Audiophiles - CD Rip Question

[kerrywins]

If I rip a cd and save it on my hard drive in wav format (44100, 16 bit) and then convert the wav file to mp3...is that the same as ripping a cd straight to mp3?

wav format is lossless right?

[kerrywins]

1. there must be a computer/audio expert on here...

you guys and girls never let me down....
we have the smartest people on this board...

[Wickerman]

2. Read the Andy McFadden Faq

Best thing going - if it don't have the answer, then it ain't known.

http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq02.html

[kerrywins]

3. can someone answer this question...

[bobaloo2]

4. It's the same

When you rip "direct" to MP3, the programs is just converting it to an intermediate format like WAV and then deleting the temp file, doesn't matter which way you do it.

The codec (software) you use does make a difference, it's worth doing a little research to find a GOOD ripper if you're doing much of it, rather than just using the first one that comes to hand.

[kerrywins]

5. i'm using eac to rip to wav...

and creative mediasource 2 to convert the wav to mp3 format. I'm using eac so it will get a perfect copy of the tracks....the other day I ripped jurassic park soundtrack using creative mediasource...and the cd was pretty scratched....and alot of the tracks were messed up....i didn't know till I no longer had the cd.
so to make sure that didn't happen again...i'm using eac and putting it on secure mode.
the only thing...it says it can rip to compressed or uncompressed wav format. the wavs are at 44100, and 16 bit....but i'm super paranoid...and I wanted to make sure they weren't compressing anyway.

[Heyo]

6. There is no difference...

.... either you will go to .wav, with no compression, and then when you go from wav to mp3 it will compress. Or you can go CD straight to mp3, and it will compress.

There is no point in going to wav first. It just uses up resources and drive space, and doesn't gain you anything with regard to the quality of your resulting Mp3.

You want to rip to MP3, and skip the wav files.

Heyo

[vajraroshana]

7. That's what I was thinking too...

lossless is for a whole other reason, isn't it, like file sharing without degradation, for instance? I mean if you're going from the original source, it's not going to matter, because it'll still compressed when you put it into mp3.

[Heyo]

9. Yup..

...Plus, the compression to MP3 doesn't degrade the sound hardly at all. Not by any appreciable level that I can perceive. Anyway, a large part of the compression is just deleting data that is silence on frequencies that are not being used at that moment in the audio piece.

I burn MP3's to CD's all the time.. they sound great in the car and the home system.

Heyo

[qnr]

10. It is better for file sharing in that respect, but

the files are larger, of course. Larger size is worth it though, since some of us prefer Ogg Vorbis. Converting from one lossy format (mp3) to another lossy on (ogg) is when you get serious degradation.

[kerrywins]

8. go back and read post 5

and you will see why I have to rip to to wav first with E.A.C.