[dxy56]

I am a newbie Ipod owner and have loaded a few hundred songs ripped from my own CDs. I used the default AAC format and iTunes for Windows.

Some web sites have mentioned that greater fidelity can be had by importing in the AIFF format. I know that AAC is compressed whereas AIFF is not, but exactly how much sound am I losing by going with AAC (128 bits)? I was planning to use AAC for pop music and AIFF for classical music.

 

[Canman]

The best thing to do is rip the same song or album, one into AAC and one into AIFF, then compare the two on your iPod. If you can't tell any difference and need to save space, then use the AAC. There will always be a sacrifice between quality and hard drive space.

AIFF file is approximately 10x the file size of MP3 128k (AAC is probably very similar in size to MP3).

 

[Squibbles]

I suggest using higher bitrate AAC or MP3.

 

[lindrone]

If your other equipment (your headphone and such) is good enough for you to be able to tell the difference, there's no question there's always going to be information missing using AIFF against AAC or MP3. However, not everyone can hear the difference. If you do, it's worth it.

AIFF is basically WAV for Mac platform.. so you can use WAV file as well..

 

[davei]

I am the biggest quality freak on the planet - but think about how you use your iPod. On the go, with mid-fi portable headphones and street noise all around you? Are you bound to hear the difference with 10x the file size? In that situation, I certainly can't.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally posted by davei I am the biggest quality freak on the planet - but think about how you use your iPod. On the go, with mid-fi portable headphones and street noise all around you? Are you bound to hear the difference with 10x the file size? In that situation, I certainly can't.

Very true, for most people...

For me personally.. one word... "E5c"

 

[blessingx]

Well there's going to be a big difference between 128 kbps and AIFF. Less so with 192 or 224 and AIFF. I agree lossless or uncompressed advantages are greater for acoustic, classical, etc., but I suspect 224 kbps QT/iTunes AAC will do you nicely for most situations.

I use 224 AAC and -apx LAME MP3 for portable listening and FLAC mostly for home. Lossless is another option you have for "serious listening". Since you're on a Mac look into FLAC (MacFLAC or FLACer to encode) and the VLC and MacAmp Lite X player.

A little info for you here, though it doesn't directly address your question (also note the MP3 encoder is FhG not LAME).