Squeezebox Newbie Q? FLAC High End?

Horizons · « **on:** 2 Dec 2005, 12:18 am »

Thinking of taking the plunge with the SB3 to use with my battery powered non-OS DAC.

I have over 1K CDs so I want to rip em once and rip em right. On one hand it seems like EAC WAV files would be the best but the SB gurus seem to think the FLAC is the way to go. I don't want to take ANY performance hit for file size considerations.

Is FLAC high end?

Thanks

kfr01 · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 12:45 am »

Decoded FLAC = the original wav. Bit for bit.

You may convert to and fro at will with no generation loss.

What's the issue?

Tweaker · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 02:56 am »

FLAC all the way, baby! When they say lossless, they ain't kidding. Just be sure and follow the guide for using Exact Audio Copy with FLAC:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=30959

(Don't worry about downloading Accurate rip, it's not necessary).

Val · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 01:23 pm »

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't like that EAC tutorial. I found this one more informative; there are also a few differences in settings between the two.

Hoots · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 02:30 pm »

I have a similar question except I'm using Meedio and my HTPC w/Revo and ASIO.

Would dbpoweramp also rip with error checking and work as well as EAC? I have both and have been ripping some FLAC w/dbpoweramp.

What program do you use to tag the FLAC? I'm using Media Monkey but was going to test Tag&Rename.

What program do you use to burn a regular audio CD from your FLAC files? I like to create a playlist and then burn it to CD. I'm thinking of using AudioMonkey or winamp.

What program is good for transferring FLAC to an ipod? I see an iPod plug-in for win-amp. Do you transcode on the fly to mp3 or apple? Or, do you keep a mirror of your collection for apple (say in mp3)?

tdangelo · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 03:42 pm »

I used DB Poweramp with all my CD's and they sound perfect to me and it rips pretty fast too - I use flac exclusively. I use Mediamonkey initially and then Tag & Rename to clean things up. I like to store my music in individual artist directories then by artist-album-song - that way if you have multiple songs with the same name but different albums you wont have a problem. I use T&R for that etc.. I like how MM puts the right track/song together so you don't have to move stuff around like some other taggers. I've ripped/tagged 2300+ CD's so I pretty much have a system. I also use flactester to make sure the file are good before I move them to my drives and backup to DVD-RW.

Tony

ctviggen · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 03:50 pm »

Thanks for this information. I'm about to re-rip my CDs into FLAC.

Tweaker · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Dec 2005, 05:41 pm »

Val,
Thanks for the link. That really is a much better tutotial.

Gizmo · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Dec 2005, 09:42 pm »

Has anyone tried Yahoo's Music engine? It allows you to rip your cd's in a number of different formats including FLAC. It seems like this would be easier than using the EAC/FLAC combo. I am totally clueless when it comes to this stuff, I was just looking for the simplest solution to archive my CD collection in the FLAC format.

I would appreciate someones opinion on whether this Yahoo ripper works the same way as the other ways described here.

Thanks,

David

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Dec 2005, 10:37 pm »

Quote from: tdangelo

... I've ripped/tagged 2300+ CD's so I pretty much have a system. I also use flactester to make sure the file are good before I move them to my drives and backup to DVD-RW.

Wow! How many DVD's did you use to backup 2300+ cd's?

George

tdangelo · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Dec 2005, 10:55 pm »

I'm up to about 175 - I use rewritables so if I find any tag mistakes I just rewrite - going through the whole collection now fixing mistakes. What a pain

sonicboom · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Dec 2005, 02:01 am »

tdangelo,

Would you please care to briefly share how you go about fixing mistakes in tags? What software do you use or recomend? Any help is appreciated as I' m trying to get a hang on this pc audio thing.

Cheers

tdangelo · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Dec 2005, 06:52 pm »

Sonic, I posted this earlier in the thread. To recap: I use Mediamonkey first to find the artist/album - MM put associates songs names with track # automatically

Then I use Tag & Rename to make sure everything from MM worked - sometimes MM skips a song name or year etc... That's it - lots of work but Slimserver depends on tags to work properly.

Tony

ksie · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 02:54 pm »

"That's it - lots of work but Slimserver depends on tags to work properly."

