Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

Monkey's Audio

2017-03-11T03:04:52Z

Greynol: Changed the date format to something more universal (09-03-2017 can be interpreted as September 3, 2017).

Monkey's Audio (APE) is a freeware [[lossless]] audio compression format with a highly competitive compression algorithm, and is used primarily by Windows users. Although software is available for Linux, Monkey's Audio is not as popular among this operating system's users. Monkey's Audio suffers from slow decompression speeds as compared to other lossless audio codecs.

{{Codec Infobox
| name = Monkey's Audio
| logo =
| type = lossless
| purpose = A fast and powerful lossless audio compressor
| maintainer = Matt Ashland
| recommended_encoder = MAC 4.24 (09 March 2017)
| website = http://www.monkeysaudio.com
}}

Monkey's Audio uses a combination of traditional lossless compression tactics ([[linear prediction]] and [[channel coupling]]) and a simple [[Neural network]]. To store the output values of its prediction step it uses [[Range coding]], modified to work well with more or less continuous values.

Monkey's Audio's main competitor is [[FLAC]], which has more features than Monkey's Audio (streaming support, for example) and hardware support to its advantage, though its efficiency in compression is not as great.

Monkey's Audio is released under a "custom" license that allows you to do pretty much anything with the source code, on the provision that you ask the author for permission.

==Related Articles==
* [[Lossless_comparison|Lossless Codec Comparison]] by Rjamorim
* [[EAC_and_Monkeys_Audio | Configuring EAC and Monkey's Audio]]

==External links==
* [http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio: Homepage]

[[Category:Lossless]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2017-01-01T23:47:16Z

Greynol: /* Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

===Frequency resolution===

The Nyquist-Shannon sampling theory states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method. Perhaps the most common method of storing a digital signal is with pulse code modulation (PCM). PCM is used on CDs and DVD-A.

PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure an approximate, average amplitude across the duration of the sample, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) does the same kind of thing, generating a rectangular-ish waveform, but this output is always then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of points intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility, if not completely eliminate, any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another possible impact of finite resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error (see [[Quantization_noise]]). When making use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits, the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is already self-dithering (see [[Dither]]). As of yet, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant even the use of dither when working with vinyl.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses began using digital delay lines instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2017-01-01T23:14:49Z

Greynol: /* Frequency resolution */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

===Frequency resolution===

The Nyquist-Shannon sampling theory states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method. Perhaps the most common method of storing a digital signal is with pulse code modulation (PCM). PCM is used on CDs and DVD-A.

PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure an approximate, average amplitude across the duration of the sample, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) does the same kind of thing, generating a rectangular-ish waveform, but this output is always then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of points intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility, if not completely eliminate, any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another possible impact of finite resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error (see [[Quantization_noise]]). When making use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits, the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is already self-dithering (see [[Dither]]). As of yet, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant even the use of dither when working with vinyl.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2017-01-01T22:49:29Z

Greynol: /* Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

===Frequency resolution===

The Nyquist-Shannon sampling theory states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method per se.

PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format. Analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution.

PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure an approximate, average amplitude across the duration of the sample, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) does the same kind of thing, generating a rectangular-ish waveform, but this output is always then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of points intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility, if not completely eliminate, any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another possible impact of finite resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error (see [[Quantization_noise]]). When making use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits, the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is already self-dithering (see [[Dither]]). As of yet, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant even the use of dither when working with vinyl.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Dither

2016-12-30T19:50:53Z

Greynol:

Dither is random or semi-random noise added to a signal in order to mask potential artifacts arising from quantization error and/or extend dynamic range. The simplest dither is quiet white noise, but more complicated forms of dither are possible using [[noise shaping]], and they can even be completely inaudible.

==Bit depth reduction==
A common use for dither is to improve the perceived audio quality when converting a digital signal from a higher bit depth to a lower one, e.g. from 24-bit to 16-bit. By dithering the signal with a small amount of added noise, the additional rounding error added from requantization can be decorreated from the signal, resulting in a noise floor that is mathematically slightly higher, but audibly less noticeable. The addition of dither becomes more important as the number of quantization levels decreases, and so is particularly important when converting to 8 bit or lower audio.

==Is dither really necessary?==

Going from 24-bit to 16-bit, the quantization error is very small and the distortion/noise is extremely unlikely to be heard in any real music. Since quantization error isn’t audible in any real music at useable listening levels, whether dither must be used is more a matter of doctrine than functionality.

Many sources (e.g. cassettes and LPs) already have considerable noise such as tape hiss. Even the best live recordings get some noise from the equipment, especially microphone preamplifiers. This might not make the best dither, but it acts in the same way, to largely de-correlate the quantization error from the signal.

Anyone who believes dither is always necessary for conversions to 16-bit should submit, on the HydrogenAudio forums, samples that can be discriminated in blind testing.

{{stub}}

Dither

2016-12-30T19:48:41Z

Greynol:

Dither is random or semi-random noise added to a signal in order to mask quantization noise and/or extend dynamic range. The simplest dither is quiet white noise, but more complicated forms of dither are possible using [[noise shaping]], and they can even be completely inaudible.

==Bit depth reduction==
A common use for dither is to improve the perceived audio quality when converting a digital signal from a higher bit depth to a lower one, e.g. from 24-bit to 16-bit. By dithering the signal with a small amount of added noise, the additional rounding error added from requantization can be decorreated from the signal, resulting in a noise floor that is mathematically slightly higher, but audibly less noticeable. The addition of dither becomes more important as the number of quantization levels decreases, and so is particularly important when converting to 8 bit or lower audio.

==Is dither really necessary?==

Going from 24-bit to 16-bit, the quantization error is very small and the distortion/noise is extremely unlikely to be heard in any real music. Since quantization error isn’t audible in any real music at useable listening levels, whether dither must be used is more a matter of doctrine than functionality.

Many sources (e.g. cassettes and LPs) already have considerable noise such as tape hiss. Even the best live recordings get some noise from the equipment, especially microphone preamplifiers. This might not make the best dither, but it acts in the same way, to largely de-correlate the quantization error from the signal.

Anyone who believes dither is always necessary for conversions to 16-bit should submit, on the HydrogenAudio forums, samples that can be discriminated in blind testing.

{{stub}}

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-12-30T19:34:25Z

Greynol: /* Quantization error */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another possible impact of finite resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error (see [[Quantization_noise]]). When making use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits, the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is already self-dithering (see [[Dither]]). As of yet, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant even the use of dither when working with vinyl.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-12-30T19:34:07Z

Greynol: /* Quantization error */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another possible impact of finite resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error (see [[Quantization_noise]]).

When making use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits, the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is already self-dithering (see [[Dither]]).

As of yet, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant even the use of dither when working with vinyl.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-12-30T18:21:49Z

Greynol: /* Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. However, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant the use of dither when working with vinyl. Rather the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is self-dithering when it makes use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-12-30T18:21:24Z

Greynol: /* Quantization error */

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. However, no one in the hydrogenaudio community has adequately demonstrated that quantization error arising from 16 bits is high enough to warrant the use of dither when working with vinyl. Rather the inherent noise from vinyl playback is likely enough to swamp this error to the point that vinyl is self-dithering when it makes use of the available headroom afforded by 16 bits.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Topic Index

2016-12-29T16:33:24Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by CuteStudio (talk) to last revision by 68.117.190.30

* For a more structured 'table of contents', use the '''[[Main Page#Categories|Categories List]]'''.
* Please see [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=12979&st=25&p=247441&#entry247441 this thread] for a discussion of the future structure of this wiki. If you have thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc., please join in this discussion. In the meantime, please feel free to fill in gaps in the information below.
* See also [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28658 the style related discussion thread] in the forums.

= General Information =
== General Guides ==
* [[Create a long-term archive]]
* [[Secure ripping|Secure Ripping]]
* [[Enabling DMA]]
* [[Choosing_the_best_codec.|Choosing the best codec]]
* [[Lossless_comparison|Lossless Comparison]]

== EAC Guides ==
* Configuring [[EAC Drive Configuration|EAC and CD-ROM Drives]]
* Configuring [[EAC and Lame]]
* Configuring [[EAC and AAC | EAC and Nero AAC]]
* Configuring [[EAC and Ogg Vorbis | EAC and Vorbis]]
* Configuring [[EAC and Musepack]]
* Configuring [[EAC and WavPack]]
* Configuring [[EAC and FLAC]]
* Configuring [[EAC and Monkey's Audio]]
* Configuring [[EAC and Cue Sheets]]
* Configuring EAC and [[REACT]]

== CDex Guides ==
* Configuring [[CDex Drive Configuration|CDex and CD-ROM Drives]]
* Configuring [[CDex and FLAC]]

== AAC Guides ==
* [[AAC_FAQ|AAC FAQ]] frequently asked questions in reguard to AAC the latest industry standard.
* [[AAC encoders|AAC Encoders]] known AAC encoder/decoder implementations and configuring them (Apple Itunes, Nero AAC, etc)
* [[Linux and Nero AAC]] a short guide for configuring Nero AAC encoder to run under Linux.

== Vorbis Guides ==
* [[Recommended_Ogg_Vorbis|Recommended encoders and settings for Vorbis]].
* [[Lancer|Ogg Vorbis Acceleration Project]] information reguarding optimized Vorbis binaries.
* [[OggDropXPd|OggDropXPd]] guide for encoding with John 33's popular drag-n-drop frontend.
* [[Compiling_aoTuV|Compiling AoTuV]] compiling the AoTuV binaries under Linux.

= Audio Codecs =
== [[Lossy]] ==
* [[Advanced Audio Coding]] (AAC)
* [[AC3]]
* [[ATRAC3]]
* [[DTS]]
* [[MP2]]
* [[MP3]]
* [[Musepack]] (MPC, MP+)
* [[Opus]]
* (Ogg) [[Vorbis]]
* [[QDesign]]
* [[VQF]]
* [[Windows Media Audio]] (WMA)

== [[Lossless]] ==
* [[ALAC|Apple Lossless]]
* [[ALS|Audio Lossless Coding]]
* [[DTS-HD|DTS Master Audio]]
* [[Free Lossless Audio Codec]] (FLAC)
* [[Lossless Audio]] (LA)
* [[Lossless Predictive Audio Compression]] (LPAC)
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[OptimFROG]]
* [[Lossless comparison#RealAudio Lossless|RealAudio Lossless]]
* [[Shorten]]
* [[TTA|True Audio]]
* [[WavPack]]
* [[Windows Media Audio|WMA Lossless]]

= [[Metadata]] (Tags) =
* [[APEv1]]
* [[APEv2]]
* [[ID3v1]]
* [[ID3v1.1]]
* [[ID3v2]]
* [[Vorbis Comment]]

= Media Extractors =
== CD Extractors ==
* [[Audiograbber]] (Win32)
* [[CDex]] (Win32)
* [[cdparanoia]] (Posix)
* [[dBpowerAMP with AccurateRip]] (Win32)
* [[Exact_Audio_Copy|Exact Audio Copy]] (Win32)
* [[Grip]] (Posix)
* [[iTunes]] (Win32/Mac OS/X)
* [[MediaMonkey]] (Win32)
* [[Max]] (Mac OS/X)
* [[XLD]] (Mac OS/X)
* [[PlexTools]] (Win32)
* [[Rubyripper]] (Posix/Mac OS/X)

== DVD Extractors ==
* [http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/ DVD Decrypter] (Win32)
* DVD-A / CPPM Decrypter (Win32/Posix)

= Media Players =
== Windows ==
* [[Apollo]]
* [[dBpowerAMP]]
* [[Foobar2000:Foobar2000|foobar2000]]
* [[iTunes]]
* [[MediaMonkey]]
* [[musikCube]]
* [[Quintessential Player]]
* [[VUplayer]]
* [[Winamp]]
* [[Windows Media Player]]
* [[wxMusik]]
* [[XMPlay]]
* [[WMPTSE]] (with WMP)

== Linux/BSD ==
* [[Amarok]]
* [[BMP]]
* [[JuK]]
* [[LAMIP]]
* [[Muine]]
* [[Music Player Daemon (MPD)]]
* [[Quod Libet]]
* [[Rhythmbox]]
* [[wxMusik]]
* [[XMMS]]

== Mac OS X (Non-BSD Specific) ==
* [[iTunes]]
* [[skiTunes]]
* [[Whamb]]

== Other ==
* [[CL-Amp]] (BeOS)

= Audio Editors =
== Windows ==
* [[Adobe Audition]] (previously known as ''Cool Edit'')
* [[Audacity]]
* [[Goldwave]]
* [http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/soundforgefamily.asp Sony Sound Forge] (Previously released by Sonic Foundry)

== Linux/BSD ==
* [[Ardour]]
* [[Audacity]]
* [[ReZound]]

== Mac OS X (Non-BSD Specific) ==
* [[Ardour]]
* [[Audacity]]

== Other ==
* [http://timidity.sourceforge.net/ Timidity++] (MIDI to PCM (WAV) converter) Timidity++ synthesizes MIDI files (sequences) in real-time using Gravis UltraSound Soundfont patches (loosly based upon Wavetable Synthesis) to common digital audio file formats such as, WAV, AU, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, etc. Useful for those who want to bypass FM Synthesizers on their sound card's to hear MIDI sequence as it was intended to be heard.)

= Testing Software =
== Subjective Perceptual ==
* [[ABC/HR]]
* [[PCABX]]

== Objective ==
''Note: Might be good to put something here about the problems of quality comparisons using graphs, frequency sweeps, etc.''

* [[EAQUAL]]
* [[Rightmark_Audio_Analyzer|Rightmark Audio Analyzer]]

= Audio Hardware =
== PC Audio ==
* [[Terratec EWX 24/96]]
* [[M-Audio Audiophile 24/96]]
* [[M-Audio Revolution 5.1]]
* [[M-Audio Revolution 7.1]]
* [[Chaintech AV-710]]
* [[E-MU 0404 24/192]]
* [[ASUS Xonar D1]]
* [[ASUS Xonar D2/PM]]

== Notebook Audio ==
* [[Echo Indigo IO 24/96]]

== Firewire ==
* [[E-MU 1212M 24/192]]
* [[M-Audio Firewire 410]]

== HiFi ==
* [[M-Audio Fast Track USB]]
* [[Slim Devices Squeezebox]]
* [[Slim Devices Transporter]]
* [[Hermstedt AG Hifidelio]]
* [[Olive Musica]]

== MIDI Interfaces ==
* M-Audio MIDISport Uno 1x1
* M-Audio MIDISport 2x2
* MOTU 5x5 Micro Lite
* MOTU Fastlane USB

== Digital Audio Players ==
=== Portable Flash ===
''(These players make use of a internal flash drive.)''
* [[Apple iPod]] Nano
* [[Apple iPod]] Shuffle
* Creative MuVo
* iRiver iFP Series
* MPIO lFP Series
* [[Rio Carbon]]

=== Portable HD ===
''(These players make use of a internal harddrive.)''
* [[Apple iPod]] with ''([http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/TargetStatus#iriver_H110_H115_H120_H140 Rockbox firmware])''
* [[Archos Jukebox with Rockbox Software]]
* [[Cowon iAudio]] with ''([http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/TargetStatus#iAudio_X5 Rockbox firmware])''
* [[iRiver H-Series]] with ''([http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/TargetStatus#iriver_H110_H115_H120_H140 Rockbox firmware])''
* [[MPIO H-Series]]
* [[Neuros]]
* [[Rio Karma]]
* [[Sandisk]] with ''([http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/TargetStatus#iAudio_X5 Rockbox firmware])''

=== Portable CD ===

=== Car Players ===
''(Car stereos that can read MP3, Vorbis, WMA, etc.).''
* [[Aiwa CDC-MP3]]
* [[Yakumo Ultrasound]]

===DVD Players===
* [[Neuston's Maestro DVX-1201]]

=== Firmware ===
* [[Rockbox]]

= Audio Theory =
== Analog Audio ==
* [[Tube Amplifiers]]
* [[Vinyl_Playback_and_Recording|Vinyl Audio]]

== Digital Audio ==
* [[Solid State Amplifiers]]
* [[ReplayGain]]

== Testing Methodology ==
* [[ABX]]
* [[EAQUAL]]

= Audio Development =
''note: Let's start with basic development tools (compilers, engineering tools, dev. libraries) until we think of more tools to add. I am also adding external links to books, tutorials, etc under resources.''

== Tools ==
* [http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/ MATLAB 7.0] commercial software for algorithmic design, developement, engineering, and scientific computing. (multi-platform support)
* [http://www.octave.org/ GNU Octave] open-source alternative software (GPL) to MATLAB for numerical computations, engineering, and scientific computing. (multi-platform support)
* [http://www.fftw.org/ FFTW] Is a C subroutine library for computing the Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in one or more dimensions on real and complex inputs.
* [http://gcc.gnu.org/ GCC] THE GNU compiler collection for C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada.
* [http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html GNU Emacs] an extensible, customizable, self-documenting real-time display editor. Great for writing all types of source code especially on Unix. (multi-platform support)
* [http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html DevCPP] free front-end IDE and compiler for the C and C++ languages. Delphi and C source code available. (Win 9x, NT, 2000, and XP)

== Resources ==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showforum=30 Scientific/R&D Forums] for Psychoacoustic, DSP, Electrical Engineering, theory, and coding related questions. (most questions are generally answered)
* [http://www.aes.org/ AES] The Audio Engineering Society website. Home of year-round world AES conferences.
* [http://www.dspguru.com/info/books/favor.htm DSP Tutorials] this site provides another good introduction in to the area of DSP.
* [http://www.musicdsp.org/archive.php?classid=2 Music-DSP] source-code archive for analysis, filters, effects and synthesis. (C, C++, and Java code)
* [http://www.itakura.nuee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/HRTF/ HRTF] A database of measurements and research papers on Head Related Transfer Functions for 3D-Audio. (PDF, Audio)
* [http://www.midi.org/about-midi/specshome.shtml MIDI Specifications] MIDI 1.0, the new MusicXMF specification, and SP-MIDI for third generation 3GPP mobile devices (PDF)
* [http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article2008.asp OpenAL] a beginners tutorial on writing code using OpenAL for audio programming in computer games and other applications. (C, C++).
* [http://www.alsa-project.org/ ALSA Project] (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) bringing audio and MIDI capabilities to Linux.
* [http://www.engmath.dal.ca/courses/engm6610/notes/notes.html A Really friendly guide to Wavelets] A good introduction to wavelets aimed towards engineer, requires a fair amount of background knowledge.

== Books/Research ==
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3540231595/qid=1135380559/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/102-1730075-7300931?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 Psychoacoustics - Facts and Models] author's Zwicker, Fastl, and Hugo, revised 2005 third edition. The book for comprehensive psychoacoustics models and figures.
* [http://spanias.faculty.asu.edu/papers/paper-audio-tedspanias-00.pdf Perceptual Audio Coding] authors A. Painter and T. Spanias. A comprehensive paper on percepual audio coding (PDF)
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0780334493/103-2094923-9567001?v=glance&n=283155&%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&no=283155&st=books Speech Communications Human and Machine] this book provides a good introduction to speech coding, inlcuding anaylsis, recognition, and perception. This text is a very good introduction for beginners.
* [http://www.dspguide.com/ Scientist and Engineer's Guide to DSP] author Steve Smith, a great guide for beginners new to the subject of DSP (free online text)(PDF)
*[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0792391810/ref=ase_theinternetdatac/103-9882844-5344648?v=glance&s=books Vector Quantization] authors Gersho and Gray. Good read for understanding how VQ and arithmetic coding work.

= Audio Resources =
== Websites ==
''Note: Let's include a small description to the side for now, so that we have something to work with when this section becomes large enough for its own page''

* http://www.audiocoding.com (Page with a wiki on technical audio topics, homepage of FAAC and FAAD2, also has an AAC forum.)
* http://www.head-fi.org (general information/board about head phones and portable audio players)
* http://www.heaphonereviews.org.uk (general info regarding headphones and portable audio)
* http://www.rarewares.org (Downloads for many audio and media tools)
* http://www.rockbox.org/ (Open-source jukebox firmware for numerous DAP and architectures, GNU/GPL License).
* http://www.anythingbutipod.com/ (Thorough reviews of some of the most popular digital audio players out there)

== Articles/Debates ==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=31759&st=0 DVD-A vs. SACD debate]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=38041&st=0 Subjective vs. Objective testing]
* [http://www.ambisonic.net/pdf/ambidvd2001.pdf 5.1 surround vs. Ambisonics comparison]

== Listening Tests ==
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless_comparison listening tests]
* [[Listening_Tests|Inventory of several listening tests, mainly on HA.org]]

= Other Topics =
== Video ==
* [[MPEG-4 Visual]]
* [[Real Video]]
* [[Theora]]
* [[Tarkin]]
* [[Snow]]
* [[VP6]]
* [[Windows Media Video]]

== [[Container format]]s ==
* [[ASF]]
* [[AVI]]
* [[Matroska]]
* [[MOV]]
* [[MP4]]
* [[Ogg]]

= Glossary =
* [[Glossary_Of_Audio_Terms|Glossary of Audio Terms]]

= Introduction & User Guides =
''A starting place for new users to audio, with guides to compression and CD ripping and a glossary of all common terms.''

* [[Glossary Of Audio Terms]]
* [[FAQ]]
* [[Audio format guide]]
* Ripping Guides
** [[EAC]] (Win32)
** [[CDex]] (Win32)
** [[DBpowerAMP with AccurateRip]] (Win32/Mac OSX)
** [[Plextools]] (Win32)
** [[Max]] (Mac OS/X)
** [[XLD]] (Mac OS/X)
** [[Rubyripper]] (Posix/Mac OS/X)
* [[Tagging]]
* [[ReplayGain]]



= Audio Codecs =
''Pros/cons, Recommended settings, Useful tools, etc.''

*'''[[:Category:Codecs|The Technical/Codecs Category]]'''


= Container Formats =
''What is a [[container format]]?''

