RIP cd,s ..?

steveledzep

I think the sleeve info and associated artwork is one of the reasons for the resurgence of interest in vinyl records.
Artwork for a lot of releases can be found here:   http://www.albumart.org/

ICBM

steveledzep said:

I think the sleeve info and associated artwork is one of the reasons for the resurgence of interest in vinyl records.

And yet ironically - although admittedly in a smaller format - there's often far more in a CD booklet.

steveledzep said:

I think the sleeve info and associated artwork is one of the reasons for the resurgence of interest in vinyl records.
Artwork for a lot of releases can be found here:   http://www.albumart.org/

This one is also good: https://fanart.tv

spark240

Ok folks...so I got the AK SR15 on the go now, Ive ripped a few tracks to iTunes ( as Lossless audio files) but it wont let me copy them over to the AK using Android file transfer.

If I just open up the CD from the CD reader, I can copy those tracks across to the AK as AIFF files, is that a pretty good format?

Although I would still like to rip the full CD collection via the Mac and store on a separate hard drive for ease in the future, what you reckon is the best App for this function?

Also trying Deezer at the moment...

ICBM

spark240 said:

If I just open up the CD from the CD reader, I can copy those tracks across to the AK as AIFF files, is that a pretty good format?

AIFF is essentially the same as the full unaltered file from the CD, so yes .

Gagaryn

AIFF is just a container for the PCM digital music stream. So you are getting full CD quality but the file is needlessly large which is why lossless formats like ALAC and FLAC exist.

I've copied a load of iTunes ripped lossless stuff to my SR15, along with a load of FLAC, WAV and DSD files - all works fine. I'm using a Mac too. Without knowing what the problems you are experiencing are I'd guess it could be a permissions issue - Mac OS sometimes bugger up permissions on folders which can manifest as problems copying files between folders.

Android File Transfer for Mac is crap - it's still 32 bit and hasn't been updated for a long time. It crashed on me a few times when trying to copy large numbers of files in one go.

Sticking the SD card into a card reader so that it mounts on the desktop is a good workaround - the SR15 doesn't care how the files are stored on the card so no need to worry about folders and hierarchy. 

I ended up buying Commander One file transfer software as from my modest research it seemed like the best option. It works flawlessly. You need the Pro version to mount Android devices (the SR15 runs skinned android obv). Use this code for 30% discount - SVNLBDSC

gringopig

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spark240

Gagaryn said:

AIFF is just a container for the PCM digital music stream. So you are getting full CD quality but the file is needlessly large which is why lossless formats like ALAC and FLAC exist.

I've copied a load of iTunes ripped lossless stuff to my SR15, along with a load of FLAC, WAV and DSD files - all works fine. I'm using a Mac too. Without knowing what the problems you are experiencing are I'd guess it could be a permissions issue - Mac OS sometimes bugger up permissions on folders which can manifest as problems copying files between folders.

Android File Transfer for Mac is crap - it's still 32 bit and hasn't been updated for a long time. It crashed on me a few times when trying to copy large numbers of files in one go.

Sticking the SD card into a card reader so that it mounts on the desktop is a good workaround - the SR15 doesn't care how the files are stored on the card so no need to worry about folders and hierarchy. 

I ended up buying Commander One file transfer software as from my modest research it seemed like the best option. It works flawlessly. You need the Pro version to mount Android devices (the SR15 runs skinned android obv). Use this code for 30% discount - SVNLBDSC

Thanks bud...I was hoping you would chip in ;-)..

I dont FLAC as an option with iTunes, I assume their Apple Lossless encoder is in fact ALAC.

The issue was, I ripped the CD as Apples Lossless, then when I drag the tracks to the Android file transfer window ( which where I now see the AK )  the green plus sign instantly changes to red and wont let me copy the file, I can still do it with a workaround but `ill check out Commander One thanks...by the way..are you able to move files around in Commander One so as to arrange folders on the AK ?

Gagaryn

spark240 said:

Thanks bud...I was hoping you would chip in ;-)..

I dont FLAC as an option with iTunes, I assume their Apple Lossless encoder is in fact ALAC.

The issue was, I ripped the CD as Apples Lossless, then when I drag the tracks to the Android file transfer window ( which where I now see the AK )  the green plus sign instantly changes to red and wont let me copy the file, I can still do it with a workaround but `ill check out Commander One thanks...by the way..are you able to move files around in Commander One so as to arrange folders on the AK ?

Yes, iTunes doesn't do FLAC. No advantage using FLAC over Apple lossless - they are both lossless! 

I suspect you've discovered another issue with Android File Transfer - the Mac version just rubbish. I believe the Linux version is better and works on a Mac but I haven't tried it.

Commander One will allow you to move or copy files in the AK, create and delete folders etc...

EDIT: meant to add the only real advantage in moving folders about in the device is if you plan to use the Folder view to navigate to songs or albums. For artist view, album view etc all the info comes from the tags - doesn't matter where the file is on the card. I generally use artist view  - the only think I don't like about it is it lists the albums in alphabetical order - i would prefer to list them by year of release. 

