Encoding suggestions
01. Never ever use encoders based on the Xing technology. By now you should have realized how they fail to reproduce sound above 16 kHz. Read more about issues like this at www.r3mix.net.
02. No commercial intentions here, but in my opinion the following represent the best pieces of software:
- for ripping: Exact Audio Copy (free!) at www.exactaudiocopy.de;
- for encoding: LAME (free, at www.sulaco.org/mp3); you will need a front-end for this program (an interface that makes its usage easier), and a good one is RazorLame (find it on the Lame website). If you have trouble setting up the software, you should really read the material on the r3mix.net.
03. Anyway, if you have a big Hard Drive, it's better to first rip CD's and then let the computer encode them (at night, while you sleep). This is time efficient (on my PIII@800MHz it takes less then 4 minutes to rip a CD). However, if you don't have a relatively big hard drive, you'll have to do on-the-fly encoding.