Maximum PC

Hi folks,

I could use some advice on ripping mp3's from my cd's. First, let me describe my problem. I have a 160Gb iPod Classic and use iTunes to rip music and add to my device. I was naive and didn't know anything about ripping music and used iTunes AAC (iTunes Plus) method for ripping. The inconsistent sound levels drive me absolutely nuts! Sure, I can play around with each album and try to normalize them. That never works. I tried MP3 Gain, but it doesn't recognize the AAC (m4a) format.

My main listening device is a 2010 Harley-Davidson CVO Ultra-Classic. It has limits. Some songs are loud enough, but others are too quiet for blasting down the freeway at 80 MPH.

I just downloaded Exact Audio Copy 1.0 beta 3, with LAME bundle 399.5-64. For compression options, is LAME about as good as it gets? At the moment I have it set for 320 kBit/s, High Quality.

I have over 2000 cd's to rip so I want to get it set up right before I start. Any advice is appreciated.

LAME is as pretty good as it gets. Though I'm partial to using LC-AAC myself, as it's more efficient than MP3.

Ok, I don't really care about archival quality at the moment. I have EAC set up to delete the wav files after compression.

Is there anything else I need to tweak before ripping at 320/HQ? I'm just starting to get into EAC. This will be much better than my iTunes AAC correct?

Here is what my external compression tab looks like.

Thank you!

Lossy or not, this will still be better than my iTunes rip eh?