iPod 320-->256 = Lossy?

[johnjeffrey]

Hey there if I convert my 320 aac files into 256 aac files, will there be loss of quality involved, aside that from the obvious?

I know that when you encode say 256 into 320, it does not actually increase the quality of the music--just wondering about the opposite.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Yes, there will be some quality loss but whether or not it's noticeable is debatable; this particularly depends on your playback equipment.

If you're looking for huge space-savings you may be disappointed unless you have many 10's of gigabytes of music

 

[spicyapple]

I'd go out on a limb and say you won't notice a big decrease in quality, since you're downsampling, but why go from 320 to 256? It makes more sense to keep your original at 320 and create a 128 for space savings, with only a slight decrease in quality.

 

[johnjeffrey]

Interesting idea spicyapple..so your saying that if i convert my 320 files to 128's that there would be no difference than if I converted a lossless file to 128?

for example, if i rerip a cd at 128aac it would be the same quality as if i just convert my 320aac album to a 128aac?

also good idea about keeping the 320's on an external or something as a backup for when they do come out with an even-larger capacity ipod and using the 128's for now.

 

[Hoef]

how about 320 aac back to compact disc (compared to the orginal CD ....) probably some quality loss, but not much (I hope). Any thoughts?

 

[johnjeffrey]

Wait so 'downgrading' from 320 to 128 is not a terrible idea? Would the 128aac tracks come out the same as if they were imported straight from itunes originally?

i only ask because i know encoding from 128-->320 would be a disaster

 

[Bill Gates]

320kbit/sec is lossy enough to begin with. Why decrease it further?

 

[johnjeffrey]

okay but compression-whining aside--what's the answer?