* [[Matroska]]
* [[MP4]]
* [[Ogg]]


= Audio Hardware & CD Ripping =
*''CD Tools, Secure Ripping, Soundcard Quality''
** [[Secure ripping]]
** Ripping Guide
*** [[EAC]]
*** [[CDex]]
*** [[DBpowerAMP with AccurateRip]]
*** [[Plextools]]
** [[CD copy protection]]
** [[CD Hardware]]
* Vinyl records and turntables
** [[Introduction to Vinyl|Introduction]]
** [[Advantages of Vinyl]]
** [[Disadvantages of Vinyl]]
** [[Vinyl Myths]]
** [[Purchasing Vinyl LPs and Components|Purchasing]]
** Record Player Components
*** [[Turntable]]
*** [[Cartridge]]
*** [[Phono preamplifier]]
** [[Evaluating Vinyl Sound Quality]]
** [[Vinyl Playback and Recording|Playback and Recording]]
** [[Vinyl Maintenance|Maintenance]]
** [[Vinyl Forum Posts and FAQs|FAQs]]
** [[Vinyl Glossary|Glossary]]
** [[Vinyl Links|Links]]
** [[Vinyl Mastering|Mastering]]
* [[Soundcard|Soundcards]]
* [[Other hardware]]



= Tests =
* [[EAC Vs CDex SecureMode]] (by Pio2001)
* [[EAC Vs CDex SecureMode II]] (by westgroveg)
* [[Listening Tests]]


=Downloads=
''Where to obtain the software discussed in HAK.''

* [[Download page]]


= Using HAK =
* [[Help:Contents|Wiki User Guide]]
* Play around at the [[Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase:Sandbox|Sandbox]] to try your formatting skills. Everything goes here and everything can/may be deleted.
* Contributors should read [[Help:Editing|editing help]].

Clipping

2016-12-29T16:31:06Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by CuteStudio (talk) to last revision by Pepoluan

Clipping is a phenomenon that occurs in digital audio when the [[amplitude]] value of a signal exceeds the maximum level that can be represented by the current bit resolution. In 16bit digital audio (cd-audio), the sample values can be presented between the values of -32768 to 32767.

Any sample which should get higher or lower value than this (for whatever reason), will get the maximum/minimum value instead. This causes the signal to distort, and appears in the waveform display as a "chopping-off" of the top or bottom of the waveform. The audible result of sequential max or min values is a static-like distortion.

A correctly mastered CD does not have sequential max or min samples. Also, clipping is not always audible. It depends on how severe the clipping is, in other words how many samples are getting the same maximum/minimum values sequentially. Maximum/Minimum values are considered as "possible clipped samples" by analysis tools, but only one max or min value doesn't mean clipping.

Lossy audio encoding and decoding can cause the highest/lowest sample values to go over the allowed limit (in practice having the sequential max/min values), which may lead to clipping seen by analysis tools, or even audible clipping. But whether the clipping is truly audible or not is a totally different thing. There are different methods to avoid clipping in [[lossy]] audio. Look at the specific audio format answers how to best avoid clipping in each case.

[[Image:Clipping1.png|frame|none|Figure: Clipping - sequential sample values get the maximum or minimum values.]]

[[Category:Signal Processing]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-12-16T07:25:47Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by Pzzp (talk) to last revision by Greynol

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-24T22:09:20Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported as being suspicious. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is also unlikely that the two additional re-read sets offered by the high setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, ignoring the additional ripping time required before EAC finishes, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads performed in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the total number of re-reads might be of some benefit (provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free). It is recommended that ''high'' be reserved for use in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never really worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-24T20:39:36Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported as being suspicious. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is also unlikely that the two additional re-read sets offered by the high setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, ignoring the additional ripping time required before EAC finishes, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads performed in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the total number of re-reads might be of some benefit (provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free). It is recommended that ''high'' be reserved for use in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never really worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-24T20:38:10Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported as being suspicious. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is also unlikely that the two additional re-read sets offered by the high setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, ignoring the additional ripping time required before EAC finishes, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads performed in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the total number of re-reads might be of some benefit, provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free. It is recommended that ''high'' be reserved for use in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never really worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-24T20:16:16Z

Greynol:

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported as being suspicious. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is also unlikely that the two additional re-read sets offered by the high setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive, besides adding additional ripping time. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads performed in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the total number of re-reads might be of some benefit, provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free. It is recommended that ''high'' be reserved for use in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never really worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-24T19:49:50Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is unlikelier still that this setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive, besides adding additional ripping time. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the number of re-reads might be of some benefit, provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free. It is recommended that high be selected manually and only in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never really worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-07-22T06:58:29Z

Greynol: Link to AES paper removed because it doesn't support the specifics of the claim being made.

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a persons perception is their reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. The word "sound" refers to waves interpreted by our ears, not a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about anything sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-07-22T03:13:02Z

Greynol: Protected "Myths (Vinyl)": Counter-productive edit warring ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (expires 03:13, 22 October 2016 (UTC)) [Move=Allow only administrators] (expires 03:13, 22 October 2016 (UTC)))

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a person's perception is their own reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic, more enjoyable etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. In context, the word "sounds" refers to waves interpreted by an individual's ears, not by a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would equally apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about something sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. A bass note which is panned hard to the left or right will cause the needle on an LP record to jump out of the groove, an early example of this is the song ''Crazy'' by Seal which had to be remastered for vinyl with the bass repositioned in the centre stage. Another notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks, but in all fairness, the vast majority of new, and well maintained records will play with very few ticks or pops.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

A recent AES paper documents evidence that reconstruction and anti-aliasing filters are audible. https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conventions/?ID=416

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This topic has again used the subjective term "better" which was discussed in the ([http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Myths_%28Vinyl%29#Myth:_Vinyl_sounds_better_than_CD opening chapter.]) There is much truth to the statement that "the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly" but whether or not this is a better way to play back music must be determined by the individual.

While it is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in format that is both quantized in time and in amplitude, all relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which are deliberately filtered out in CD recordings. As discussed earlier, Vinyl frequently does have audio content above 22kHz.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl. However since only 2 samples can represent a 20Khz tone, it can be seen that high frequencies will not have the same accuracy to their capture as lower frequencies.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is all but assured to produce audible effects unlike jitter.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
The original way of cutting a record master was to use a tape deck equipped with a preview head to allow the cutting engineer to monitor the amplitude of the incoming signal and make approprate adjustments to the groove spacing.

In the mid-1970s, the digital delay line (DDL) was invented and some vinyl mastering houses began to use this technology instead of the preview head on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. However many mastering houses continued to use an maintain their tape decks equipped with the preview head, and did not use DDL's.

The vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref> however individuals will need to do further reaserch on particular vinyl mastering houses at certain era's in order to determine the specifics of any particular vinyl release. This information may be difficult to obtain.

===Further comparisons===
Any method of recording audio whether using a digital or an analog process involves the use of active amplification devices such as transistors and op-amps, and passive devices such as resistors and capacitors, all of these devices introduce some degree of harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion and noise. It is part and parcel of the recording and playback process. A high quality professional analog tape recorder meeting factory specifications should provide extremely low levels of noise and distortion, and so too will a high quality professional digital recording system. Though it is fair to say that the digital process will have lower levels of noise and distortion than the analog system.

Vinyl playback does suffer from a varying degrees of tracking errors which can be due to;
*the stylus contacting the medium.
*cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole.
*Wow and flutter.
*External vibrations from footsteps or feedback.

Vinyl listeners frequently and easlily minimise the above issues to a level which is not intrusive to thier listening experience.

Digital storage has none of these errors, but CD playback can still mistrack when subjected to high levels of vibration, though in the vast majority of normal usage this isn't a problem.

Digital also has advantages for audio production. Such as the ability to edit tracks quckly without "drop in" noise from tape heads. The ability to bounce tracks without losses, and these days digital effects can be applied to the recorded sound without the audio having to travel to outboard effects, then be routed back into the recorder. Digital recording offers a speed of mixing and processing audio that was impossible to do as quickly and easliy with analog recording.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-07-22T03:08:51Z

Greynol:

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-07-22T02:53:12Z

Greynol: Gross misunderstandings have been removed as well as the back and forth comments. Use the forum for discussion.

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a person's perception is their own reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic, more enjoyable etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. In context, the word "sounds" refers to waves interpreted by an individual's ears, not by a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would equally apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about something sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. A bass note which is panned hard to the left or right will cause the needle on an LP record to jump out of the groove, an early example of this is the song ''Crazy'' by Seal which had to be remastered for vinyl with the bass repositioned in the centre stage. Another notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks, but in all fairness, the vast majority of new, and well maintained records will play with very few ticks or pops.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

A recent AES paper documents evidence that reconstruction and anti-aliasing filters are audible. https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conventions/?ID=416

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This topic has again used the subjective term "better" which was discussed in the ([http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Myths_%28Vinyl%29#Myth:_Vinyl_sounds_better_than_CD opening chapter.]) There is much truth to the statement that "the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly" but whether or not this is a better way to play back music must be determined by the individual.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite linear or logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. At this point we should discuss that a DC signal sampled at 44.1Khz will have 44,100 samples representing the waveform per second, but a sine wave signal of 20kHz sampled at 44.1khz only has two samples to represent the waveform. Even though mathematically, a 20Khz sine wave can be reconstructed, complex high frequency musical signals cannot be captured exactly using digital recording at 44.1khz, because the higher the audio frequency we wish to capture, the less samples there are to capture it. Whereas analog recording can accurately capture these high frequency signals. It must be pointed out that a reconstruction is not a facsimile of the original waveform, but a mathematical reconstruction. In the real world, the digital reconstruction is very similar to the original, and during playback any audible differences may or may not be percieved depending upon the individual.

All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which are deliberately filtered out in CD recordings. As discussed earlier, Vinyl frequently does have audio content above 22kHz.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl. However since only 2 samples can represent a 20Khz tone, it can be seen that high frequencies will not have the same accuracy to their capture as lower frequencies.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
The original way of cutting a record master was to use a tape deck equipped with a preview head to allow the cutting engineer to monitor the amplitude of the incoming signal and make approprate adjustments to the groove spacing.

In the mid-1970s, the digital delay line (DDL) was invented and some vinyl mastering houses began to use this technology instead of the preview head on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. However many mastering houses continued to use an maintain their tape decks equipped with the preview head, and did not use DDL's.

The vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref> however individuals will need to do further reaserch on particular vinyl mastering houses at certain era's in order to determine the specifics of any particular vinyl release. This information may be difficult to obtain.

===Further comparisons===
Any method of recording audio whether using a digital or an analog process involves the use of active amplification devices such as transistors and op-amps, and passive devices such as resistors and capacitors, all of these devices introduce some degree of harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion and noise. It is part and parcel of the recording and playback process. A high quality professional analog tape recorder meeting factory specifications should provide extremely low levels of noise and distortion, and so too will a high quality professional digital recording system. Though it is fair to say that the digital process will have lower levels of noise and distortion than the analog system.

Vinyl playback does suffer from a varying degrees of tracking errors which can be due to;
*the stylus contacting the medium.
*cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole.
*Wow and flutter.
*External vibrations from footsteps or feedback.

Vinyl listeners frequently and easlily minimise the above issues to a level which is not intrusive to thier listening experience.

Digital storage has none of these errors, but CD playback can still mistrack when subjected to high levels of vibration, though in the vast majority of normal usage this isn't a problem.

Digital also has advantages for audio production. Such as the ability to edit tracks quckly without "drop in" noise from tape heads. The ability to bounce tracks without losses, and these days digital effects can be applied to the recorded sound without the audio having to travel to outboard effects, then be routed back into the recorder. Digital recording offers a speed of mixing and processing audio that was impossible to do as quickly and easliy with analog recording.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2016-07-22T02:40:20Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by Anonyme-x22 (talk) to last revision by 108.61.228.152

==Myth: Vinyl sounds better than CD==

No discussion about this topic would be complete without acknowledging that a person's perception is their own reality.

Many people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats, a majority of those people do so because they honestly percieve the sound to be better. Better meaning; more natural, less artificial, more true to the original studio recording, more organic, more enjoyable etc. For such people the statement that "vinyl sounds better than CD" is not a myth but a fact.

There are many examples where a vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for specific reasons. Conversely there are many CD's that may sound better than a vinyl record for specific reasons.

The statement "Vinyl sounds better than CD" has nothing to do with technical measurements. In context, the word "sounds" refers to waves interpreted by an individual's ears, not by a piece of measuring equipment. The word "better" is subjective, based on personal experiments,comparisons and observations, and in the case of sound quality is very personal. We could make the statement "CD sounds better than Vinyl" and the previous statement would equally apply.

Anytime a person makes a claim about something sounding better than another thing, we need to be understanding that the statement has no bearing on technical measurements but is based on personal perception.

Comment:
When the vinyl sound look like CD sound, that means that the master is from a cd:
- The vinyl sounds worse than a CD in this case (defect artefact).
- This should not arrive as any serious vinyl pressing simply don't use cd master.
- There are records specially from early 1990 years which contains tracks from CD master/poor numeric master.

The most important thing to retains is that vinyl sound can't be compared to numeric sound because it's completely different.

Comment:
The above comment is more about subjectivity than objective measurements. Many would say that vinyl mastered from a digital dub sounds better than an all analog recording. In most cases the digitally mastered vinyl will measure better. It is also true that many would say the sound of a record mastered from an inferior digital dub sounds worse than one mastered from an analog dub, but that relates to the quality of the mastering rather than digital vs analog per se. These mastering considerations apply equally to CDs mastered either from digital or analog dubs.

Lastly, I'm not sure what is meant by a "numeric sound" of digital, or a "facsimile sketch" as some would describe as the vinyl/analog sound. However regardless of any individual's subjective description of the sound, they can be compared by standard analog measurements - ie distortion, dynamic range, signal to noise, frequency response linearity etc. Subjectively though, how they compare are affected by psycho-acoustic considerations such as expectation biases, prior frame of references etc.

Comment: Music is only subjectivity, the most important thing is what you hear.

==Myth: Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. A bass note which is panned hard to the left or right will cause the needle on an LP record to jump out of the groove, an early example of this is the song ''Crazy'' by Seal which had to be remastered for vinyl with the bass repositioned in the centre stage. Another notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master. That's exactly what vinyl mastering houses do, using multiband limiters that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

===Effect of vinyl mastering on dynamic range===
A related myth is that when vinyl has a higher dynamic range than CD, it means the audio was sourced from a different, more dynamic master, and that the difference in dynamics will be audible.

It is true that recordings on vinyl sometimes have a spikier waveform and a measurably higher dynamic range than their counterparts on CD, at least when the dynamic range is reported by crude "DR meter" tools that compare peak and RMS levels. The higher "DR value" could indeed be a result of entirely different master recordings being provided to the mastering engineers for each format, or different choices made by the engineers, as happens every time old music is remastered for a new release.

But even when the same source master is used, the audio is normally further processed when mastering for the target format (be it CD or vinyl), and this often results in vinyl having a spikier waveform and higher DR measurement. There are two types of processing during vinyl mastering that can increase the DR measurements and waveform spikiness, thus reducing the RMS and increasing the basic DR measurement by perhaps several dB:
* The audio is subjected to low-pass or all-pass filtering, which can result in broad peaks becoming slanted ramps.
* The amount and stereo separation of deep bass content is reduced for vinyl, to keep the stylus from being thrown out of the groove.
It is quite possible that these changes are entirely inaudible, despite their effect on the waveform shape and DR measurement.

The dynamic range of the waveform is also affected by the vinyl playback system; different systems provide different frequency responses. Factors include cartridge, tonearm, preamp, and even the connecting cables. A vinyl rip with weak bass may well have a higher reported DR value than a rip of the same vinyl on equipment with a stronger bass response.

==Myth: The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

Comment: Repeated playback should not cause damage if everything regarding the turntable settings are OK.

==Myth: Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks, but in all fairness, the vast majority of new, and well maintained records will play with very few ticks or pops.

Comment: Release are recorded approximately at +6db/15Mn/Side today (standard 0db/23mn/Side) clicks are audible at these times: - silence time - very quiet part - part with low bandwidth. The clicks loudness will be more or less heard regarding the record type +6db/(+3db)/+0db/(-3db)/-6db and the music type.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz depending upon the cartridge and stylus profile, and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records, but many records are cut faithfully to the source material and a high quality record player and cartridge combination should have no problems faithfully reproducing the recorded sound.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content, however these issues are minimised with the use of high quality cartridges, and correct capacitive loading of the phono preamp. Moving Coil cartridges are unaffected by capacitive loading due to their design.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, and tests have been conducted which deonstrate that a record can be played up to 1000 times before there is any measurable increase in distortion as a result of record wear.

Commonly there is audio content up to 23-24 kHz on many vinyl records.
Many instruments have overtones up to 100 kHz. See article: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a low-pass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies, however the commonly found audio information up to 23-24 kHz is still present at significant amplitude on vinyl records.

There is still debate on the topic of ultrasonic frequencies modulating audible frequencies and its affect on the sound.
More discussion https://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=74432&st=50

A recent AES paper documents evidence that reconstruction and anti-aliasing filters are audible. https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/conventions/?ID=416

Comment: Theorical bandwidth is infinite, limitation are the cartridge and stylus profile. Audio information up to 96kHz can be found on "Dire Straits" records (spectrogram measurement with a 192khz/120db ADC). Generaly a good keeped vinyl can go as high as the master. 40Khz/10-20db is common.

Comment: With regard to the above comment, in the real world any musical content above 20khz on vinyl (assuming there is any music there) is affected by non-linearity and and the lower SNR. In other words even if there is music at those ultrasonic frequencies it would disappear below the noise floor. In any event, the discussion is moot as the hearing range of a healthy young adult does not exceed 20khz. CDs are acknowledged to have better treble reproduction because of its linearity in the frequency band (20-20khz) relevant to humans. On the other hand, subsonic frequencies, ie below 20hz, can be felt but are reproduced (relatively) poorly by vinyl records and create feedback issues with turntables (and hence usually high passed by sub-sonic filters the phono circuit), whereas CDs can go as low as DC (0hz) and do so in a linear manner.

==Myth: Vinyl is better than digital because the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This topic has again used the subjective term "better" which was discussed in the ([http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Myths_%28Vinyl%29#Myth:_Vinyl_sounds_better_than_CD opening chapter.]) There is much truth to the statement that "the stylus tracks the analog signal exactly" but whether or not this is a better way to play back music must be determined by the individual.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite linear or logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. At this point we should discuss that a DC signal sampled at 44.1Khz will have 44,100 samples representing the waveform per second, but a sine wave signal of 20kHz sampled at 44.1khz only has two samples to represent the waveform. Even though mathematically, a 20Khz sine wave can be reconstructed, complex high frequency musical signals cannot be captured exactly using digital recording at 44.1khz, because the higher the audio frequency we wish to capture, the less samples there are to capture it. Whereas analog recording can accurately capture these high frequency signals. It must be pointed out that a reconstruction is not a facsimile of the original waveform, but a mathematical reconstruction. In the real world, the digital reconstruction is very similar to the original, and during playback any audible differences may or may not be percieved depending upon the individual.

All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which are deliberately filtered out in CD recordings. As discussed earlier, Vinyl frequently does have audio content above 22kHz.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure (sample) the amplitude precisely at one point in time, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) changes its output voltage instantaneously from sample to sample (in practice, this means as fast as possible), generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out: the anti-aliasing filter before the ADC, and the reconstruction filter after the DAC. Both should remove all signal components above half the sampling frequency. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the DAC may first construct a square wave, but the reconstruction filter then filters out everything above the Nyquist frequency, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl. However since only 2 samples can represent a 20Khz tone, it can be seen that high frequencies will not have the same accuracy to their capture as lower frequencies.

By the way, the reconstruction filter also eliminates beat frequencies that seem to appear if the sampling rate is not an integral multiple the signal frequency, for example a sine wave of 21kHz sampled at 44.1kHz.

Comment: I think a discussion here on the linearity of frequency response of vinyl vs digital media is relevant to this discussion.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly minuscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
The original way of cutting a record master was to use a tape deck equipped with a preview head to allow the cutting engineer to monitor the amplitude of the incoming signal and make appropriate adjustments to the groove spacing.

In the mid-1970s, the digital delay line (DDL) was invented and some vinyl mastering houses began to use this technology instead of the preview head on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. However many mastering houses continued to use and maintain their tape decks equipped with the preview head, and did not use DDL's.

The vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref> however individuals will need to do further research on particular vinyl mastering houses at certain era's in order to determine the specifics of any particular vinyl release. This information may be difficult to obtain.

===Further comparisons===
Any method of recording audio whether using a digital or an analog process involves the use of active amplification devices such as transistors and op-amps, and passive devices such as resistors and capacitors, all of these devices introduce some degree of harmonic distortion, intermodulation distortion and noise. It is part and parcel of the recording and playback process. A high quality professional analog tape recorder meeting factory specifications should provide extremely low levels of noise and distortion, and so too will a high quality professional digital recording system. Though it is fair to say that the digital process will have lower levels of noise and distortion than the analog system.

Vinyl playback does suffer from a varying degrees of tracking errors which can be due to;
*the stylus contacting the medium.
*cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole.
*Wow and flutter.
*External vibrations from footsteps or feedback.

Vinyl listeners frequently and easlily minimise the above issues to a level which is not intrusive to thier listening experience.

Digital storage has none of these errors, but CD playback can still mistrack when subjected to high levels of vibration, though in the vast majority of normal usage this isn't a problem.

Digital also has advantages for audio production. Such as the ability to edit tracks quckly without "drop in" noise from tape heads. The ability to bounce tracks without losses, and these days digital effects can be applied to the recorded sound without the audio having to travel to outboard effects, then be routed back into the recorder. Digital recording offers a speed of mixing and processing audio that was impossible to do as quickly and easliy with analog recording.

==Myth: Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

Comment: Please take into account that if you have a singer singing at 90 dB SPL over a noise floor of 40 dB SPL, then the signal-to-noise ratio is only 50 db! And that’s quite good! The dynamic range over 60db, are always noise for almost all auditor. The vinyl have a linear dynamic range of 65db. But as said upper, the measurements (approximate) show an average non linear dymanic range like: 65db@5-20Hz/75db@20Hz-200Hz/>80db@200Hz-1Khz/>100db@1Khz). Also due to compressing soft sounds are more listenable especially in noisy room.

==Myth: Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==Myth: A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be re-tipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to re-tip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Myth: Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

[A comment: there seems to be a general perception, that driving a turntable with high momentum using an Idler Wheel, or a belt drive can accomplish better transient response. There are a fair amount of reports stating that claim although I have not seen any scientific proof of the claim.
In comparison most direct drives are very low momentum.

In regards to Belt driving, much of the problems stem from friction in the main bearing and inconsistency in the belt itself. A study at the Danish Technical University some 30 years ago revealed that a belt drive utilizing an airborne bearing reduced the influence from the belt itself.]

