How to Deal with One Problematic CD

[jlr]

First, I'm loving the software and I've had great luck getting AccurateRip-verified rips almost every time—so, thanks! I'm wondering how best to deal with a stubborn CD that is refusing to verify SOME tracks.

The CD in question is brand new, literally pristine from the jewel box to the CD drive. When I rip (using the settings for non-C2 drives in the setup guide) I get this:



If I push the Maximum Re-Reads setting to 50 (which I realize I'm not supposed to do without C2 support) I get to this:



QUESTIONS:

1. Are those newly AccurateRip-verified tracks false-positives because I pushed the re-reads past 34? I've tried pushing Maximum Re-Reads up to 100 for the other tracks, but no change.
2. Should I just assume that the first three tracks are unverifiable because of some error in pressing my copy of the CD? Is there anything else I can try?
3. My understanding is that the [i] Secure label means I got a good rip according to the CD drive, but it just isn't verified by the database? If I can let go of my perfectionist tendencies, what are the odds that something is wrong with the rip that will be noticeable during playback?

I'm on OS X 10.12.6 and R16.1 here are my dBpoweramp settings:




Thanks much.

[Spoon]

Re: How to Deal with One Problematic CD

1. No, they are AccurateRip verified which means they match 100% other peoples rips, so with a confidence of 60 they are certainly correct.
2. There are errors on the CD yes
3. You cannot be certain what the error is, it could be 1 byte, or 1KB.

I would try a different drive to rip that disc.

[Jailhouse]

Re: How to Deal with One Problematic CD

Before wrestling with the CD any further, you might want to listen to the problem files. If you can't hear any flaws and can deal with their having tiny bits of (inaudible) imperfection, you're done.

[schmidj]

Re: How to Deal with One Problematic CD

Ways of dealing with problem CDs (and you'll find quite a few in any collection, some with visible problems, many without):

Have several drives by different manufacturers, I've had plenty of cases where a different drive will read the CD, the drives I have that read through scratches the best will completely hang on other damaged CDs. Variety is the spice of good ripping...

Clean the CD, fingerprints can be an issue. If there are visible scratches making the CD unreadable, Google CD or DVD scratch removal. Some video game stores have professional "refinishers".

Buy another copy. Ebay may be your friend.

Borrow a copy from the library or a friend. (Doing this if you don't already own the CD is a copyright violation...)

Get the best transfer you can, with the fewest rerips, or by burst reading and listen to it, as others repeatedly say (see Jailhouse above), a few (or even quite a few) bad bits may well not be audible. I find rerips often occur at the beginning or ends of tracks, a few bits of missing or corrupted silence here will never be audible.

If there are a few pops or clicks in the middle of the transfer, consider using audio editing software to clean it up. The same software that cleans pops and clicks out of vinyl transfers will probably fix your CD transfer. For free software Google "Audacity".

If the CD is "copy protected" (big in the early 1990's) search this forum for solutions. Some drives do better than others, and there is the "defective by design" setting in the ripper.

If the CD won't rip but appears to play OK either in a computer drive or a stand alone CD player, record the audio output (either digital or analog) and make your own compilation of the tracks, a virtual rip if you will. Believe me, a good analog transfer is inaudibly different from the rip. You know there are a lot of people who will tell you that "analog is better". In fact "A/B/X" testing of quality (and that doesn't always mean very expensive) analog and digital gear will disclose no difference.

Personally, if cleaning the CD or trying a couple of other drives doesn't work, I look to buy another copy (assuming I even care about the CD or bad track), often used or overstock from eBay for a few bucks. If I value my time, a replacement CD is usually cheaper than spending long times trying to rip it.