What's the lossless audio format of choice these days?

[CurseTheSky]

Hi guys,

I have a decently large collection of CDs, at least $1000 worth. Years ago I ripped most of them to MP3s, but due to limited HDD size (200GB at the time, and OS / applications / games on the same drive), they range from 128kbps to 320kbps, with most being 256. I'm not an audiophile, but I can tell the difference between 256kbps and 320.

With that said, I'm looking to re-rip all of my CDs (well, the ones that aren't too scratched up or broken ) into a lossless format that I'll add to from time to time and keep backed up in at least 2 places. I generally used Windows Media Player to play my music, and I don't have a portable MP3 player (iPod, Zune) at the moment. If I do get one in the future, it would probably be a Zune. What format do you guys recommend ripping to? FLAC? WMA Lossless? My biggest concerns are supported media players (I'm not a fan of WinAmp) and ability to convert the files to MP3 if I need to play them on a portable.

Cliffs:
- Large music collection, want to store it in a lossless format
- Do not own an iPod, Zune, etc. but MAY buy a Zune at some point
- Currently using Windows Media Player, dislike iTunes, WinAmp, etc.
- FLAC? WMA Lossless? Other format?

Thanks.

 

[Anubis]

FLAC is pretty much the standard, you will run into issues if you ever get a MP3 player because a lot of them don't support FLAC but you can simply make MP3s from FLAC files for it

 

[CurseTheSky]

FLAC is pretty much the standard, you will run into issues if you ever get a MP3 player because a lot of them don't support FLAC but you can simply make MP3s from FLAC files for it

Any suggestion on a ripper, player, and converter?

Thanks.

 

[rivan]

I'm thinking about starting over on my collection too. Ideally I'd like something with an automatic mode - insert a CD; if it's not already ripped, it does it either to FLAC or WAV, then eject when done.

Then rip to mp3 (and flac if step 1 was wav) maintaining directory structure.

 

[Quiksilver]

Any suggestion on a ripper, player, and converter?

Thanks.

Ripper:
Exact Audio Copy

Guide for EAC over here:
http://blowfish.be/eac/

Player:
Whatever suites you... foorbar, winamp, AIMP2(i use this), AlSong, mediamonkey, songbird

Converter:
idk

 

[Anubis]

Any suggestion on a ripper, player, and converter?

Thanks.

i use EAC for Ripping and Converting, This is a good guide for FLAC ripping http://www2.firehose.us:81/~jiggafellz/eac/index.html#toflac

Converting to MP3 is pref on bitrate i use LAME and compress VBR insane
http://www2.firehose.us:81/~jiggafellz/eac/index.html#tomp3

i use winamp for playback

 

[Dark Penguin]

Removed

 

[Treyshadow]

Sansa Clip+ supports flac. What a great tiny player. Makes my Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 10s sound very good.

 

[Anubis]

You keep pushing that, why pay 50$ when you can do it for free? you offer no explanation about the program and just spam the website

 

[Dark Penguin]

You keep pushing that, why pay 50$ when you can do it for free? you offer no explanation about the program and just spam the website

How am I pushing it? They ask for a product and I post the one I like. The OP can download it and see if they like it. They don't have to buy it first. And half the time I warn that it isn't free just in case that is an instant no.

As an aside I did see the OP mention that they might buy a Zune. Unless Microsoft has opened things up I believe that will lock them into the Zune software. (At least when working with the Zune.)

 

[MrChad]

If you are leaning towards a Zune and use Windows Media Player, WMA lossless might not be a bad option either. You can setup EAC to convert to WMA lossless pretty easily.

 

[SN4p]

Flac is the standard lossless format used.

Also, check out foobar2000 for a player and encoder.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

FLAC / APE + MediaMonkey.

 

[Bazooka Boy]

I'm the same with the OP. I ca't figure out differences on a 128kbps on 320kbps.
But for me, I prefer 320kbps MP3 file. It has a much better sound than any other that I have used.

 

[corkyg]

.CDA also works well. That is the original format on the commercial CD. 320 MP3 also is decent - very few computer-based audio systems can present your ears with any noticeable response loss. And, in a car - forget it. Anything goes.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Flac is definitely the most used lossless format. Though, if you're going to use a Zune, might as well go with WMAlossless.

Zune software will take care of all the auto ripping, tagging, ejecting, etc...for you. Also, you can set bitrate limits for your Zune player. Anything over a specified bitrate will be down-converted when transferred to your player. Definitely useful to conserve space vs WMAlossless files.

I like dbpoweramp for audio transcoding. But there's a billion other tools that work just as well.