best setting for ripping cds to FLAC

[chopinhauer]

Hi,

I am currently ripping my cds to FLAC lossless format with dbpower amp, which, by the way, I LOVE. I know that lossless is lossless, but then I can't understand the different virtues of the various choices in the options tab in dbpower amp. One gets offered the choice between low (1) to high (8) compression. I have simply opted for medium (4) which seems to compress to around 50%.

What would happen if I compressed even more? Would it
(i) lower the sound quality on computer playback
(ii) lower the quality of cds burned from the compressed file?
(ii) make it harder or impossible to go back to the original uncompressed file?

What would happen if I compressed less than 4.

Hopefully my question is understandable.

thanks

[chopinhauer]

Re: best setting for ripping cds to FLAC

Did some research and dug this up from the hydrogenaudio knowledgebase FAQ. It reads as follows:

[Quote] "Question: Does the compression level affect decompression speed?

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: In truth, the compression level does affect the decompression speed, but the difference between the various compress levels can barely be measured and is too small to be noticed, even on low-end machines.

Question: What is the best compression level for encoding my music?

Short Answer: The default setting, 5.

Long Answer: Encoding at the default setting will give the best balance between compression and encoding speed. Encoding at 8 can more than quadruple the encoding time, while having an insignificant effect on compression." [end quote]

So I guess this answers my question, unless anyone here has any qualifications or comments on the Hydrogenaudio info.