Converting Audio Cd to AC3 files without loosing quality..

[caesarhawy]

Hi There..
I wanna know the right way and the right software to rip my audio cds
into .ac3 files without losing any quality (you know what I mean..I want the .ac3 files to sound exactly like the audio cd) and no matter what the size is..

So I was thinking of ripping my audio cd into .wav files using Sony Sound Forge then using ffmpeggui to convert the .wav to .ac3 with the highest birates..

So is this way working with what I want..or there's another better way to get a highest quality..

Thanks In Advance..
CAESAR

[BJ_M]

you can't , ac3 is a lossy compressed format - so it will never sound exactly alike (if fact - quite a bit gets thrown out)

the highest quality would be to leave as pcm files - or one of the lossless compressed audio formats ...

[celtic_druid]

Yeah, transparency would be a better target. ffmpeg AC3 encoder isn't tuned so you would probably get better quality with another encoder. Still at a high bitrate it is probably ok. None of us can tell what is transparent to you though. You would simply have to ABX to determine what bitrate, if any is transparent.

[SLK001]

Do you mean ".MP3" audio files? MP3 audio is also a lossy format.

If you want the highest quality, then keep the original .WAV format.

[caesarhawy]

Well could you please tell me what software to use to convert an audio cd to to PCM files and keep the audio quality like BJ_M has just said..

[guns1inger]

PCM is uncompressed wav - exactly what is on the CD. Just rip it to uncompressed wav. To use it on a DVD so you can play it back you will have to change the sample rate to 48khz

[caesarhawy]

Yeah..I got that guns1inger..but what software do you advice me to use..

[guns1inger]

Whatever audio software you have. If you don't have any CD-EX or Audacity will do.

[celtic_druid]

If you care about quality, I would suggest EAC.

[jimmalenko]

I second CDEX.

[mattso]

How exactly is EAC better than something like CDEx? CDEx shows the status of the rip, surely if it gives the green it's a perfect rip?

[daphy]

How exactly is EAC better than something like CDEx?

counter question: how exactly is Rolly Royce better than Maybach, what tasts better cafe or tee and what' the sense of life

read this and find out yourself

[Sifaga]

EAC for quality rips
Cdex for ease of use and good rips

imho

[Killing Joke]

Hi, with wav (pcm) to either ac3 or dts conversion, you always will have a data loss.
If you want to place more than 1 audio cd to 1 DVD in original quality, the best way is to use a programme, which is able to creat an Audio DVD with the use of orignal PCM format without conversion. On a single layer DVD about 6 cd audio discs.
I don't wanna place here any name, but you have to search on the web...

[mattso]

I'd still like some solid answer, why is EAC considered better than CDEx? Not trying to flame here, I know EAC is highly regarded. Just wondering why? How does it rip "better" than CDEx?

When CDEx indicates a "perfect rip", is it lying?

[drjtech]

Yes, sometime CDex lies about "perfect rips".

Secure audio extraction : CDex full paranoia versus EAC secure mode

Conclusion

...CDex is of no use compared to EAC, it returns files full of errors and audible clicks claiming zero errors occured even in full paranoia mode.

-drj

[mattso]

Yes, sometime CDex lies about "perfect rips".

Secure audio extraction : CDex full paranoia versus EAC secure mode

Conclusion

...CDex is of no use compared to EAC, it returns files full of errors and audible clicks claiming zero errors occured even in full paranoia mode.

-drj

Thanks! That's "exactly" what I was asking, I guess I'll try to work my mind around EAC at last...

[daphy]

comment on this test:
this test is 4 years old and had be done on a historic drive
I´ve found no hints to the version numbers of each program tested there. In every case it´s no actual version, many things might change in nowadays versions

[BJ_M]

sound forge and vegas also do damm good audio rips of cd's also ... but EAC is very very good ... but on todays faster systems - i never seem to have a problem with cdex either

[caesarhawy]

Hi guys...Thanks for advicing me to use EAC..
but it didn't gave me a 48 KHz wav files that I need in DVD Lab-Pro..I've looked in the compression options in the Microsoft PCM Converter wave format but the maximum sample format was 44.100 KHz which is not acceptable in DVD Lab-Pro..
so I'm sure I'm doing something stupid :P
can you tell me what option I've to change to get the 48 KHz in EAC..

THANKS IN ADVANCE..
CAESAR

[Cornucopia]

You don't change ANY options in EAC (or whatever ripping software you're using).

1st- You rip to LPCM/WAV (16bit, stereo, 44100Hz)
2nd- You take that WAVE file and Sample Rate Convert it (upsample) to 48000Hz.
3rd- Now, you can use it in most any DVD authoring app.

What app to do SRC with? SSRC is a good one (and free).

Scott

[caesarhawy]

Well Well Well..It Worked great
Thank you guys..

CAESAR