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-22T02:35:45Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported. While ''medium'' may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, ''high'' generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is unlikelier still that this setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive, besides adding additional ripping time. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the number of re-reads might be of some benefit, provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free. It is recommended that high be selected manually and only in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than then EAC's archaic method of using re-read sets which has never worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Options (Legacy)

2016-07-22T02:32:58Z

Greynol: /* Extraction */

The '''EAC options dialog''' (shortcut: F9) offers several options for configuring [[EAC]] in general without focusing on drive or compression settings.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

=Extraction=
[[Image:EAC_options_Extraction.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Extraction''' tab]]
This tab includes settings for the extraction of audio CDs.

: '''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''
This option controls whether EAC adds silence to either the beginning of the first track on the disc or the end of the last track on the disc to make it the correct length in the event that the drive is not configured as being able to overread. Which track is affected depends on the direction of the read offset correction; a positive offset correction means the last track on the disc will be padded, a negative offset correction means the first track on the disc will be padded.

With this option enabled, all missing samples are replaced with silent samples so that the duration of the affected output file will be the same as on the original CD.

If this option is disabled and the drive is not configured as being able to overread, [[AccurateRip]] will not try to verify any tracks ripped. If the use of AccurateRip is desired, it is essential that this option is enabled. Disabling this option can also affect whether a generated [[cue sheet]] is considered valid by some programs when it results in a track that is not the correct length.

: '''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, null samples (silence) of a track will not be counted for CRC checksums. It has no effect on AccurateRip checksums. When this option is enabled and a track has silence at the beginning/end, this could lead to the same CRC checksums, even with different (or even wrong) drive offset values (see [[EAC_Drive_Options|EAC drive options]]). In general, this option should be disabled to ensure compatibility with other programs such as [[dBpoweramp]].

: '''Synchronize between tracks'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When ripping adjacent tracks of a CD and this option is enabled, EAC re-synchronizes between these tracks. On some drives, this is important to avoid pops or gaps between tracks, so there's no harm in leaving this enabled.

: '''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

If a track contains one or more complete (588-sample) blocks of silence at the beginning and/or the end, EAC deletes them when this option is enabled. If you're only interested in the non-silent audio data, this can be useful to enable, but this will produce WAV files which are not identical to the complete, original tracks. Enabling this option will prevent the use of [[AccurateRip]] to see if your rips match other people's. If your goal is to make exact copies of tracks or entire CDs, silence and all, then you should leave this option disabled.

This option only applies to entire blocks which are silent, so even when it's enabled, it may leave some silent samples on the ends of blocks which contain non-silence. The wave editor's silence trimming function will remove all leading and/or trailing silent samples, so it's more precise than this option.

: '''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will skip the extraction of the current track if a read or synchronisation error occurs. If there is a read/sync error during extraction, the rip can not be guaranteed to be accurate anymore. This way, you have to decide what is more important for you: If you think that a possibly inaccurate rip is better than no rip at all, then you can leave this option disabled.

On the other hand, if an accurate rip is most important, then this option may be enabled so that EAC skips the track when the first read/sync error occurs. When this happens, the first thing to try is to clean the CD and give it another try. When this does not work either, the only solution would be to get another (scratch free) copy of the CD and try the extraction with this one.

Because EAC reads every frame multiple times to find consistent data, it is still possible that a rip is accurate even though EAC reports read errors. This is because in ''Secure mode'' EAC rereads every frame 16 times and treats a frame as "correct" when 8 reads got the same data (for more details on this, see the ''Error recovery quality'' option further below). It is possible no 8 reads got the same data, so EAC will report a read error, although the most consistent data (e.g. only 6 rereads match) may be correct. Even if the data EAC keeps isn't correct, sometimes the errors will be so minor that they don't result in audible artifacts. If you leave this option disabled, then "suspicious" positions where errors occurred will be listed in the ripping summary and log file. You can listen to these positions in the ripped audio to see if you can hear any artifacts.

: '''Skip track extraction after duration longer than ''X'' times realtime'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Due to EAC's advanced reading features, the reading procedure can last very long, especially on scatched CDs (in extreme cases this can last several hours). When this option is enabled and the ripping process takes longer than ''X'' times realtime, the affected track is skipped. It is recommended to leave this option disabled because it is likely that EAC can rip such a track, even if this takes a long time.

''X'' is a multiple of the track durations. For example, if you enable this option and set ''X'' to 4, it means you want EAC to abort the extraction of a track if the extraction has already taken more than 4 times the duration of that track. Thus, the extraction of a 2-minute track would be aborted after 8 minutes, and the extraction of a 5-minute track would be aborted after 20 minutes.

: '''After each X mins of extraction, cool down the drive for Y mins'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

The extraction of scratched CDs/tracks can last very long. This could possibly stress the drive used for extraction because of a lot of movement of the laser unit. So the whole procedure could also heat up the drive. This may decrease the reading abilities of this drive temporarily. So when you notice that your ripping drive gets unusually hot during difficult and long extraction processes, then it may be a good idea to enable this option. Otherwise you should leave this option disabled, because this will possibly lead to longer extraction times.

: '''Lock drive tray during extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC makes sure that the CD tray is not opened accidentally while ripping. Otherwise this will always result in an aborted extraction process, so leave this option enabled.

: '''Extraction and compression priority'''
:: ''(Default: Normal, '''Recommended: High''')''

This determines the process priority, which correlates with how much time your CPU will devote to extracting audio and (if so configured) running an external compressor during the extraction. Setting this option to ''high'' could result in slightly faster ripping, but if you are multitasking, your other applications won't get as much CPU time and might seem "choppy". So if you plan to use other programs during ripping, leave this option as it is (''normal''), or even set it to ''low'' if you find they still need more CPU. Otherwise you can set it to ''high''. What's right for you will depend on the capabilities of your computer and what other applications you're running.

: '''Error recovery quality'''
:: ''(Default: Medium, '''Recommended: Low''')''

When an error is detected after reading a frame, [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ EAC re-reads the frame] 16 times in an attempt to get at least 8 identical results. The error recovery quality setting determines the maximum number of times EAC will do the 16 re-reads:
* Low = one batch of 16 re-reads
* Medium = up to three batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, or 48, total)
* High = up to five batches of 16 re-reads (16, 32, 48, 64, or 80, total)
For each batch of 16 re-reads, there's a row of red error correction "lights" in the extraction status window. If no batch of 16 re-reads produced 8 identical results, EAC considers whatever data it got to be "suspicious" rather than correct. EAC continues reading the entire batch of 16, even if it has already obtained 8 identical reads.

Setting this option to ''medium'' or ''high'' may or may not result in a reduction of errant data in the event that re-read sets are required. Unfortunately, errors can occur with consistency and as such, more aggressive settings can result in errant data going unreported. Wile medium may be of some benefit to lightly damaged discs, high generally leads to diminishing returns. A section of audio that can't be ripped correctly through three sets of re-reads is likely not going to be ripped correctly after two additional sets. It is unlikelier still that this setting will deliver an audibly superior result. Furthermore, forcing the drive to perform additional re-read sets increases wear on the drive, besides adding additional ripping time. However, because EAC chooses the most consistent data over all the re-reads in the event that 8 identical results aren't found in any given re-read set, increasing the number of re-reads might be of some benefit, provided that the most consistent data also happens to be error-free. It is recommended that high be selected manually and only in the event that an accurate result can't be obtained otherwise. Correction through the CUETools database is a far more effective way to handle ripping errors than then archaic method of re-read sets which has never worked that well on the whole.

=General=
[[Image:EAC_options_General.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''General''' tab]]
In this tab, general EAC options are included. These do not affect the quality or the accuracy of the results produced by EAC. So on most options there is no clear recommendation possible. Just adjust these options as you need them.

: '''Use alternate CD play routines'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is only important for playing an audio CD using EAC. If it is enabled, EAC sends the audio data to the soundcard digitally, so no cable between the drive and the soundcard is needed. Otherwise, when this option is disabled, only the cable between drive and soundcard is used. Therefore, if such a cable is not installed and this option gets disabled, you will not be able to play a CD using EAC at all.

: '''Disable 'CD Autostart' for audio and data CDs while EAC running'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, the autostart for all drives is disabled while EAC is running. That means that no popups or media players are started automatically which could disturb EAC while ripping.

: '''On unknown CDs'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When a CD unknown to EAC is inserted in the drive and this setting is enabled, EAC can take the following actions:
* '''automatically access online freedb database''': EAC tries to find CD information in the [[freedb]] online database automatically. For this option to work, an e-mail address has to be specified in the [[EAC freedb/Database Options|freedb/Database Options]].
* '''open CD information dialog''': With this option enabled, a pop up is presented to the user where the CD information can be inserted manually.
It doesn't matter what setting you use; it's your choice. If you leave it disabled, you can always enter data manually right in the main window, or get disc info from freedb via a menu selection or keyboard shortcut (Alt-G).

: '''Display times using frames'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option just affects how times are displayed in the main window. A track's start or length will use the format H:MM:SS.##, where ## depends on how this option is set. If you use frames, then the last two digits are an exact number of frames, in a range of 00 to 74, because there are 75 frames per second. Otherwise, the last two digits are an approximate number of hundredths of seconds, in a range of 00 to 99. Time information in frames is generally more native to CDs, whereas the display of hundredths of seconds is likely to be rounded and not really exact. Therefore, it's recommended to enable this setting so that the times are displayed in frames.

: '''Ask before overwriting files'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

EAC will always ask if existing files should be overwritten. To be sure that no important files are overwritten, this option should be left enabled.

: '''Correct bug of wrong filename order in Windows multiple file dialog'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

The Windows file selection box sometimes has a strange behavior to exchange the first and last track when multiple files are selected. Leave this option enabled to make sure EAC automatically corrects the file order.

: '''Show status dialog after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Enabling this setting lets EAC show a status dialog after extraction. Because this dialog can give you some important information and the opportunity to hear & attempt repairs of glitches in tracks that didn't rip cleanly, you should leave this option enabled.

: '''Beep after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If enabled, EAC will beep (PC speaker) when extraction finished. When you do not want to sit in front of your PC while ripping, this option may come in handy.

: '''Eject CD after extraction finished'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC will eject the CD automatically when the extraction finished. When you move away from your PC while ripping, it may be a good idea to leave this option disabled.

: '''When using the power down feature'''

This setting controls what should happen if you tick the power down feature in the extraction dialog. Two options are available:
* '''power down computer''' ''(Default: enabled)'': The computer is shut down after extraction has finished.
* '''restart computer''': The computer gets restarted after extraction.

: '''wait for external compressors'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option specifies if the shutdown or restart process should wait for any active external compressors when the power down feature in the extraction dialog is ticked. You should always leave this option enabled, because otherwise any external compressor can not finish its work before the shutdown/restart process.

: '''EAC language selection'''

This option controls the language settings of EAC. If there is a language setting available which equals the language of the operating system, this language is automatically selected at the first start of EAC.

=Tools=
[[Image:EAC_options_Tools.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Tools''' tab]]
Here the generation of [[Cue_sheet|CUE sheets]], playlists and log files is configured. There are also settings available affecting the behaviour of an external compressor.

For more information on EAC and CUE sheets, see [[EAC_and_Cue_Sheets|EAC and CUE sheets]].

: '''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When generating CUE sheets for a CD and this option is enabled, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code UPC] (Universal Product Code = barcode) and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc ISRC] (International Standard Recording Code) codes are extracted from the CD and added to the CUE file. It can be quite time-consuming extracting this information from a CD, and some CDs do not contain such information at all. But to collect as much information as possible from the CD, such as for archiving, this option should be enabled.

Note that this feature of EAC is reported not to work correctly with some drives. If you plan to let EAC create CUE sheets with UPC/ISRC, you should test this feature with your drive. Just open a generated CUE sheet with a text reader (e.g. Notepad) and check the information stated.

: '''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This will add TITLE and PERFORMER tags to the generated CUE sheet as displayed in EAC's main window. Although EAC will attempt to extract CD-Text when a disc is loaded (provided your drive is capable and is configured as such), the information in EAC's main window can also be edited or entered manually or can come from an online database. As a consequence, this information won't necessarily reflect what is found on the CD. Considering that many CDs don't actually contain CD-Text, purists might consider configuring this setting on a per-disc basis.

: '''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC will automatically create an .m3u playlist file which contains all selected tracks for this extraction. This comes in handy if you use your PC as primary source where most media players can use these playlist files.

: '''Write m3u playlist with extended information'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

This option is greyed out until you enable the option ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' (see above). If enabled, EAC adds extended information (length, title and more) to the playlist file. All additional information are added as comments. If your media player can not handle these comments correctly, you should disable this option, otherwise leave it enabled.

: '''Automatically write status report after extraction'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When enabled, EAC automatically writes a log file after extraction in the same directory as the extracted files. To be able to comprehend the extraction process of a certain CD, it may be a good idea to save these log files. However, even if this option is disabled, it is still possible to save a log file from the status dialog after extraction. Of course, then the corresponding option also has to be enabled in the ''General'' tab (''Show status dialog after extraction'').

: '''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this setting enabled, EAC starts an external compressor as soon as the first track was extracted and therefore the extraction and compressing processes are running simultaneously. Of course, this could lead to a time saving, but also can lead to some problems: it is more likely that errors during extraction/compressing occur on older PCs. So in general, you should leave this option disabled unless you have a dual/multi-core CPU.

: '''Use X simultaneous external compressor thread(s)'''
:: ''(Default: 1)''

This option is greyed out until the option above (''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'') is enabled. It controls the number of simultaneous external compressors used by EAC. The more compressors are used simultaneously, the more likely are the problems mentioned above with parallel extraction and compressing. Again, if you have a dual/multi-core CPU, it is fine to use this option.

: '''Do not open external compressor window'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

With this option enabled, EAC does not open an external compressor window. Because this way you are not able to see the status of the external compressor (and maybe error messages), this option should be left disabled.

: '''Submit drive features after detection (but ask for permission)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Leaving this option enabled, EAC will ask if it should submit to the AccurateRip database info about your drive's features (like read offset values) after these were detected, e.g. by the wizard. In order to help other people who are not able to determine their drive's features, it is recommended to enable this setting. You can cancel the transfer of any data anyway, because EAC will always ask you before sending any data.

: '''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''', unless offset correction needs to be manually entered)''

This option is not about whether you are a beginner; rather, it is about whether you have ''very'' unusual ripping needs.

When in beginner mode, EAC disables & hides the following "advanced" features:
* In the Action menu:
** Catalog Selected Tracks (Alt+F / Alt+Shift+F) [rip previews instead of full tracks]
** Copy Selected Tracks Index-Based (Alt+X / Alt+Shift+X) [rip to separate files for each track index]
** Detect Gaps (F4) [find the 00-index portion, if any, of each track, for display in the main window and inclusion in .log]
** Test Gaps On Silence [estimate how much of a track's 00-index portion is null bytes]
** Create CUE Sheet > Current Gap Settings
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Leftout Gaps (Alt+M)
** Create CUE Sheet > Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps (Alt+O)
** Leave Out Gaps [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Previous Track (default) [disabled until gaps are detected]
** Append Gaps To Next Track [disabled until gaps are detected]
* In the EAC Options:
** The entire Catalog tab (options affecting the Catalog Selected Tracks action)
* In the Drive Options:
** In the Offset / Speed tab:
*** Use read sample offset correction
*** Use combined read/write sample offset correction
*** Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out [to get the very first or last sector(s) of audio when using offset correction]

Most of these features generally aren't needed, because:
* "Catalog" generation exists just to support an uncommon archiving strategy;
* Index-based rips are only useful for ripping the 00-index portions of tracks to separate files - e.g. for a CD with a hidden track you have to rewind from the beginning of the disc to hear, or for a CD with non-silent interludes during the "countdown to zero" time before certain tracks;
* Gaps will already be detected when that info is required, i.e. when generating a cue sheet;
* Gap info needn't appear in the main window unless you're actively checking it, such as when testing different detection methods;
* Gap removal isn't recommended because 00-index portions of tracks aren't always silent, and it can interfere with AccurateRip usage;
* The default CUE sheet formats work with EAC's CD burning features.

The offset correction options are useful, but will be automatically set for you and greyed out if AccurateRip is enabled and a "Key Disc" has been used for configuration of the offset. If you need to set offset correction without an AccurateRip "Key Disc", then you should temporarily disable this option in order to manually enter the correction value.

=Normalize=
[[Image:EAC_options_Normalize.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Normalize''' tab]]
This tab contains all settings regarding normalization of extracted music files.

: '''Normalize'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Normalizing is the process to change the volume of a track to a given maximum loudness, and is usually used to try to get all tracks of a CD or compilation to approximately the same loudness level. EAC's normalizer determines loudness based on peak amplitude, which can be close, but doesn't precisely correlate with perceived loudness. See [[ReplayGain]] (a technology used outside of EAC) for a more sophisticated and accurate way of normalizing volume.

Of course, normalization results in the ripped track data not matching the original on the CD. If your goal is to make an exact copy, make sure that this option stays disabled.

: '''Normalize to X%'''
:: ''(Default: 98%)''

This option is greyed out until the above option (''Normalize'') is enabled and represents the level of normalization. 100% would be maximum loudness, but to avoid clipping, you should set it a few percents lower (e.g. 98%).

: '''But only if peak level is smaller than X% or greater than Y%'''
:: ''(Default: 85%/99%)''

With this option you can select which tracks will be normalized. All tracks which are out of the range (smaller than X, or greater than Y) are normalized, all others will not be changed.

=Filename=
[[Image:EAC_options_Filename.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Filename''' tab]]
The resulting file names and directory structures can be configured in this tab.

: '''Naming scheme'''

A naming scheme for the resulting files can be specified here. There are many placeholders stated by the option dialog which can be used to build up a naming/directory scheme.

Please note that a new set of placeholders was introduced in EAC version 1.0 beta 2, which is also more logical than that of earlier versions. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of file naming placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Compression Options#External compression|passing to a command-line encoder]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

When naming the output files, you can also create a directory structure (or place them in an existing one): just use the backslash \ to separate the names of folders. The only limitation to this is that no absolute file paths (e.g. "C:\Music\%T") can be constructed. The reason for this is that, when starting the extraction of a disc, EAC will either ask by a dialog box where the resulting files will be stored, or will use the predefined directory (this depends on what option is enabled as ''Standard directory for extraction'' in the ''Directories'' tab). The directory stated by either method will serve as the top-level folder, into which your files and any additional folders chosen will be placed according to your preferred naming structure.

For example, choosing or specifying as standard the folder ''C:\Music\EAC\'' and using the file-naming scheme (1.0b2 onwards) of ''%albumartist%\%albumtitle%\%tracknr2%. %title%'' will create files such as ''C:\Music\EAC\My Favourite Band\Eponymous Debut Album\01. Intro.mp3''

: '''Use various artist naming scheme'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled and the ''Various Artists'' option box is ticked (in the EAC main window), the naming scheme stated below is used. If you want different naming schemes for one/various artist CDs, then you should enable this setting. The placeholders are the same as stated above (''Naming scheme'').

: '''Replace spaces by underscores'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Enabling this option will EAC let replace spaces in filenames by underscores.

=Catalog=
[[Image:EAC_options_Catalog.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Catalog''' tab]]
Catalog options which are applied when creating catalog samples (''Action'' -> ''Catalog Selected Tracks'') can be configured here. With this function, EAC can produce short samples of each track of a disc.

: '''Catalog file length (in seconds)'''

Defines the length of each catalog sample track in seconds.

: '''Catalog start position in a track (in seconds)'''

Specifies the start position of the catalog sample in a track in seconds. As many music titles are not very significant from the beginning of a track, it may be a good idea to let the catalog samples start somewhere in the middle of a track.

: '''Fade in length (in seconds)'''

If you want that the catalog sample tracks are faded in, enter a value greater than 0.

: '''Fade out length (in seconds)'''

The same as stated above (''Fade in length (in seconds)''), but concerning fade out.

=Directories=
[[Image:EAC_options_Directories.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Directories''' tab]]
The directory where the extracted music files will be placed can be configured here.

: '''Standard directory for extraction'''

This option decides whether the user is asked where to save the resulting files every time an extraction is started, or if a standard directory should be used.

* '''Ask every time (default showing last used directory)''' ''(Default: enabled)'': Any time an extraction starts, a dialog box appears asking for the directory to be used. This directory will be saved and used as default the next time this dialog box appears.
* '''Use this directory''': When always extracting in the same directory anyway, there is no need of the dialog box stated above. In this case, a predefined directory can be specified here.

=Write=
[[Image:EAC_options_Write.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Write''' tab]]
Contains all settings for writing audio CDs with EAC.

: '''Upper all characters (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

If this option is enabled, all characters contained in the CD-text are transformed to upper case. On some CD players, this may look a little better than text in upper-/lower case.

: '''Include artist in the CD-Text track entry (on writing)'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some CD players will only show the track information of the CD-text. In such a case, the artist information will not be shown. If your CD player acts this way, you should enable this option so that the artist is swapped over into the track information. As an example "Bohemian Rhapsody" will become "Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody".

: '''Disable copy protection flag on adding audio files to the layout editor by default'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When enabled, the copy protection flag will be disabled by default for all added tracks in the write layout editor. Because you can still disable the copy protection flag in the write layout editor when needed (''Layout'' -> ''Edit selected indices...'' -> untick the ''Copy protected'' checkbox), it is recommended to leave this option disabled.

: '''Use CDRDAO for writing in the EAC layout editor'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

When writing CDs with EAC, there are two possibilities: On the one hand, EAC can start an external application called [[CDRDAO]] to write the CD. The general advantage of CDRDAO is the compatibility with many (and even older) CD-R drives. On the other hand, EAC can use its internal writing routines. These are said to be a bit more stable (as they are internal), but also do not support that many drives.

Since version 0.99 prebeta 4, EAC comes with an installer which lets the user choose if CDRDAO should be installed or not. When it is not installed, this setting will be greyed out and EAC's internal writing routines will be used in any case. But even if CDRDAO support was installed, you should try to disable this option first and use EAC's internal writing routines. In most cases this will work properly. Only if you encounter problems with this setting, try to use CDRDAO.

For more information on CDRDAO, see the [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage].

=Interface=
[[Image:EAC_options_Interface.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings '''EAC options''', '''Interface''' tab]]
In this tab, the interface used for the communication between EAC and the CD drive can be confuigured.

