Newbie dBpoweramp Music Conv CD Ripper MAC/OSX User - ?: HDCD, MOFI, SACD

[brimster]

Having tried several FLAWED CD Rippers for MAC/OSX, I'm delighted to find something that works: dBpoweramp CD Ripper.

A few questions:

1. How do I purchase the full-featured MAC/OSX version? I've downloaded what appears to be a trial or beta a few times and it then disappears from my machine. Can I buy it? The website gives no indication - at least that I've found.

My next few questions have to do with ripping audiophile CDs. Some of the other rippers our there appear to be able to "auto-detect" these formats and set the ripping parameters accordingly. That doesn't appear to be the case with dBpoweramp CD Ripper. The best I've found is to set the DSP to a bit RANGE - say, 16-24. Is that the best practice? Is there a better way?

2. Based on what I've read in the various forums, there appears to be an HDCD setting on the Windows version of this software. I can't find that on the MAC/OSX version. Any help? I'd like to preserve all that my HDCDs offer. Right now I've been setting the bit range from 16-24 and it plays back at 16/44. Shouldn't it be higher? HDCD is at least 20 and perhaps even 24 bit, right?

3. Anything I should do special with ripping Mobile Fidelity CDs? They're just well-recorded red book (16/44) CDs, right?

4. What's the latest on ripping SACD? Still nothing broadly available, right? Last I heard, it involves an early-software PS3 with a special hack. Nothing new on that front, right?

Thanks!

[Spoon]

Re: Newbie dBpoweramp Music Conv CD Ripper MAC/OSX User - ?: HDCD, MOFI, SACD

1. It should be for sale in the next 8 weeks
2. Microsoft own the HDCD technology, it is not possible to license for any OS X
3. Yes
4. Only hacked early PS3s can rip these.

[brimster]

Re: Newbie dBpoweramp Music Conv CD Ripper MAC/OSX User - ?: HDCD, MOFI, SACD

1. It should be for sale in the next 8 weeks
2. Microsoft own the HDCD technology, it is not possible to license for any OS X
3. Yes
4. Only hacked early PS3s can rip these.

Re: HDCD... what's the consensus on this? Is the sonic benefit worth ripping on a PC with dBpa? Is there any such thing as a non-SACD, non-HDCD disk that has a bit rate higher than 16/44? I've ripped HUNDRED of CDs over the past few weeks and I believe everything has ripped at 16/44. Moreover, if there was such a disc, does dBpa "sense" it and rip accordingly? Or does the user have to know the disc is higher and instruct dBpa?

Thanks in advance!

[garym]

Re: Newbie dBpoweramp Music Conv CD Ripper MAC/OSX User - ?: HDCD, MOFI, SACD

Re: HDCD... what's the consensus on this? Is the sonic benefit worth ripping on a PC with dBpa? Is there any such thing as a non-SACD, non-HDCD disk that has a bit rate higher than 16/44? I've ripped HUNDRED of CDs over the past few weeks and I believe everything has ripped at 16/44. Moreover, if there was such a disc, does dBpa "sense" it and rip accordingly? Or does the user have to know the disc is higher and instruct dBpa?

Thanks in advance!

No, if it is a cd and not SACD or HDCD then it has to be 16/44.1 (ie red book cd standard).

And I don't rip my HDCD discs using the HDCD DSP of dbpa because then the files are no longer lossless. I think it is better to rip normally then use HDCD in the PLAYER if you want that benefit (ie foobar2000 with HDCD component). There's a long thread here on that topic in this forum. Google best practices in ripping HDCD dbpoweramp and it should pop up.