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Do Optical Drives "count" when transferring CD to computer?

post #1 of 8
10/13/12 at 5:16pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not sure if this is the best spot to post this - moderator please move if necessary.

I'm finally jumping in on transferring my CDs to my computer.

For me, maximum fidelity trumps all because I only want to do this once.

My question is: does the quality of the CD drive in my computer "count" for sound quality during this reading/transfer?

I currently have a Pioneer DVD/CD-RW drive in the computer from around 2004.

I also have an LG CD-RW drive (not for DVD) from around 2001-2002.

- Would using a dedicated CD drive to do the task be better than using the combo DVD/CD-RW drive?
- Or are other drives available today be far superior for pulling the content off of the discs than what I currently have?
- Or does it not matter at all?
- should I also check to see if I can clean the lens before I do this? I bet there's ten years worth of film on it.

Does the speed of copying matter if offered the option? Is the slower the better giving less errors?

I was thinking of using Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for software and storing it as lossless (WAV?) There doesn't appear to be a difference for storing CD in WAV or FLAC unless someone else has a suggestion.

I've been old school spinning CDs up to this point. I'm looking forward to playing back audio a different way without any loss.

Thanks,
Mike
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post #2 of 8
10/13/12 at 7:20pm
A $20 DVD/CD burner/player works just fine for reading the zeros and ones that make up the music on your CDs. I rip my CDs to FLAC files and it works fine for me. Speed of the operation should be no problem since those cheap drives can read much faster than you or I would care to listen. I use Nero for ripping and for burning back to CD. When I want to make an audio CD that same DVD/CD player works just fine - makes perfect copies of those zeros and ones.
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post #3 of 8
10/13/12 at 10:41pm
Yep. EAC works great. EAC can use AccurateRip to verify that your CDs are ripped error free.

I rip everything to flac. Flac takes up less space than wav, but is otherwise equal quality. Saves on hard drive space over the long run if you have (or accumulate) a big music collection.

And be sure to get a USB backup drive if you don't do so already. Once you invest time in ripping your CDs, you'll cry if you have a hard drive failure.
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post #4 of 8
10/13/12 at 11:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Osadciw View Post

My question is: does the quality of the CD drive in my computer "count" for sound quality during this reading/transfer?
I currently have a Pioneer DVD/CD-RW drive in the computer from around 2004.
I also have an LG CD-RW drive (not for DVD) from around 2001-2002.
- Would using a dedicated CD drive to do the task be better than using the combo DVD/CD-RW drive?
- Or are other drives available today be far superior for pulling the content off of the discs than what I currently have?
- Or does it not matter at all?
- should I also check to see if I can clean the lens before I do this? I bet there's ten years worth of film on it.
Does the speed of copying matter if offered the option? Is the slower the better giving less errors?
I was thinking of using Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for software and storing it as lossless (WAV?) There doesn't appear to be a difference for storing CD in WAV or FLAC unless someone else has a suggestion.
I've been old school spinning CDs up to this point. I'm looking forward to playing back audio a different way without any loss.
Thanks,
Mike

The drive does matter it must support the Accurate streaming feature.

Check your drive against the Accuraterip database http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm
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post #5 of 8
10/14/12 at 5:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Osadciw View Post

I'm not sure if this is the best spot to post this - moderator please move if necessary.
I'm finally jumping in on transferring my CDs to my computer.
For me, maximum fidelity trumps all because I only want to do this once.
My question is: does the quality of the CD drive in my computer "count" for sound quality during this reading/transfer?

It is question is about something that is all-digital. It's the usual answer.

An all-digital system delivers optimal sound system providing that you aren't going out of your way to change sound quality (e.g. adding digital equalization and the like) and providing there providing that there are no data errors.

Note that the parts of your audio system that are in some sense digital but could make a difference in terms of sound quality, being the DACs, aren't part of this discussion.

We are talking about just ripping CDs. Digital data on the CD going to digital data on your hard drive.
Quote:
I currently have a Pioneer DVD/CD-RW drive in the computer from around 2004.
I also have an LG CD-RW drive (not for DVD) from around 2001-2002.

Here's the $64 question: Are there any data errors?

I use a freebie software package called EAC and it seems to complain pretty violently when there are unrecoverable data errors.
Quote:
- Would using a dedicated CD drive to do the task be better than using the combo DVD/CD-RW drive?

Not necessarily. Certainly not at all provided that you are getting accurate rips.
Quote:
- Or are other drives available today be far superior for pulling the content off of the discs than what I currently have?

Not necessarily. Certainly not at all provided that you are getting accurate rips.
Quote:
- Or does it not matter at all?
- should I also check to see if I can clean the lens before I do this? I bet there's ten years worth of film on it.

If there is a film on the lens, there would be data errors. Are you getting any data errors?
Quote:
Does the speed of copying matter if offered the option? Is the slower the better giving less errors?

Not necessarily. Certainly not at all provided that you are getting accurate rips.
Quote:
I was thinking of using Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for software and storing it as lossless (WAV?) There doesn't appear to be a difference for storing CD in WAV or FLAC unless someone else has a suggestion.

FLAC is lossless. It does save space at some cost in CPU use and complexity. It does not in of itself change sound quality.
Edited by arnyk - 10/14/12 at 12:34pm
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post #6 of 8
10/14/12 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys for the responses. Regarding data errors, I may be getting errors. I say may be because there's been a batch of CDs I've been burning for the car and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The program (CDBurnerXP) tells me there is a problem with the disc. I figured it's been a bad batch, but maybe it's the drive. Two out of one are bad when copying and I end up junking the discs. I have no other discs here at the moment to I can't see if it's anything else. The CD drive I had always worked fine, so maybe I'll clean off the lens and use that one for burning and see if I have a higher success rate. Thanks for the info!
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post #7 of 8
10/14/12 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Osadciw View Post

Thanks guys for the responses. Regarding data errors, I may be getting errors. I say may be because there's been a batch of CDs I've been burning for the car and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The program (CDBurnerXP) tells me there is a problem with the disc. I figured it's been a bad batch, but maybe it's the drive. Two out of one are bad when copying and I end up junking the discs. I have no other discs here at the moment to I can't see if it's anything else. The CD drive I had always worked fine, so maybe I'll clean off the lens and use that one for burning and see if I have a higher success rate. Thanks for the info!

CD players and DVD players do break, even when just in storage. At the price of a quality replacement, there's no reason to tolerate substandard performance.
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post #8 of 8
10/14/12 at 1:53pm
The link below points to a tool that scans cd media, the ones to look for are the C2 errors. Your drive has to be able to return the C2 data
http://www.cdspeed2000.com/
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