Music cd tracks to wma and wav to wma

[KevinB11]

I seem to be having a hard time here trying to find a converter to convert selected tracks from cds to wma lossless. Or even from wav to wma. CD receiver in car will play mp3, wma and aac. I seem to be leaning with wma.

I have been googling for something to work. Seems that some don't work or they don't do what I want them to. I have tried several, but have just used ACE-HIGH which has 12 combinations of conversion. I just converted some from wav to wma. It is also a trial. I get only 10 conversions.

Is both wma and wma lossless the same thing? No difference? Somehow I was unsure about this. Thanks for clearing that up.

Also several years ago I was able to burn cds directly from the source. Now I don't know what I did to do it. Ex - Windows media player won't allow you to do that. Must be some legal gaga there or is it codecs? I would prefer to burn directly from cd since some tracks tend to go directly into the next track without any blank pause between tracks.

Appreciate any ideas and leads. Maybe you can save me some time on this.

[Ridgerunr]

I have been converting CD/WAV files to mp3 for many years using dBPowerAmp . Illustrate also offers several other conversion programs. Others will have their own preferences,but I find using a bit rate of 128 keeps a good sound quality and takes up less space.
It was free when 'I' got it,but it may cost now. Might be worth your while to look into tho'...

[KevinB11]

Don't even worry about half of my questions I asked earlier. I just discovered that WMP11 will convert to WMA. Didn't realize that WMP11 can do so much. When I clicked on the tiny arrow below RIP a box drops down then I go to Format and you get another list: WMA, WMA Pro, WMA (VBR), WMA Lossless, MP3, and WAV. That's good news for me.

The question about directly burning from music cds I still wonder about. Several years ago I was able to burn cds directly from the source. Now I don't know what I did to do it. Ex - Windows media player won't allow you to do that. Must be some legal gaga there or is it codecs?

I would prefer to burn directly from cd since some tracks tend to go into the next track without any pause or silence between them, but the cd player can differentiate between them. Of course with mp3s there is always a gap. I guess it's the same with the other formats as well.

Can this still be done somehow? Don't remember how I did it before.

[Train]

How good do want the final product to sound like?

[Ridgerunr]

Commercial CD's 'do' have copy protection same as DVD movies. Probably why it won't let you rip them...

[KevinB11]

How good do want the final product to sound like?

Fortunately or unfortunately I am somewhat of a perfectionist. That can be both a good thing and a bad thing I guess. Yes Train I would prefer store bought cd quality and at least I can come very close using WMA Lossless. Since WMP11 let's me do that I am in good shape. I have also tried WAV.

I think you mentioned FLAC in an ealier post. Haven't tried that yet. But I want to play cds in my car which I don't do very much anyway. Like I said earlier I can play mp3s, wma, or aac with my Alpine HU I have now. It's brand new. I love it. I also play cds or mp3s on the pc. I have a good set of head phones and I don't have to worry about bothering any neighbors thank goodness.

[KevinB11]

Commercial CD's 'do' have copy protection same as DVD movies. Probably why it won't let you rip them...

Ridgerunr I guess that's right. But somehow I was able to do it before. Several years ago I guess. I thought I could use Windows to copy from DVD Rom to CD-RW. I attempted to do that, but it will only do it with data.

I have two cd players at home. One is a recorder. Maybe I can try that. Don't know for sure at this time if that will work. If not then it's the copy protection thing denying me access. Hm. Can only try it.

[Train]

AHHH, then check out Exact Audio Copy
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Exact Audio Copy Guide
http://www.teqnilogik.com/tutorials/eac.shtml

Rip at 4X, well worth the extra time needed. And burn at slower speeds when you make your backup. 32X works for me. You may want slower or faster, but the difference can be heard.
dBpoweramp is my converter, may cost now, but i have been using it for years.
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

As for the car, you are stuck with mp3 , but 320 bit raqte does not sound to bad, and after ripping correctly, 128 maybe what you will end up using.

I have not hit a cd yet that did not have a song or more I do not like.
So I recompile what I have so we can listen to them.

You will need to do some experimenting, so you end up with what you want.Believe me, it is well worth the time and effert involved!

[KevinB11]

Train I might be missing something here. I tried the EAC program and can format my cd tracks to wav no problem. But I want to burn only selected tracks directly to cd-r. Under "Tools" it has "Copy CD", but I don't want to copy the whole cd, just selected tracks.

WMP11 works fine since I can format to wma lossless. My car cd player will play wma. I'll wait for your reply. Thanks.

[Train]

I just rip everything and delete what I do not want.

ALthough the selecting the first one, then holding the Ctrl key while select each of the others works.
Or do a Ctrl + A, then hold the Ctrl key and deselect those you do not want should work too.

[KevinB11]

Train, I am either not doing something right or EAC will not let me burn only selected tracks from a music cd. Yes I select the tracks (Ctrl + Alt) I want burned. But when I go to "Action", then "Copy Selected Tracks", another box appears - "Uncompressed" and "Compressed". By doing uncompressed it will copy my selected tracks to WAV format, but will not burn directly to my cd-r disk.

And if I use "Tools" and select "Copy CD", then it wants to copy the whole cd even if I have selected tracks 2 and 9 for example. At least that is what happened to me yesterday. So I am not doing this right or EAC does not do what I want it to.

I might have another option. I have an older pc in my closet that has W98 on it. I believe I have Roxio Easy Cd Creator on it. I think that is what I used to burn selected tracks from store bought cds.

If I can't or don't do that then I will just use WMP11 to convert my selected tracks to WMA Lossless. My Alpine HU will play WMA. That may be the easiest thing to do right now instead of dragging and hooking up my other pc. I might do it anyway. Thanks for your help with all this.

[Train]

EAC does not burn cds.

I use Nero [$$], NTI [$$$], CDBurnXP [free][ http://cdburnerxp.se/ ] to burn the the data after ripping to a folder.

We can not get in the rush or the outcome sounds horrible to me and I am deaf.

[KevinB11]

EAC does not burn cds.

I use Nero [$$], NTI [$$$], CDBurnXP [free][ http://cdburnerxp.se/ ] to burn the the data after ripping to a folder.

We can not get in the rush or the outcome sounds horrible to me and I am deaf.

Ok Train I guess maybe I misunderstood you. But I am surprised a little that EAC will let you burn the whole cd. If I was wanting to clone a cd then that would be ok. As it sits now I have the means to rip different formats to my My Music folder. I still like the idea of converting my cds to wma lossless. There's almost too many options to do it these days. Thanks, have a good one Train.

[Train]

Now it is time to experiment to see what fits your likes and dislikes.
Lots of options available.

You are Welcome and have a good one too.