iPod FLAC to AAC problems.

gusious said:

Ok so basically i want to convert my FLAC music to AAC and then import it to iTunes. When i used Max.app i managed to export it but in iTunes the bitrate wasn't accurate. For example i exported my music at 256kbps but the most songs where in 255kbps. I know it is really stupid but it bugs me. So i used XLD. The problem with that app is that although the bitrate is accurate, it exports the songs in .m4u. From the little things i know, the actual extension for AAC is mp4 not m4u.

Do you know how to fix any of these problems?

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When I use XLD to convert FLAC to either the lossless or just regular lossy AAC files for my iPod it uses the .m4a extension, according to the Wikipedia either extension can be used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14#.MP4_versus_.M4A_file_extensions

It's VBR (well, ABR), the bit rate won't match exactly. It's fine, don't worry about it. It dropped the bit rate at a point where it didn't need much data, and that brought your average down 1kbps. It doesn't mean a thing.

Silly rabbit! AAC is for Lossy files!

Seriously, rip to ALAC (the Apple Lossless Audio Codec.) This has the ".m4a" extension.

To get lossless ALAC, rip with iTunes if you have the original CD. If you do not have the original cd, use Max (note: i have no experience with max flac to alac, so youll need to get help from others, sorry) on a Mac, or use dbPoweramp on windows. I have extensive experience with dbPoweramp, so PM me if you need help on the windows side.

justaregularjoe said:

Silly rabbit! AAC is for Lossy files!

Seriously, rip to ALAC (the Apple Lossless Audio Codec.) This has the ".m4a" extension.

To get lossless ALAC, rip with iTunes if you have the original CD. If you do not have the original cd, use Max (note: i have no experience with max flac to alac, so youll need to get help from others, sorry) on a Mac, or use dbPoweramp on windows. I have extensive experience with dbPoweramp, so PM me if you need help on the windows side.

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Actually, I would suggest NOT using iTunes to rip CD's. iTunes, even with error correction, is not a secure ripper. If you are going to go through the time and effort of ripping your CDs, you may as well do it right. Use EAC or dBpowerAMP's secure ripper. I suggest dBpowerAMP's secure ripper, as it can rip directly to ALAC. Make sure the "verify" option is ticked so you know you're getting a perfect rip. dBpowerAMP will attempt to correct any errors and also let you know if there were any errors with the rip.

GermanSuplex said:

Actually, I would suggest NOT using iTunes to rip CD's. iTunes, even with error correction, is not a secure ripper. If you are going to go through the time and effort of ripping your CDs, you may as well do it right. Use EAC or dBpowerAMP's secure ripper. I suggest dBpowerAMP's secure ripper, as it can rip directly to ALAC. Make sure the "verify" option is ticked so you know you're getting a perfect rip. dBpowerAMP will attempt to correct any errors and also let you know if there were any errors with the rip.

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If you buy your cds, and don't scratch them, then iTunes works perfectly.

People who care about sound quality usually don't scratch their cds.

Consultant said:

If you buy your cds, and don't scratch them, then iTunes works perfectly.

People who care about sound quality usually don't scratch their cds.

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People who care about sound quality don't scratch their cd's: they also use a secure ripper.

I've had brand new CD's out of the case with errors on them.

If you're going to rip the CD, why not do it right the first time and know for sure that you got an accurate rip?

interesting thread i have learnt much.

lately i have been using Apple Lossless, seems pretty good to me.

GermanSuplex said:

People who care about sound quality don't scratch their cd's: they also use a secure ripper.

I've had brand new CD's out of the case with errors on them.

If you're going to rip the CD, why not do it right the first time and know for sure that you got an accurate rip?

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Come on; how much difference will it make to use a "secure" ripper? Will it also slow down the importing process? Other than the rare skipping track, my iTunes-made CD rips have not exhibited any obvious compromise when played back on a myriad of systems. Any differences are negligible and should take nothing away from the pleasure of listening to music on your favourite system.

Sol said:

Come on; how much difference will it make to use a "secure" ripper? Will it also slow down the importing process? Other than the rare skipping track, my iTunes-made CD rips have not exhibited any obvious compromise when played back on a myriad of systems. Any differences are negligible and should take nothing away from the pleasure of listening to music on your favourite system.

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yes, im sure having 1 bit lost somewhere in a song isnt going to make that much of a difference at all..... as long as you can sleep at night

Sol said:

Come on; how much difference will it make to use a "secure" ripper? Will it also slow down the importing process? Other than the rare skipping track, my iTunes-made CD rips have not exhibited any obvious compromise when played back on a myriad of systems. Any differences are negligible and should take nothing away from the pleasure of listening to music on your favourite system.

