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CDDA Reader is a free DirectShow source filter from the open-source Guliverkli2 project that exposes the tracks on an audio CD as ordinary wave data, so players built on DirectShow can open them instead of seeing empty .cda shortcuts.
CDDA Reader is a small DirectShow filter that makes the audio tracks on a CD readable to media players that cannot otherwise reach them.
Most people arrive here after opening a music CD in File Explorer and finding nothing but a row of tiny files ending in .cda.
Those files are not the music, and that is the whole problem.
Why a .cda File Looks Empty
An audio CD does not hold files the way a data disc does. The music sits on the disc as a continuous stream with no filesystem wrapped around it, so Windows invents something for you to look at.
Each .cda you see is a 44-byte shortcut that says nothing more than "track three starts here". Copy one to your desktop and you have copied the signpost, not the road. That is why it plays silence, refuses to open, or produces a file far too small to be a song.
Reading the actual audio needs software that talks to the drive directly and pulls the stream off it. Some players do that on their own. The ones built on Windows' DirectShow pipeline generally do not, because Windows never shipped a source filter for raw CD audio.
What CDDA Reader Actually Does
It registers itself as a DirectShow source filter and sits between the CD drive and the player, handing over the track as ordinary wave data.
After that, any DirectShow application can open a track the way it would open a .wav file. There is no interface, no settings panel and nothing to configure - it either works or it is not loaded.
The use it gets most is not plain music playback. It is people running Media Player Classic Home Cinema or MPC-BE against mounted disc images rather than physical discs.
The other regular use is DTS-encoded CDs, where the track has to reach a decoder such as AC3 Filter before it can be passed out over SPDIF to a receiver.
The Trap That Catches Almost Everybody
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
A DirectShow filter has to match the architecture of the player, not the architecture of Windows. A 64-bit player cannot load a 32-bit filter, and a 32-bit player cannot load a 64-bit one, however correctly the file was registered. This is the usual reason someone sees a success message and no change whatsoever.
If you install this and nothing happens, check which build of your player you are running before you assume the filter is broken. Our guide to registering a .ax filter with regsvr32 covers how to tell, and which copy of the tool to use for each.
If the player throws an error rather than staying silent, that is a different failure and Class Not Registered is the one you will most likely meet.
Checking What You Are Missing First
Registering filters by hand is worth avoiding if you do not have to. The Codec Troubleshooter walks through what is failing before you install anything.
If you would rather see what is already registered on the machine, the Codec Checker lists it, and Codec Tweak Tool will clear out dead entries left behind by older installs.
DirectShow Filter Manager is the one to use if you want to see every filter on the system in a list and turn individual ones off.
You Might Not Need This At All
This is a narrow tool and plenty of people land on it for a problem it does not solve. Three honest checks before you download.
- Does the machine have an optical drive? A great many no longer do, and no filter fixes that - CD sales are climbing while drives disappear covers where that leaves people.
- Will another player just open the disc? foobar2000 reads audio CDs on its own, and so does Windows Media Player, neither of which needs this filter.
- Do you want the tracks permanently rather than playing them once? Then you want a ripper, not a filter.
If none of those is your situation and you specifically need a DirectShow application to see the disc, this is the right download. The media players section covers you if you would rather switch players than add a filter.
If You Want the Tracks as Files
Copying .cda files somewhere does not work, for the reason above. Ripping does, and it is a different job from playback.
Our guide on how to rip the disc to files first covers the free rippers that verify their own work and the encoder settings worth using. Once you have real WAV or FLAC files, the Online Audio Converter will turn them into anything else without installing more software.
Where This Filter Comes From
It is worth knowing what you are registering into your system. CDDA Reader originates in Guliverkli2, the open-source project that also produced the Media Player Classic filter set, and it has been repackaged as a standalone installer ever since.
Its version numbers track the MPC-BE releases rather than any development of its own, which is why it sits in the same family as MPC Audio Decoder and shares its numbering. Treat it as a stable, finished component rather than actively developed software.
If you would rather not manage individual filters, LAV Filters covers modern playback broadly, and K-Lite Codec Pack installs a full set in one go.
DirectShow FilterPack is the lighter middle option, and there are more bundles in the rest of the audio codecs section.
Quick questions
What is a .cda file?
A 44-byte pointer that Windows shows you instead of the real audio, marking where a track starts on the disc. It contains no music, which is why copying one gives you nothing playable.
Is CDDA Reader free?
Yes, it is freeware with no paid version and no restrictions, and it comes from an open-source filter project.
I installed it and nothing changed. Why?
Almost always because the filter and the player are different architectures - a 64-bit player cannot load a 32-bit filter. Check which build of the player you run before anything else.
Do I need it to play a CD in Windows Media Player?
No. Windows Media Player reads audio CDs on its own, and so does foobar2000. This filter is for DirectShow applications that cannot reach the disc themselves.
Can it convert CD tracks to MP3?
Not on its own - it exposes the audio for playback rather than saving it. Use a ripper for that, then convert the resulting files.
Does it work with DTS audio CDs?
That is one of its main uses. It hands the track to a decoder such as AC3 Filter, which can then pass the DTS stream out over SPDIF to a receiver.
Download CDDA Reader and see whether it fixes your player, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.
JD
Luego de muchos meses de búsqueda, esta era la pieza del rompecabezas que me faltaba, si!!!
este codecs le permite a media player classic, identificar tracks de audio DTSWav,que están como una imagen de disco montada con Daemontools lite, luego de que Media Player Classic identifica las pistas, AC3Filter hace un SPDIF passtrought de 16bits a 44100KHz!!!
y listo DTS desde mi PC a mi MuTeKi, todo virtual! sin disco físico de música!
este codecs le permite a media player classic, identificar tracks de audio DTSWav,que están como una imagen de disco montada con Daemontools lite, luego de que Media Player Classic identifica las pistas, AC3Filter hace un SPDIF passtrought de 16bits a 44100KHz!!!
y listo DTS desde mi PC a mi MuTeKi, todo virtual! sin disco físico de música!
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