Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

[fjodor]

Hi,

I just wonder if it should be possible to do the following steps:

1. Create a CUE-sheet for a CD with EAC (using the mode "Multiple WAV Files With Gaps").
2. Rip the CD tracks with dBpowerAMP into ".wav" files (one file per track).
3. Use EAC burn a CD using the EAC CUE-sheet and the dBpowerAMP ".wav"-files to get an identical copy of the original CD.

The reason I'm asking is that when I tried this, and then afterwards used EAC to rip both the CD and the CD copy into ".wav"-images the contents differed.

[LtData]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

dMC r12 doesn't support cue sheets nor ripping to one track. Those features are planned for r13, though.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Yes I know, that was why I suggested using EAC (Exact Audio Copy) to create the CUE-sheet (see step 1) and to burn the CD copy (see step 3), and only use dBpowerAMP for the audio extraction (see step 2). What I wondered was if this should be possible as an interim solution until dBpowerAMP R13 is released?

Also note that using CUE-sheets does not imply ripping the whole CD into one image. You can create CUE-sheets that are based on ripping one image per track as well, as I suggested in step 1 when I specified that the option "Multiple WAV Files With Gaps" should be used.

[LtData]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

To clarify, dMC r11.5 does support a "Rip as One" feature if you have the PowerPack, but r12 does not have this feature.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Ok, thanks for the clarification.

Still, the question remains whether or not it's possible to use EAC for the CUE-sheet handling part of the ripping & burning (in order to overcome the lack of that feature in dBpowerAMP), as suggested in my original post?

[LtData]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

I am not sure. I have heard other users suggest a similar strategy, but I don't know if it works or not.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Ok, thanks.

Is there anyone out there that has gotten this to work? I.e. to use EAC in combination with dBpowerAMP, where EAC takes care of the CUE-sheet part of the ripping (see top post)?

[Wayne]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

I have a question. What happens if you use EAC to rip to separate tracks together with a CUE sheet and use the results to create a CD. Then rerip the resulting CD and comparing with the original, are they the same?

I think that you would have to rip as one, together with a CUE sheet, to end up with a duplicate CD.

[Rollo]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

@ fjodor: 1st use EAC to make a non-compliant cue. Then, before ripping with dBpa CD Ripper, get the track names from cdplayer.ini [Metatdata > retrieve from > CDPlayer.ini] to assure the file names are the same as those referenced from the EAC cue file.

I have tested and this procedure works flawlessly. You will need to burn the CD with EAC, BuRRRn or other software that supports non-compliant cue files. NOT Nero, for example.

@ Wayne: Providing you have your drive read and write offsets correctly configured in EAC, the files obtained by dBpa CD-Ripper will be identical to those obtained using EAC.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Thanks for the response Rollo.

I investigated this a bit further, and re-tried the track based ripping procedure by following the steps you described. It turned out that everything worked ok for some CDs but not for other CDs. When I say that it didn't "work" for some CDs, I mean that when I afterwards did an "image rip" using EAC from both the original CD and the CD copy the contents of the two resulting "image.wav" files differed. I thought this was strange, so I tried doing all steps of the track based ripping and burning procedure completely in EAC instead, but I got the same result (i.e. for some CDs this worked ok, but for other CDs it didn't work ok)!.

Finally, to see if the problem was related to the "track based ripping with CUE-sheet procedure" I tried the following for the CDs that didn't "work": Using EAC I did a complete "image rip" instead followed by an "image write". Afterwards I did an "image rip" of the CD copy and compared it with the "image rip" of the original, and then they matched!

So to sum it up, it seems like for some CDs you cannot restore an exact copy of the original CD if you've done a "track based rip with CUE-sheet". This problem exists no matter if you use EAC of dBpowerAMP. If this is the case I think it sux, since:

1. If I choose an "image based rip with CUE-sheet", I cannot add all the metadata for the individual tracks that I want my ".flac" files to contain. Also, I cannot easily make compilations of move individual tracks to other devices.

2. If I choose a "track based rip with CUE-sheet", I cannot restore the original CD in some cases (due to issues described above).

Is there any solution to this problem? Otherwise, what ripping stategy do you guys use, i.e. what is the least bad solution... ?

[Rollo]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

I'm having trouble following your exact procedure.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Well, it not that hard. I performed the following steps:

1. I followed the procedure you described to produce a copy of an original CD.
2. After this I tried to rip the CD copy using "Action->Copy image & create CUE sheet->Uncompressed" in EAC. I got a "image.wav" file and a ".cue" file as a result.
3. I repeated step 2 with the original CD.
4. I compared the contents of the "image.wav" file from step 2 with the one from step 3, and noticed that they differed for some CDs but matched for other CDs.

As an example, one CD where I in step 4 noticed a mismatch between the copy and the original was "Viloator" by Depeche Mode (CDDB Disc ID: 8A0B0809).

I hope this made it somewhat clearer, otherwise please specify which part of my previous post I should clarify.

[Rollo]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

So, if I have this correct, in some instances:

track based rip from original + cue > burned cd > image rip
did not match
original cd > image rip

but using the same original disc

image based rip from original + cue > burned cd > image rip
matched
image based rip from original

This is a wild, but somewhat informed guess. dBpa does not support pre-gaps of track 1. It could be the non-conforming discs had pre-gaps longer than the standard 2 second variety.

Try this. Rip the copy track based. Compare each individual track using EAC's compare wav function. I am suggesting that only the 1st track does not match. Just remember two things. If you are using EAC, set to "append gaps to previous track" under the action menu [this is also how dBpa performs], and the EAC cue sheet must be non-compliant.

[fjodor]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

So, if I have this correct, in some instances:

track based rip from original + cue > burned cd > image rip
did not match
original cd > image rip

Yes.

but using the same original disc

image based rip from original + cue > burned cd > image rip
matched
image based rip from original

Yes.

This is a wild, but somewhat informed guess. dBpa does not support pre-gaps of track 1. It could be the non-conforming discs had pre-gaps longer than the standard 2 second variety.

Is there any easy way to determine if this is the case? Can I for example look in the generated CUE-sheet?

Try this. Rip the copy track based. Compare each individual track using EAC's compare wav function.

What should I compare the tracks ripped from the copy with? Should I compare them to the tracks ripped from the original CD?

I am suggesting that only the 1st track does not match. Just remember two things. If you are using EAC, set to "append gaps to previous track" under the action menu [this is also how dBpa performs], and the EAC cue sheet must be non-compliant.

Yepp, those are the settings I'm using.

[Rollo]

Re: Using CUE sheet from EAC with files ripped by dBpowerAMP?

Is there any easy way to determine if this is the case? Can I for example look in the generated CUE-sheet?

Yes. The first track in the cue sheet will look like this:
FILE "01 - Military Madness.wav" WAVE
TRACK 01 AUDIO
TITLE "Military Madness"
PERFORMER "Graham Nash"
PREGAP 00:00:32
INDEX 01 00:00:00

The pregap statement means its longer than the normal 2 seconds by [I think] 32/100ths of a second.

What should I compare the tracks ripped from the copy with? Should I compare them to the tracks ripped from the original CD?

Yes. But not only compare the first track, compare the rest as well. I am guessing the 1st one will not match because it is 32/100th of a second longer, but that the rest will.

The bottom line is that you have NEARLY a 1:1 copy of the original and the musical content is identical. It could also be that your read and write offsets are not configured correctly in EAC, but it sounds like you know what you are doing.