Hi Tony,

I've been contemplating a move to SB3. Over the last several months I have been building a WAV library from LPs I have recorded on to my hard drive via a Xitel USB device. Xitel provides an editing program to turn the WAV file into seperate tracks/WAVs, but I don't believe I have any Tags for these. It was my understanding that this was not a problem for Slimserver, that it could recognize standard directory/file names for playback and playlist use. Is this not true?

Thanks,
Karl

Val · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 04:35 pm »

Quote from: tdangelo

I use Mediamonkey first to find the artist/album - MM put associates songs names with track # automatically

Tony,

As others here, I am trying to find my own way of doing this. With Mediamonkey, do you still use the related tabs in EAC? When exactly do you start using Mediamonkey? I am thinking of freedb and also of the filename tab (%T\%N, etc.) and the ID3 tags. I haven't yet tried Mediamonkey or Tag&Rename.

One thing I am already sure of is not using AccurateRip any more. Enough stress already without it!

Thanks

RoadTripper · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 04:40 pm »

Could you clarify the statement that Slimserver depends on tags to work properly?

Does that mean that if you don't use tags slimserver won't work properly or that if your tags are not properly done slimserver won't work.

I am using Slimserver with Softsqueeze (waiting for my SB3) and don't use tags at all and it works fine.

To be honest the reason I am not using tags is because I have no idea what a tag even is. Why isn't a tag just a new word for a filename?

jakepunk · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 04:45 pm »

Quote from: ksie

It was my understanding that this was not a problem for Slimserver, that it could recognize standard directory/file names for playback and playlist use.

It is not a problem for slimserver. You can browse directory hierarchies using the remote or web interface. If each wav file has a track number in its filename, then "play"ing the directory will play the tracks in the correct order.

tdangelo · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 07:37 pm »

Hi Karl, I'm certainly not an expert but as you said WAV's dont have tags. I convert waves to FLAC using dbpoweramp - just right click on the WAV and convert. Then I use Mediamonkey - I have to manually find the Artist/Album and select it. MM will assign the proper track#/song name so you don't have to move stuff around to match up. Then I use T&R to make sure the tags have all the proper genre, capitalizations etc... I like all my tags perfect if I can at all make it that way

You CAN just browse directories and play whatever but its a much clearer implementation using proper tags IMO.. Using just file names doesn't guarantee your listening to the album in the proper track # sequence etc...

Quote from: ksie

"That's it - lots of work but Slimserver depends on tags to work properly."

Hi Tony,

I've been contemplating a move to SB3. Over the last several months I have been building a WAV library from LPs I have recorded on to my hard drive via a Xitel USB device. Xitel provides an editing program to turn the WAV file into seperate tracks/WAVs, but I don't believe I have any Tags for these. It was my understanding that this was not a problem for Slimserver, that it could recognize standard directory/file names for playback and playlist use. Is this not true?

Thanks,
Karl

tdangelo · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 07:42 pm »

Val, I don't use EAC so I can't comment on that. If I rip my own music with dbpoweramp that automatically adds the correct tags. I use T&R at that point to make sure everything is capitalized (that I want), correct genre etc... I primarily use MM to add tags to files without. You have to atleast know the artist - it will do a find on what it thinks will match - then you select the appropriate album and wala - you album has perfect tags. Freedb will find the correct tags but from what I've seen you have to move song names up/down to match the tag info - too much work for me. MM does that automatically.

Quote from: Val

Quote from: tdangelo
I use Mediamonkey first to find the artist/album - MM put associates songs names with track # automatically

Tony,

As others here, I am trying to find my own way of doing this. With Mediamonkey, do you still use the related tabs in EAC? When exactly do you start using Mediamonkey? I am thinking of freedb and also of the filename tab (%T\%N, etc.) and the ID3 tags. I haven't yet tried Mediamonkey or Tag&Rename.

One thing I am already sure of is not using AccurateRip any more. Enough stress already without it!

Thanks

tdangelo · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Dec 2005, 07:44 pm »

It will work just not as nicely IMO - I don't think you can search for say all music in 1978 or genre = New Age etc... See my other comments.

Quote from: Seminarian

Could you clarify the statement that Slimserver depends on tags to work properly?

Does that mean that if you don't use tags slimserver won't work properly or that if your tags are not properly done slimserver won't work.

I am using Slimserver with Softsqueeze (waiting for my SB3) and don't use tags at all and it works fine.

To be honest the reason I am not using tags is because I have no idea what a tag even is. Why isn't a tag just a new word for a filename?