: '''Use of SCSI interface'''
:: ''('''Recommended: Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''' (Win NT/2000/XP/Vista) / '''Installed external ASPI interface''' (Win 95/98/98SE/Me))''

For the communication with the drive, EAC can use different interfaces. First, there is the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. This is the native interface which comes with every Windows since Windows NT and is sometimes called [[SPTI]] (SCSI Pass-Through Interface). As the name implies, this is the native interface for direct communication with the drive and despite of the name, this interface is also used for non-SCSI peripherals (IDE/ATAPI, USB, Firewire, etc.). Another interface which can be used is [[ASPI]] (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface). This is not a completely different kind of interface, but only an additional layer above SPTI. Thus ASPI only maps the communication commands onto the native interface (SPTI).

If you use Windows NT or newer Windows operating systems, it is recommended that you first try the ''Native Win32 interface for Win NT/2000/XP''. The reason is that any addition layer (like ASPI) on top of SPTI will increase the likelihood of errors. Only if the native interface does not work (e.g. EAC is not able to recognize your drive), then try to install an external ASPI interface and use this interface instead.

When using an older version of Windows than Windows NT, then an ASPI interface should already be installed and it is recommended to use the option ''Installed external ASPI interface''.

When you have to install an ASPI interface on your system because SPTI does not work (on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista) or you want to use another ASPI driver (on Windows 95/98/98SE/Me), then you can do the following: The ASPI driver always recommended in conjunction with EAC is the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI Ahead Nero ASPI Driver]. Download the DLL (wnaspi32.dll) and copy it into the EAC directory. Then start EAC and a choose the new option (''Installed external ASPI interface'') from this option tab.

Another (but not recommended) ASPI driver is the external ASAPI interface from VOB software. For this option to be available, you have to install the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Download_page#ASPI ASAPI interface from VOB software] first.

Note that all changes made in this option tab require a restart of EAC to take effect.

=External links=
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/extraction-technology/ Exact Audio Copy: Extraction Technology]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code Wikipedia: Universal Product Code]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isrc Wikipedia: International Standard Recording Code]
* [http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/ CDRDAO homepage]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspi Wikipedia: ASPI]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2015-11-30T21:49:02Z

Greynol: /* Drive caches audio data */ fixed broken link

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Back around the turn of the century when digital audio extraction (DAE) was relatively new, some drives couldn't provide audio data from precise locations. Each time it was told to read a block of audio, a drive might produce data that was shifted slightly ahead or slightly behind. When an adjacent block of data from a subsequent read is shifted, it will either begin with samples repeated from the previous block, or samples between the blocks will be omitted. In DAE, this phenomenon is often called jitter or synchronization error. To compensate for this problem, EAC is able to overlap every read in order to detect and correct any misalignment.

: Essentially all drives produced today have a feature called 'Accurate Stream' which significantly reduces (if not completely eliminates) the chance that audio data will be shifted between successive reads. When informed that a drive has this feature, EAC will only periodically overlap its reads to check for synchronization problems.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will result in a significant increase in ripping speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc—more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low" (this setting can be found under the Extraction tab in the [[EAC Options]] dialog). If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/threads/cache-detection-in-eac.32972/#post-113449 link]).

: '''Note''': If "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" is deselected, then "Drive caches audio data" is automatically checked, regardless of whether the drive actually caches audio data.

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by trusting the drive's ability to reliably report uncorrectable errors.<ref>"Uncorrectable" doesn't mean the data is bad, necessarily. In fact, it's normal for at least a portion of data marked uncorrectable to actually be correct; it just wasn't made correct by the C2 system.</ref> If this setting is enabled, EAC will not re-read and try to get consistent data from sectors which the drive reports as being error-free. Unfortunately, not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether ''all'' uncorrectable errors are reported, so these tests don't tell you whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization error is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
The goal with both of these settings is to help EAC get ''reasonable'' gap values in a reasonable amount of scanning time. There is no way to know if the values are 100% correct.

'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''
:EAC offers three methods: A, B, and C; the difference between them is unknown. Method A is a good initial setting, as it is usually fast and provides good results, but on some discs and some drives, B or C might be better.

'''Detection accuracy'''
:This affects how many times the gap info is read. Inaccurate is one read, so it will be fastest. Accurate and Secure are multiple reads, which will be slower but may perform better on some CDs, especially if scratched or defective.

Background info:

Indexes are track subdivisions. All tracks have index 01 for the main content. Some also have a "gap" (index 00) for a between-song pause (silence or very quiet hiss), or for a non-silent interlude, count-in, or applause. On rare occasion, tracks will have higher-numbered indexes as well.

The start of each track's index 01 is listed in the CD's table of contents, so it is known as soon as the disc is inserted. The other indexes are stored in the disc's subcode, which can be difficult to read correctly. CDs also have slight variances in how and where this info is stored. EAC's Gap Detection settings help cope with these issues.

What are reasonable results?
* Gaps are all different lengths, and in a range of about 1 to 5 seconds each.
* Gaps are all exactly 2 seconds each (for a CD-R burned in TAO mode).

What are suspicious results?
* Gaps are all the same length, and not exactly 2 seconds each.
* Gaps are all very short—e.g., less than 1 second each.
* Gaps are all very long—e.g., over 1 minute, or equal to the track length.
* Gaps extend well beyond the end of a pause/interlude in the music.
* Gaps get progressively longer.

These are general guidelines; there will be occasional exceptions.

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2015-10-07T16:48:38Z

Greynol:

This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy].

'''Note''': Beginning with version 1.0b2, EAC switched to a different scheme for passing track info to the chosen command-line encoder. This article was written at the time of a prior version and therefore uses the old scheme. To compare the two sets of placeholders and amend this page’s command-lines accordingly, see the guide and table at [[EAC placeholders]].

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Options]] guide.

'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'' : Checked
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'' : Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks'' : Checked ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Exact_Audio_Copy#Track_synchronization_technology See here])
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'' : Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'' : Your decision.
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than'' : Your decision.
* ''After each: XX mins of extraction, cool down the drive for YY mins'' : Use only if necessary.
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction'' : Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority'' : Normal for most situations; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multi-core processors or multiple CPUs.
* ''Error recovery'' : Medium or High (Depending on the disc, setting this to high can hinder EAC's ability to report errors and may not improve the odds of getting accurate data.)

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' : Checked unless it causes problems. Use only one compressor thread unless your computer has a multi-core processor or multiple CPUs.
* ''Do not open external compressor window'' : Your decision. (Depending on how the external compressor is configured this feature may not work as expected.)
* ''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'' : Unchecked (You're no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - DISABLE normalization; this is supposed to be a lossless backup!

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. Here's an example:
* ''Naming scheme'' : %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist'' : Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Try the native interface first. If it doesn't work, try an external one. [ftp://ftp6.nero.com/wnaspi32.dll Nero's ASPI Driver] is the most common, but [http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm ForceASPI] may offer better compatibility.

==Drive Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Drive Options]] guide.

'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature'' : Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This setting tells EAC not to perform additional synchronization.)
* ''Drive caches audio'' : Enable only if EAC reports your drive as caching. If EAC reports your drive as not caching then you may safely disable this setting. (Enabling this setting cripples your extraction speed. It provides no benefit when used with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching.)
* ''C2 Error Info'' : It is safe to enable this setting if your drive provides C2 error information, but usually only when used in conjunction with AccurateRip or with the generation of a separate test CRC to compare with the read CRC. [This feature provides a speed increase by reading data from the disc only once, relying on your drive to report errors that could not be corrected. Some drives (typically old models by Plextor) can do this reliably; however, many drives will fail to report all uncorrectable errors. If you're not getting matching read and test CRCs (see the section on [[#Ripping a CD]]) or AccurateRip cannot verify all of the tracks on a disc, try ripping again with this setting disabled. If CRCs match as a result of disabling this setting or tracks are more consistently verified with AccurateRip, then leave it disabled.]
* If your drive caches audio data, it may be more efficient to use Burst mode in conjunction with AccurateRip and generate test CRCs for tracks that cannot be verified as accurate. Tracks ripped in Burst mode that are verified with AccurateRip or generate identical read and test CRCs are every bit as secure as if they were ripped in Secure mode.

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command'' : Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'' : Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels'' : Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction'' : Only select this if your drive has difficulty reading data on spin-up. Otherwise, leave it disabled.

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm AccurateRip Drive Offset Database] to find your drive's read offset correction value. If your drive isn't in the database you may want to install AccurateRip and let it configure the read sample offset correction for you (you may want to install AccurateRip anyway since it really enhances EAC's ability to verify your rips). A more painful alternative in determining your offset correction is to find at least two CDs from [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/list-of-included-reference-cds/ this list] which give you identical results when running "Detect read sample offset correction...". When using this method it is imperative that the number in the right-hand column of the table matches (as closely as possible) the number found along the on inner-ring of your CD.

* ''Use read sample offset correction'' : Enable and enter your drive's offset value into the field.
* ''Overread Lead-In and Lead-Out'' : Press the button that says "Detect read sample offset correction". Enable this setting if it says your drive can overread from both the Lead-In and Lead-Out or if it says Lead-Out and your offset correction is positive or if it says Lead-In and your offset correction is negative. Otherwise disable it.
* ''Speed Selection'' : Actual (You may want to adjust this when ripping discs that produce errors.)
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction'' : Enable (Disabling this setting may improve accuracy with some drives.)
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive'' : Enable if your drive supports it.

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method'' : This will not affect the extraction quality. Choose the method that gives the fastest results (usually method A).
* ''Detection accuracy'' : Secure (You may have to reduce the level if EAC hangs while detecting gaps.)

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]

These options are described in detail in the [[EAC Compression Options]] guide.

'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression'' : Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme'' : User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate'' : N/A. This gets ignored when using a user defined encoder and following the additional command line options specified below.
* ''Delete WAV after compression'' : Enable
* ''Use CRC check'' : Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag'' : Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code'' : Your decision.

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension'' : .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder. You may want to add -V in order to verify that there were no encoding errors.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
:Note: If you have ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' checked in EAC Options, make sure you have it set to use only ''one'' compressor thread.
* ''Use file extension'' : .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension'' : .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension'' : .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F5, or press the MP3 button on the left side of the GUI).
* Review AccurateRip results.
** If using Burst mode or Secure mode with C2 error information, highlight any tracks that cannot be verified as accurate by AccurateRip (hold ctrl key to highlight multiple tracks) and then select ''Action>Test Selected Tracks'' (shortcut key: F8).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Gaps... (Noncompliant)''.
* If you want the cue sheet to reference the newly created compressed files instead of wave files open it with a text editor. Perform a ''find/replace'' operation to replace .wav and WAVE with the extension and appropriate type you used for compression (e.g. for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). The cue can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatible with EAC's noncompliant cue sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn]. (Nero will not work because it is not compatible with noncompliant sheets).
* Enjoy your music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC and FLAC

2015-05-05T05:03:41Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by 190.31.153.151 (talk) to last revision by Mike2718

= Software Needed =
* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/resources/download/ Exact Audio Copy]
* [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html FLAC 1.2.1b]

= Installation =
'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC is has been configured for secure ripping, if not please follow [[EAC_Drive_Configuration | this]] guide.
* Install FLAC using the FLAC installer

= Configuration =
* Open EAC and insert a CD into the drive.
* Click the '''EAC''' menu and select '''Compression Options'''.
* Click the '''External Compression''' Tab, and put a tick in the box for '''use external program for compression'''.
* Change '''Parameter Passing Scheme''' to '''User Defined Encoder'''.
* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.flac''' if not already that.
* Click the '''Browse''' button and locate the '''FLAC.exe''' that you unzipped earlier.
* Remove the ticks from '''Use CRC check''' and '''Add ID3 tag'''.
* Tick '''Check for external programs return code'''.
* If you are using EAC 1.0b2 or newer, then in the '''Additional command line options''' box, copy and paste the following string:

-T "artist=%artist%" -T "title=%title%" -T "album=%albumtitle%" -T "date=%year%" -T "tracknumber=%tracknr%" -T "genre=%genre%" '''-5''' %source%

* If you are using EAC 1.0b1 or earlier, then in the '''Additional command line options''' box, copy and paste the following string:

-T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" '''-5''' %s

'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level.

* Do not worry what bit rate is shown in the bit rate drop down box; this will be ignored, as will the quality setting chosen below it.

[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|frame|center|FLAC configured with tagging support, in an older version of EAC]]

If you told the EAC configuration wizard to use FLAC, then the command-line options are preconfigured with the following default string. As compared to the string above, the order of parameters is different, more metadata fields are supported (harmless), the output filename is unnecessarily included (-o %dest%), and output verification is unnecessarily enabled (-V):

'''-6''' -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" -T "BAND=%albuminterpret%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%--tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" %hascover%--picture="%coverfile%"%hascover% %source% -o %dest%

= Cue Sheet & Image Problem =

'''Attention: This issue is aleady fixed in EAC V1.0 beta 3.'''

Using this configuration with EAC when creating an image and cue sheet rip can cause the cue sheet not to work with the resulting FLAC file. The problem is caused by EAC not liking the four letter .flac extension, which results in EAC putting the extension on to the image name twice.

e.g. the image name is referenced in the cue sheet as "myflacimage.flac" but after encoding it ends up being called "myflacimage.flac.flac", so when you open the cue sheet for playing or burning, the referenced file doesen't exist.

== Some solutions to the problem ==
* Synthetic Soul's [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=37978 batch file method]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=REACT REACT] EAC addon.

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides|FLAC & EAC]]

Main Page

2015-03-06T14:39:40Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by KENFlynnbmfzn (talk) to last revision by Elliottmobile

#REDIRECT [[Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase:Main Page]]

EAC Compression Options (Legacy)

2015-02-19T18:28:03Z

Greynol: /* External links */

In [[Exact Audio Copy]]’s '''compression options''' dialog (keyboard shortcut: F11) are found all options regarding the creating of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_compression_(data) compressed audio files]. Here the user specifies how EAC is to behave when they press the ''MP3'' Button in the main window or select ''compressed'' items under the ''Action'' menu.

Note: many options are dependent on the codec or external compressor (encoder). So, often no clear recommendation can be given. It is important that the user has a general understanding of what these settings do and how they possibly change the behavior of EAC and/or the [[codec]]/external compressor.

This article was recently updated to reflect changes introduced in EAC v1.0b2; however, the instructions for prior versions were retained for reference.

=Waveform=
[[Image:EAC_Compression_options_Waveform.png|thumb|right|Example settings '''compression options''', '''Waveform''' tab]]
This tab allows you to select and choose the options for an internal [[codec]]. After audio data is read from the CD, EAC will pass it to the codec, and will write the codec's output to a file. Generally speaking, EAC’s internal codec support is for writing unusual [[WAV]] files (e.g. containing audio in the [[Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation|ADPCM]] format or as a rare way of storing [[MP3]] data), although the options do allow for writing other formats.

An internal codec is a [[Constant Bitrate|CBR]] (constant bit rate) audio converter library managed through the Windows Audio Compression Manager (ACM) legacy interface, and it typically has a filename ending in <code>.acm</code>. Windows comes with a few such codecs installed already. These aren’t programs you run directly; they’re just converters invoked from within another program, e.g. EAC.

All options are greyed out here if ''Use external program for compression'' in the ''External Compression'' tab is ticked. When using an external compressor, you of course cannot use an internal codec.

Today, most people ripping music CDs don't use internal codecs; they use an external compressor, which is configured in the ''External Compression'' tab. An external compressor is a separate program that can be run directly from a command shell with various arguments telling it which file to compress, what tags to add, the output filename, etc.

: '''Wave format'''

In this drop down box, all codecs installed on your system are listed. When new codecs are installed, they should show up in this list. The codec to choose depends on what should be achieved with the compression (sample format, compression ratio, etc.).

: '''Sample format'''

With this option, different combinations of parameters for the compression and output format can be chosen, such as sample rate, resolution, mono/stereo. Which options are available here depends on the codec selected at the ''Wave format'' option (e.g. some codecs only support 4 bit resolution).

If you were to choose ''Microsoft PCM Converter'' as the codec, and ''44,100 Hz, 16 Bit, Stereo'' as the output format, it would be the same as doing an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Book_(CD_standard) uncompressed CD rip].

: '''Add ID3 tag'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

Some formats (e.g. [[MP3]]) support [[ID3|ID3 tags]]. When this option is enabled, EAC will add these tags to the compressed files (only if the file format supports ID3 tags).

: '''Do not write WAV header to file'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

The codec only converts the audio data. EAC writes it to a file. This parameter determines whether to include a WAV header in the file.

Although it has become a ''de facto'' standard that WAV files contain 16 bit, 44.1 kHz stereo PCM audio data (as on audio CDs), what actually makes an audio file a WAV file is not the format of the audio data itself but the presence of a WAV header at its beginning. The header specifies which data chunk(s) are in the file (normally there's just a single chunk consisting of all the audio), info about what format it’s in, and possibly some other rudimentary metadata. When such a header is present, EAC will ensure the output filename ends with <code>.wav</code>.

If you have chosen a codec that outputs PCM data, then you probably ''do'' want a WAV header and filename ending in <code>.wav</code>, so this option should be enabled. But if you have chosen a codec that outputs MP3 or Ogg Vorbis data, then the WAV header is optional, and in fact is probably not what you want, unless you have a specific need to put the compressed audio into a WAV file.

For example, if you choose an MP3 codec, and you have this option disabled, then you'll generate an ordinary MP3 file, and therefore you should enter <code>.mp3</code> in the next box (''file extension for headerless files'') to make sure it has a helpful filename. But if you choose an MP3 codec and you have this option enabled, then you'll generate an MP3 file that begins with a WAV header, and the filename will end in <code>.wav</code>, and is likely to be confusing.

: '''File extension for header files'''
:: ''(Default: .raw)''

When the ''Do not write WAV header to file'' option is enabled, a filename extension for the output files can be specified here (e.g. ''.mp3'' for MP3 files). If the above option is disabled, this setting gets greyed out automatically.

: '''Quality setting'''
:: ''(Default: High quality (slow), '''Recommended: High quality (slow)''')''

Some codecs support a quality setting to choose between a higher quality of the output files or faster encoding speed. If quality is the only matter, leave this option at the default, which is ''High quality (slow)''.

When using a ''User defined encoder'', you can demarcate any portion of your custom command line as being for low- (delimit the chosen parameters with ''%l'') and high-quality (similar but with ''%h'') modes only and use this option to choose between the two.

Note: EAC offers this choice of quality settings even if the selected codec doesn't use it.

=External compression=
[[Image:EAC_Compression_options_External_Compression.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings EAC '''compression options''', '''External Compression''' tab]]
In this tab, all options for external compressors can be configured. As all settings are highly dependent on the particular compressor, most settings are only described here in general terms because often no specific recommendations can be given; but see the many [[:Category:EAC Guides|EAC guides]] (also linked below) written by Hydrogenaudio users for in-depth advice on topics including configuring various external encoders.

'''''General recommendation:''''' To avoid unwanted side effects and to be able to configure the encoding process in every detail, ''User Defined Encoder'' should be used as ''Parameter passing scheme'' and all options should be specified via the ''Additional command-line options'' only.

"Side effects" basically means that it is a little complex what options have which effect when another ''Parameter passing scheme'' is specified (e.g. some settings are ignored completely). These side effects are explained in the following parameters, but specifying ''User Defined Encoder'' and using the command-line options only is a lot more convenient.

As mentioned above, there are also a few articles with details about how to configure EAC to use particular encoders:
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_FLAC EAC and FLAC]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_Lame EAC and LAME]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_AAC EAC and Nero AAC]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_Ogg_Vorbis EAC and OGG Vorbis]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_WavPack EAC and WavPack]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_Monkey%27s_Audio EAC and Monkey's Audio]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_Musepack EAC and Musepack]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_TAK EAC and] [[TAK]]

: '''Use external program for compression'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

To use an external compressor, this setting has to be enabled; otherwise, all the options here are greyed out.

: '''Parameter passing scheme'''

EAC comes with a few presets concerning external compressors and the required parameter passing scheme; they can be selected with this option (e.g. the ''Bit rate'' box will show all available options after a particular compressor was chosen here). But in general, the capabilities of EAC in passing parameters to external compressors are limited. In order to overcome some of these limitations, you can and should use the ''Additional command-line options'' for to pass parameters. The usual approach is setting the ''Parameter passing scheme'' to ''User Defined Encoder'' and using the ''Additional command-line options'' to specify all the encoding options.

: '''Use file extension'''

When using a ''User Defined Encoder'' as above, a file extension must be specified here. This should be the extension of the encoded file type (e.g. ''.flac'' when using a [[FLAC]] encoder and ''mp3'' when encoding to [[MP3]]).

: '''Program, including path, used for compression'''

The absolute path to the program used for compression. This may be an .exe or a .dll file (e.g. ''C:\Program Files\[[LAME]]\lame.exe''). By clicking on the ''Browse...'' button, this path can be chosen by a file dialog.

: '''Additional command-line options'''

Here additional parameters for the external compressor can be specified. To configure the additional command-line options, you can use the placeholders listed below (taken from the [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/support/faq/ EAC FAQ]. For a comprehensive overview and by-version comparison of command-line placeholders, as well as those for [[EAC Options|Naming the output file]], please see the dedicated page about [[EAC placeholders]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ For EAC 1.0 beta 2 and newer
|-
! placeholder
! meaning
|-
| %source% || Source filename
|-
| %dest% || Destination filename
|-
| %original% || Original filename (without temporary renaming)
|-
| %ishigh%…%ishigh% || Text “…” only when “High quality” selected
|-
| %islow%…%islow% || Text “…” only when “Low quality” selected
|-
| %haslyrics%…%haslyrics% || Text “…” only when lyrics exist
|-
| %hascover%…%hascover% || Text “…” only when storing cd cover is enabled and cover exists
|-
| %crcenabled%…%crcenabled% || Text “…” only when “CRC checksum” selected
|-
| %title% || Track title
|-
| %genre% || MP3 music genre
|-
| %year% || Year
|-
| %cddbid% || freedb ID
|-
| %artist% || Track artist
|-
| %lyrics% || Lyrics
|-
| %lyricsfile% || Filename of lyrics text file (ANSI)
|-
| %bitrate% || Bitrate (“32″..”320″)
|-
| %comment% || Comment (as selected in EAC)
|-
| %tracknr% || Track number
|-
| %totalcds% || Total number of CDs in the given CD set
|-
| %cdnumber% || Number of the CD
|-
| %composer% || Track performer
|-
| %trackcrc% || CRC of extracted track
|-
| %coverfile% || Filename of CD cover image
|-
| %numtracks% || Number of tracks on album
|-
| %albumtitle% || CD title
|-
| %albumartist% || CD artist
|-
| %albumcomposer% || CD composer
|-
| %albuminterpret% ||– CD performer
|-
| %% || The ‘%’ character
|}

So, an exemplary EAC 1.0b2 or newer command-line for the [[LAME]] MP3 encoder could look like this :
<pre>-V 0 --vbr-new --ta "%artist%" --tt "%title%" --tl "%albumtitle%" --tg "%genre%" --ty "%year%" --tn "%tracknr%" --tc "%comment%" %source% %dest%</pre>

As you can see, the command-line options of LAME (e.g. <code>-V 0</code>, <code>--ta</code>, <code>--tt</code>, etc.) are used in conjunction with the EAC placeholders (e.g. <code>%artist%</code>, <code>%title%</code>, etc.) to control LAME using this command-line.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ For EAC 1.0 beta 1 and older
|-
! placeholder
! meaning
|-
| %s
| Source filename
|-
| %d
| Destination filename
|-
| %h...%h
| Text "..." only when ''High quality'' selected
|-
| %l...%l
| Text "..." only when ''Low quality'' selected
|-
| %c...%c
| Text "..." only when ''CRC checksum'' selected
|-
| %r
| Bitrate ("32".."320") as chosen in the ''Bit rate'' option
|-
| %a
| CD artist
|-
| %g
| CD title
|-
| %t
| Track title
|-
| %y
| Year
|-
| %n
| Track number
|-
| %m
| MP3 music genre
|-
| %o
| Original filename (without temporary renaming)
|-
| %e
| Comment (as selected in EAC)
|-
| %b
| CRC of extracted track
|-
| %f
| freedb ID
|-
| %x
| Number of tracks on album
|}

So, an exemplary EAC 1.0b1 or earlier command-line for the [[LAME]] MP3 encoder could look like this:
<pre>-V 0 --vbr-new --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --tg "%m" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tc "%e" %s %d</pre>

As you can see, the command-line options of LAME (e.g. <code>-V 0</code>, <code>--ta</code>, <code>--tt</code>, etc.) are used in conjunction with the EAC placeholders (e.g. <code>%a</code>, <code>%t</code>, etc.) to control LAME only by this command-line.

