Best mp3 ripper?

Originally posted by THEMEMANIA
Exact Audio Copy with LAME set as the External compressor.

I tried this before, and it seems to take much, much longer than iTunes. Is there a reason?

Yeah - and it can even correct (to an extent) scratches and dirt on CDs, which is an awesome feature. All of this good stuff only applies in Secure Mode, though - so make sure you've selected that. It is slow, but it Doesn't Make Errors, unlike the alternatives.

I use one of many hacked Fraunhofer MP3 codecs called Radium and so far it's done a very good job at 192kps.

There's a lot of references and comments to the LAME codec but what makes it that much better? Is it because it rips faster, or does it really sound better, or is it just the popular choice?

I listen to music almost 90% through headphones and I can easily point out evidence of MP3 compression especially at levels below 192, however not all that I've listened to sounded bad and still retained a small file size.

If someone has a link to where I can find the answers in detail, I'd really appreciate it.

lame-eac all the way. I agree it takes a bit longer, but its worth the wait. With other rippers, you have to listen to the newly-minted mp3s to make sure they were properly ripped, no hiccups, etc. No such worries with lame-eac. Simply the best, as voted by audiophiles and average users alike.