New software, new workflow

Over the last few weeks - and several hundred CDs - I’ve gained a lot of experience.

I’ve changed software and started using more drives for ripping. It is a huge improvement over my initial approach.

Why rip my CDs?

CD/DVD players are getting harder to find. CDs and DVDs are subject to damage (scratches) or degradation due to bad production techniques (ink or glue destroying the reflective data layer) that could make them unplayable.

A lossless copy of your CDs allows you to put them in storage and play music from your own streaming server instead. I decided to rip ALL my CDs to lossless FLAC files and store them in space-saving FleecePack CD sleeves.

Software (macOS)

Ripping software

After experimenting with various apps, I settled on “dBpoweramp CD Ripper” - great software, definitely worth the price! It has a nice GUI and a lot of features including “AccurateRip” which saves a LOT of time when ripping hundreds of CDs. I still use XLD occasionally, but 99% of the work is done by dBpoweramp.

For DVDs (sometimes a CD came with a live concert DVD), I use MakeMKV to create ISO backup images. If needed, the video can be converted to other formats using Handbrake.

Metadata management

To check (and modify) metadata in the ripped version of your CD collection, I use Foobar2000.

This strangely named FLAC player helps me verify questionable rips and metadata. Especially on Collections, the Album Artist may be missing or wrong. This can be fixed using Foobar2000, even after ripping the CD.

Custom scripts

I wrote a Python script to generate a report based on the AccurateRip and Secure status of each track across the hundreds of CDs that I ripped. This way, I can easily find the CDs that need additional cleaning or polishing before re-trying.

Another Python script ensures that album art (Folder.jpg files) are reduced to max. 600 kBytes in size. This is needed for my Bluesound Node streamer.

CD Ripping Workflow

  1. Rip the CD in Burst mode (trying multiple drives as needed)
  2. Rip “Inaccurate” tracks in Secure mode with C2 pointers
  3. Rip “Inaccurate” tracks in Secure mode without C2 pointers
  4. Check metadata in Foobar2000
  5. Add CD to Discogs
  6. Discard the jewel case, store CD plus inserts/booklet in a FleecePack sleeve

Workflow Details

In dBpoweramp, use the “Burst” ripping method whenever possible. This is the fastest method, but you need to enable AccurateRip to verify that all tracks were ripped correctly.

The higher the AccurateRip confidence score, the better. A score of 200 appears to be the maximum. Any score above 2 is good enough for me - especially with relatively obscure CD titles.

AccurateRip in Burst mode

First, rip the CD in Burst mode:

  • Insert CD in ASUS drive, rip in Burst mode
  • If any tracks failed AccurateRip, re-rip those tracks using the other drives (in Burst mode)

Hopefully, all tracks are now “Accurate” according to AccurateRip. This means that you now have a good lossless (FLAC) copy of your CD! On to the next CD ;-)

Secure rip using C2 pointers

If you still have “Inaccurate” track or if the CD is not in the AccurateRip database, switch from Burst to Secure ripping. Make sure that “C2 Error Pointers” are supported and enabled for the current drive. This way, raw read errors are reported back to dBpoweramp.

Note: dBpoweramp will re-read any ‘bad’ frames multiple times. This can take a LOT of time - if no time limit is set, the drive may keep re-reading indefinitely causing unnecessary wear on the drive. You can set a timeout as well as a limit on number of attempted re-reads.

Retry the “Inaccurate” (AccurateRip) tracks using multiple drives. At this time, your track could be:

  • “Inaccurate” (AccurateRip) but “Secure” (C2)
  • “Inaccurate” (AccurateRip) and “Insecure” (C2)
  • “Not in database” (AccurateRip) but “Secure” (C2)
  • “Not in database” (AccurateRip) and “Insecure” (C2)

I consider “Not in database but Secure” to be good enough for obscure CD titles. Sometimes you may still be able to find the CD in AccurateRip database by using a manual search using different queries.

Tracks that are “Inaccurate but Secure” are most likely still good. The “Inaccurate” result might be caused by another pressing of the CD with different track checksums. To make sure, listen to the track to verify.

Note that “Insecure” rips may still be acceptable - but you will need to listen for clicks and dropouts in the resulting FLAC file.

Last resort: Secure rip without C2 pointers

If your drive does not reliably report C2 pointers (or for really stubborn tracks) I retry ripping using Secure rip, but with C2 pointers disabled.

Reduce drive speed to the lowest setting (1x / 2x?) to increase chances of success. dBpoweramp will read each track twice; if they yield the same results the rip is marked “Secure”.

Optical drives

I now use 4 different drives while ripping:

  • ASUS 5.25” BluRay drive
  • Verbatim 43888 BluRay drive, Hitachi-LG inside
  • Verbatim 43888 BluRay drive, Pioneer inside
  • Hitachi-LG DVDRAM CD/DVD drive

ASUS BluRay writer

5.25” external drive, purchased in March of 2026:

BD-RE ASUS BW-16D1X-U A105

This exact drive name is not listed in the CD Drive Accuracy 2026 report on the dBpoweramp forum, but the “ASUS BW-16D1HT” is. Nevertheless, it delivers great results with audio CDs.

This drive is mechanically more sturdy than the slimline drives below, so I expect better longevity.

Verbatim 43888 BluRay (Hitachi-LG)

Slimline drive, also purchased in March of 2026:

HG-ST-HL-DT-ST BD-RE BU40N (revision 1.05)

This drive is listed as a good drive on the CD Drive Accuracy 2026 report as having 98.5413% accuracy.

Verbatim 43888 BluRay (Pioneer)

Slimline drive, purchased in 2021:

PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-UD04 (revision 1.11)

Note that the Pioneer is no longer available new. Some people reported issues with this drive and dBpoweramp CD Ripper - suggesting EAC software as an alternative - but it works fine for me. I only use it as a last resort since it is a “rare” drive nowadays.

Hitachi-LG GP60NS60 CD/DVD

Slimline drive, purchased in June of 2026:

HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GP60NS60 (revision RF02)

I got this as an affordable CD/DVD drive to see if problematic discs could be read by this drive instead of a BluRay drive. It successfully ripped some tracks that the BluRay drives could not. Perhaps coincidence, perhaps not ;-)

References

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