Best Audio Extractor.

[t3ch]

those .mkw files were about 50% larger than the .ape from what I tested

[igotid24]

yea...i don't know why the mkw's are so much bigger, but i never use them anyways, just use the shn's, size is comparabale to ape.

[bluefrown]

SKD_Tech had this to say:

>> I am gonna try that out.
>> Where can I get a lossless Audio codec and Exact Audio Copy?

I hope I'm not being dense in answering this.

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ is where you can get this very fine program. Haven't been able to find better. Be prepared for rip speeds of 3.0x when using the Perfect copy setting.

But, the LAME mp3 encoder as well as Monkey's Audio APE format (lossless) is included and can be used in the ripping process. With APE, we're talking perfect bit for bit lossless reproduction of the original wave audio file at close to half the space of the original.

Yes, that does mean a bigger file than a 320 kbps mp3 encoded file (which in most cases actually can hurt the quailty of the encoded file by robbing the lower frequencies of much needed bits for higher frequencies); but, if you were to reencode the APE to a WAV for a CDDA burn, the copy of the original, literally -- not just sonically, would be exact.

...stepping down off the soapbox, and backing away...

(p.s.: Sorry, didn't read far enough into the thread to see that SKD_Tech already knows about EAC.)
(p.p.s: use 192 kbps with latest LAME if you really want the best quality lossy mp3 compression)
(p.p.p.s.: I prefer lossless because, barring being flamed for this, I can tell the difference between mp3->wav and original wav. And if the person that originally asked "which the the best ripper" really wants an exact sonic and bit-for-bit copy of the original CD, EAC is, argueably, the ONLY comprehensive way to go.)

...stepping back down off the soapbox, and walking swiftly away...

[xviddivxoggmp3]

.shn

.shn (lossless with md5)
shorten codec
I record concerts from the bands that allow taping list.http://btat.wagnerone.com/
I archive them in shorten due to lossless quality.
you can dl the shorten encoder from

http://www.softsound.com/wsh23b32.EXE

advantages of .shn is that the taping guild trades exclusively in .shn if you want to know more search for etree or go to

http://furthurnet.com/

as for cd ripper i would also suggest you use eac

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

this will alow you to rip to wave then use the shorten encoder mentioned earlier to compress into .shn
if you are having problems with it actually acquiring the rip
you should check the drive allocation in the options.
below is an excerpt from the faq that might help.

Q:
I get a message stating that it could not detect my CD-ROM read settings or that it can't find a matching read mode. What can I do?

A:
Sometimes EAC will autodetect a wrong read command. Try to manually select a read command. In the Drive Options, go to Read Commands page and select the Read Command MMC1 manually (or any other that works). Test it with burst mode. If you tested all of them, but none of them worked, try to extract with another program like WinDAC or CDEx. If both also fails, make sure that your drive is capable of extracting digital audio at all.

[zeuss]

all this debate you guys having about space , you seem to forget 2 other factors.

1. Time :The higher the commpression the longer it takes.
2. CPU :The higher the commpression the more system resources are needed for decoding (playback)

and there is only ONE Audio CD extracter: EAC (in 'secure' mode)

[SKD_Tech]

Actually the new WMP 6.4.4.1 has the save as compatibility so it can now extact audio from CD's

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by zeuss
all this debate you guys having about space , you seem to forget 2 other factors.

1. Time :The higher the commpression the longer it takes.
2. CPU :The higher the commpression the more system resources are needed for decoding (playback)

and there is only ONE Audio CD extracter: EAC (in 'secure' mode)

1. Probably a few seconds to a few minutes longer. It should not matter in that case.

2. Of no relevance with most of today's current CPUs. Even Pentium IIIs can easily cope with the compression tasks of LAME's presets.

Only 1 Audio CD extractor? You need to read more and find out the myriad of audio cd rippers freely available on the net.