Image/Single File Rips
In the EAC Guides I focus on creating "perfect" rips in the shape of separate files with gaps appended to previous tracks, with accompanying noncompliant cue sheets. That way you have the double advantages of being able to use the files for easy computer and portable player listening and the means to re-create an exact copy of the CD. However, some people may still want to rip to single files, one file for each CD. If that is your preference for your personal use, well, so be it. But I sometimes see this method recommended on the grounds that it is easier for the beginner. That is only half true. I also suspect that some people wrongly believe that a "copy" created using EAC will always be an exact copy. That is not the case.
If you have not configured EAC properly, a copy made with EAC is no better than just any other copy. And, the word "copy" (or "image") is no guarantee that a perfect backup of the CD has been created.
Ripping to an image/single file is somewhat easier for a beginner because there are fewer steps involved, and thus fewer risks of making mistakes. I would recommend learning to perform the "rip to multiple files" steps properly (it is not that difficult, really), but if you insist on creating images/single files for your CDs, you still need to set up EAC properly, and you need to choose the right option for creating the copy/image/single file.
This means that you really need to go through the Setup Guide before you start creating your files. EAC will not automatically create "exact" copies. Do use AccurateRip: it guarantees that you use the right offset correction value for your drive, and also offers the possibility to have your rip verified against other rips of the same CD made by other users with different drives.
Also, make sure that track titles and the rest of the CD information is correct before you rip the CD, see CD Information. That will make the cue sheet so much more useful.
When you have got EAC set up properly, you can create image/single file rips that are as reliable (or "perfect" or "exact") as is at all possible by choosing the option to Test & Copy Image, not just "copy":
It means that it will take longer to rip, but it is well worth the extra time to have EAC "rip" twice: first it makes a test rip and saves the information about that test. Then it performs the actual rip (the "copy") and compares the result with the test rip. If the two match, the chances that your rip is indeed "perfect" are very high. It is even better to also have AccurateRip verification, but you need to test & copy, too, since AccurateRip does not check all of the file (see Comments on AccurateRip Results).
This is what the log for an image/single file rip should look like (with some settings different for different drives, of course). Note that the CRC values for Test and Copy match:
Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 5 from 4. May 2009
EAC extraction logfile from 22. November 2009, 14:43
Queen / A Night At The Opera
Used drive : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-800A Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -V -8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y"
-T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:43.55 | 0 | 16779
2 | 3:43.55 | 1:07.32 | 16780 | 21836
3 | 4:51.12 | 3:05.33 | 21837 | 35744
4 | 7:56.45 | 2:52.50 | 35745 | 48694
5 | 10:49.20 | 3:31.00 | 48695 | 64519
6 | 14:20.20 | 4:04.30 | 64520 | 82849
7 | 18:24.50 | 2:16.62 | 82850 | 93111
8 | 20:41.37 | 8:21.35 | 93112 | 130721
9 | 29:02.72 | 3:39.18 | 130722 | 147164
10 | 32:42.15 | 3:23.67 | 147165 | 162456
11 | 36:06.07 | 5:55.08 | 162457 | 189089
12 | 42:01.15 | 1:15.60 | 189090 | 194774
Range status and errors
Selected range
Filename C:\EACrips\Queen - A Night At The Opera.wav
Peak level 99.9 %
Range quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 6C60AFBD
Copy CRC 6C60AFBD
Copy OK
No errors occurred
AccurateRip summary
Track 1 accurately ripped (confidence 146) [135862E4]
Track 2 accurately ripped (confidence 150) [F2B72A0C]
Track 3 accurately ripped (confidence 148) [FAA378B6]
Track 4 accurately ripped (confidence 148) [A7E1CC4D]
Track 5 accurately ripped (confidence 150) [978794D3]
Track 6 accurately ripped (confidence 146) [597DB159]
Track 7 accurately ripped (confidence 148) [A94588D5]
Track 8 accurately ripped (confidence 144) [7F706F48]
Track 9 accurately ripped (confidence 146) [F14A4460]
Track 10 accurately ripped (confidence 142) [FF229C82]
Track 11 accurately ripped (confidence 138) [14ABF9F1]
Track 12 accurately ripped (confidence 145) [79A1678A]
All tracks accurately ripped
End of status report
And here is the corresponding cue sheet that contains proper CD information:
REM GENRE Rock
REM DATE 1975
REM DISCID 9B0A250C
REM COMMENT "ExactAudioCopy v0.99pb5"
PERFORMER "Queen"
TITLE "A Night At The Opera"
FILE "Queen - A Night At The Opera.wav" WAVE
TRACK 01 AUDIO
TITLE "Death On Two Legs"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 00:00:00
TRACK 02 AUDIO
TITLE "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 03:43:55
TRACK 03 AUDIO
TITLE "I'm In Love With My Car"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 04:51:12
TRACK 04 AUDIO
TITLE "You're My Best Friend"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 07:56:45
TRACK 05 AUDIO
TITLE "'39"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 00 10:48:20
INDEX 01 10:49:20
TRACK 06 AUDIO
TITLE "Sweet Lady"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 14:20:20
TRACK 07 AUDIO
TITLE "Seaside Rendezvous"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 00 18:23:25
INDEX 01 18:24:50
TRACK 08 AUDIO
TITLE "The Prophet's Song"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 00 20:40:38
INDEX 01 20:41:37
TRACK 09 AUDIO
TITLE "Love Of My Life"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 29:02:72
TRACK 10 AUDIO
TITLE "Good Company"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 00 32:40:52
INDEX 01 32:42:15
TRACK 11 AUDIO
TITLE "Bohemian Rhapsody"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 36:06:07
TRACK 12 AUDIO
TITLE "God Save The Queen"
PERFORMER "Queen"
INDEX 01 42:01:15
A rip like this, combined with the single file cue sheet, makes it possible to re-create as perfect a copy of the original CD as is at all possible. Of course, you can also do this with separate files... If you have old single file rips that you would rather have as separate files, you can split them using EAC or CueTools, see Split Image/Single Files. If all rips are done with the most perfect result in mind, and the proper kind of cue sheet is used, switching between single and separate files makes no difference to the ability to re-create a "perfect" or "exact" copy of the original CD.