ICBM

gringopig said:

Out of 593 CDs I ripped, 6 of them failed with at least one unreadable track and some had gone a weird goldie colour. Not too bad I suppose. I tried the bicarbonate of soda toothpaste rub and it allowed me to rip about half properly...

If the problem is surface scratches T-Cut is very good too. If you buy a lot of CDs and DVDs from charity shops this becomes useful . It won't fix an oxidised reflector layer obviously - but the oxidation has to be really bad before it won't read, because the data is actually in the plastic layer immediately in front of the aluminium, so almost any reflection will make it work.

I also have an old Mac G4 laptop with a slow drive which seems to be able to read almost anything, even discs that fail in the newer superdrive on my iMac.

spark240

Err...confusion - Ive imported a CD to Itunes ( settings as Apple Lossless audio) but the tracks have imported at M4a files.... 

If I copy the same tracks direct from the CD to the Mac the show up as AIFF...?

Whats up?

ICBM

If you convert to Apple Lossless the file type is m4a.

Copying directly to the computer will just duplicate the file without doing any conversion, so you get an AIFF.

You can convert the AIFF files to lossless in iTunes if you want, without importing from CD.

spark240

ICBM said:

If you convert to Apple Lossless the file type is m4a.

Copying directly to the computer will just duplicate the file without doing any conversion, so you get an AIFF.

You can convert the AIFF files to lossless in iTunes if you want, without importing from CD.

Ahh Ok...so complex !

So are they effectively the same quality M4a and AIFF ?.....any reason why I would want / need to convert from AIFF to Apples lossless?

ICBM

spark240 said:

So are they effectively the same quality M4a and AIFF ?.....any reason why I would want / need to convert from AIFF to Apples lossless?

To save storage space. AIFF is the full uncompressed audio file, lossless is likely to be about half the size, although it varies depending on the type of music. They are the same quality because when 'expanded', the lossless file reproduces the original AIFF file perfectly - unlike mp3 or AAC which is 'lossy' compression.

UnclePsychosis

gringopig said:

Out of 593 CDs I ripped, 6 of them failed with at least one unreadable track and some had gone a weird goldie colour. Not too bad I suppose. I tried the bicarbonate of soda toothpaste rub and it allowed me to rip about half properly...

Don't suppose the ones that didn't are Time Warner releases from the early to mid 90s? 

I find that using my PC and EAC I can rip almost anything, including things that are quite badly scratched, but it absolutely refuses to rip Time Warner things from the early 90s. I've tried different software---even tried using a different OS on the same hardware---but something (copy protection?) about the TW releases from back then just refuses to copy. Which is a pain, because I do 90% of my listening on my mp3 player these days. 

ICBM

UnclePsychosis said:

I find that using my PC and EAC I can rip almost anything, including things that are quite badly scratched, but it absolutely refuses to rip Time Warner things from the early 90s. I've tried different software---even tried using a different OS on the same hardware---but something (copy protection?) about the TW releases from back then just refuses to copy. Which is a pain, because I do 90% of my listening on my mp3 player these days. 

If they aren't things you can download from somewhere - illegally if necessary, since you own the CDs - get them over to me and I'll rip them on the old G4 Mac and send you the files. It simply pays no attention to any of that sort of thing, including any that are definitely not supposed to work in a computer!

UnclePsychosis

ICBM said:

UnclePsychosis said:

I find that using my PC and EAC I can rip almost anything, including things that are quite badly scratched, but it absolutely refuses to rip Time Warner things from the early 90s. I've tried different software---even tried using a different OS on the same hardware---but something (copy protection?) about the TW releases from back then just refuses to copy. Which is a pain, because I do 90% of my listening on my mp3 player these days. 

If they aren't things you can download from somewhere - illegally if necessary, since you own the CDs - get them over to me and I'll rip them on the old G4 Mac and send you the files. It simply pays no attention to any of that sort of thing, including any that are definitely not supposed to work in a computer!

Ooh, thanks. Not keen on illegal downloading (even if "morally justified"). May need to take you up on that! 

Phil_aka_Pip

ICBM said:

gringopig said:

Out of 593 CDs I ripped, 6 of them failed with at least one unreadable track and some had gone a weird goldie colour. Not too bad I suppose. I tried the bicarbonate of soda toothpaste rub and it allowed me to rip about half properly...

If the problem is surface scratches T-Cut is very good too. If you buy a lot of CDs and DVDs from charity shops this becomes useful . It won't fix an oxidised reflector layer obviously - but the oxidation has to be really bad before it won't read, because the data is actually in the plastic layer immediately in front of the aluminium, so almost any reflection will make it work.

I also have an old Mac G4 laptop with a slow drive which seems to be able to read almost anything, even discs that fail in the newer superdrive on my iMac.

Fanx! I've got a CD in the car that got scratched and now 2 tracks on it won't play. I'll try T-Cut