New to the forum. I have Windows 10 installed. Using EzCAP USB audio capture device to record CD in Audacity 2.0.3. The recorded track in Audacity sounds OK but when I export the tracks to an MP3 file then play back the audio the sound is distorted. Best described as a kind of “warble”. Would appreciate any feed back. Thanks in advace
MP3 is lossy compression, so what settings did you use?
i.e. With variable bitrate (generally the best option), V0 gives you the best quality and the biggest files.* V9 gives you the smallest files and the worst quality.
With constant bitrate, 320kbps is the best* quality with the biggest files and 8kbps gives you the smallest files with the worst quality.
Using EzCAP USB audio capture device to record CD in Audacity 2.0.3.
WAIT! CD? You don’t need to “record” CDs. Use a [u]CD Ripper application[/u] to copy the CD digitally. iTunes can also do it or Windows Media Player. I use EAC (Exact Audio Copy) and I’m going to try CueTools next time.
Ripping is faster than recording and since you are not making a digital-to-analog-to-digital conversion, you’ll get the same exact quality as the CD (before you compress to MP3). Most of these programs can rip to MP3, so you don’t need Audacity unless you are also editing.
Most ripping programs will also link to an online database so they can automatically “tag” the MP3 with artist, title, album, etc, information.
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- Since MP3 is always lossy, we can’t say 320kbps is “better” than 244kbps unless we can hear a difference. and, many times we can’t hear any difference.
Thanks. Locating and resetting the MP3 export options solved the problem. As for recording CDs using Audacity vice “Ripping” them I’ve not had a great deal of success. I’ve tried a couple of “CD rippers” but so far Fairstairs CD Ripper works the best for me. However, it will not reliably rip all tracks and sometimes none at all from certain CD’s. Hence the use of Audacity to record the audio. Again my many thanks for your insight and solution to my MP3 Export problem.
When I was on Windows (I now use Linux) I found C-dex to be very good: http://cdex.mu/
it will not reliably rip all tracks
Did you clean the CD? Music players are sometimes adjusted to ignore minor data errors based on most people not being able to hear them. Data transfers can be very sensitive to bit errors cause by dirt, fingerprints, etc. Certain scratches can cause transfer errors, and I can’t help there. Circular scratches are deadly. No error correction can deal with that.
Breathe on the shiny side and wipe from the center hole out with an old towel or other soft, cotton, clean rag. Doesn’t work with Man Made Fibers.
As a side project I make Koz’s Famous Cleaning Solution for Optical Surfaces. It’s 500ml drugstore distilled water with one (1) drop of Dawn unscented dishwashing detergent applied sparingly with a cotton “western” bandanna all in a Nalgene plastic bottle. It’s non-toxic, no alcohol and it dries to zero.
It works a treat on “i” devices. iPod, iPad, etc. and computer screens. If you make runny drips, you put too much on.
Clean the bandanna after several uses by swishing in the sink with more Dawn, rinse several times and do a final rinse with distilled in a bowl. No matter how many times you rinse in the sink, the distilled rinse will clear out more bubbles. Air dry. I throw it over a towel rack in the bath.
I use a purple bandanna. your mileage may vary. Consult your local listings.
Note: I get name-brand distilled now. I bought off-brand distilled once and it had That New Car Smell. I dumped it on the flowers.
Koz
Thanks for the tips. I’ve been using a microfiber cloth to clean the discs which hasn’t helped much. Will try using cotton and make up some of your famous mixture (hope there is no patent infringement issue) and hunt down a bandanna or two. Thanks again.
Western bandanna. Railroad bandannas are OK, but there’s nothing like the real thing. Railroad bandannas are the only ones that come in 27" (700mm) size, though, so if that’s the application, we’re stuck. 27" RR bandannas fit neatly over a 15" MacBook Pro to keep the dust out, very much like they keep cinders out of an engineer’s nose and mouth.
These are the machines that I use to run field recordings in Audacity to drag the thread back. So technically, each MBP uses two bandannas, one for dust and one for screen cleaning.
Koz
Microfiber.
They make my skin crawl. I got a bunch of work rags made out of something miraculous and I couldn’t put them down. Really. I would let go and they would stick to me in the low western humidity.
Ew.
Koz
As for recording CDs using Audacity vice “Ripping” them I’ve not had a great deal of success.
OK… But, I’d still recommend trying ripping first. IMO- Analog recording should be the “last resort”.
You’re right… Audio players (and audio player software) do have “error hiding”, so if you have a problem disc an analog recording can sometimes give you better results. And, players & player software (usually) won’t “freeze up” when you hit an error. (I’ve ripped hundreds of CDs, and I’ve only had to make an analog copy once or twice.)
At least 90% of your CDs should rip with no problems unless your CDs are in particularly bad shape, or unless your CD reader is flaky. Many ripping applications have [u]AccurateRip[/u] which checks your data against an online database. But even when AccurateRip can’t verify a track, I rarely have audible errors.
Cleaning and/or polishing doesn’t always work because the data-layer is on the label-side of the CD, and it’s read from the opposite side through the full-thickness of the polycarbonate. In fact, CDs are more-easily damaged from the top than from the bottom. If it’s damaged from the top, there’s not much you can do to repair it.
You should be able to make an analog recording by playing the CD on your computer and [u]recording the sound coming from your computer speakers[/u], so you shouldn’t need any external hardware. If your operating system supports WASAPI loopback, you can make a digital recording of streaming/playing audio,
There is also a ripper called [u]AudioGrabber[/u] that has optional analog recording built-in. It’s been a long time since I had to use analog with a CD, but that’s the way I did it.
Great advice & recommendations. Thanks to all. BTW Koz what do I do with the rest of the Dawn detergent? 