Music Management Software question...

[biggs17]

I've been screwin' with music files on a hard drive for about 2 years and have tried everything to remedy file corruptions. I've switched hard drives, hard drive brands, cables, you name it I've tried it and I still get corrupted files about constantly. I've been using real player to rip (due to higher quality mp3 format) and listen with media player (just cause I like it). I'm sure there are better software packages then these 2, please give me some suggestions. I don't mind payin' for'em but would like something freeware if possible...


Biggs

 

[Mister X]

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

 

[nullvector]

If you like playlists, Foobar might be a good choice for you. http://www.foobar2000.org/

For ripping, the above mentioned EAC works well also, or you could also check out Cdex, another free ripper/encoder. http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/

Winamp is the de-facto mp3 player, and the new Winamp5x series has alot more playlist/library functionality than the old 2x did. http://www.winamp.com

 

[biggs17]

Hey, I appreciate both replies. But I have another question, is there significant quality differences between MP3 and .wav?

Thanks again

Biggs

 

[Mexicorn]

wav is a pseudo-exact digital to audio converstion of the waveform that was recorded (not sure on the exact resolution). MP3 uses a variety of compression algorithms to cut out mostly sounds that are out of the range of human yearing (and probably also lowers the "resolution" of the waveform, so less of a dynamic range). If you compare a high bitrate (192k+) mp3 to a normal wav file i'll doubt you'll be able to hear much difference. hope that helps.

 

[nullvector]

Originally posted by biggs17
Hey, I appreciate both replies. But I have another question, is there significant quality differences between MP3 and .wav?

It really depends on what type of Bitrate you use for your mp3's.

160-192 is a decent range for good quality. You really dont want to go any lower than 160, or you will start to notice a decrease in sound quality.

Another thing to remember too, is that there are other formats for audio that claim to have better quality. OggVorbis, Monkey's Audio, FLAC...etc.

Mp3 is the most popular compression format, and at 192, its a pretty good quality also.