While I have been using computers for many years I have never done anything with music, so I am a total dunce when it comes to that.
I have tried using Windows Media player but it gets all tied up with libraries etc.
All I want to do is select a few songs from CDs, then put them onto an SD memory card so I can put them onto a tablet.
Is there a simple way to do this?
You can try CDex. Set up your codec in the option (aka set your MP3 quality or other format you desire), then set up the directory the music to be saved also in the options. Name and rip your CD. Then copy the files from the directory they were saved in to your memory card.
I don't see why he should use EAC for this seriously. EAC is for FLAC\Lossless rips. For MP3s, you don't need to be that, sorry for the word, anal.
CDex has everything you need :
http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
CDex is an excellent choice that is relatively simple to use, unlike some other apps.
Use a high quality VBR (variable bit rate) if possible. Shoot for file sizes around 4mb for a 2:30 or 3:00 minute song. If you don't use VBR, go with something around 192 kbps.
At that file size, you will get about 25,000 songs per 100 gigabytes.
I think CDex may include Lame when you download it. If not, you may have to download Lame separately.
Lame is generally regarded as the best encoder.
If you intend to edit any of your songs, you should rip them in the WAV format, then edit, then resave, most likely in mp3 format. It's best NOT to do any editing on mp3 files directly because you will suffer a slight quality loss every time you resave---just like you would with jpeg image files.
Exact Audio Copy may be preferable even for MP3s if your CDs are hammered. That is its advantage as I understand it. I don't know in the real world how scratchy your CDs must be for EAC to be noticeably superior to CDex.
I looked at EAC, but didn't really need it because my CDs are virtually all scratch free.
As I recall, it is more complex to configure as well.
It's definitely the best tool when your CDs are somewhat ****ed up.
I was able to save quite some of my very old ones and I don't see the point in installing multiple tools for the same task when one is obviously superior.
But with perfect CDs, there is no difference actually, that's right.
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