: '''Bit rate'''

What is shown in this drop-down box depends on the ''Parameter passing scheme'' selected and specifies the bit rate/quality settings of the external compressor. This setting is also used to calculate the approximate size of the compressed tracks shown in EAC's main window.

In the case that ''User Defined Encoder'' is selected as the ''Parameter passing scheme'', this setting does not have an effect unless the <code>%r</code> parameter is specified in the ''Additional command-line options''.

: '''Quality setting'''
:: ''(Default: High quality, '''Recommended: High quality''')''

Many encoders offer the choice between better quality or faster encoding speed. This option is designated to choose between these two settings, but the precise behavior depends on what is selected on the ''Parameter passing scheme'':

If ''User Defined Encoder'' is chosen, this option does not have an effect unless the <code>%h…%h</code> and <code>%l…%l</code> parameters are used in the ''Additional command-line options'' (see below).

When any other ''Parameter passing scheme'' is used, this setting is reflected on the particular encoder. When using LAME for instance, ''High quality'' corresponds to the <code>-h</code> switch, whereas ''Low quality'' uses the <code>-f</code> switch (in this case, these switches specify the "Noise shaping and psycho acoustic algorithms", means choice between quality and encoding speed). This is another reason that it is advisable to use a completely custom ''User defined encoder''; but if you ''do'' use another scheme, you will probably want to ensure that ''High quality'' is selected.

As already mentioned above, with this setting it is also possible to configure the ''Additional command-line option'' even further: by delimiting chosen portions of your command line with the placeholders <code>%h</code> and <code>%l</code>, you can specify two alternate settings for the external compressor to use depending on this option. The following example (simplified) shows how to use this feature (again with LAME):

<pre>%h-V0%h%l-V5%l --vbr-new %s %d</pre>

In this case, if the ''High quality'' option is chosen, LAME will encode with <code>-V0</code>; whereas it will encode at <code>-V5</code> when ''Low quality'' is selected.

: '''Delete WAV after compression'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

If this setting is enabled, EAC automatically deletes the extracted WAV file after compression. If you do not need these files (of course the compressed files are kept) after extraction/compression, leave this option enabled.

: '''Use CRC check'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some encoders have the ability to store a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check CRC] checksum (cyclic redundancy check) in the resulting (compressed) file. This might be used then to check the consistency of this file during playback. But enabling this CRC check has two major drawbacks: First, this will add 16 bits (the CRC value) on every frame of the encoded file and will possibly increase the file size considerably. Second, many encoders do not support this feature very well because of calculating wrong CRC checksums. So usually players will simply ignore this information. This option also has no effect at all when selected ''User Defined Encoder'' at the ''Parameter passing scheme''. Thus having more disadvantages, it is generally recommended to disable this option regardless of the encoder used.

When ''User Defined Encoder'' is chosen, this setting allows additional parameters to take effect using the <code>%c...%c</code> placeholder, otherwise it has no effect.

: '''Add ID3 tag'''

When this option is enabled, EAC writes [[ID3]] tags to the compressed files. Make sure only to use this setting with mp3 files. Formats such as flac, TAK, WavPack, Monkey's Audio and Ogg Vorbis were not intended to use ID3 tags and adding such tags may cause problems.

Another possibility to include ID3 tagging is to use the external compressor itself to tag the resulting files. This would be done via the ''Additional command-line options''. Indeed, it is recommended to use this where available, as seen in the above example command lines for LAME. (If this option is enabled ''and'' tagging instructions are included in the command line, the latter have no effect because EAC immediately overwrites the tags written by the encoder.

: '''Check for external programs return code'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this setting is enabled, EAC checks the return code of an external compressor. When the external compressor returns an error code (e.g. because of a wrong command-line parameter was used), EAC shows this error message in a dialog box. So, it’s recommended to enable this option in order to diagnose any errors.

=Offset=
[[Image:EAC_Compression_options_Offset.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings EAC '''compression options''', '''Offset''' tab]]
This tab offers options regarding offset correction during encoding/decoding and the ID3 tag comment field.

Note: The offset mentioned here has nothing to do with a [[Exact Audio Copy#Offset technology|drive offset]] and therefore should not be mistaken for the latter. In addition, most popular encoders now have their own built-in compensation for encoding offsets, and certain decoders can use this to eliminate any unwanted gaps; in such cases, these options are unnecessary.

: '''Use Offset Correction for encoding and decoding'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

Some encoders will have an offset when encoding. This means that at the beginning of a track they often add some silence, whereas a few samples could be missing at the end. When decoding again, this could result in some unwanted gaps. This options offers now the opportunity to correct this encoding/decoding offset so that the original file can be reconstructed (at least concerning correct beginning/end of a track; with [[Lossy|lossy]] formats the original file can not be reconstructed completely). The point behind this option is that is possible that there is such an offset between the codec which is used for encoding (the actual codec) and the other one used for decoding (default installed codec). An example would be using [[LAME]] for MP3 encoding and the Fraunhofer codec for decoding. In this case, this option would be useful.

So, if you decode your encoded files and experience some unwanted gaps in the decoded files, then you should try to enable this option and configure it accordingly (see below). In all other cases, leave this option disabled—especially when you encode and decode with the same encoder or, as noted above, programs that themselves account for encoding/decoding delay.

: '''Sample offset'''
:: ''(Default: 0)''

When enabling the option ''Use Offset Correction for encoding and decoding'', a sample offset has to be entered here. With a click on the button ''Detect Offset...'' the correct offset can be recognized automatically.

: '''Use LAME command-line encoder/decoder for decoding MP3 files'''
:: ''(Default: disabled)''

This option is usually greyed out. To make it available, a [[LAME]] executable (lame.exe) has to be placed in the EAC directory. This has to be done manually.

If this option is enabled then, LAME is used automatically to decode MP3 files (''Tools'' -> ''Decompress...''). This overrides EAC's behavior which uses the Fraunhofer codec for MP3 decoding by default.

: '''Construction of the ID3 tag comment field on extraction'''

When the option ''Add [[ID3]] tag'' in the ''External Compression'' tab is enabled, this setting specifies what information should be stored in the comment field. When EAC is not used to tag compressed files and tagging is completely done via command-line parameters, this setting specifies the contents of the "%e" placeholder, which can then be included in the command line of each newly encoded file. The following options are available:

* '''Write "Track <tracknumber>" into ID3 tag comment field''' ''(Default: enabled)'': track number is written into the comment field.
* '''Write CRC checksums into ID3 tag comment field''': a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check CRC checksum] is written into the comment field.
* '''Write freedb ID into ID3 tag comment field''': a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedb freedb] ID is written into the comment field.
* '''Write following text into ID3 tag comment field''': text of your own choice is written into the comment field.

=ID3 Tag=
[[Image:EAC_Compression_options_ID3_Tag.png|thumb|right|Recommended settings EAC '''compression options''', '''ID3 Tag''' tab]]
This tab offers some options regarding the [[ID3]] [[tag]]ging capabilities of EAC. Note that the option ''Add ID3 tag'' in the ''External Compression'' tab has to be enabled for all these settings to have an effect.

: '''Use ID3v1.1 tags instead of ID3v1.0 tags'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

When this option is enabled, [[ID3v1.1]] tags are used instead of [[ID3v1|ID3v1.0]] tags. The only difference between the two is that the former can additionally store a track number. Because most players are capable of reading ID3v1.1 tags, it is recommended to enable this option.

: '''Additionally write ID3v2 tags, using a padding of X kB'''
:: ''(Default: enabled/4, '''Recommended: enabled/4''')''

With this option enabled, EAC writes [[ID3v2]] (ID3v2.3) tags to the encoded files, in addition to the ID3v1 tags. Because ID3v2 tags have a lot advantages over ID3v1 tags (e.g. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode Unicode]] support) and are supported by most players, it is recommended to enable this option.

As ID3v2 tags are usually placed in front of a file, there may be a problem with altering or adding tags once the file is written. If tags are added or existing tags are becoming bigger, the ID3 chunk in a file will need some more space. In the worst case, the whole audio file has to be rewritten, which may be time consuming.

This is where padding comes into play. When using padding, some additional space is added to the file while encoding to store such added or growing tags. In this case, the file does not have to be rewrittten completely, only this additional padding space is used when tags are added or altered. This makes adding/altering tags a lot more convenient and faster. The only disadvantage of padding is that the encoded files are a little bigger. EAC suggests a padding size of 4 KB. This means that every encoded file will be 4 KB bigger in size compared to a file which does not use padding. So if it is likely that you change or add some tags after the file has been created, then you should leave this option at 4 KB (or fit it your needs). If saving space (e.g. for mobile usage) is more important for you, then you can set this setting to 0 KB.

: '''Use ID3v2.4.0 tags instead of ID3v2.3.0 tags'''
:: ''(Default: disabled, '''Recommended: disabled''')''

ID3v2.4 is the latest development of this standard and has a few advantages over ID3v2.3 (e.g. allows usage of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8 UTF-8] character encoding). However, support for ID3v2.4 has not historically been very universal. If you have a need for ID3v2.4 tags and your hardware and software supports it then feel free to enable this option.



: '''Use track format xx/xx in ID3v2 tags (e.g. 01/16)'''
:: ''(Default: enabled, '''Recommended: enabled''')''

ID3v1 is only able to store the track number itself (e.g. "05"). With ID3v2 it is possible to store also the number of total tracks (e.g. "05/15"). If you wish to keep this information with your files, leave this option enabled.

: '''Construction of filenames from ID3 tags'''
:: ''(Default: %T - %A)''

This option specifies how file names are constructed from ID3 tags when using the rename feature of EAC (''Tools'' -> ''Rename From ID3 Tags...''). You can use placeholder to build up the filename.

=External links=

* [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/support/faq/ EAC FAQ (placeholders for command-line options)]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check Wikipedia: CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)]
* [http://www.sonicspot.com/guide/wavefiles.html The Sonic Spot: Wave File Format]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Interchange_File_Format Wikipedia: RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format)]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id3 Wikipedia: ID3]

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

Lossless comparison

2015-02-18T20:31:29Z

Greynol: /* Monkey's Audio (APE) */ Fixed an inconsistency with the information in the table.

The '''lossless comparison page''' aims to gather information about lossless codecs available so users can make an informed decision as to what lossless codec to choose for their needs.

== Introduction ==
Given the enormous amount of [[lossless]] audio compressor choices available, it is a very difficult task to choose the one most suited for each person's needs. Some people only take into consideration compression performance when choosing a codec, but as the following table and article shows, there are several other features worth taking into consideration when making a choice.

For example, users wanting good multiplatform compatibility and robustness (e.g., people sharing live recordings) would favour [[WavPack]] or [[FLAC]]. Another user, looking for the very highest compression available, would go with [[OptimFROG]]. Someone wanting portable support would use [[FLAC]] or [[ALAC]], and so on. En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn't the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.

'''Note:''' for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].

== Comparison Table ==


{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | FLAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | ALAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WavPack
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TAK
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Monkey's
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WMA
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | OptimFROG
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TTA
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | very slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression{{ref label|speed|A|A}}{{ref label|comp|B|B}}
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.8%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.1%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 56.0%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 55.1%
| style="background: #FF9900" | 58.4%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 54.6%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 56.6%
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | # presets
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 9
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 5
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling{{ref label|error|C|C}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | yes{{ref label|error_ape|D|D}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #00FF00" | Vorbis tags
| style="background: #00FF00" | iTunes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | ASF
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Wine
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Mac
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
|}

{|
|-
|{{note label|speed|A|A}} Speed and Compression are based on '''each encoder's default settings''' and are taken from the [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html this comparison].
|-
|{{note label|comp|B|B}} The Compression ratio is compressed size/uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.
|-
|{{note label|error|C|C}} Error handling means that a codec can detect a corruption (flipped bit) in a file and warn the user about it, but still decode the rest of the file.
|-
|{{note label|error_ape|D|D}} The official Monkey's Audio decoder does not support decoding through errors, but this may be achieved with FFmpeg or Winamp, though likely not when the "Insane" preset is used.

== Codecs ==

These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:

=== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ===
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.

'''ALAC pros'''
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])
* Fast encoding
* Fast decoding
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
* Software support (iTunes, Quicktime)
* Independent encoder implementation available: ffmpeg
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (QT tags)
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Used by a few online stores

''' ALAC cons '''
* Limited software support
* No error detection/robustness<ref>[http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=33226&view=findpost&p=862031 HA forum post discussing ALAC robustness]</ref>
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Not very efficient

''' ALAC Other features '''
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container

=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
https://xiph.org/flac/

[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].

''' FLAC pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very good hardware support (Android, Marantz, Sonos, [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html many others])
* Very good software support
* Independent encoder implementations available: flake/ffmpeg, FLACCL
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support
* Used by a few [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html#music online stores]

''' FLAC cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)

''' FLAC Other features '''
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
* Fits the [[Ogg]], [[AVI]]<ref>[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.1.0.html VLC 2.1 Rincewind features]</ref> and [[Matroska]] containers

=== Monkey's Audio (APE) ===
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.

''' APE pros '''
* High compression
* Fast encoding
* Good software support
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
* Java version (multiplatform)
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)

''' APE cons '''
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
* Slow decoding
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks])
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive

''' APE Other features '''
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
http://www.losslessaudio.org/

[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.

''' OFR pros '''
* Very high compression
* Good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks

''' OFR cons '''
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
* No hardware support
* Very slow decoding
* Slow encoding
* No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' OFR Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking

=== Tom's verlustfreier Audiokompressor (TAK) ===
http://www.thbeck.de/Tak/Tak.html

[[TAK]] is a lossless codec developed by TBeck.

''' TAK pros '''
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very high efficiency
* Error robust
* Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
* Tagging support
* Supports RIFF chunks
* Pipe support
* Streamable

''' TAK cons '''
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* No hardware support
* Average software support
* Doesn't support Unicode (yet)

''' TAK Other features '''
* Optional MD5 checksum

=== WavPack (WV) ===
http://www.wavpack.com/

[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.

''' WV pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Good efficiency
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
* Pipe support
* Good software support

''' WV cons '''
* Limited hardware player support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' WV Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Can encode in both symmetrical and asymmetrical modes.
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

=== True Audio (TTA) ===
http://www.true-audio.com/

[[TTA]] is a lossless codec developed by a international team of programmers.

''' TTA pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Embedded CUE sheets support
* Error robustness
* Pipe support
* Average compression
* Fast encoding/decoding
* Symmetric algorithm
* Password protection
* Ultra low latency

''' TTA cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Limited hardware support

''' TTA Other features '''
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
* Password protection

=== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ===
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx

WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.

''' WMAL pros '''
* Streaming support
* Very good software support
* Hardware support (Microsoft Zune, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

''' WMAL cons '''
* Rather low efficiency
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks

''' WMAL Other features '''
* Fits the [[ASF]] container

=== Other Formats ===
Aside from the formats mentioned above, there are in fact quite a lot of other lossless formats. To keep the table and list brief and readable, a few formats have not been mentioned.

====DTS-HD Master Audio====
Similar to the MPEG-4 SLS format, this format has a core track in an older, more widely supported format, DTS. This core lossy track is made lossless by a secondary track with correction data. It is an optional codec in Blu-ray implementations. Its main use is surround sound encoding, and as is the case with MLP, the price of the encoder ensures it is only used in mastering of Blu-ray discs.

====LA====
LA features an extremely high compression (on par with OptimFrog highest modes, but a bit faster), but it hasn't been updated for more than 10 years. Furthermore, backward compatibility is not guaranteed, so using it for archiving might pose a few problems. It isn't able to cope with file corruption either, software support is very limited and isn't open source.

====MLP/Dolby TrueHD====
The [[MLP|MLP codec]] (of which the mathematical basis was used in Dolby TrueHD) it the codec used for DVD-Audio. It was mandatory in any HD-DVD implementation and optional for Blu-Ray in it's Dolby TrueHD form. It is known to support the 'wasted bits' scheme used in LossyWAV. As encoders are very expensive, its use outside DVD/Blu-ray mastering environments is non-existent. Its main use is encoding surround sound data.

====MPEG-4 ALS====
MPEG-4 ALS is the successor to LPAC, which it was based on. It has been as a ISO standard and there is a reference encoder/decoder, but like TTA, it does not have features that make it stand out from other codecs, nor backing by a large organisation, so it hasn't much software and no hardware support.

====MPEG-4 SLS====
MPEG-4 SLS is a special codec, having a AAC core track and a 'correction track'. Also known as HD-AAC, SLS stands for Scalable to Lossless. However, there is to date still no affordable software to play, encode or decode (the lossless part of) SLS files.

====Shorten====
Shorten was one of the first widely-used lossless formats, and it still occasionally found on the internet, especially in archives, for example etree.org. It is quite fast in both encoding and decoding, but doesn't compress very much. Furthermore, seeking has a troubled past as well as tagging. It is considered obsolete.

====Real Lossless====
Part of the Real codec suite, Real Lossless too hasn't any very special features that make it stand out. Just like WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, it was created to fit in a codec suite, but unlike WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, there is no hardware support and software support is limited. Compression is on par with most other codecs, but it is rather slow to encode.

====Oddball formats====
There are a few archaic formats of which encoders and decoders are hard to get by. Most of those would have disappeared by now, but some of them are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]'s

* Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)
* Bonk
* Marian's a-Pac
* AudioZip
* Dakx WAV
* Entis Lab MIO
* LiteWave
* LPAC
* Pegasus SPS
* RK Audio (RKAU)
* Ogg Squish
* Sonarc
* VocPack
* WavArc
* WaveZip/MUSICompress

== See also ==
* [[Lossless]]

== External links ==
''' Other lossless compressions comparisons '''
''Sorted based on last '''update''' date.''

* [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html Martijn van Beurden's comparison] - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2015-01-05)
* [http://www.squeezechart.com/audio.html Squeezechart audio] - tests as much codecs as possible, but not all their settings and with a limited test corpus (last updated 2013-10-31)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/index.asp Synthetic Soul's comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)
* <s>Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison</s> - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* <s>Hans Heijden's</s> -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous' lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
* <s>Jhan De Bock's size oriented comparison</s> - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* <s>Gruboolez'</s> -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek's] (last updated 2005-02-07)

''' More on lossless compressions '''
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080731103800/http://www.losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog], retrieved from archive.org - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Guides]]

Lossless comparison

2015-02-18T19:33:32Z

Greynol: Removed additional replaygain references

The '''lossless comparison page''' aims to gather information about lossless codecs available so users can make an informed decision as to what lossless codec to choose for their needs.

== Introduction ==
Given the enormous amount of [[lossless]] audio compressor choices available, it is a very difficult task to choose the one most suited for each person's needs. Some people only take into consideration compression performance when choosing a codec, but as the following table and article shows, there are several other features worth taking into consideration when making a choice.

For example, users wanting good multiplatform compatibility and robustness (e.g., people sharing live recordings) would favour [[WavPack]] or [[FLAC]]. Another user, looking for the very highest compression available, would go with [[OptimFROG]]. Someone wanting portable support would use [[FLAC]] or [[ALAC]], and so on. En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn't the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.

'''Note:''' for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].

== Comparison Table ==


{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | FLAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | ALAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WavPack
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TAK
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Monkey's
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WMA
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | OptimFROG
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TTA
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | very slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression{{ref label|speed|A|A}}{{ref label|comp|B|B}}
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.8%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.1%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 56.0%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 55.1%
| style="background: #FF9900" | 58.4%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 54.6%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 56.6%
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | # presets
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 9
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 5
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling{{ref label|error|C|C}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | yes{{ref label|error_ape|D|D}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #00FF00" | Vorbis tags
| style="background: #00FF00" | iTunes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | ASF
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Wine
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Mac
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
|}

{|
|-
|{{note label|speed|A|A}} Speed and Compression are based on '''each encoder's default settings''' and are taken from the [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html this comparison].
|-
|{{note label|comp|B|B}} The Compression ratio is compressed size/uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.
|-
|{{note label|error|C|C}} Error handling means that a codec can detect a corruption (flipped bit) in a file and warn the user about it, but still decode the rest of the file.
|-
|{{note label|error_ape|D|D}} The official Monkey's Audio decoder does not support decoding through errors, but this may be achieved with FFmpeg or Winamp, though likely not when the "Insane" preset is used.

== Codecs ==

These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:

=== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ===
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.

'''ALAC pros'''
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])
* Fast encoding
* Fast decoding
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
* Software support (iTunes, Quicktime)
* Independent encoder implementation available: ffmpeg
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (QT tags)
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Used by a few online stores

''' ALAC cons '''
* Limited software support
* No error detection/robustness<ref>[http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=33226&view=findpost&p=862031 HA forum post discussing ALAC robustness]</ref>
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Not very efficient

''' ALAC Other features '''
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container

=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
https://xiph.org/flac/

[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].

