xACT and newbie questions

[arconaut]

Hi everyone,

Just got Rockbox working on a 5th Gen iPod this week and I'm really loving it. Thanks to everyone who made this possible! Now I just need to create a library of music in the FLAC format.

I have been using xACT to rip directly from my CD's. I have two questions about this process:

1. In the software's "Encode" pane, it has a slider to choose a balance between "Smallest" and "Fastest." If FLAC is lossless, why would I not want to always choose "Smallest?" I don't understand these apparently opposed parameters.

2. Not as major of a question but... I just forged ahead and tried encoding some files, which I did directly from the disc. Then I read some instructions online and they say to rip the CD on to a hard drive first, then convert those files to FLAC. Does this improve the error correction? Is there really a reason to do it two steps what seems to be possible with one?

I'm using a Mac, so perhaps xACT is not the software of choice, but I'd like to do everything I can to maximize the quality of my audio.

Thanks!

[yapper]

To achieve the smallest file size (greatest compression) can take more time, therefore it isn't necessarily the fastest process as more analysis is needed.

[saratoga]

2)  no.

[arconaut]

Wow, you are fast around here. If I can make it smaller without loss in quality, that's great. I'm not in a hurry to rip stuff, as it all happens in the background anyhow.

Thanks again, then.

[soap]

http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Secure_ripping