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So, ALAC is only 16bit/44.1? Is there no way to have a higher quality rip in iTunes?

post #1 of 10
2/2/12 at 11:57am
Thread Starter 

I would prefer FLAC.  God knows I'd prefer it.

 

But I have an iPod and pretty much use iTunes to listen to music because of that fact.  Am I actually missing anything ripping my albums to ALAC instead of FLAC?


Edited by gohanssjn - 2/2/12 at 11:59am
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post #2 of 10
2/2/12 at 2:25pm

ALAC and FLAC are basically the same, both lossless compression formats. They'll sound exactly the same, and they'll contain the same data once extracted back to WAV. Only difference is what can play them, how fast they pack and unpack data, and how well they pack.

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post #3 of 10
2/2/12 at 7:20pm

Considering that your albums, which are presumably in the form of CDs, have a native format of 16/44.1, it follows that any rip can only be 16/44.1, regardless of the codec you use.

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post #4 of 10
2/2/12 at 7:27pm

Hm, My iPod can support 24bit/48 and I have the iPod Touch 4g

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post #5 of 10
2/2/12 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by khaos974 View Post

Considering that your albums, which are presumably in the form of CDs, have a native format of 16/44.1, it follows that any rip can only be 16/44.1, regardless of the codec you use.



Ha!  I never even considered that.  Thanks.



Quote:
Originally Posted by noona1227 View Post

Hm, My iPod can support 24bit/48 and I have the iPod Touch 4g


Mine is a 2G.  Not sure if that even matters.

 

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post #6 of 10
2/2/12 at 9:37pm
ALAC supports up to 32/384.
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post #7 of 10
2/2/12 at 10:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r View Post

ALAC supports up to 32/384.


What would you use to even rip that then I guess.  I mean, I am coming from CD's, so as stated above it's a moot point at the moment.  But for later, iTunes seems to only rip 16/44.1, right?

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post #8 of 10
2/2/12 at 11:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gohanssjn View Post


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaywalk3r View Post

ALAC supports up to 32/384.


What would you use to even rip that then I guess.  I mean, I am coming from CD's, so as stated above it's a moot point at the moment.  But for later, iTunes seems to only rip 16/44.1, right?

Be careful not to confuse ALAC with iTunes. ALAC was developed by Apple, and iTunes supports some ALAC files (16/44.1 in particular), but ALAC can also be used for lossless hi def multi-channel files that aren't currently supported by iTunes.

It's pointless to up convert your music. If you rip a redbook CD, then it is best to use 16/44.1. As has been pointed out elsewhere in these forums, quality of the album mastering is more important than bit depth or sampling frequency. A well mastered album will sound good at 16/44.1. A poorly mastered album will still sound poor at 24/96.
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post #9 of 10
2/2/12 at 11:40pm

On the nether hind, if you switch to Rockbox, you'll not only be able to transfer 24-bit 48k ALAC and FLAC files to your Touch but actually play them.

 

Upsampling wouldn't be the best idea.  Instead, you'd buy high resolution files from a vendor known not to upsample and try those out.  Unfortunately, most are 88.2 or 96k.

 

One release I recall fitting your criteria is a DVD (not DVD-A) that contains no visual content but consists of an uncompressed 48/24 recording of the six-hours-long String Quartet No. 2, by Morton Feldman, performed by the Flux Quartet.  Target's price is the cheapest I could find just now, though I picked it up for $24 years ago.

 

This page offers a free 24/48 Rachmaninov recording to test and links to a vendor that offers 24/48.  Can't vouch for Pristine Classical's credibility in terms of no upsampling, though, as I haven't had any experience with them yet.


Edited by scrypt - 2/2/12 at 11:42pm
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post #10 of 10
2/8/12 at 12:26am

^ Ipods handle 48/24 alac no problem at all.

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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › Music › So, ALAC is only 16bit/44.1? Is there no way to have a higher quality rip in iTunes?