''' FLAC pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very good hardware support (Android, Marantz, Sonos, [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html many others])
* Very good software support
* Independent encoder implementations available: flake/ffmpeg, FLACCL
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support
* Used by a few [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html#music online stores]

''' FLAC cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)

''' FLAC Other features '''
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
* Fits the [[Ogg]], [[AVI]]<ref>[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.1.0.html VLC 2.1 Rincewind features]</ref> and [[Matroska]] containers

=== Monkey's Audio (APE) ===
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.

''' APE pros '''
* High compression
* Fast encoding
* Good software support
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
* Java version (multiplatform)
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)

''' APE cons '''
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
* Slow decoding
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No error robustness
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks])
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive

''' APE Other features '''
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
http://www.losslessaudio.org/

[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.

''' OFR pros '''
* Very high compression
* Good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks

''' OFR cons '''
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
* No hardware support
* Very slow decoding
* Slow encoding
* No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' OFR Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking

=== Tom's verlustfreier Audiokompressor (TAK) ===
http://www.thbeck.de/Tak/Tak.html

[[TAK]] is a lossless codec developed by TBeck.

''' TAK pros '''
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very high efficiency
* Error robust
* Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
* Tagging support
* Supports RIFF chunks
* Pipe support
* Streamable

''' TAK cons '''
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* No hardware support
* Average software support
* Doesn't support Unicode (yet)

''' TAK Other features '''
* Optional MD5 checksum

=== WavPack (WV) ===
http://www.wavpack.com/

[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.

''' WV pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Good efficiency
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
* Pipe support
* Good software support

''' WV cons '''
* Limited hardware player support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' WV Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Can encode in both symmetrical and asymmetrical modes.
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

=== True Audio (TTA) ===
http://www.true-audio.com/

[[TTA]] is a lossless codec developed by a international team of programmers.

''' TTA pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Embedded CUE sheets support
* Error robustness
* Pipe support
* Average compression
* Fast encoding/decoding
* Symmetric algorithm
* Password protection
* Ultra low latency

''' TTA cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Limited hardware support

''' TTA Other features '''
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
* Password protection

=== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ===
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx

WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.

''' WMAL pros '''
* Streaming support
* Very good software support
* Hardware support (Microsoft Zune, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

''' WMAL cons '''
* Rather low efficiency
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks

''' WMAL Other features '''
* Fits the [[ASF]] container

=== Other Formats ===
Aside from the formats mentioned above, there are in fact quite a lot of other lossless formats. To keep the table and list brief and readable, a few formats have not been mentioned.

====DTS-HD Master Audio====
Similar to the MPEG-4 SLS format, this format has a core track in an older, more widely supported format, DTS. This core lossy track is made lossless by a secondary track with correction data. It is an optional codec in Blu-ray implementations. Its main use is surround sound encoding, and as is the case with MLP, the price of the encoder ensures it is only used in mastering of Blu-ray discs.

====LA====
LA features an extremely high compression (on par with OptimFrog highest modes, but a bit faster), but it hasn't been updated for more than 10 years. Furthermore, backward compatibility is not guaranteed, so using it for archiving might pose a few problems. It isn't able to cope with file corruption either, software support is very limited and isn't open source.

====MLP/Dolby TrueHD====
The [[MLP|MLP codec]] (of which the mathematical basis was used in Dolby TrueHD) it the codec used for DVD-Audio. It was mandatory in any HD-DVD implementation and optional for Blu-Ray in it's Dolby TrueHD form. It is known to support the 'wasted bits' scheme used in LossyWAV. As encoders are very expensive, its use outside DVD/Blu-ray mastering environments is non-existent. Its main use is encoding surround sound data.

====MPEG-4 ALS====
MPEG-4 ALS is the successor to LPAC, which it was based on. It has been as a ISO standard and there is a reference encoder/decoder, but like TTA, it does not have features that make it stand out from other codecs, nor backing by a large organisation, so it hasn't much software and no hardware support.

====MPEG-4 SLS====
MPEG-4 SLS is a special codec, having a AAC core track and a 'correction track'. Also known as HD-AAC, SLS stands for Scalable to Lossless. However, there is to date still no affordable software to play, encode or decode (the lossless part of) SLS files.

====Shorten====
Shorten was one of the first widely-used lossless formats, and it still occasionally found on the internet, especially in archives, for example etree.org. It is quite fast in both encoding and decoding, but doesn't compress very much. Furthermore, seeking has a troubled past as well as tagging. It is considered obsolete.

====Real Lossless====
Part of the Real codec suite, Real Lossless too hasn't any very special features that make it stand out. Just like WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, it was created to fit in a codec suite, but unlike WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, there is no hardware support and software support is limited. Compression is on par with most other codecs, but it is rather slow to encode.

====Oddball formats====
There are a few archaic formats of which encoders and decoders are hard to get by. Most of those would have disappeared by now, but some of them are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]'s

* Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)
* Bonk
* Marian's a-Pac
* AudioZip
* Dakx WAV
* Entis Lab MIO
* LiteWave
* LPAC
* Pegasus SPS
* RK Audio (RKAU)
* Ogg Squish
* Sonarc
* VocPack
* WavArc
* WaveZip/MUSICompress

== See also ==
* [[Lossless]]

== External links ==
''' Other lossless compressions comparisons '''
''Sorted based on last '''update''' date.''

* [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html Martijn van Beurden's comparison] - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2015-01-05)
* [http://www.squeezechart.com/audio.html Squeezechart audio] - tests as much codecs as possible, but not all their settings and with a limited test corpus (last updated 2013-10-31)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/index.asp Synthetic Soul's comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)
* <s>Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison</s> - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* <s>Hans Heijden's</s> -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous' lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
* <s>Jhan De Bock's size oriented comparison</s> - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* <s>Gruboolez'</s> -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek's] (last updated 2005-02-07)

''' More on lossless compressions '''
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080731103800/http://www.losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog], retrieved from archive.org - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Guides]]

Lossless comparison

2015-02-18T18:18:05Z

Greynol: Replaygain support depends on tagging capabilities and the player. The row was redundant, ignoring that one of the entries was incorrect.

The '''lossless comparison page''' aims to gather information about lossless codecs available so users can make an informed decision as to what lossless codec to choose for their needs.

== Introduction ==
Given the enormous amount of [[lossless]] audio compressor choices available, it is a very difficult task to choose the one most suited for each person's needs. Some people only take into consideration compression performance when choosing a codec, but as the following table and article shows, there are several other features worth taking into consideration when making a choice.

For example, users wanting good multiplatform compatibility and robustness (e.g., people sharing live recordings) would favour [[WavPack]] or [[FLAC]]. Another user, looking for the very highest compression available, would go with [[OptimFROG]]. Someone wanting portable support would use [[FLAC]] or [[ALAC]], and so on. En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn't the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.

'''Note:''' for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].

== Comparison Table ==


{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | FLAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | ALAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WavPack
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TAK
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Monkey's
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WMA
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | OptimFROG
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TTA
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | very slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression{{ref label|speed|A|A}}{{ref label|comp|B|B}}
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.8%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.1%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 56.0%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 55.1%
| style="background: #FF9900" | 58.4%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 54.6%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 56.6%
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | # presets
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 9
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 5
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling{{ref label|error|C|C}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | yes{{ref label|error_ape|D|D}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #00FF00" | Vorbis tags
| style="background: #00FF00" | iTunes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | ASF
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Wine
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Mac
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
|}

{|
|-
|{{note label|speed|A|A}} Speed and Compression are based on '''each encoder's default settings''' and are taken from the [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html this comparison].
|-
|{{note label|comp|B|B}} The Compression ratio is compressed size/uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.
|-
|{{note label|error|C|C}} Error handling means that a codec can detect a corruption (flipped bit) in a file and warn the user about it, but still decode the rest of the file.
|-
|{{note label|error_ape|D|D}} The official Monkey's Audio decoder does not support decoding through errors, but this may be achieved with FFmpeg or Winamp, though likely not when the "Insane" preset is used.

== Codecs ==

These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:

=== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ===
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.

'''ALAC pros'''
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])
* Fast encoding
* Fast decoding
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
* Software support (iTunes, Quicktime)
* Independent encoder implementation available: ffmpeg
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (QT tags)
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Used by a few online stores

''' ALAC cons '''
* Limited software support
* No error detection/robustness<ref>[http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=33226&view=findpost&p=862031 HA forum post discussing ALAC robustness]</ref>
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Not very efficient

''' ALAC Other features '''
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container

=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
https://xiph.org/flac/

[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].

''' FLAC pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very good hardware support (Android, Marantz, Sonos, [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html many others])
* Very good software support
* Independent encoder implementations available: flake/ffmpeg, FLACCL
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
* Used by a few [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html#music online stores]

''' FLAC cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)

''' FLAC Other features '''
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
* Fits the [[Ogg]], [[AVI]]<ref>[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.1.0.html VLC 2.1 Rincewind features]</ref> and [[Matroska]] containers

=== Monkey's Audio (APE) ===
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.

''' APE pros '''
* High compression
* Fast encoding
* Good software support
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
* Java version (multiplatform)
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)

''' APE cons '''
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
* Slow decoding
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No error robustness
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks])
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

''' APE Other features '''
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
http://www.losslessaudio.org/

[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.

''' OFR pros '''
* Very high compression
* Good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

''' OFR cons '''
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
* No hardware support
* Very slow decoding
* Slow encoding
* No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' OFR Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking

=== Tom's verlustfreier Audiokompressor (TAK) ===
http://www.thbeck.de/Tak/Tak.html

[[TAK]] is a lossless codec developed by TBeck.

''' TAK pros '''
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very high efficiency
* Error robust
* Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
* Tagging support
* ReplayGain compatible
* Supports RIFF chunks
* Pipe support
* Streamable

''' TAK cons '''
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* No hardware support
* Average software support
* Doesn't support Unicode (yet)

''' TAK Other features '''
* Optional MD5 checksum

=== WavPack (WV) ===
http://www.wavpack.com/

[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.

''' WV pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Good efficiency
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
* Pipe support
* Good software support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

''' WV cons '''
* Limited hardware player support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' WV Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Can encode in both symmetrical and asymmetrical modes.
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

=== True Audio (TTA) ===
http://www.true-audio.com/

[[TTA]] is a lossless codec developed by a international team of programmers.

''' TTA pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Embedded CUE sheets support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
* Error robustness
* Pipe support
* Average compression
* Fast encoding/decoding
* Symmetric algorithm
* Password protection
* Ultra low latency

''' TTA cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Limited hardware support

''' TTA Other features '''
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
* Password protection

=== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ===
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx

WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.

''' WMAL pros '''
* Streaming support
* Very good software support
* Hardware support (Microsoft Zune, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

''' WMAL cons '''
* Rather low efficiency
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

''' WMAL Other features '''
* Fits the [[ASF]] container

=== Other Formats ===
Aside from the formats mentioned above, there are in fact quite a lot of other lossless formats. To keep the table and list brief and readable, a few formats have not been mentioned.

====DTS-HD Master Audio====
Similar to the MPEG-4 SLS format, this format has a core track in an older, more widely supported format, DTS. This core lossy track is made lossless by a secondary track with correction data. It is an optional codec in Blu-ray implementations. Its main use is surround sound encoding, and as is the case with MLP, the price of the encoder ensures it is only used in mastering of Blu-ray discs.

====LA====
LA features an extremely high compression (on par with OptimFrog highest modes, but a bit faster), but it hasn't been updated for more than 10 years. Furthermore, backward compatibility is not guaranteed, so using it for archiving might pose a few problems. It isn't able to cope with file corruption either, software support is very limited and isn't open source.

====MLP/Dolby TrueHD====
The [[MLP|MLP codec]] (of which the mathematical basis was used in Dolby TrueHD) it the codec used for DVD-Audio. It was mandatory in any HD-DVD implementation and optional for Blu-Ray in it's Dolby TrueHD form. It is known to support the 'wasted bits' scheme used in LossyWAV. As encoders are very expensive, its use outside DVD/Blu-ray mastering environments is non-existent. Its main use is encoding surround sound data.

====MPEG-4 ALS====
MPEG-4 ALS is the successor to LPAC, which it was based on. It has been as a ISO standard and there is a reference encoder/decoder, but like TTA, it does not have features that make it stand out from other codecs, nor backing by a large organisation, so it hasn't much software and no hardware support.

====MPEG-4 SLS====
MPEG-4 SLS is a special codec, having a AAC core track and a 'correction track'. Also known as HD-AAC, SLS stands for Scalable to Lossless. However, there is to date still no affordable software to play, encode or decode (the lossless part of) SLS files.

====Shorten====
Shorten was one of the first widely-used lossless formats, and it still occasionally found on the internet, especially in archives, for example etree.org. It is quite fast in both encoding and decoding, but doesn't compress very much. Furthermore, seeking has a troubled past as well as tagging. It is considered obsolete.

====Real Lossless====
Part of the Real codec suite, Real Lossless too hasn't any very special features that make it stand out. Just like WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, it was created to fit in a codec suite, but unlike WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, there is no hardware support and software support is limited. Compression is on par with most other codecs, but it is rather slow to encode.

====Oddball formats====
There are a few archaic formats of which encoders and decoders are hard to get by. Most of those would have disappeared by now, but some of them are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]'s

* Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)
* Bonk
* Marian's a-Pac
* AudioZip
* Dakx WAV
* Entis Lab MIO
* LiteWave
* LPAC
* Pegasus SPS
* RK Audio (RKAU)
* Ogg Squish
* Sonarc
* VocPack
* WavArc
* WaveZip/MUSICompress

== See also ==
* [[Lossless]]

== External links ==
''' Other lossless compressions comparisons '''
''Sorted based on last '''update''' date.''

* [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html Martijn van Beurden's comparison] - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2015-01-05)
* [http://www.squeezechart.com/audio.html Squeezechart audio] - tests as much codecs as possible, but not all their settings and with a limited test corpus (last updated 2013-10-31)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/index.asp Synthetic Soul's comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)
* <s>Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison</s> - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* <s>Hans Heijden's</s> -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous' lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
* <s>Jhan De Bock's size oriented comparison</s> - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* <s>Gruboolez'</s> -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek's] (last updated 2005-02-07)

''' More on lossless compressions '''
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080731103800/http://www.losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog], retrieved from archive.org - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Guides]]

Lossless comparison

2015-02-18T06:35:10Z

Greynol: MAC decoding through errors.

The '''lossless comparison page''' aims to gather information about lossless codecs available so users can make an informed decision as to what lossless codec to choose for their needs.

== Introduction ==
Given the enormous amount of [[lossless]] audio compressor choices available, it is a very difficult task to choose the one most suited for each person's needs. Some people only take into consideration compression performance when choosing a codec, but as the following table and article shows, there are several other features worth taking into consideration when making a choice.

For example, users wanting good multiplatform compatibility and robustness (e.g., people sharing live recordings) would favour [[WavPack]] or [[FLAC]]. Another user, looking for the very highest compression available, would go with [[OptimFROG]]. Someone wanting portable support would use [[FLAC]] or [[ALAC]], and so on. En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn't the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.

'''Note:''' for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].

== Comparison Table ==


{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | FLAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | ALAC
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WavPack
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TAK
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Monkey's
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WMA
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | OptimFROG
| width="90px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TTA
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed{{ref label|speed|A|A}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFCC66" | slow
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | very slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
|- 
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression{{ref label|speed|A|A}}{{ref label|comp|B|B}}
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.8%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.1%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 56.0%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 55.1%
| style="background: #FF9900" | 58.4%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 54.6%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 56.6%
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | # presets
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 9
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 5
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | > 10
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 1
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling{{ref label|error|C|C}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | yes{{ref label|error_ape|D|D}}
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #00FF00" | Vorbis tags
| style="background: #00FF00" | iTunes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | APEv2
| style="background: #00FF00" | ASF
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3/APEv2
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFCC66" | limited
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | LossyWAV
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | ReplayGain
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | propriet.
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | ?
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Wine
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Mac
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
|}

{|
|-
|{{note label|speed|A|A}} Speed and Compression are based on '''each encoder's default settings''' and are taken from the [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html this comparison].
|-
|{{note label|comp|B|B}} The Compression ratio is compressed size/uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.
|-
|{{note label|error|C|C}} Error handling means that a codec can detect a corruption (flipped bit) in a file and warn the user about it, but still decode the rest of the file.
|-
|{{note label|error_ape|D|D}} The official Monkey's Audio decoder does not support decoding through errors, but this may be achieved with FFmpeg or Winamp, though likely not when the "Insane" preset is used.

== Codecs ==

These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:

=== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ===
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.

'''ALAC pros'''
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])
* Fast encoding
* Fast decoding
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
* Software support (iTunes, Quicktime)
* Independent encoder implementation available: ffmpeg
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (QT tags)
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Used by a few online stores

''' ALAC cons '''
* Limited software support
* No error detection/robustness<ref>[http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=33226&view=findpost&p=862031 HA forum post discussing ALAC robustness]</ref>
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Not very efficient

''' ALAC Other features '''
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container

=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
https://xiph.org/flac/

[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].

''' FLAC pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very good hardware support (Android, Marantz, Sonos, [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html many others])
* Very good software support
* Independent encoder implementations available: flake/ffmpeg, FLACCL
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
* Used by a few [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html#music online stores]

''' FLAC cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)

''' FLAC Other features '''
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
* Fits the [[Ogg]], [[AVI]]<ref>[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/releases/2.1.0.html VLC 2.1 Rincewind features]</ref> and [[Matroska]] containers

=== Monkey's Audio (APE) ===
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.

''' APE pros '''
* High compression
* Fast encoding
* Good software support
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
* Java version (multiplatform)
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)

''' APE cons '''
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
* Slow decoding
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No error robustness
* No hybrid/lossy mode (and not [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks])
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

''' APE Other features '''
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
http://www.losslessaudio.org/

[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.

''' OFR pros '''
* Very high compression
* Good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

''' OFR cons '''
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
* No hardware support
* Very slow decoding
* Slow encoding
* No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' OFR Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking

=== Tom's verlustfreier Audiokompressor (TAK) ===
http://www.thbeck.de/Tak/Tak.html

[[TAK]] is a lossless codec developed by TBeck.

''' TAK pros '''
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Very high efficiency
* Error robust
* Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
* Tagging support
* ReplayGain compatible
* Supports RIFF chunks
* Pipe support
* Streamable

''' TAK cons '''
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* No hardware support
* Average software support
* Doesn't support Unicode (yet)

''' TAK Other features '''
* Optional MD5 checksum

=== WavPack (WV) ===
http://www.wavpack.com/

[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.

''' WV pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Good efficiency
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
* Pipe support
* Good software support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

''' WV cons '''
* Limited hardware player support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])
* More than one tagging method allowed (ambiguity possible)

''' WV Other features '''
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Can encode in both symmetrical and asymmetrical modes.
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

=== True Audio (TTA) ===
http://www.true-audio.com/

[[TTA]] is a lossless codec developed by a international team of programmers.

''' TTA pros '''
* [[Open source]]
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Embedded CUE sheets support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
* Error robustness
* Pipe support
* Average compression
* Fast encoding/decoding
* Symmetric algorithm
* Password protection
* Ultra low latency

''' TTA cons '''
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Limited hardware support

''' TTA Other features '''
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
* Password protection

=== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ===
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx

WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.

''' WMAL pros '''
* Streaming support
* Very good software support
* Hardware support (Microsoft Zune, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

''' WMAL cons '''
* Rather low efficiency
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode (but is [[LossyWAV]] compatible)
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

''' WMAL Other features '''
* Fits the [[ASF]] container

=== Other Formats ===
Aside from the formats mentioned above, there are in fact quite a lot of other lossless formats. To keep the table and list brief and readable, a few formats have not been mentioned.

====DTS-HD Master Audio====
Similar to the MPEG-4 SLS format, this format has a core track in an older, more widely supported format, DTS. This core lossy track is made lossless by a secondary track with correction data. It is an optional codec in Blu-ray implementations. Its main use is surround sound encoding, and as is the case with MLP, the price of the encoder ensures it is only used in mastering of Blu-ray discs.

====LA====
LA features an extremely high compression (on par with OptimFrog highest modes, but a bit faster), but it hasn't been updated for more than 10 years. Furthermore, backward compatibility is not guaranteed, so using it for archiving might pose a few problems. It isn't able to cope with file corruption either, software support is very limited and isn't open source.

====MLP/Dolby TrueHD====
The [[MLP|MLP codec]] (of which the mathematical basis was used in Dolby TrueHD) it the codec used for DVD-Audio. It was mandatory in any HD-DVD implementation and optional for Blu-Ray in it's Dolby TrueHD form. It is known to support the 'wasted bits' scheme used in LossyWAV. As encoders are very expensive, its use outside DVD/Blu-ray mastering environments is non-existent. Its main use is encoding surround sound data.

====MPEG-4 ALS====
MPEG-4 ALS is the successor to LPAC, which it was based on. It has been as a ISO standard and there is a reference encoder/decoder, but like TTA, it does not have features that make it stand out from other codecs, nor backing by a large organisation, so it hasn't much software and no hardware support.

====MPEG-4 SLS====
MPEG-4 SLS is a special codec, having a AAC core track and a 'correction track'. Also known as HD-AAC, SLS stands for Scalable to Lossless. However, there is to date still no affordable software to play, encode or decode (the lossless part of) SLS files.

====Shorten====
Shorten was one of the first widely-used lossless formats, and it still occasionally found on the internet, especially in archives, for example etree.org. It is quite fast in both encoding and decoding, but doesn't compress very much. Furthermore, seeking has a troubled past as well as tagging. It is considered obsolete.

====Real Lossless====
Part of the Real codec suite, Real Lossless too hasn't any very special features that make it stand out. Just like WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, it was created to fit in a codec suite, but unlike WMA Lossless and Apple Lossless, there is no hardware support and software support is limited. Compression is on par with most other codecs, but it is rather slow to encode.

====Oddball formats====
There are a few archaic formats of which encoders and decoders are hard to get by. Most of those would have disappeared by now, but some of them are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]'s

* Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)
* Bonk
* Marian's a-Pac
* AudioZip
* Dakx WAV
* Entis Lab MIO
* LiteWave
* LPAC
* Pegasus SPS
* RK Audio (RKAU)
* Ogg Squish
* Sonarc
* VocPack
* WavArc
* WaveZip/MUSICompress

== See also ==
* [[Lossless]]

== External links ==
''' Other lossless compressions comparisons '''
''Sorted based on last '''update''' date.''

