This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by James Avery. Original Post: Finally figured out how to Rip CDs the RIGHT way Feed Title: .Avery Blog Feed URL: /blog/Install/BlogNotConfiguredError.aspx Feed Description: .NET and everything nice Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by James Avery Latest Posts From .Avery Blog

I blogged awhile back about trying to figure out a new way to rip my CDs, something that was a little more permanent… I finally found the right solution, and some great software in the process.

First I found EAC (Exact Audio Copy) from one of the comments on that earlier post, this is some great software. It’s free and it does a verified high quality rip, and lets you configure what you want to do with the .wav file after it rips. I decided that I want to have a good quality MP3 as well as a FLAC copy. (so I can convert from FLAC in the future and not have to worry about re-ripping)

So the next step was to download LAME, which after some reading is considered the best MP3 encoder out there, and FLAC. The problem is EAC only lets you call a single program after ripping, so I download MAREO which you point EAC too and then it calls whatever programs you want.

So I have EAC configured to rip to WAV, which then calls MAREO which calls LAME (--alt-preset standard) and then calls FLAC (-5) and saves them off to the correct directory.

Best of all its all 100% free and open source. I am going to start re-ripping my collection, starting with my newer purchases and working my way back. 

-James