Apologies in advance if this is not posted in the correct area - please don't flame me!

I am new to MP3 and I'm running NT4/SP3 on an (aging c1996/7) intel box:
Matsushita ATAPI CD-ROM
Creative Pro 16 (bit) soundcard
Have got Xing's AC - full version

Tried to encode some MP3s from CD-ROM drive:
It seems MSCDEX is not an option under NT4
ASPI - is greyed out, but I don't know if this is a possible option, either with an updated atapi.sys or with wnaspi32.dll installed, also do I need a special cable from CD-ROM to sound card?

Left with the analog option only, on playback via my hi-fi system, tracks sound distorted (usually when hitting peaks) I have tried with & without normalisation (via .wav) but still distorts.
I've used VBR at normal/high and CBR at highest - same problems.
Is there a fundamental problem, i.e. I need to go and buy new soundcard/CD-ROM? Or can I correct problem via driver/software upgrade?

Also, can anyone suggest a good .wav recording program for pulling audio from vinyl?

I recommend you check out r3mix.net to learn all about how to set your system up for digital audio extraction. It'll have everything you need to know. For example, it will tell you how to get an ASPI layer for your CD-ROM.

Beware, though, there's a chance that your CD-ROM will be lousy at digital audio extraction! If so, my personal opinion is that you should swallow hard and go ahead and invest the $$ in a player that will do the job right. Plextor is a highly regarded brand name for audio extraction.

To go from vinyl, of course, you can't avoid the A/D conversion step. Still, I'd seriously consider upgrading your sound card before you do that. The SB Live! card is pretty good, but depending on how picky you are on quality you may want to go even better than that (though I'm not qualified to say what that means---no analog in my catalog :-)


Michael

You should be able to pull down an ASPI layer set from Adaptec that will treat your ATAPI drive as an ASPI-compatible device. It used to be in the downloads section (can't quote from memory) and will upgrade the ASPI layer support to 4.6 (the current version). Alternatively, you could look at the support page for your CD-ROM, as some manufacturers post ASPI support packages for their drives.

I think in the end you may be better off aiming for a SCSI solution with a new drive; the AVA2904/6 is a good, low cost card from Adaptec, and Plextor does a low-cost range of SCSI CD drives for RIPping. I know you already have a setup in place, but this gives you a lot of flexibility and future proofing (you can add more SCSI devices to your box at leisure).

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

The Adaptec ASPI drivers are only supplied as an upgrade. Obviously, this means that you have to have a copy installed already. Unfortunately, they're not shipped with Windows (anymore?), so you have to purchase something like Easy CD creator to get them.

Personally, I just invested in a SCSI Plextor 40xCDROM drive, which, in the short while I've been using it, seems perfectly happy (under Audio Catalyst) to rip at 17x.

And the ASPI drivers? I had to fork over £60 for a copy of Easy CD Creator 4. The 3.5 version that came with my Yamaha CD-ReWriter isn't supported under Windows 2000. Ouch.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

...or you could have gone for the $50 EZ-SCSI instead, which includes a "lite" version of 3.5 EZ CD.

I am curious; if you have a Plexstor 40x (40-TSi?) how are you able to read and RIP at 17X? I have trouble on a 32 TSi connected at (8-bit) Ultra speeds to a 2940A above 8X (I get various synch problems), but I confess to having a weedy old-fashioned dual Pentium Pro @ 200MHz w 128M RAM. What:

- processor
- memory
- Audio Cat settings

...and so forth do you use?

One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

Version 3.5 isn't (officially) supported in Win2K, so I had to upgrade. Adaptec don't provide a free upgrade path between 3.5 and 4.0, so I had to fork over the cash.

Audio Catalyst claims that it's ripping at around 17x. That's all I know. It slows down to about 7-8x on battered CDs, or at the edges, but it seems OK. I get bucketloads of "Possible Speed Problems" in AC, but all of the CDs I've done so far sound fine.

Full spec: P2/400, 128Mb, Asus P2B-LS (Adaptec 7890 - i.e. an integrated 2940U2W). The CD-ROM is plugged into the -SE bus. It might be down to the SCSI bus - the Plextor's on a wide segment, yours appears to be on a narrow bus. The SCSI HD is a Quantum Viking II (9Gb), plugged into the U2W bus.

AC is set to ASPI, Plextor, Buffered Burst, maximum speed.

When I rip normally, however, it's limited by the 10Mbps bandwidth on my home network - 'cos my 30Gb IDE disk is in my Linux box. This brings it down to 6-7x or so. The Plextor automatically brings down the speed if it's having problems, and this doesn't seem to cause any problems with the quality.

I must admit I was quite surprised. It could have been a fluke, however - the recent rips have been limited to 6x. I still get loads of "Possible Speed Problems", like 600 or so per track, but the music sounds fine. I've only had the drive for a couple of days, so it might be that the average speed that it works at is lower.

The intended upshot of my post was a resounding endorsement of Plextor CD-ROM drives.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

Ah. That I didn't know. The problem with this approach is that I wanted the ASPI drivers for the machine at work. Which doesn't have an Adaptec card in it.

As far as my machine at home goes, it's got an Adaptec 7890 on the m/board, so I'm not sure if the installer will detect it anyway. Which is kinda moot, since I got the ASPI drivers with the CD-RW drive.

I would have been stung for the Easy CD Writer upgrade, regardless.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

Yeah, the Plextor 40x does digital audio extraction at 17x in the centre of the CD, and 30-32x at the edges. That'll be the CAV drive for you.

The MP3 encoding takes a while longer.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

Thanks to the advice from everyone, especially to look at r3mix.net - I pulled down the ASPI layer from the link there, and with some fiddling with the AC settings I'm up & running.

I had to fork over £60 for a copy of Easy CD Creator 4. The 3.5 version that came with my Yamaha CD-ReWriter isn't supported under Windows 2000. Ouch.

Try to refrain from leaning over and thumping me, Roger, but I paid less than that for an Adaptec 2904 SCSI card which came with Easy CD Creator Lite 4.02. Which I haven't even opened 'cos it's a Linux PC I stuck the card in.

Peter

I took the office onto W2k in May and Adaptec 3.5 is seriously bad voodoo with 2000. Crash city. Even if you have 4.0+ get the freshest copy you can as they were tweaking fast & furious. 4.02s(287) is a good build and I haven't had any problems with it, even considering my ancient Smart & Friendly 4x12 CD-R (a bargain at the time for a mere $400).

-Zeke

just say you weren't paying much attention...