Sakahara

What about AIFF? I've only seen FLAC downloads so far for 24/88 or greater resolution. Is there any reason to convert FLAC to AIFF for any possible future storage/use on Mac? At this time I'm placing all my music files (extracted or downloaded) on a dedicated external drive for use with music server? Also, is a AIFF (16/44) download the same as ripping CD to AIFF (only difference being the SW used)? Has any one noticed degraded sound quality with these downloads? I'd like to stop buying CD's, although good for backup, but I could always immediately burn the downloads to a DVD.

It was the drive... of course. BDP-1 able to read MS-DOS(FAT) formatted under OS X/Disk Utility. I still think the BDP-1 should support Mac (HFS+).

Master Boot Record: Yes Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Yes, but n/a Bus-powered: USB & FW BDP-1 Ports: Two on Rear (front for Thumb Drives)

This is more storage related but I felt it'd be better served in this forum. Also, please don't respond unless you're a BDP-1/Mac owner/user. I want to keep the thread short and concise. Here's the issue; My BDP-1 is having difficulty seeing the attached external USB drive formatted for WIN (MS-DOS(FAT)/FAT32 or NTFS w/ NTFS-3G/MacFUSE) with Disk Utility. It will not Update and only shows a symbol (looks like the letter "d") after accessing Bryston>USB>. As you know the BDP-1 uses a scaled down version of Linux and can only read FAT32 or NTFS formatted drives. I've tried both, even ExFAT, and neither is readable by the BDP-1, yet I have no problem reading/writing to the supplied Bryston 2GB Thumb Drive (FAT32), as well as another 2GB Thumb Drive (FAT32) and Get Info shows; "FAT32" for all drives formatted as such. Bryston says, "It's because you're using Mac". Off topic question: Isn't Linux UNIX? Shouldn't it be compatible (Read/Write) with other platforms (i.e, Mac)? Bryston says the reason they use it because it's Open-Source (unfortunately not open to other platforms). Do Linux PC's only work with FAT32 or NTFS? I do have Fusion/XP, also access to WIN PC's, but I just hate to use it when I shouldn't have to. It makes no sense why the drive can't be read by the BDP-1 when formatted for WIN under OS X. This is performed by Mac users all the time and I don't have any problem reading/writing to WIN PC's. And now there seems to be another issue (w/ drive?); after the third try to format for WIN the external drive suddenly began making faint clicking sounds, instead of a spinning hum sound, but only when plugged into BDP-1 USB port. It works fine when connected to iMac FW. HW Specs: iMac8,1 2.8 GHz INtel Core 2 Duo OS X 10.6.7 Drive: G-Drive Mobile USB/FW 750GB Music Format: XLD->AIFF

With the recent posturing over rip apps I decided to download and compare dBpoweramp to XLD. I ripped the same song (Touch of Trash from Modern Cool by Patricia Barber) as follows; XLD>AIFF and dBpoweramp>AIFF & FLAC. If there was an audible difference I could not detect it. I spent about 20 minutes going back and fourth, over and over, with different parts and I could not discern any difference between them. Note; settings were at their highest possible for secure, accurate, rips. I even slowed down the drive speed for the dBpoweramp rips and also used the Best(8) setting with FLAC.

I'm satisfied with XLD as far as accurately ripping redbook CD's. Without having experience with anything other then iTunes>ALAC for 4 years on Mac it looks to have more then enough built-in redundant error correction safeguards and leaves me feeling secure about the integrity of the rips. I only wish the GUI was more intuitive (Save to Folder Structure,..), with more feedback about the process, ripping status results, in real-time, and Help was included. There's plenty of window space above the track listing window. It's too generic and designed towards more computer savvy individuals with hands-on ripping. Wouldn't mind if it managed the music as well. And I'd like to see exactly what the differences are when the Metadata comes back with multipole results (show comparison).

I wanted to say thanks for the help. I've been busy ripping (feel like a CD changer) and didn't want to seem ungrateful. I figured out most of the settings with common sense. Just took time being unfamiliar. iTunes spoiled me. I was eager/impatient to start ripping and didn't want to waste any more time. I think it's going well.

For example, the setup in the image will result in the following style: Miles Davis/Kind of Blue/01 So What Miles Davis/Kind of Blue/02 Freddie Freeloader Miles Davis/Kind of Blue/03 Blue In Green Never mind... I just tried it and it works; Album Artist/Album/01 Track Name, 02 Track Name,...etc. The way you showed the folder structure was misleading. I'm still trying to figure out he other Preference settings though. PS: Itunes hasn't opened again. Not sure what was causing that (importing to iTunes Music folder...)? System Prefs for Opening Music CD was not set to iTunes, although this was happening after the CD was already mounted and iTunes would open after clicking Extract in XLD.

