Xiaoniu 小妞

A friend at work has recently introduced me into the fine art of creating (ripping and encoding) high quality MP3 files. Until last year all my rips were at 128k bit rate and then I decided to kick it a notch to 192k bit rate.

I’m now re-ripping a lot of my stuff at the highest VBR possible using the tools I have. It is some where between 240k and 270k and since it is VBR it has essentially the same quality as a 320k bit rate CBR without all the wasted disk space.

The album does require a lot of space when encoded at such a high bit-rate, but the quality is worth it and disk space is cheap. I am sure that I’ll run out of disk space long before everything I own is ripped, but maybe by then it’ll be Christmas and I’ll be able to add a little something to my wish list.

I’m paying special attention to the album information that I use. The initial download comes from freedb, but I make sure to update the genre according to the latest album information from Wikipedia.

I started with my older CDs for a couple reasons. First, since they are older and have been essentially packed away for a couple years it is like meeting good, old friends again. I’m enjoying music I haven’t heard in years. Second, I’m starting with the most difficult batch first; many of these oldies are quite scratched up and dirty. Years of abuse has taken its toll.

So, I’m also learning the art of repairing and removing scratches from CDs using common household items. Toothpaste works for only the most minor scratches. I find it does a good job of cleaning, but you really need to use some force to get the scratches out with it. Metal polish is supposed to work, but again it isn’t magic; most of the scratch removal comes from your effort, not the chemical.

So far I’ve been able to almost completely revive a badly damaged 20 Fingers CD and clean up a dirty and lightly scratched Toadies CD. I’ll be sure to burn a couple copies if I plan to use them. Otherwise, they are going back into the case for safe keeping. I’ll most likely just listen to the MP3 from not on anyway.

If you’re interested to make good rips you’ll need two tools: Exact Audio Copy, which is your ripper and LAME, which is your encoder. There is some good information online for properly configuring EAC to get the best quality rips; there are of course many options and depending on your time, your equipment and desired result you must configure accordingly. It is easy enough to do. Lame just pops in and is used by EAC.

Ripping using EAC does take more time than using your general ripping software like Media Player and iTunes, but the quality is better. If you are a quality nut you could go with a lossless format such as FLAC, but I don’t mind a little bit of quality loss (lossy) since it is most likely imperceivable.