how is that done?

Finally a great MP3 ripper! Exact Audio Copy totally rocks! I just ripped my Spinal Tap- break like the wind cd and it was fast and no errors. I've been searching for a reliable ripper for a while now.

MusicMatch Jukebox is the best!!

http://www.musicmatch.com

I think this is the best program of all. Specially the support it has, because it's being developed at sourceforge.net. It has some of the features that are only in some Unix programs, like jitter correction, from the cdparanoia libraries used in Linux, FreeBSD, etc.
Even some scratched CD's are reproduced without clicks or pops. Other MP3 rippers can't cope with this very well. Take a look at the latest version 1.40 and get it here: http://www.cdex.n3.net

-kwag

Hi guys!

In my experience - and I have tried MANY rippers - EAC (Exact Audio Copy) really is the best one out there. A long time ago I used AudioGrabber, but even though the program told me the wav files was OK I still got "crackles" (?) on the files. What I mean is that some of the songs sort of sounded like the've been recorded from LP's. Doesn't happen with EAC. And it doesn't hurt that EAC's free either !
Then if you want mp3's from the songs simply use LAME 3.90.2 (the latest "safe" version) with the "--alt-preset * -Z" command. Replace the "*" with any of the following parameters:
standard (~192 kbps - Variable bitrate)
extreme (~256 kbps - Variable bitrate)
insane (320kbps - Constant bitrate)

Check out http://www.hydrogenaudio.org for more info and downloads.

Good luck!

Have you tried CDex lately http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/

-kwag

I have both installed and I can't tell which one is better.
Well, if I had to choose one, I think that I would stay with EAC
with a very little margin of preference.

Does any one know the real difference between these two rippers

I find CDex easier to use. As far as quality, I can't tell the difference when ripping from clean/unscratched CDs. CDex does have "Paranoia" ripping methods, which I love, as it does a wonderful job on scratched CDs. I'm not sure if EAC has these options. If it doesn't, you can trash EAC right now, because paranoia ripping method is a must

-kwag

Hi!

I have been using both CDex and EAC. I like CDex because it's easy to use. On the other hand, EAC has ripping and writing technics that are supposed to give an exact copy of the original CD.
However, to achieve this, you need to have in you *original* CD collection, one that has been used by EAC programmer to design its software. By reading a known CD, EAC then knows how to compensate for you CD reader "flaws"...

However, I was unlucky trying to use this advanced feature None of the original CD I had was exactly the same as EAC expected. So I just used the "paranoiac" setting of EAC...

Well right now, like I've mentioned in another post, I have recently installed Media Jukebox. So far it seems to offer just what I've always dreamed of regarding MP3 management : on AND off-line mp3s, advanced renaming, cddb, ripping to wav/mp3, visualization, etc. There is a lot of features I haven't explored yet. Seems others here like it too.

For encoding, whatever GUI you use, do yourself a favor : use lame.

I just ripped a few tracks using Goldwave and it worked great! EAC got stuck on these tracks even after I cleaned the cd. Goldwave supports LAME too. Has anyone else tried it?