Help with music players - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph69 

I may have been mislead...but I read that ALAC was Apple Lossless Audio Codec. So I believed it was a equal in sound quality to a FLAC file but it was from Apple, so all iTunes were ALAC files, correct me if I'm mistaken.

iTunes is 256kbps AAC.

ALAC is for personal use/ cd ripping.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph69 

Thanks for clearing this up. So if I'm using iTunes AAC, is this a lossy or lossless file? Is it Cd quality?

ALAC is what I will use to transfer my Cd's to my Mac, and they will be the exact same quality?

Thanks again.

AAC is a very effective lossy format. The quality will depend on the bitrate you choose to record at; almost no one will be able to hear the difference between a CD and a 256 or 320 AAC on even the best equipment, but the AAC will will be a lot smaller than any lossless version of the CD.

With my Nationite S:Flo2/Fiio E9/Sennheiser HD555 I can hear differences on many tracks  between a 320kbps mp3 and a lossless FLAC file. You notice artifacts in the midrange on the compressed files, the bass is not as well defined, certain tracks sound virtually identical and others are noticeably different. If you intend to play music on a hi-fi then lossy compression is a disaster. To confuse matters ALAC files have the m4a extension which is the same as purchased music from iTunes. The file sizes are much smaller obviously on the iTunes m4a files. To confuse things even more there are aac files which are the same thing (compressed). There is also m4p which were DRM protected files. ALAC and FLAC should sound identical, when you compare lossy compression algorithms  there are arguments about which one sounds the best. Improving a lossless algorithm means not losing any data but making the file a bit smaller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sefelt103 

With my Nationite S:Flo2/Fiio E9/Sennheiser HD555 I can hear differences on many tracks  between a 320kbps mp3 and a lossless FLAC file.

 

Maybe - but most people who claim to be able hear certain differences between MP3 at this br and FLAC can't when blind tested. In fact there was a pretty big survey published in Sound Science a couple of weeks ago showing people can't hear the difference between 192 and 320 mp3, and the more certain and the higher end the equipment the more likely they were to be wrong.) A very few can (although they tend to have to listen very analytically  for certain artefacts.) And aac is step up from mp3, especially if you haven't been picky about which encoder you are using, so it gets less likely again that you will genuinely be able to tell it from flac.

aac is lossy. It's not CD quality.

yes.

I dont think there is a music online store with all lossless files with a decent library,  you shouldnt be too concerned in general,  256 kbps is decent in sound quality 

Sorry to come in late on this but just been reading through these questions and responses... 

Joseph, both ALAC and FLAC will record up to CD quality compression, about 1411Kbps IIRC. Flac (free lossless audio codec) is preferable in my view because it is playable on more devices. ALAC is a proprietary codec and is not commonly playable even if the device plays AAC, Apple's normal compression codec. If you end up with an Android or other portable player one day which I think is likely even if you are not considering it right now, your ALAC files will be problematic. Player companies don't like paying royalties for license rights to Apple and you may well find you've restricted yourself. Rip them to Flac and this won't be a problem but iTunes won't play them so there is a trade off. 

And not all software players are created equal. While I don't feel qualified to recommend one or other because of limited exposure myself, the search tools on this forum or google should give you all the answers you need. We all start somewhere, but the topic is so huge you cannot expect to get the full definitive answers from a single thread. it is unfair to ask repeated questions for topics adequately covered elsewhere. not wishing to sound rude but unless you've been prepared to do some searching first the forum can become cluttered with repeated Q&As.

Good luck with your exploration of this wonderful pastime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari33 

I ripped the audio from my Roger Waters 'Remember that Night' DVD 

Ari33... Wash your mouth out! Remember the Night was David Gilmour's DVD! Great DVD as are Roger's In the Flesh DVD and others. But given their 30 year feud which at last seems to be mellowing, you should get the credits right! 

Android playera can generally play alac though,  using players like poweramp or neutron player,  i have tried on r android device they all can play alac files.  Still right on most players cant play alac though

Joseph, that was not my intention at all and I can clearly see for myself you've been doing some research. But I must say that for someone with more than twice as many posts, as me, and been a member for half the time, you may not be trying to use the search function enough. Frankly, all the questions you've asked I've seen answered here previously. Pardon me, but while you say you've not done much uodating in 25 years, but I do wonder where you've been not to know about ripping CDs. That did sound a remarkably strange question for someon who knew mp3s existed. 

If I am mistaken, I apologise. Ask away... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jpfe8851 

Ari33... Wash your mouth out! Remember the Night was David Gilmour's DVD! Great DVD as are Roger's In the Flesh DVD and others. But given their 30 year feud which at last seems to be mellowing, you should get the credits right! 

Oops,  I don't know how I got that one wrong. lol

My apologies.