Winamp CD Ripping Quality?

[consultant]

I know Winamp uses LAME for CD Ripping. How does Winamp's CD Ripping compare in general to that of say CDEX or Easy CD-DA Extractor? I used to use CD-DA Extractor and in order to try to minimize the number of different programs on my PC have been using Winamp's built-in CD Ripping with no problems but I'm wondering if I'm sacrificing quality somewhere? All the CD's I rip are in brand-new condition.

[Axed]

I believe all the programs you mentioned use a burst mode, which is not a very accurate way to rip cds. Its possible to get jitters, garbles and other slight artifacts that arent on the CD just due to the nature of the coping.

You are always best of using Exact Audio Copy in secure mode for a (usually) exact rip that is bit perfect to the CD.

[EpheMeroN]

I agree with Axed. Although, on rare situations, if you have a severely scratched cd, sometimes burst mode can copy the track(s) without any noticeable glitches (at least from my own experiences).

[consultant]

I decided to stick with Easy CD-DA Extractor which I've used for a long while. It has a CD Reading mode called 'Recover & Repair' if it detects errors in the read. Produces excellent rips. Encode using LAME Preset Extreme for excellent results.