Easy CD-DA Extractor 7.0.5 Reviewed by CDR-Zone.COM

home - news

Posted on Saturday 24th of April, 2004 at 13:59 by SirQUK
Source:

About the software
Installation
Usage
Audio CD Extraction Error Test
Conclusion
Pros and Cons
Pricing and Availability

For our latest review, we are going to take a look at Easy CD-DA Extractor version 7.05 from Poikosoft.

About the Software:

Easy CD-DA Extractor is an 'All in one' solution for ripping, converting and recording all types of Audio CDs and compresed audio formats:

Complete list of Easy CD-DA Extractor features:

Audio CD Ripper features:

Hi-performance multithreaded buffered CD-ripping & encoding
Copies "Copy-Protected" CDs
Error Recovery, reads audio from badly scratched CDs
Download and upload disc information from/to the freedb, the Internet Compact Disc Database.
Volume Normalizer and Compressor
Fade In/Out
Silence deletion from the start and end of a song
Reads CD-Text
Output Formats: MP3, Windows Media Audio 8 and 9, Ogg Vorbis, MP4, M4A, AAC, FLAC, VQF, WAV, AIFF, Monkey's Audio, and any command line encoder

Audio File Format Converter features:

Volume Normalizer
Volume Compressor
Fade In/Out
Silence deletion from the start and end of a song
Input formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, MP4, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and Monkey's Audio
Output Formats: MP3, Windows Media Audio 8 and 9, Ogg Vorbis, MP4, M4A, AAC, FLAC, VQF, WAV, AIFF, and Monkey's Audio, and any command line encoder

Audio CD Creator features:

Supports all CD-recorders without need to update the program when a new CD-recorder becomes available, all CD-recorder parameters are automatically detected!
Writes CD-Text
Supports buffer underrun prevention technologies
Input Formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, MP4, M4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV, and Monkey's Audio

Installation:

Installing Easy CD-DA Extractor is nice and simple, using the standard Poikosoft Installer. A few clicks and installation is complete.

To use Easy CD-DA Extractor you will need the following system requirements:

Microsoft Windows 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP or newer

A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive for ripping audio CD's (IDE, SCSI, USB, USB2, or Firewire)

A CD-R/RW, or DVD-R/RW/RAM, or DVD+R/RW for creating audio CD's (IDE, SCSI, USB, USB2, or Firewire)

Soundcard recommended but not required

Screen resolution 1024x768 or higher recommended Usage:

Audio CD Ripper:

The first screen that greets you upon execution of the software, is the Audio CD Ripper screen, where you are asked to insert an Audio CD for ripping. It is from this screen that you wil set up all your options such as preferred ripping device, your ouptut audio format, output folder, output filename, the creation of a playlist, choice of preferred tagging options, normalize options, freedb, and optional ID Tag comments. All of these options are set to very good 'default' status and are completely customizable to the users needs.

Easy CD-DA Extrator has the ability to copy protected Audio CDs, which normally would stop the user from backing up their original CD, but this is also hardware dependant:

" The ability of copying "Copy Protected" CD's also depends of the hardware, so it is possible that your CD/DVD-R/RW/ROM drive has a problem with these discs. If the hardware has problems, there's not much Easy CD-DA Extractor can do about it."

Easy CD-DA Extractor can also output wav files for use with DVD+Audio.

Audio File Format Convertor:

Converting between the supported file formats is where Easy CD-DA Extractor can really save the user alot of time and effort. Although freeware solutions are available, they normally require a lot of setting up and individual downloading and installation of the required encoder for the chosen file format. Poikosoft has simplified this task and no encoder download is needed for all the supported file formats besides the windows media format,(which is downloadable Here). Simply browse to where your extracted files are stored on your PC and drag them into the Conversion window, and then choose anyone of the supported file formats for conversion.

A right click of the selected file allows for re ordering if required and also removal if the wrong file was selected. The ability to edit such options as ID3, normalise and fade features is also available from within the Audio File Convertor screen.

Audio CD Creator:

You've ripped your CD, youve tagged it and set all your preferred options, now its time to record your CD. Before carrying on we must remind you that Easy CD-DA Extractor uses an ASPI driver to access CD and DVD-drives, (See http://www.poikosoft.com/download.html#ASPI for more information.), and this ASPI layer needs to be installed, and your PC restareted before the recording feature can be used.

Adding files to the compilation can be achieved either by simply dragging and dropping from within the interface, or via the right click menu in the compilation window. Options such as CD-Text, Write Speed, Gap length between tracks, 'Test' mode and recording device can also be set from within the Audio CD Creator screen.

Tools:

A full range of tools are available depending on wether you choose Rip, Convert of Record including a CD database editor, Disc eraser, CD and drive information.

Audio CD Extraction Error Test:

For this test a known badly scratched audio was placed inside the Plextor DVDRW and Easy extractor was asked to extract it. This audio CD has made software crash in the past whilst trying to read it, so it was going to be a good test of the softwares error correction feature.

The Audio CD was extracted without much complaint from Easy CD-DA Extractor, and the extraction process took just 7 minutes to complete. Impressively, all the tracks where extracted and only one song had a slight glitch in it, ( as stated earlier, this CD will normally crash Audio player software ), and that can only show just how good this softwares extraction technology is, and just how useful it might be in recovering those CDs that the kids have managed, or got accidently dropped.

The only thing that was slightly disapointing was the lack of an error report screen to show exactly where the errors had occured.

Conclusion:

With version 7 of Easy CD-DA Extractor, Poikosoft have made it their untaking to offer the user of their software, an easy way to fully rip, convert and record their Audio CDs in a very simple way and with very little need for the user to go hunting around the internet for all the required codecs that might be needed.

The user interface is extremely user friendly and access to all the features is very easy and well explained via the help file. Insert a CD, rip to your preferred hard drive location in yout preferred audio format, convert from an array of supported audio formats, and then record as required for your needs, it really is that simple!

As to all this, advanced options such as AudioCD protection copying, disc error correction and subcode analysis, Easy CD-DA Extractor makes a very good claim to being the easiest software in its field for the beginner, and will also allow for the more advanced users needs.

Pros And Cons:

Pros:

30 day fully functional trial!
Nice User Interface
Supports many file formats
Achieves superb compression and conversion speeds and quality
lots of user friendly and more advanced options
No need for lengthy understanding of more advanced codecs
Can recover errors and scratches on CDs

Cons:

Official Support is limited to purchased users only
When ripping from a scratched CD, an analysis screen or some sort of indication that errors have been found on CD would be nice

Pricing and Availability:

The price for the Easy CD-DA Extractor is $29.95, and it is available now. After you have paid, you will have the non-limited version of the software and access to registered users section. If you pay by credit card the order is processed in real-time.

Tested on: