Exact Audio Copy (EAC) is a free, open-source audio extraction, encoding and playback application. It is designed to extract digital audio from CDs and convert them to other formats such as MP3, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, and Ogg Vorbis. EAC also has features like cddb/freedb online CD database support, CD-Text support, AccurateRip verification, and support for many external encoders. It also includes a basic audio player for playback of extracted tracks. EAC has a strong reputation for accuracy and reliability, and is widely used by audiophiles, musicians and record producers for creating high-quality digital audio copies.
Because EAC has problems with some CD drives, but fre:ac does not. There is no alternative as good as fre:ac.