Suggestions for Ripping Music CDs to iTunes

I know I am way behind in thinking about doing this, but I am now retired and have the time to undertake this kind of digitising to my computer.

I am using an iMac ( with integral CD) and with High Sierra Mac OS.

Any recommendations appreciated.

David F
(Dublin)

iTunes does a pretty good job.

iTunes, with AAC 320 VBR. Here are some old screenshots but I don’t think the interface has changed. https://macintoshhowto.com/itunes/importing-into-itunes.html Ignore what the post says about using lossless imho.

Don’t try to do it all at once - just do a couple at a time, here and there - at least that’s how I got through a few hundred CDs without dying of boredom.

For the last round of CDs I had to rip, I used X Lossless Decoder. It, however, looks like the app hasn’t been updated in about 1 year and yields the 32-bit app warning when launching it. The latest version will run now but not after Apple drops 32-bit app support.

I also have had good luck using iTunes.

Hubby did our whole collection years ago using something on Linux but for anything ew we get I just use iTunes and it does a pretty good job.

My only caution is think about how you will serve and backup those files once you have them.

If you have a decent setup and care about the audio quality, remember to use a lossless format like FLAC or Apple Lossless (ALAC). Yes, the files are larger, but you retain CD quality tracks. The biggest cost is the time you need to put in.

I’d say don’t bother with lossless, esp as it can take 8-10x longer than compressed. I’m 15 years shy of retirement & my hearing has degraded enough that I can’t hear the difference with B&O and Bowers & Wilkins kit. YMMV but you probably have better ways to spend your time.

When I did this, I just ripped everything in iTunes.
You can try to have iTunes scanning for CD covers, as that makes things a lot easier to find, and to look at. And if possible scan the CD covers iTunes can’t find.

I used the 320 Kbps AAC within iTunes. It can grab song titles easily so that you won’t need to type in Song titles. If it’s a CD that I really love, I’ll record it in Apple Lossless. These are my desert island CDs. If I was in a deserted island, which CDs would I really want to bring with me?

I did this over a few months. I binge-watched TV shows while I was ripping my CDs.

The web site does say that a 64-bit version is forthcoming. The SourceForge web page talks about a beta test of the 64-bit app now. Here is the ticket (Call for testing):

https://sourceforge.net/p/xld/tickets/432/

Mojave will be the last MacOS capable of running 32-bit apps. So there is still some buffer time.

Thank you for the advice - my hearing is of a similar standard- so a basic standard of recording is sufficient for me.

Thank you - I will try iTunes first before investing in 3rd. party software.

1 Like

Thanks for the guidance - I will try one CD to see how the process goes.