C2 is lossless if the error correction (Reed-Solomon) can reconstruct the data. It interpolates when it can't (therefore lossy). The gist is that you need to c

C2 is lossless if the error correction (Reed-Solomon) can reconstruct the data. It interpolates when it can't (therefore lossy). The gist is that you need to clean your CD's meticulously before ripping them!! Also, clean the CD-ROM player's lens using a cotton swap and lens fluid if you can (wrap the cotton swap with non-abrasive lens cleaning tissue). If you do that, there will be no audible difference between the ripped version and the data on the original CD (providing you don't have some setting turned on in your ripping software that does some kind of processing of the data). You don't need special software to get a clean rip. I've been doing it this way for decades.