Phile Audio App Reviews

ripping my 700+ cds with it ;i would say its great (able to connect my external dvd/cd writer) ;so it s useful to rip 2 cds at once ...it finds easily as well the cds artwork on the web ,but not always (i would have appreciated a feature to import "manually" an image/cd artwork from like discogs or anywhere on the web ) otherwise than that i m quite happy .thx

It does nort work on my mac mini on yosemite. It does not recognize the cd inserted or encode flac files, useless.

I liked the look of the interface and it looked promising. But, I tried ripping a CD using the AIFF encoder which I expected to come in at the native CD bitrate of 1411 kbps (it didnt give me the option of bit depth). Instead, it came in at a bit rate of ~270 kbps, definitely not native CD quality. The maximum bit rate it allows seems to be 500 kbps when you rip into Ogg Vorbis. Not acceptable! Also, even though I checked the box to automatically add the tracks to iTunes it didnt and I had to go back and import them manually. Also, I initially liked the fact that it would allow me to scan the album cover art on my scanner without leaving the application. But, this quickly turned to disappointment when I found that I could not crop down on the image from within the program, it simply scanned the entire flatbed and left me with that as my scanned image. Overall, a nice interface and good initial effort but the developer could take a lesson from the program called Max which is much better even though the user interface not quite as slick. If youre looking to rip your CDs at the native bit rate (or higher) then I would recommend either Max or XLD. `

I was having a problem with the latest version crashing. I got the problem resolved, with the guidance of the support team. Support for this app was very good, and prompt. It now works on my CDs just fine.

One of the problems with itunes is that it doesnt attach artwork when you create an mp3 file. Phile audio does when you rip your CDs. It also solves the major hassle of no artwork found online. All you do is throw the item on your scanner and Phile automatically grabs the image and attaches it to your mp3. Its also very easy to make corrections to database errors BEFORE you rip your CD.

I originally was hoping to use several remote CD readers on different Macs, however for some reason it can’t see those. The software is fairly stable, had one or two crashes while importing more than 500 CDs Quite good at reading scratched CDs and importing into iTunes. Overall I am happy with it.

I was Looking for something that would let me do what iTunes will not . Instead of putting everything into iTunes Library , I simply wanted to copy all my CD’s into a Hardrive in WAV format with Metadata and Album Cover , in each its own folder . When you looking at a stack of over 1000 CD’s this is a daunting task to manually enter all that Data and double check everything . I Took a Chance with this . And am glad I did . Thank you Phile for making my life a Little easier . uhhh and Better sounding ! As I have it set up , Wav files go to an external HDD dedicated to the CD’s , and a second Format in AAC 256kbs , Goes into iTunes Library WITH artwork ( I do have to search the net for those pix , but that is the only thing I have to do ) , Hit Import , and Bam open my iTunes Library there are the files nice and orderly , and my Main CD Storage drive has the WAV files in each its own folder . Nice and neat . Phile Audio , is a Yes . …. from a Real Audio Professional.

this app is very easy to set up and use while giving outstanding results (compared this app to a free and widely used utility using DAC and decent headphones )

This application - the best audio CD-ripping software for mac! Thank you!

I like Phile Audio, but any application that doesn’t behave properly is a waste of time. Phile Audio crashes, which is one thing, but then won’t restart unless I reboot my Mac. Even force quit does not clean up this mess. I suspect memory management errors. In any case: You have got to be kidding. Gonzo. Update: Discovered that Phile Audio will queue a lot of the encoding tasks — and that’s what was choking my Mac. Click the “Encoding” button in the main window to see how many tasks remain. XX/YY (completed/tptal) is in bottom right corner. But still, it fails on a regular basis, can’t always be killed with “Force Quit”, and I’ve had to reboot several times. I’m trying XLD. Wish I could get my money back.

Add this to what’s changed: 1. Crashes all the time 2. Does not do mp3 any more Good thing I have itunes I can still rip cd’s I guess it was stupid of me to get this app anyway.

Seemed like a good idea....bought it for $8. However, the FreeDB database is awful....and cannot find much of my music. I am NOT paying for software that requires me to enter this information manually. Especially when the same CDs are easly found through the database used by iTunes. Ive asked for a refund if they cant fix this issue...welll see if I get it! Update....not only did the developer respond directly and imediately to my complaints....they fixed the problem! I was very impressed with their dealings with me....and best of all....the database issue is FIXED!!! Now that I dont have to type all that info manually....this is a GREAT program.....very happy with it and easy way to build...or in my case re-build your music archive! :)

This is the easy way to get your CD collection into FLAC for back up that I have seen. Yea you can do it for free with xAct, but you have to do all of the tagging by hand. Phile Audio can get the disc info from FreeDB or iTunes. This app is well worth the $.

I Love the new interface, 5 stars across the board! -I like that you can get the cd information from iTunes now. Thanks for the update! I used to use EAC on the PC, and there was never a suitable alternative for the Mac. I kept a PC around just so I could rip my CDs with it. Finally, I can ditch Window$ and use my Mac to rip my CDs. I like the fact that I can rip multiple formats at once, and use multiple drives at once. The built in cover art browser makes things go much faster. Superior to Exact Audio Copy in every way! Recommended!

...if youre not using HFS which I never do. Why did the developer require HFS in order to save the preferences? And how do I get my money back? HFS is a terrible file system type. It doesnt support proper capitalisation support, cant have a file called "INSTALL" and a subdirectory called "install" in the same directory, for example, nor does it support hard links. Why anybody on a UNIX system would ever use it is beyond me. What is this, Windows? There certainly is no technical reason why I shouldnt be able to save my preferences. Btw., this is on a MacBook Pro that is about 10 months old.

I had been using Max (which is freeware), and figured that this might be an easier way to rip cds. However, I was unimpressed with the audio lookup, there was no way to change the FLAC settings, and the program crashed on me several times. Not to mention the fact that it doesnt like saving to folders with long file names and theres no way to stop it from ejecting a cd when it finishes ripping (I have a laptop, and sometimes the cd slot is blocked... it would be a big problem if it ejected it then). Bottom line: Max might be more of a pain, but its free and works better.

I stumbled across this app, about a month ago. Since purchasing, Ive been using it to rip my 2000+ cd library, to both FLAC and mpeg4-aac simultaneously. I find it incredibly convenient that I can rip to mpeg4 and import into itunes for my general listening, but also archive to lossles flac for long term archiving. Although this doesnt quite meet my ultimate solution (rip to flac and convert on the fly to mpeg4 for itunes support), its pretty close. Now, I just need to motor through my remaining CD collection :) As pointed out by other reviewers, there are other methods to rip to FLAC, but none are as polished as Phile Audio.

SECOND EDIT: I see a couple of one and two star reviews. Im not saying they are wrong (I also flamed the program in my first review). Nonetheless, if you slow down and take a little time to get comfortable with the probram - you will see the results! Once set-up correctly, the program is very powerful and a joy to use. HONEST! This review is an edit. First, the instructions, or lack thereof, is a REAL issue. After spending over an hour (If I wanted to spend time learning a program I would have bought a PC) I figured out how the program works. This is a very powerful and useful ripping program. If your looking for a great mp3 rip (Lame is superior to Apple mp3) this is the program. If your looking for a program to provide a lossless rip for your home system and a lossey for on-the-got, this is the program. With clear written instructions and a cleaner interface this program would be 5 stars. Well worth the cost of one cd.

For the price it is a great app. Intutive interface, love the ability to write multiple formats at the same time and it is fast. Highly recommended!

Takes much of the pain out of farily tedious process.