* [http://www.audiograaf.nl/downloads.html Martijn van Beurden's comparison] - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2015-01-05)
* [http://www.squeezechart.com/audio.html Squeezechart audio] - tests as much codecs as possible, but not all their settings and with a limited test corpus (last updated 2013-10-31)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/index.asp Synthetic Soul's comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)
* <s>Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison</s> - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* <s>Hans Heijden's</s> -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous' lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
* <s>Jhan De Bock's size oriented comparison</s> - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* <s>Gruboolez'</s> -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek's] (last updated 2005-02-07)

''' More on lossless compressions '''
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080731103800/http://www.losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog], retrieved from archive.org - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.

== References ==

<references/>
[[Category:Guides]]

Myths (Vinyl)

2014-09-22T04:03:12Z

Greynol: Vinyl sourced from clipped masters will remain clipped but are usually not apparent to the untrained eye or dynamic range meters.

==Vinyl always sounds better than CD==
As described below, despite decades of arguments, '''there is no technical proof of the sonic superiority of the vinyl medium compared to CD.''' One vinyl record may sound better than its equivalent CD for extremely specific reasons. That does not mean the medium as a whole is superior.

Many people do prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or digital formats. Many of those reasons have nothing to do with actual sound quality, and have more to do with the tactile characteristics of vinyl - its "feel" - like larger artwork and its required playback ritual. Others prefer listening to CDs for a different set of reasons. There is nothing wrong with preferring vinyl to CDs, as long as the preference is honestly stated on emotional terms, or is precisely quantified and tied to subjective experience, and not obscured with (fallacious) technical appeals.

==Vinyl requires a better-sounding master because it is physically incapable of reproducing the hypercompressed sound mastered to CD==
Different masters can substantially improve or reduce sound quality. Some have less background noise. Some alter the dynamic range. There are other mastering techniques that can also affect the sound.

There are documented instances of different masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. One notable example is The White Stripes' ''Icky Thump''. However, there are also instances of the same masters being used on vinyl releases compared to CD releases. In fact, if you purchase an album produced in the last two decades on vinyl, it is likely that the master will be no different than the one used on CD. Alternative masters for vinyl cost money, and mastering is a significant cost of producing a record. The reason for different masters is that producers possibly view digital media (like CD) and analog media (like Vinyl) to be different in nature, so they might produce a different master for each medium. Some even believe that Vinyl will automatically yield a superior sound, despite the well known technical limitations and disadvantages compared to the CD.

'''The technical details behind this myth are as follows.''' The cutting heads used for creating the vinyl lacquer (or metal mother) are speaker-like electromechanical devices driven by an extremely powerful amplifier (several hundred watts). At extremely large/fast cutting head excursions, the cutting head coils may physically burn up, much like how a speaker's voice coils may be destroyed by an excessive current. Also, the diamond cutting head stylus may prematurely wear or break. This places important constraints on the maximum levels that can be recorded to a record.

A very high power output is required to cut grooves with a high acceleration. Acceleration at the same signal amplitude is higher for higher-frequency signals. Heavily clipped and limited CDs in the modern mastering style have more high-frequency content than earlier masters. In general, increasing the perceived volume of a record - whether by increasing the recording level or by limiting/clipping/compression - raises the cutting head average power.

Additionally, during playback, the turntable's stylus has limits on what grooves it can successfully track. Cartridges can only track grooves of a finite modulation width (measured in microns) that decreases in frequency. For instance, a cartridge may only be able to track a 300 µm-wide groove at 300 Hz, and yet only 50 µm at 20 kHz. This also places limits on the acceleration and velocity limits the record master can take.

'''The most obvious way to work around these issues is simply to reduce the recording level of the vinyl master.''' Multiband limiters exist for recording purposes that dynamically reduce the treble content of the master, to limit the cutting head power usage.

==The vinyl surface is heated to several hundred degrees on playback, and repeat play of the same track should wait at least several hours until the vinyl has cooled==

Professional estimates for the stylus surface temperature during playback are 300-500 °F. Obviously, the temperature of the record is at or close to room temperature except at the stylus contact point - otherwise the record would completely melt. Back-to-back playback will introduce slightly more distortion than a fresh play. This is believed to be a temporary effect and goes away after approx. 10 minutes.

Repeated playback (no matter what the timeframe) carries the risk of permanent damage. Obviously, records are observed to wear out with repeated play. No published evidence exists of back-to-back playback causing any more permanent damage than if repeated plays are separated by any longer period of time.

==Proper vinyl playback is click-free==

Pops and clicks are often not audible during a song on a well-maintained record and should not distract from the listening experience. No evidence exists of a record that is shown to be played back with absolutely no pops or clicks whatsoever. They are introduced at virtually every stage of production, from cutting the lacquer to the pressing to the playback itself. Some pops and ticks are pressed into the record itself.

Some pops and ticks result from static discharges during playback. However, this may be mitigated by the use of topical treatments on the record.

Because of the lack of evidence for a tick-free record and the engineering factors making such a record extremely rare, it is quite likely that no record exists that is truly free from all pops and ticks.

==Vinyl is better than CD because it reproduces higher frequencies than CD and avoids anti-aliasing filter issues at the frequencies CDs can reproduce==

The recording/tracking ability of vinyl is easily at least 50 kHz and perhaps as high as 100 kHz. The most notable proof of this is the CD4 quadraphonic system which relied on a 45 kHz bandwidth to be accurately reproduced. That said, the high-frequency response accuracy of vinyl varies tremendously. Amplitude deviations of 5-10 dB or greater are not uncommon in the 20 kHz range for many records.

More discussion: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=98178

Playback of ultrasound frequencies is still not guaranteed. Many MM cartridges have resonant peaks defined by the preamp loading, or stylus tip resonances defined by the cantilever, that attenuate high-frequency content.

When groove wear does occur, it occurs much faster at high frequencies than at low frequencies. For modern styli this is not as much of a concern, though.

There are rarely, if ever, any ultrasonic frequencies for vinyl to preserve. In audio recordings, such frequencies, when present, are normally low-energy noise imparted by electrical equipment and storage media used during recording, mixing, and mastering. Although some musical instruments can produce low-energy overtones in the ultrasonic range, they could only be on the vinyl if every piece of equipment and storage medium in the recording, mixing, and mastering stages was able to preserve them—which is unlikely even in modern recordings, since the average microphone or mixing console is designed only with audible frequencies in mind. Even if the overtones were preserved all the way to the mastering stage, mono and stereo lacquer cutting equipment typically includes a lowpass filter to avoid overheating the cutting head with ultrasonic frequencies.

Finally, on top of all of these issues, there is simply no scientific evidence that frequencies beyond the 22 kHz limit of CD audio are audible to any known group of people, or that such frequencies affect anyone's perception of the audible range. There is no evidence that reconstruction and anti-aliasing issues are audible.

==Vinyl is better than digital because the analog signal on the vinyl tracks the analog signal exactly, while digital is quantized into steps==

This pervasive myth is based on an incomplete understanding of how digital sampling actually works.

It is true that analog formats do not have a measurable time or signal resolution, while PCM encoding (used on CDs and DVD-A) records audio data in a quantized format: each sample is taken at evenly spaced steps in time, and embodies amplitude as a step on a finite logarithmic scale.

However, the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem states that continuous-time (analog) signals and their corresponding discrete-time (digital) signals are mathematically equivalent representations of any bandwidth-limited signal, provided the sample rate is higher than 2X the bandwidth. All relevant advantages and disadvantages result from implementation details rather than analog versus digital signal representation method, per se.

Implementation details and other considerations follow.

===Frequency resolution===

The most significant impact of finite sample rate is finite bandwidth. The sample rate determines the Nyquist frequency, the maximum frequency the digital signal can represent.

Vinyl enthusiasts often imagine that the shape of the waveform between the points where samples are taken is relevant, but the only thing that can exist 'between the samples' is content above the Nyquist frequency. At a CD's 44.1 KHz sample rate, the shape of the waveform between the samples is only accounting for the frequency content above 22.05 KHz, which will only ever be rare supersonic signal components and random noise. Both are deliberately filtered out in vinyl and CD recordings.

Similarly, PCM is sometimes characterized as producing a jagged, "stair-step" waveform. This is only partially correct; internally, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) does indeed use a sample-and-hold circuit to measure an approximate, average amplitude across the duration of the sample, and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) does the same kind of thing, generating a rectangular-ish waveform. However, this output is ''always'' then subjected to additional filtering to smooth it out. Effectively, the ADC output sample values are interpreted as a series of ''points'' intersected by the waveform; the DAC output is a smooth curve, not a stair-step at all. Additionally, modern ADC and DAC chips are engineered to reduce below the threshold of audibility, if not completely eliminate, any other sources of noise in this conversion process, resulting in an extremely high correlation between the input and output signals. (Perhaps a better explanation: [http://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml xiph.org's "Digital Show & Tell" video])

A related myth is that components of the signal near the Nyquist frequency must be square waves on CD (or digital media), and that vinyl (or any analog media) preserves pure sine waves. The premise is false. A square wave, or any wave that's not a perfect sine wave, is the sum of multiple pure tones (sine waves), by definition. So if you have a pure 22.05 KHz signal on CD (i.e., sample values +''n'', -''n'', repeatedly), the ADC may first construct a square wave, but it then filters out everything above the Nyquist, leaving behind a sine wave. The principle is the same even in complex waveforms. The end result is that the uppermost frequency components on CD are no closer to being square waves than they are on vinyl.

===Jitter===

Another impact of finite sample rate is the possibility of jitter in the sample clock. If the clock is not exactly on time, the jitter causes distortion, sometimes called "jitter error". Jitter error is unique to digital, and is vanishingly miniscule, a tribute to the many years of effort that went into minimizing it. By the time the earliest CD players came out, distortion produced by jitter was well below the threshold of audibility.

Since it does not use discrete timing steps, analog gear does not have jitter, per se, but wow and flutter—large and small speed variations—occur in all analog gear. The scale of wow and flutter is far greater than that of digital jitter, and is far more likely to produce audible effects.

===Time resolution===

PCM can encode time delays to any arbitrarily small length. Time delays of 1µs or less—a tiny fraction of the sample rate—are easily achievable. The theoretical minimum delay is 1 nanosecond or less. (Proof [http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=85436 here].)

===Dynamic range===

Another significant impact of finite quantizing resolution is finite dynamic range. As implemented, the bit depth of CD and DVD digital audio formats accommodates a higher dynamic range than vinyl is capable of. The only signal that can exist 'between the bits' of a CD is drowned out by random noise from the vinyl surface grain.

===Quantization error===

Another impact of finite quantizing resolution is systematic rounding and truncation error. The process of ignoring anything too small to be measured can lead to distortion of small signal levels if not splitting the difference exactly between quanta. This is the 'quantization distortion' most often referred to. It is another source of error that is unique to digital.

With a correct implementation using dither, signal quantization (ie 16-bit or 24-bit) only adds wideband noise to the signal, not quantization distortion. If this dither noise is well below the already-present noise floor, it is inaudible.

Even without dither, quantization noise from conversion to 16 or 24-bit is unlikely to ever be audible against digitally recorded music or dialog, and in analog recordings and on vinyl will be fully buried in the background noise.

In inexpensive 1-bit converters, quantization can also cause spurious low-magnitude tones. This is yet another error unique to digital. Understanding of spurious tones is limited, but fortunately some techniques of reducing them have been developed, and 1-bit converters are now in widespread use.

===Vinyl is often sourced from digital anyway===
Since the mid-1970s, vinyl mastering houses have been using digital delay lines (DDLs) instead of analog delays on the signal going to the lathe that cuts the spiral groove. So even in the increasingly unlikely event that 100% of the recording, mixing and mastering was done entirely using analog gear and media, the end of the vinyl mastering process may well have involved a conversion to digital and back.<ref>See http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=105321</ref>

===Further comparisons===
Analog encoding has many measurable and audible faults, potentially including harmonic distortion, noise and intermodulation distortion. These distortions have invariably measured higher than for digital formats, including CD.

Tracking error is due to the use of analog encoding with a stylus that contacts the medium, manifesting as distortion and possibly also cyclic wow with subsonic noise if the pressing is off center from the spindle hole. Wow, flutter, footsteps and feedback are other errors due to the transport mechanism and transducers used with vinyl. Digital storage has none of these errors.

In addition to its advantages for audio storage, digital also has advantages for audio production. When a large number of individual audio sources are sampled from source into 24 bits at high sample rate, then digitally processed with effects and mixed into a standard multichannel format, the resulting mix is superior in dynamic range and harmonic distortion to what could be achieved with legacy analog processing and mixing, due to the elimination of thousands of noise-producing and distortion-producing analog components such as potentiometers, resistors, and transistors. Some digital effects such as lossy codec compression to reduce overall bandwidth (thus reducing storage space) without sacrificing psycho-acoustic realism are impossible to implement in analog, and require a digital format anyway.

Audio DVD or A/V Blu-ray medium is used in order to preserve the fidelity and channel grouping of modern multichannel recordings. Audio CD can also be used for such digital mixes, but at lower dynamic range and sample rate, and with only two discrete channels, with no lossy compression to reduce storage space. A third alternative is to rip to data disc and play back on computer via digital bus to a multichannel home theater receiver or equivalent.

In any of these preceeding three use cases, digital is superior to analog at both mastering and end-user stages, and represents an advance in the total sound production signal path rather than simply storage improvement.

==Vinyl has greater resolution than CD because its dynamic range is higher than for CD at the most audible frequencies==

The dynamic range of vinyl, when evaluated as the ratio of a peak sinusoidal amplitude to the peak noise density at that sine wave frequency, is somewhere around 80 dB. Under theoretically ideal conditions, this could perhaps improve to 120 dB. The dynamic range of CDs, when evaluated on a frequency-dependent basis and performed with proper dithering and oversampling, is somewhere around 150 dB. Under no legitimate circumstances will the dynamic range of vinyl ever exceed the dynamic range of CD, under any frequency, given the wide performance gap and the physical limitations of vinyl playback. More discussion at [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=47827&st=0&p=425794&#entry425794 Hydrogenaudio].

==Adding a penny to the headshell improves tracking/sound==
The trackability of a cartridge is related to the mechanical parameters of the tonearm and stylus assembly. Adding weight to the headshell, and adjusting the counterweight to compensate, increases the effective mass of the tonearm and reduces its resonant frequency. If the resonant frequency is excessively high (e.g., 15-20 Hz, as measured by a test record), the increased mass may improve trackability by moving the resonance out of the audible range. Otherwise, it will generally only reduce trackability.

Adding weight to the headshell ''without'' adjusting the counterweight may improve the ability of a severely damaged stylus to track the groove, or the ability of an undamaged stylus to track a record in poor condition, but the excess weight almost certainly damages the record. A stylus in good condition will yield optimum sound with minimal damage to the groove when used within the tracking force range it's designed for. If the sound/trackability improves when exceeding this recommended range, then the record or stylus should be replaced.

==A cartridge is permanently damaged and should be replaced if the stylus appears even slightly bent==
Cartridges and styli are hand-built and always have some finite tolerance in their construction. No stylus has a cantilever that is perfectly straight.

That said, a severely bent stylus can cause azimuth and alignment errors which may be audible. In extreme cases, it can cause record damage. However, the cartridge itself is unlikely to be at fault; only the stylus would need to be replaced.

In the case of Moving Coil this is not correct. The stylus is part of the unit and the cantilever/stylus assembly cannot be removed. Stylus can be retipped but not just simply replaced like a moving magnet. Its often more costly to retip than to replace. There are cartridges that are indeed perfect (straight) in manufacture using elements that stay straight yet can flex in service.

==Belt-driven turntables are better than direct-drive turntables==

General claims of improved musicality and audio quality of belt drives are subjective and have no scientific basis.

In the secondhand market, neither type of drive holds its value any better than the other.

A poorly-built drive of any type will not necessarily fare better than any other.

There is a common myth that a direct drive will "hunt" for the correct speed and cause audible speed variations. This has no basis in reality.

In favor of belt drives:
* Belt drives are generally easier and cheaper to implement, improve, and repair than direct drives.
* Since belt drives are cheaper, a belt-driven turntable can come with a more expensive tonearm than a direct-drive turntable in the same price range.

In favor of direct drives:
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of rumble.
* Well-built direct drives can match or outperform well-built belt drives in terms of speed tolerance.
* Direct drives tend to last a very long time without maintenance; belt drives need new belts on a semi-regular basis.
* Belt drives tend to have noisier motors as compared to direct drives in the same price range.

==References==
<references/>

(More references and links back to Hydrogenaudio discussion threads are needed. Please help if you can!)

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Vinyl]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-08T07:00:21Z

Greynol: /* Drive caches audio data */

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Back around the turn of the century when digital audio extraction (DAE) was relatively new, not all drives could provide audio data that was consistently addressed. Each time it was told to read a block of audio, a drive might produce data that was shifted slightly ahead or slightly behind. When an adjacent block of data from a subsequent read is shifted it will either begin with samples repeated from the previous block or samples between the blocks will be omitted. In DAE, this phenomenon is often called jitter or synchronization error. To compensate for this problem, EAC is able to overlap every read in order to detect and correct any misalignment.

: Essentially all drives produced today have a feature called 'Accurate Stream' which significantly reduces (if not completely eliminates) the chance that audio data will be shifted between successive reads. When informed that a drive has this feature, EAC will only periodically overlap its reads to check for synchronization problems.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will result in a significant increase in ripping speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc—more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low" (this setting can be found under the Extraction tab in the [[EAC Options]] dialog). If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/exact-audio-copy-english/32972-cache-detection-eac.html#post113449 link]).

: '''Note''': If "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" is deselected, then "Drive caches audio data" is automatically checked, regardless of whether the drive actually caches audio data.

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by trusting the drive's ability to reliably report uncorrectable errors.<ref>"Uncorrectable" doesn't mean the data is bad, necessarily. In fact, it's normal for at least a portion of data marked uncorrectable to actually be correct; it just wasn't made correct by the C2 system.</ref> If this setting is enabled, EAC will not re-read and try to get consistent data from sectors which the drive reports as being error-free. Unfortunately, not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether ''all'' uncorrectable errors are reported, so these tests don't tell you whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization error is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''

'''Detection accuracy'''

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-08T06:52:08Z

Greynol: /* Fast Mode */

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Back around the turn of the century when digital audio extraction (DAE) was relatively new, not all drives could provide audio data that was consistently addressed. Each time it was told to read a block of audio, a drive might produce data that was shifted slightly ahead or slightly behind. When an adjacent block of data from a subsequent read is shifted it will either begin with samples repeated from the previous block or samples between the blocks will be omitted. In DAE, this phenomenon is often called jitter or synchronization error. To compensate for this problem, EAC is able to overlap every read in order to detect and correct any misalignment.

: Essentially all drives produced today have a feature called 'Accurate Stream' which significantly reduces (if not completely eliminates) the chance that audio data will be shifted between successive reads. When informed that a drive has this feature, EAC will only periodically overlap its reads to check for synchronization problems.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will result in a significant increase in ripping speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc—more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low". If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/exact-audio-copy-english/32972-cache-detection-eac.html#post113449 link]).

: '''Note''': If "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" is deselected, then "Drive caches audio data" is automatically checked, regardless of whether the drive actually caches audio data.

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by trusting the drive's ability to reliably report uncorrectable errors.<ref>"Uncorrectable" doesn't mean the data is bad, necessarily. In fact, it's normal for at least a portion of data marked uncorrectable to actually be correct; it just wasn't made correct by the C2 system.</ref> If this setting is enabled, EAC will not re-read and try to get consistent data from sectors which the drive reports as being error-free. Unfortunately, not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether ''all'' uncorrectable errors are reported, so these tests don't tell you whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization error is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''

'''Detection accuracy'''

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-07T06:39:51Z

Greynol: /* Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature */

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Back around the turn of the century when digital audio extraction (DAE) was relatively new, not all drives could provide audio data that was consistently addressed. Each time it was told to read a block of audio, a drive might produce data that was shifted slightly ahead or slightly behind. When an adjacent block of data from a subsequent read is shifted it will either begin with samples repeated from the previous block or samples between the blocks will be omitted. In DAE, this phenomenon is often called jitter or synchronization error. To compensate for this problem, EAC is able to overlap every read in order to detect and correct any misalignment.

: Essentially all drives produced today have a feature called 'Accurate Stream' which significantly reduces (if not completely eliminates) the chance that audio data will be shifted between successive reads. When informed that a drive has this feature, EAC will only periodically overlap its reads to check for synchronization problems.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will result in a significant increase in ripping speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc—more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low". If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/exact-audio-copy-english/32972-cache-detection-eac.html#post113449 link]).

: '''Note''': If "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" is deselected, then "Drive caches audio data" is automatically checked, regardless of whether the drive actually caches audio data.

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by trusting the drive's ability to reliably report uncorrectable errors.<ref>"Uncorrectable" doesn't mean the data is bad, necessarily. In fact, it's normal for at least a portion of data marked uncorrectable to actually be correct; it just wasn't made correct by the C2 system.</ref> If this setting is enabled, EAC will not re-read and try to get consistent data from sectors which the drive reports as being error-free. Unfortunately, not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether ''all'' uncorrectable errors are reported, so these tests don't tell you whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''

'''Detection accuracy'''

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-06T18:51:20Z

Greynol: Cache flushing always enabled when drive has accurate stream feature is deselected portion was simplified and demoted to a note.

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Each time it is told to read a block of audio, the drive might actually get the data from slightly ahead or behind where it was told to. When these read offsets are inconsistent, successive blocks can be misaligned, and a glitch may be audible. To compensate for this problem, EAC performs synchronization by always overlapping its reads slightly, and detecting and correcting any misalignment.

: Modern drives have 'Accurate Stream', a feature which greatly reduces the chance that successive reads will have different offsets. Drives with this feature allow EAC to use a more efficient synchronization routine.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will tell EAC to use the more efficient synchronization routine, and will provide an increase in speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc—more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low". If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/exact-audio-copy-english/32972-cache-detection-eac.html#post113449 link]).

: '''Note''': If "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" is deselected, then "Drive caches audio data" is automatically checked, regardless of whether the drive actually caches audio data.

