janey said:
Acutally, Apple says that itunes does not let the bit rate fall below the bit rate that is chosen.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60794
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CD ripping: What compression do you use?
- Thread starter dogbone
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Acutally, Apple says that itunes does not let the bit rate fall below the bit rate that is chosen.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60794
dogbone said:
Variable bit rate recording. The bitrate changes and drops during less-complex parts of the sound file and increases during more complex parts. Like, silence gets recorded at a low bit rate, for example.
What, no ogg proponents yet? Can't be a proper discussion without at least one of those types around to poo-poo the rest of us!
a mix of Lossless (apple lossless, not because i like it but because it's the only lossless my iPod will play.. FLAC owns it) and LAME APS/APX VBR. Also, I will sometimes rip in 224 VBR AAC, which to my ears produces pretty much identical copies as APX LAME MP3s, although I can still tell the difference between it and lossless.
MP3 192 or 160 depending what mood I'm in although I prefer to set it to 128-220 VBR or whatever the real values are
I never use AAC or any other 'proprietry format' because I want my music to be as compatible as possible with anything I want to use it with, so what if it takes up twice the size. The space issue will pi$$ me off far less than being in a hurry and wanting to put some music on some strange fangled device that I've gotten and finding I have to convert it from WMA or AAC to MP3.
People laughed at me when I carried on using MP3 when they used WMA. Those same people have had to sit through hours and hours and hours of recoding all those wma files into mp3s when they bought themselves ipods. Suckers.
I never use AAC or any other 'proprietry format' because I want my music to be as compatible as possible with anything I want to use it with, so what if it takes up twice the size. The space issue will pi$$ me off far less than being in a hurry and wanting to put some music on some strange fangled device that I've gotten and finding I have to convert it from WMA or AAC to MP3.
People laughed at me when I carried on using MP3 when they used WMA. Those same people have had to sit through hours and hours and hours of recoding all those wma files into mp3s when they bought themselves ipods. Suckers.
I rip into iTunes at 128 AAC, but I've always done it that way because it was the default setting. I don't really know all that much about the different formats and bitrates, but after hearing how many people rip at much higher than 128 I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth it to me.
My wife and I have about 300 CD's ripped to our iPods at 128 AAC and a fairly large number or purchased tracks/albums from iTMS (which are 128 as well, right? ). Since all of our listening occurs through either our Apple in-ear headphones on the iPods or on a set of computer speakers plugged into our Macs, is there really any reason to go to a higher bit rate or different format? I'm kind of going on the principle that the sound is only as good as the weakest link...i.e. headphones or speakers.
Anyway, I know there are a lot of big audio people out there...If any of you wouldn't mind giving a bit of advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
PS I haven't searched the forums for this info yet, so sorry if I'm asking a "typical" question...
My wife and I have about 300 CD's ripped to our iPods at 128 AAC and a fairly large number or purchased tracks/albums from iTMS (which are 128 as well, right?
). Since all of our listening occurs through either our Apple in-ear headphones on the iPods or on a set of computer speakers plugged into our Macs, is there really any reason to go to a higher bit rate or different format? I'm kind of going on the principle that the sound is only as good as the weakest link...i.e. headphones or speakers. Anyway, I know there are a lot of big audio people out there...If any of you wouldn't mind giving a bit of advice, it would be greatly appreciated.
PS I haven't searched the forums for this info yet, so sorry if I'm asking a "typical" question...
MP3 CBR 224KBps usually.
I don't like using a format that doesn't have universal compatibility, who knows what/where those files will be in 10 years time
I don't like using a format that doesn't have universal compatibility, who knows what/where those files will be in 10 years time
AAC at 128Kbps.
I could rip it at 256Kbps MP3, but I have little use for mp3s outside of the iPod ecosystem, and the music files are 1/2 size and nearly indistinguishable from its higher bitrate brethren.
I could rip it at 256Kbps MP3, but I have little use for mp3s outside of the iPod ecosystem, and the music files are 1/2 size and nearly indistinguishable from its higher bitrate brethren.
192Kbs VBR AAC here. Although I am considering re-ripping into lossless when I start renting a room which is actually big enough to fit a Mac Pro (extra hard drive space) and decent enough speakers to take advantage of lossless.
I have some mp3 files at various bitrates, but I import my own music at AAC 256. I might re-rip some CD's if I ever get a new iPod (80GB should hold my files in lossless ). I don't rip in a universal format because outside of my iPod and iTunes, I have little use for the digital copies of my music.
). I don't rip in a universal format because outside of my iPod and iTunes, I have little use for the digital copies of my music.
256 MP3 VBR
iTunes-LAME settings (I am at work so I don't remember exactly)...
--alt-preset extreme -v -V 2 -m s
iTunes-LAME settings (I am at work so I don't remember exactly)...
--alt-preset extreme -v -V 2 -m s
spicyapple said:
I used to rip at 320, but it was just a terrible waste of space. So I ditched that concept and I started with the default AAC setting, and it's going better than ever. I'm sticking with it.
I rip MP3 at 256k CBR.
AAC - most non-ipods dont support them.
WMA - iTunes doesn't support them.
I use XBMC, a non-ipod MP3 player, and iTunes on a Mac mini. MP3 offers the greatest compatibility across my systems, and 256k is a good compromise between datasize and audio quality.
AAC - most non-ipods dont support them.
WMA - iTunes doesn't support them.
I use XBMC, a non-ipod MP3 player, and iTunes on a Mac mini. MP3 offers the greatest compatibility across my systems, and 256k is a good compromise between datasize and audio quality.
I rip to Apple Lossless first, but I do convert and keep other bitrate files around for music I'm intending to listen to portably. Running AL on an iPod is not very efficient to say the least.
I rip exclusively into Apple Lossless, and would theoretically convert the files to FLAC if i was going to share them with other people, which I would never do because that would be illegal.
All my itunes playback goes into the nice speakers via airtunes, and while i don't have a particularly expensive setup, I can clearly tell most downloaded MP3s and some Itunes store purchases from original CDs, so to save myself listening to everything trying to find flaws I just keep it in lossless all the way.
Except for my ipod shuffle which automatically converts the files down to 128 AAC when I put them on. Its fine for cycling about, and I don't need to keep two copies of everything in my library, a win-win situation!
All my itunes playback goes into the nice speakers via airtunes, and while i don't have a particularly expensive setup, I can clearly tell most downloaded MP3s and some Itunes store purchases from original CDs, so to save myself listening to everything trying to find flaws I just keep it in lossless all the way.
Except for my ipod shuffle which automatically converts the files down to 128 AAC when I put them on. Its fine for cycling about, and I don't need to keep two copies of everything in my library, a win-win situation!
Since I mostly use an ipod, for the rare times I am using a CD I need to fit as much music as I can on there so mp3 128
