[SuperDuke]

I'm brand new to computer audio.  I downloaded XLD to use as a ripper for my MAC.
 
Setting up the XLD preferences there is a setting for "Compression level".
 
What's the best setting for the best sound.  Seems intuitive that no compression would be optimal however that's not what I've seen in tutorials on setup.
 
 

 

[SuperDuke]

Think I've answered my own question.  I'll just use wav files instead of FLAC.  no compression level is offered in XLD so I guess that means wav files are uncompressed by definition.  they can be stored and played on itunes too.

 

[Roseval]

No, it is about FLAC and its compression level has nothing to do with lossy compression
The compression quality simply tells how many CPU FLAC is allowed to use to find the best possible compression (linear prediction). The more time is allowed the higher the compression.http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/Flac.htm
 
As you are using iTunes, it doesn't support FLAC.
The problem with WAV is the tagging support.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/KB/WAV_KB.htm

 

[SuperDuke]

Thanks for the clarification and I won't be using iTunes.  I just need to Rip files for a bryston BDP-1 media player.

 

[magnium]

The other consideration is that WAV file sizes are bigger than FLAC or ALAC which are compressed but lossless. You need to factor in the size of your CD collection and your available storage space.

 

[SuperDuke]

For sure file size does matter- my wav files are about 2x's as big as FLAC.  
 
here is a link for those considering using XLD.  I've been using it for about a week w/o a problem.
 
http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=102584