Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and apologize if these questions have been asked before but I want to get things right before embarking on ripping my collection of approximately 1000 CDs. It seems like a worthy project to start during these difficult times but I want to avoid making mistakes.

I plan to use the default settings for ripping to FLAC but would appreciate any advice on whether it's necessary to use "secure rip" for all CDs or just the ones that have scratches. I've read that "burst mode" is much faster and less damaging to one's writer and most of my CDs (90%) are in near mint/mint condition. I realize that some might have factory defects which are invisible to the naked eye, so any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. :-) I also have a generic DVD writer, not a name brand CD writer--will this have a negative impact on the ripping quality?

I'd also appreciate any thoughts on the naming order of the artist/album or are the default settings the best option? I assume most of my CDs will be in one of the databases but I want to get this right to avoid problems down the road. Also, should the album cover art be kept in the same folder as the album ripped or is there some reason to keep them in separate folders? To me, it seems best to have just one folder (don't know if this is the default setting). Moreover, should each song display the cover art or is it best to just have cover art for the entire album? I don't know if this would use up a lot of space or slow the ripping process down.

Lastly, I would like to preserve the original file/sound as much as possible and don't want to add any effects to "enhance" the sound but am not clear about "audio regain." Is that needed/recommended when ripping a collection or does this change the original file?

I really want to get things right the first time as I've tried ripping with other programs in the past but inevitably gave up due to some nasty surprises such as noise, hiss and inaccurate rips but that was quite awhile ago. ;-)

I think this covers almost everything. I would be grateful for any suggestions that you might have before starting this project. Thank you for any advice you might have on this topic or other matters that I need to consider before ripping my collection.