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by trusting the drive's ability to reliably report uncorrectable errors.<ref>"Uncorrectable" doesn't mean the data is bad, necessarily. In fact, it's normal for at least a portion of data marked uncorrectable to actually be correct; it just wasn't made correct by the C2 system.</ref> If this setting is enabled, EAC will not re-read and try to get consistent data from sectors which the drive reports as being error-free. Unfortunately, not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether ''all'' uncorrectable errors are reported, so these tests don't tell you whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''

'''Detection accuracy'''

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==Notes and references==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-06T03:09:29Z

Greynol: Skeleton created with all features. Feel free to help create descriptions.

The EAC '''Drive Options dialog''' (shortcut: F10) offers several options for configuring how [[EAC]] reads and writes audio data from the currently selected drive.

''Used EAC version: V0.99 prebeta 5''

==Extraction Method==

===Secure Mode===

You will need to detect & apply drive features when using secure mode. Even if you chose to use the configuration wizard, it's a good idea to repeat the test a couple of times in order to be sure that the results are consistent (see [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/automatic-feature-detection-technology/ link]). Beware that these features are unique to every drive.

====Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature====

: Drives without this feature are not capable of addressing audio data down to the exact sample in a consistent way. In order to compensate for this problem, EAC will perform additional synchronization.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Accurate Stream : Yes", it is safe to check the "Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature" box. This will tell EAC not to perform additional synchronization and provide an increase in speed.

====Drive caches audio data====

: In order for secure mode to work properly, every read request made by EAC must cause the drive to seek data from the CD. If your drive caches audio, subsequent requests for the same data may result in the drive only fetching this data from its buffer, rather than from the physical disc. To prevent this from happening, EAC has a routine to ensure previously requested data gets flushed from drive's cache. This is done by having the drive read extra data from the disc; more data than the cache can store.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : Yes", it is important that you enable the cache flushing routine by checking the "Drive caches audio data" box.

:* If the "Detect Read Features..." function reports "Caching : No", it is not necessary to enable the flushing routine. Checking the "Drive caches audio data" box with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching will ''not'' improve EAC's accuracy. It won't improve EAC's ability to detect errors nor EAC's ability to correct them. What it ''will'' do however, is reduce your ripping speed and shorten the life of your drive.

: '''Tip #1''': If you're concerned that your drive caches audio data even though EAC is saying otherwise, try ripping a scratched disc (one known to produce errors easily). Make sure you uncheck the "Drive caches audio data" setting AND uncheck the "Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information" setting. Make sure you also set the error recovery quality to "Low". If EAC is capable of displaying a ''read'' error then cache flushing isn't necessary. Ignore any sync errors that may be displayed; they are irrelevant to this test.

: '''Tip #2''': Tip #1 is all you need to know, but if you're still paranoid that your drive caches audio, feel free to try [http://www.feurio.com/English/Download/download_install.shtml Feurio's] audio caching test (Ctrl+Alt+P\Test device\Cache test) or spath's [http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=184487 cache explorer]. If either determine that your drive doesn't cache or caches less than 64 KB of data, then cache flushing isn't necessary (ignore the reported buffer size when using cache explorer). The reason for the 64 KB barrier is that EAC will never request less than this amount while ripping ([http://www.digital-inn.de/exact-audio-copy-english/32972-cache-detection-eac.html#post113449 link]).

====Drive is capable of retrieving C2 error information====

: This setting was designed to speed up the ripping process by relying on the drive to report all uncorrectable errors instead of reading everything twice and comparing the result. Unfortunately not all drives adhere to the same standard as to how this should be done. As a result, errors can go undetected.

: EAC has two tests for this feature. The "Detect Read Features..." function only tests if the drive says it can provide C2 error information. The "Examine C2 Feature..." function tests whether the drive can actually report an uncorrectable error. Neither test can be used to determine whether the setting can be used reliably.

:* You may be able to determine if your drive's C2 reporting is reliable in EAC by using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/other-projects/dae-quality/ DAE Quality]. This involves creating a special CD and testing it.

:* Unless you know that you can use this setting reliably, ''disable'' it. If you choose to enable it, make sure you also rely on AccurateRip or a test CRC to compare with the read CRC if AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc.

EAC works well with almost any decent drive available in the market to give you near-perfect results; provided EAC is configured properly as per instructions given above. However, it is always recommended to read some drive reviews at sites like [http://cdrinfo.com/ CDRInfo.com] or [http://www.cdfreaks.com/ CDFreaks.com] and choose a drive with good Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) capabilities.

===Paranoid Mode===

This is an old mode that has been superseded by secure mode. It is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over secure mode.

===Fast Mode===

This is another old mode for drives that cannot provide a synchronized stream when ripping in burst mode. Since synchronization is no longer a problem with modern drives, it is highly unlikely that this mode will provide any benefit over burst mode.

===Burst Mode===

Burst mode performs extraction without any error checking. It is handy for discs that do not require re-reading in order to be ripped accurately, especially with drives that cache audio data. It is also handy for discs that trigger re-reading in secure mode but cannot be ripped accurately. When used in conjunction with AccurateRip, or in conjunction with a test CRC to compare with the read CRC in the event that AccurateRip doesn't have data for your disc, burst mode is completely secure.

==Drive==
'''Drive read command'''
: ''(Default: Autodetect read command, '''Recommended: use the Autodetect read command now button''')''
This drop-down list allows users to configure which read command to use with the drive to extract audio.

'''Autodetect read command now'''

This button will set the proper read command in the Drive read command drop-down list.

'''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option reverses the byte order of the audio data coming from the drive. If the ripped audio is loud static, change this setting.

'''Swap channels'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This setting reverses the stereo channels of the ripped audio. If you find that your drive reverses channels, it is probably due to a two-byte offset which cannot be corrected properly with this option. Try upgrading your drive's firmware or replace it with a different model.

'''Spin up drive before extraction'''
: ''(Default: disabled)''
This option may or may not improve performance. Enable it if your drive doesn't otherwise operate smoothly or cannot rip the beginning of a track correctly.

==Offset / Speed==
'''Use read sample offset correction'''

'''Detect read sample offset correction...'''

'''Use combined read/write sample offset correction'''

'''Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out'''

'''Speed selection'''

'''Allow speed reduction during extraction'''

'''CD-Text Read capable drive'''

==Gap Detection==
'''Gap/Index retrieval method'''

'''Detection accuracy'''

==Writer==
'''Writes samples offset'''

'''Create Offset Test CD'''

'''After Burning Finished'''
:'''reset drive by ejecting and loading CD-R'''

:'''only eject CD-R'''

:'''do not eject CD-R'''

'''Drive is able to write UPS/ISRC'''

'''Drive is able to write CD-Text'''

'''Detect Write Features...'''

==External links==
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32151 List of DAE Drive Features, EAC & CD Paranoia] by WestgroveG
* [http://www.daefeatures.co.uk/ DAE Drive features database] By WestgroveG and Evereux

[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-04T15:56:18Z

Greynol: /* Extraction Method */

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-04T05:04:26Z

Greynol: /* Drive */ Formatting.

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-04T01:32:03Z

Greynol: /* Extraction Method */

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-04T01:19:40Z

Greynol: Added additional modes under Extraction Method. Formatting.

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-03T23:56:06Z

Greynol: /* Drive Features */

EAC Drive Options

2014-02-03T23:54:20Z

Greynol: /* Drive Features */

EAC Lossless Backup

2014-02-03T20:22:34Z

Greynol: /* Ripping a CD */

This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy].

'''Note''': Beginning with version 1.0b2, EAC switched to a different scheme for passing track info to the chosen command-line encoder. This article was written at the time of a prior version and therefore uses the old scheme. To compare the two sets of placeholders and amend this page’s command-lines accordingly, see the guide and table at [[EAC placeholders]].

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Options]] guide.

'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'' : Checked
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'' : Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks'' : Checked ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Exact_Audio_Copy#Track_synchronization_technology See here])
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'' : Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'' : Your decision.
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than'' : Your decision.
* ''After each: XX mins of extraction, cool down the drive for YY mins'' : Use only if necessary.
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction'' : Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority'' : Normal for most situations; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multi-core processors or multiple CPUs.
* ''Error recovery'' : Medium or High (Depending on the disc, setting this to high can hinder EAC's ability to report errors and may not improve the odds of getting accurate data.)

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' : Checked unless it causes problems. Use only one compressor thread unless your computer has a multi-core processor or multiple CPUs.
* ''Do not open external compressor window'' : Your decision. (Depending on how the external compressor is configured this feature may not work as expected.)
* ''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'' : Unchecked (You're no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - DISABLE normalization; this is supposed to be a lossless backup!

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. Here's an example:
* ''Naming scheme'' : %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist'' : Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Try the native interface first. If it doesn't work, try an external one. [ftp://ftp6.nero.com/wnaspi32.dll Nero's ASPI Driver] is the most common, but [http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm ForceASPI] may offer better compatibility.

==Drive Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Drive Options]] guide.

'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature'' : Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This setting tells EAC not to perform additional synchronization.)
* ''Drive caches audio'' : Enable only if EAC reports your drive as caching. If EAC reports your drive as not caching then you may safely disable this setting. (Enabling this setting cripples your extraction speed. It provides no benefit when used with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching.)
* ''C2 Error Info'' : It is safe to enable this setting if your drive provides C2 error information, but usually only when used in conjunction with AccurateRip or with the generation of a separate test CRC to compare with the read CRC. [This feature provides a speed increase by reading data from the disc only once, relying on your drive to report errors that could not be corrected. Some drives (typically old models by Plextor) can do this reliably; however, many drives will fail to report all uncorrectable errors. If you're not getting matching read and test CRCs (see the section on [[#Ripping a CD]]) or AccurateRip cannot verify all of the tracks on a disc, try ripping again with this setting disabled. If CRCs match as a result of disabling this setting or tracks are more consistently verified with AccurateRip, then leave it disabled.]
* If your drive caches audio data, it may be more efficient to use Burst mode in conjunction with AccurateRip and generate test CRCs for tracks that cannot be verified as accurate. Tracks ripped in Burst mode that are verified with AccurateRip or generate identical read and test CRCs are every bit as secure as if they were ripped in Secure mode.

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command'' : Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'' : Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels'' : Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction'' : Only select this if your drive has difficulty reading data on spin-up. Otherwise, leave it disabled.

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm AccurateRip Drive Offset Database] to find your drive's read offset correction value. If your drive isn't in the database you may want to install AccurateRip and let it configure the read sample offset correction for you (you may want to install AccurateRip anyway since it really enhances EAC's ability to verify your rips). A more painful alternative in determining your offset correction is to find at least two CDs from [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/list-of-included-reference-cds/ this list] which give you identical results when running "Detect read sample offset correction...". When using this method it is imperative that the number in the right-hand column of the table matches (as closely as possible) the number found along the on inner-ring of your CD.

* ''Use read sample offset correction'' : Enable and enter your drive's offset value into the field.
* ''Overread Lead-In and Lead-Out'' : Press the button that says "Detect read sample offset correction". Enable this setting if it says your drive can overread from both the Lead-In and Lead-Out or if it says Lead-Out and your offset correction is positive or if it says Lead-In and your offset correction is negative. Otherwise disable it.
* ''Speed Selection'' : Actual (You may want to adjust this when ripping discs that produce errors.)
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction'' : Enable (Disabling this setting may improve accuracy with some drives.)
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive'' : Enable if your drive supports it.

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method'' : This will not affect the extraction quality. Choose the method that gives the fastest results (usually method A).
* ''Detection accuracy'' : Secure (You may have to reduce the level if EAC hangs while detecting gaps.)

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]

These options are described in detail in the [[EAC Compression Options]] guide.

'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression'' : Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme'' : User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate'' : N/A. This gets ignored when using a user defined encoder and following the additional command line options specified below.
* ''Delete WAV after compression'' : Enable
* ''Use CRC check'' : Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag'' : Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code'' : Your decision.

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension'' : .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder. You may want to add -V in order to verify that there were no encoding errors.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
:Note: If you have ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' checked in EAC Options, make sure you have it set to use only ''one'' compressor thread.
* ''Use file extension'' : .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension'' : .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension'' : .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F5, or press the MP3 button on the left side of the GUI).
* Review AccurateRip results.
** If using Burst mode of Secure mode with C2 error information, highlight any tracks that cannot be verified as accurate by AccurateRip (hold ctrl key to highlight multiple tracks) and then select ''Action>Test Selected Tracks'' (shortcut key: F8).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Gaps... (Noncompliant)''.
* If you want the cue sheet to reference the newly created compressed files instead of wave files open it with a text editor. Perform a ''find/replace'' operation to replace .wav and WAVE with the extension and appropriate type you used for compression (e.g. for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). The cue can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatible with EAC's noncompliant cue sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn]. (Nero will not work because it is not compatible with noncompliant sheets).
* Enjoy your music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Drive Options

2014-01-31T22:28:39Z

Greynol: /* Drive */

EAC Lossless Backup

2014-01-31T21:05:19Z

Greynol: Moving farther away from a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing an extraction and ripping method

This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy].

'''Note''': Beginning with version 1.0b2, EAC switched to a different scheme for passing track info to the chosen command-line encoder. This article was written at the time of a prior version and therefore uses the old scheme. To compare the two sets of placeholders and amend this page’s command-lines accordingly, see the guide and table at [[EAC placeholders]].

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Options]] guide.

'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'' : Checked
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'' : Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks'' : Checked ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Exact_Audio_Copy#Track_synchronization_technology See here])
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'' : Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'' : Your decision.
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than'' : Your decision.
* ''After each: XX mins of extraction, cool down the drive for YY mins'' : Use only if necessary.
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction'' : Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority'' : Normal for most situations; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multi-core processors or multiple CPUs.
* ''Error recovery'' : Medium or High (Depending on the disc, setting this to high can hinder EAC's ability to report errors and may not improve the odds of getting accurate data.)

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' : Checked unless it causes problems. Use only one compressor thread unless your computer has a multi-core processor or multiple CPUs.
* ''Do not open external compressor window'' : Your decision. (Depending on how the external compressor is configured this feature may not work as expected.)
* ''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'' : Unchecked (You're no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - DISABLE normalization; this is supposed to be a lossless backup!

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. Here's an example:
* ''Naming scheme'' : %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist'' : Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Try the native interface first. If it doesn't work, try an external one. [ftp://ftp6.nero.com/wnaspi32.dll Nero's ASPI Driver] is the most common, but [http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm ForceASPI] may offer better compatibility.

==Drive Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Drive Options]] guide.

'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature'' : Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This setting tells EAC not to perform additional synchronization.)
* ''Drive caches audio'' : Enable only if EAC reports your drive as caching. If EAC reports your drive as not caching then you may safely disable this setting. (Enabling this setting cripples your extraction speed. It provides no benefit when used with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching.)
* ''C2 Error Info'' : It is safe to enable this setting if your drive provides C2 error information, but usually only when used in conjunction with AccurateRip or with the generation of a separate test CRC to compare with the read CRC. [This feature provides a speed increase by reading data from the disc only once, relying on your drive to report errors that could not be corrected. Some drives (typically old models by Plextor) can do this reliably; however, many drives will fail to report all uncorrectable errors. If you're not getting matching read and test CRCs (see the section on [[#Ripping a CD]]) or AccurateRip cannot verify all of the tracks on a disc, try ripping again with this setting disabled. If CRCs match as a result of disabling this setting or tracks are more consistently verified with AccurateRip, then leave it disabled.]
* If your drive caches audio data, it may be more efficient to use Burst mode in conjunction with AccurateRip and generate test CRCs for tracks that cannot be verified as accurate. Tracks ripped in Burst mode that are verified with AccurateRip or generate identical read and test CRCs are every bit as secure as if they were ripped in Secure mode.

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command'' : Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'' : Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels'' : Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction'' : Only select this if your drive has difficulty reading data on spin-up. Otherwise, leave it disabled.

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm AccurateRip Drive Offset Database] to find your drive's read offset correction value. If your drive isn't in the database you may want to install AccurateRip and let it configure the read sample offset correction for you (you may want to install AccurateRip anyway since it really enhances EAC's ability to verify your rips). A more painful alternative in determining your offset correction is to find at least two CDs from [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/list-of-included-reference-cds/ this list] which give you identical results when running "Detect read sample offset correction...". When using this method it is imperative that the number in the right-hand column of the table matches (as closely as possible) the number found along the on inner-ring of your CD.

* ''Use read sample offset correction'' : Enable and enter your drive's offset value into the field.
* ''Overread Lead-In and Lead-Out'' : Press the button that says "Detect read sample offset correction". Enable this setting if it says your drive can overread from both the Lead-In and Lead-Out or if it says Lead-Out and your offset correction is positive or if it says Lead-In and your offset correction is negative. Otherwise disable it.
* ''Speed Selection'' : Actual (You may want to adjust this when ripping discs that produce errors.)
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction'' : Enable (Disabling this setting may improve accuracy with some drives.)
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive'' : Enable if your drive supports it.

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method'' : This will not affect the extraction quality. Choose the method that gives the fastest results (usually method A).
* ''Detection accuracy'' : Secure (You may have to reduce the level if EAC hangs while detecting gaps.)

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]

These options are described in detail in the [[EAC Compression Options]] guide.

'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression'' : Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme'' : User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate'' : N/A. This gets ignored when using a user defined encoder and following the additional command line options specified below.
* ''Delete WAV after compression'' : Enable
* ''Use CRC check'' : Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag'' : Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code'' : Your decision.

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension'' : .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder. You may want to add -V in order to verify that there were no encoding errors.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
:Note: If you have ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' checked in EAC Options, make sure you have it set to use only ''one'' compressor thread.
* ''Use file extension'' : .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension'' : .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension'' : .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F5, or press the MP3 button on the left side of the GUI).
* Review AccurateRip results.
** If using Burst mode of Secure mode with C2 error information, highlight any tracks that cannot be verified as accurate by AccurateRip (hold ctrl key to highlight multiple tracks) and then select ''Action>Test Selected Tracks'' (shortcut key: F8).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Gaps... (Noncompliant)''.
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2014-01-25T02:52:36Z

Greynol: Reverted edits by 72.136.14.60 (talk) to last revision by Greynol

This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy].

'''Note''': Beginning with version 1.0b2, EAC switched to a different scheme for passing track info to the chosen command-line encoder. This article was written at the time of a prior version and therefore uses the old scheme. To compare the two sets of placeholders and amend this page’s command-lines accordingly, see the guide and table at [[EAC placeholders]].

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Options]] guide.

'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence'' : Checked
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations'' : Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks'' : Checked ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Exact_Audio_Copy#Track_synchronization_technology See here])
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks'' : Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors'' : Your decision.
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than'' : Your decision.
* ''After each: XX mins of extraction, cool down the drive for YY mins'' : Use only if necessary.
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction'' : Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority'' : Normal for most situations; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multi-core processors or multiple CPUs.
* ''Error recovery'' : Medium or High (Depending on the disc, setting this to high can hinder EAC's ability to report errors and may not improve the odds of getting accurate data.)

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation'' : Your decision.
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction'' : Your decision.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' : Checked unless it causes problems. Use only one compressor thread unless your computer has a multi-core processor or multiple CPUs.
* ''Do not open external compressor window'' : Your decision. (Depending on how the external compressor is configured this feature may not work as expected.)
* ''Activate beginner mode, disable all advanced features'' : Unchecked (You're no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - DISABLE normalization; this is supposed to be a lossless backup!

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. Here's an example:
* ''Naming scheme'' : %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist'' : Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Try the native interface first. If it doesn't work, try an external one. [ftp://ftp6.nero.com/wnaspi32.dll Nero's ASPI Driver] is the most common, but [http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm ForceASPI] may offer better compatibility.

==Drive Options==
These options are discussed in detail in the [[EAC Drive Options]] guide.

'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature'' : Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This setting tells EAC not to perform additional synchronization.)
* ''Drive caches audio'' : Enable only if EAC reports your drive as caching. If EAC reports your drive as not caching then you may safely disable this setting. (Enabling this setting cripples your extraction speed. It provides no benefit when used with drives that are reported by EAC as not caching.)
* ''C2 Error Info'' : It is safe to enable this setting if your drive provides C2 error information, but usually only when used in conjunction with AccurateRip or Test & Copy. [This feature provides a speed increase by reading data from the disc only once, relying on your drive to report errors that could not be corrected. Some drives (typically old models by Plextor) can do this reliably; however, many drives will fail to report all uncorrectable errors. If you're not getting matching T&C checksums (see the section on [[#Ripping a CD]]) or AccurateRip cannot verify all of the tracks on a disc, try ripping again with this setting disabled. If CRCs match as a result of disabling this setting or tracks are more consistently verified with AccurateRip, then leave it disabled.]

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command'' : Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola)'' : Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels'' : Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction'' : Only select this if your drive has difficulty reading data on spin-up. Otherwise, leave it disabled.

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm AccurateRip Drive Offset Database] to find your drive's read offset correction value. If your drive isn't in the database you may want to install AccurateRip and let it configure the read sample offset correction for you (you may want to install AccurateRip anyway since it really enhances EAC's ability to verify your rips). A more painful alternative in determining your offset correction is to find at least two CDs from [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/overview/basic-technology/list-of-included-reference-cds/ this list] which give you identical results when running "Detect read sample offset correction...". When using this method it is imperative that the number in the right-hand column of the table matches (as closely as possible) the number found along the on inner-ring of your CD.

* ''Use read sample offset correction'' : Enable and enter your drive's offset value into the field.
* ''Overread Lead-In and Lead-Out'' : Press the button that says "Detect read sample offset correction". Enable this setting if it says your drive can overread from both the Lead-In and Lead-Out or if it says Lead-Out and your offset correction is positive or if it says Lead-In and your offset correction is negative. Otherwise disable it.
* ''Speed Selection'' : Actual (You may want to adjust this when ripping discs that produce errors.)
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction'' : Enable (Disabling this setting may improve accuracy with some drives.)
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive'' : Enable if your drive supports it.

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method'' : This will not affect the extraction quality. Choose the method that gives the fastest results (usually method A).
* ''Detection accuracy'' : Secure (You may have to reduce the level if EAC hangs while detecting gaps.)

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]

These options are described in detail in the [[EAC Compression Options]] guide.

'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression'' : Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme'' : User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate'' : N/A. This gets ignored when using a user defined encoder and following the additional command line options specified below.
* ''Delete WAV after compression'' : Enable
* ''Use CRC check'' : Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag'' : Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code'' : Your decision.

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension'' : .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder. You may want to add -V in order to verify that there were no encoding errors.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
:Note: If you have ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background'' checked in EAC Options, make sure you have it set to use only ''one'' compressor thread.
* ''Use file extension'' : .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension'' : .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension'' : .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression'' : Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options'' :
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Gaps... (Noncompliant)''
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]