I'm used to iTunes handling everything so I'm a bit confused with using XLD. I don't want or need to use iTunes anymore but I still want the music library to be organized in the same manner and since XLD only rips/converts do I need to add "Genre", "Year",.. and other folder structures so that MPoD, when reading from the drive connected to my music server, can organize and create playlists,..etc or is that from the metadata? Also, what setting do I use in the upper-left drop down menu disc info window; "Include pre-gap for all tracks",....etc?

Please clarify, is your folder structure creating a separate folder for each Track No./Title under Album Artist and Album? Isn't that redundant? I just want Album Artist/Album/Tracks 01, 02,... exactly like iTunes. What's the difference between Artist and Album Artist anyways? What settings should I use with Preferences>CD Rip; Ripper Mode(XLD Secure Ripper...); Use C2 error pointers;..etc? How did you attach the image? I tried w/ three like yours (File Attachments>Choose File>Attach>Save) but only my text posted.

I'm new to XLD and need insight with setting the preferences for ripping to AIFF. Ideally I want to rip straight to a dedicated music library external drive, but I noticed XLD did not create folders for Artists and Album as opposed to when it's being ripped to iTunes Music folder. Is there a way to have XLD create these folders or is it manual only? It would be less work since I no longer want/need the music on my iMac (using external drive with music server now). Also, why does iTunes open when using XLD? I want to create bit-perfect rips with XLD (no association with iTunes during import) so I don't have to do this again anytime soon. Also, can you recommend a external FW/USB optical DVD/CD drive to avoid wear-n-tear on the internal DVD drive? I've attached screen shots of XLD Pref windows. Thanks.

XLD for Mac seems to do the job fine, no measurable or sonic difference that I can tell. Have you found something? Did you compare XLD to dBpoweramp and iTunes using AIFF, as well as AIFF to ALAC? For now, I've decided to use XLD -> AIFF for all new CD's and then re-rip the rest as time permits, while listening to music, overwriting the ALAC files on the music server drive (using another drive for backup, finally freeing up my iMac drive since I don't need the music there). I've been more then satisfied with the sound from my system using iTunes->ALAC to import CD's, so whether or not using XLD->AIFF yields improved sonic results (which I feel it will based on feedback), my music library will at least be an exact copy of the CD and I won't have to be concerned with re-ripping anytime soon. Wow, XLD->AIFF seems sloooooow, or am I imagining this?

Music server novice needs some clarification; Is a AIFF music file download the same as me ripping a CD to AIFF (or Apple Lossless) in iTunes/Mac? I sense not based on comments above with using dBpoweramp for ripping instead of iTunes for better playback quality. Strange that this makes a difference. HW as well (i.e, CD/DVD drive, old/new computer,..)? Does the RIP app version also make a difference (CD's ripped with earlier version of iTunes vs current version)? Can I download FLAC music file to Mac/OS X and then move/copy to the music server drive*? What about file conversion; FLAC>AIFF? Will I lose anything in terms of sound quality? *The music server uses an external drive (formatted for FAT32) and can read most music file formats; FLAC, AIFF, ALAC,... etc, so there's no real need to convert but I thought for easier storage on Mac with tags/artwork. What defines a hi-rez music file; 24/96,..24/192? Is only FLAC capable of this? With regards to ripping on WIN, I do have access to a Dell XP Laptop, also some old WIN (XP,..) towers, but the laptop hasn't proven to be reliable with some unknown issue where it overheats and goes blank (4 years old) and the towers are older (not current CD/DVD drives). using my year old iMac might result in better ripping. I planned to use an external DVD drive to save wear-n-tear on the internal one. I also have VMware Fusion/XP for dBpoweramp, although I also have XLD. I'll have to try ripping a few CD's both ways to know for sure, but I think I'd be happy either way as I've been very satisfied using iTunes/ALAC. I'm still trying to decide on a external USB drive for use with Bryston BDP-1. I wanted something sleek, slim, and thpought of the G-Drive 500GB Mobile Slim. Then considered the Apple Time Capsule to have both storage and ethernet in one box (no need for Airport Express), plus ability to simply drag-n-drop music files over to it, but I'm told the USB port wouldn't allow the BDP-1 to see the TC's internal drive. Too bad. That would be a simple solution. Maybe NAS so I didn't have to unplug/plug drive between BDP-1 and iMac?

NEVER change the format of the source "CD". So, rip it - "do nothing" - and it will be stored in its native format (which will be the "bit perfect" format if you like). Curious then why iTunes allows the sample rate to be changed when importing to AIFF?

I'm considering the RSAD Poiema given the special sale price as opposed to the Axis by Locus Design. I'm an avid supporter of high-end cables, but I don't want to spend more then $500, if that, for USB cable.