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I'm not saying its an absolute must. Especially if you're going straight from CD to lossy. But if you want to archive your CD's in a lossless format like ALAC or FLAC, you may as well do it right. With Accurate Rip results (which both EAC and dBpowerAMP utilize), you can rip just as quickly as iTunes and then only re-rip tracks with errors in the slower modes.

DoFoT9 said:

yes, im sure having 1 bit lost somewhere in a song isnt going to make that much of a difference at all..... as long as you can sleep at night

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Yes, I sleep very well listening to my paltry 160 kbs AAC tracks played by the iPod Touch connected via dock line out to a CMoy headphone amplifier driving Grado SR 325is headphones. Good headphones or a dedicated headphone amplifier will make a bigger difference to sonic quality than any particular ripping process.

Sol said:

Yes, I sleep very well listening to my paltry 160 kbs AAC tracks played by the iPod Touch connected via dock line out to a CMoy headphone amplifier driving Grado SR 325is headphones. Good headphones or a dedicated headphone amplifier will make a bigger difference to sonic quality than any particular ripping process.

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hmmm not too sure about that. being a drummer, there is a MASSIVE difference in sound between the quality of the drums @160kb/s, @320kb/s & uncompressed. this is all using my iPod->IE6's.

Sol said:

Yes, I sleep very well listening to my paltry 160 kbs AAC tracks played by the iPod Touch connected via dock line out to a CMoy headphone amplifier driving Grado SR 325is headphones. Good headphones or a dedicated headphone amplifier will make a bigger difference to sonic quality than any particular ripping process.

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I agree. I'm not saying you'll be able to tell the difference at all between an insecure rip and a secure rip. However, even on a good disc, using an insecure ripper there can be audible errors that won't be caught until you hear the problem on the song. This process can be eliminated with a secure ripper while also giving you the added benefit of knowing you have a perfect rip of your disc.

Running into these issues is why I switched to a secure ripper in the first place, and I haven't had the issue since. And, after all, sonic quality won't mean anything if you have an audible error on a track because of a faulty rip.

So say your using a scratched disc with a secure ripper and you get an error. What do you do then?

Use Rip on a Mac for Accuraterip

It's written by Stephen Booth http://www.sbooth.org the guy who wrote Max

Tilpots said:

So say your using a scratched disc with a secure ripper and you get an error. What do you do then?

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Time to buy new CDs.

Tilpots said:

So say your using a scratched disc with a secure ripper and you get an error. What do you do then?

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The secure rippers have methods of re-reading the disc and trying their best to get a good rip. Sometimes it can take an hour or two to rip on track but every now and then it will get the track ripped correctly. If it fails after wiping the disc and trying again, it is time to buy a new disc. But I have had some severely scratched discs (sometimes I find a disc laying outside, or a friend will give me a badly scratched disc) and I've had success in getting them to rip properly. If dBpowerAMP can't do it, try EAC, and vice-versa.

EAC and dbpoweramp are windows apps.

For a native osx app, I think Max is pretty good - it can use cdparanoia, while not as robust as EAC, it get's the job done and Max is very flexible on the output formats you can choose.

Wow, sbooth's Rip looks pretty good, I will have to give it a try when I get home.

spacepower7 said:

Use Rip on a Mac for Accuraterip

It's written by Stephen Booth http://www.sbooth.org the guy who wrote Max

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Thanks for your help!

alphaod said:

Time to buy new CDs.

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Thanks for nothing.

GermanSuplex said:

If dBpowerAMP can't do it, try EAC, and vice-versa.

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Appreciate your suggestions!

Has anyone tried XLD for mac? That also uses Accuraterip.

spacepower7 said:

Use Rip on a Mac for Accuraterip

It's written by Stephen Booth http://www.sbooth.org the guy who wrote Max

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DoFoT9 said:

hmmm not too sure about that. being a drummer, there is a MASSIVE difference in sound between the quality of the drums @160kb/s, @320kb/s & uncompressed. this is all using my iPod->IE6's.

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There are differences that I think most people can identify in listening tests. All I am saying is that unless you look for them, these compromises to audio purity do not matter in real-world usage of these files.

I will add that you are more familiar with the intricacies of drum sounds and can focus your hearing better than most people, just like a cinematographer who can spot inconsistencies and other flaws in films and videos.

Sol said:

There are differences that I think most people can identify in listening tests. All I am saying is that unless you look for them, these compromises to audio purity do not matter in real-world usage of these files.

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that is true. 95% of listeners are not interested in the quality most of the time. as long as they can hear it... space requirements would also come into play here.

I will add that you are more familiar with the intricacies of drum sounds and can focus your hearing better than most people, just like a cinematographer who can spot inconsistencies and other flaws in films and videos.

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cant argue with that. thats the reason why i have been swapping to lossless audio lately, quite often even the high quality compressed stuff will still give some pretty terrible sounding drums - thus my "obsession" (i guess) with lossless audio now.