Alternative CD Audio Rippers

CD audio rippers are also called digital audio extractors. This page will also mention some "back-up" (copying) software programs which you might find useful.

Besides the two already mentioned: CDex and dBpowerAMP, there's also Feurio! [US$29, developed by Jens Fangmeier, from Germany].

Feurio isn't free, but Jens generously offers an *unrestricted* (in any way) trial period that never expires. A PDF version of the Feurio manual is posted here.

Feurio! can be good to use during those times when EAC takes too long to extract audio from a badly scratched CD.

While Feurio rips well, it excels as an audio burning program ..

.. tho not as slickly as the ultimate CD audio burning program: CD Architect, which is one of my all-time favorite programs. It's right up there with Norton Ghost, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Sound Forge, and Avid Xpress. But I digress.

Even tho EAC's claim-to-fame is its ability to rip, it will also burn audio CDs. EAC is the opposite of Feurio. By that I mean: Feurio rips good, but excels at burning audio CDs. Conversely, EAC burns good, but excels at ripping.

I use Alcohol 120% to "back-up" [copy] both audio and data CDs. Programs such as Alcohol 120% and Nero are particularly effective at *copying* entire CDs .. rather than digitally extracting individual songs (tracks), called digital audio extraction [DAE]. But you need to ensure the source CD is in good shape.

Alcohol 120% is especially effective at "backing-up" (copying) CDs that contain sophisticated copy-protection schemes. CloneCD used to also excel here, but new copyright laws have forced them to stop the sale of CloneCD. That sux.

BlindWrite is similar program. It's actually two programs in one. BlindRead copies the data from your CD and creates an image of the CD on your hard drive [file_name.BWI], while BlindWrite burns the image file to disc. Very slick. Very neat. US$29. French-made.

Word on the street is that AudioGrabber plans to release a secure ripper sometime soon. AG USED TO BE shareware, but is now FREE. Very nice program. Made in Germany [birthplace of the MP3]. Easy to use. Works well, like most things made in Germany. Very stable.

AudioGrabber may be the most popular ripper out there right now, since ease-of-use is its primary strength. AG is produced in Germany. Have you noticed a pattern? None of this cool, ripping and encoding software originates in the United States. Ever wonder why that might be?

We interrupt this guide to ripping & encoding CD audio with a special message from the Recording industry. =)

I also heard great things about PlexTools [which includes ripping software]. PlexTools must be used with a Plextor drive, however. Plextor [an international company based in Japan, with European headquarters in Belgium] manufactures some of the world's *best* optical drives and burners.

When addressing the quality of CD drives, we should distinguish speed from accuracy. Drives are so fast these days that speed is no longer an issue. Therefore, judgments about performance should focus primarily on *accuracy* [accurate reproduction of bits and bytes]. Ripping speed doesn't mean much if your songs are full of pops and clicks.

If you want to learn a little more about ripping [digital audio extraction], see here [Computall]. If you want to learn a lot more, see here [teamcombooks].