CDex is an application that records audio tracks from CDs and saves them to a disk as regular WAV files or as encoded sound files. This program features an MP3 decoder (MPEG 1/2/3-based) and a new LAME encoder, and has built-in support to generate OGG Vorbis files. CDex is available in English, German, Italian, and Spanish. This latest release includes better support of USB drives when using Native NT SCSI library option and various bug fixes.
Editor's review of CDex While most commercial audio software leans toward all-in-one suites, freeware CDex focuses instead on performing one main task as efficiently as possible. Extracting digital music files from CDs becomes simple, quick, and painless. CDex also offers enough advanced options for converting between formats to satisfy the serious digital music fan.

The main interface is very clean, with a CD track listing, album information, and buttons that perform major functions such as ripping, converting, CDDB lookup, and configuration. CDex includes 12 different compressed file encoders, including MP3, AAC, WMA, APE, and OGG, and also supports any external encoders.

The Profile feature stores personal configuration settings, and a bare-bones media player is a welcome inclusion. Because the program has a lot of configuration options, new users may feel intimidated. Basic functions are easily mastered, however, and well-written help files will guide anyone through the more advanced options.

The installation includes support for English, Spanish, German, and Italian languages, and many more are available from the Web site. Indeed, by all rights, the free and easy CDex should go global.