[legless]

First post =)

I'ma new converted "wannabe" audiophile.

So don't diss me for sounding stupid =/

I was just wondering when I'm ripping CD's what format should I use?

It has always been mp3. or m4a. but after listening to the files I don't get the same kick that I do when playing straight from the CD.

I'm using an 6th Gen iPod.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Hey legless, and welcome to Head-Fi!

All three formats you listed are lossless, therefore a 1:1 rip of the CD in quality.

However, there are small but distinct differences between each one.

WAV: The most seen kind of "lossless" audio file because of how long it's been around, but the file size is rather large, and is supposedly not optimized for portable players (aka not good battery life).

FLAC: The most used lossless format for many people for archiving (and for playing on your media player if it supports it; iPods don't, but computer media player foobar2000 does), it has multiple levels of compression, although in the end it is still a lossless file; it all depends on how big/small you want it to be, although the bigger of a compression it is at, the
more processing power it takes to decode. If you get ahold of these files, use foobar200 to convert them to WAV, then drag the WAV files into iTunes and convert them into...

ALAC: A rather new format starring in Apple's iTunes, it is optimized for iPod players (and thus, battery life), and the file size is less than a WAV file. The only downside to this is that basically no other media player, portable or computer plays it other than iTunes; foobar200 can play it, but you need a plug-in to do that.

Hope that helps!

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

One of the most key aspects why WAV is not practical for larger music collections is because it doesnt support tagging. Hence it can be quite annoying to have a playlist full of wave files without any information associated with them.

You can set the filename as Artist-Album-Song, but then its gonna get too long, like

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven - Disc 2 - Track 2 - Antennas To Heaven.Wav

 

[Punnisher]

I use FLAC for my archive and home listening, then batch convert all my files to V0 mp3 for my portable players.

Like Jilg said, FLAC is still lossless, has tags, and is much much smaller than .wav files.

 

[krmathis]

Since you own an iPod I recommend you go for ALAC.
Because its lossless, as in keeping the audio data from the CD intact. But saves 30-40% storage space compared to storing the audio stream in a WAVE container.

FLAC is lossless as well. But not supported on the iPod...


Welcome to Head-Fi!

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since you own an iPod I recommend you go for ALAC. Because its lossless, as in keeping the audio data from the CD intact. But saves 30-40% storage space compared to storing the audio stream in a WAVE container. FLAC is lossless as well. But not supported on the iPod... Welcome to Head-Fi!

x2, and sorry about the wallet!

 

[konceited]

I tried all 3 and end up just using ALAC. It was the easy decision since I most use iTunes.

 

[GlendaleViper]

When I still had my iPod, it was ALAC all the way - at least for my more important albums (I have a small HDD on my Mac). For ease of use alone, I'd say it's the way to go, if you're ripping your own CDs. Can't comment on quality differences, but I can't say I could discern any sonic difference between WAV and ALAC.

 

[dkjohnso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can't comment on quality differences, but I can't say I could discern any sonic difference between WAV and ALAC.

That's because there isn't any. It has been shown here and on many other sites that when decoded, FLAC and ALAC are identical to the original WAV file.

 

[legless]

Thanks for all the replies!

I guess I'll be using ALAC then =)

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by legless /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for all the replies! I guess I'll be using ALAC then =)

Good choice!

 

[guyx1992]

I also have a 6th gen ipod. I use the Apple Lossless.
It's quite good

 

[ken36]

Welcome. I have a MAC and I use Apple lossless which used to be ALAC

 

[eric5469]

apple lossless

 

[Jaw007]

WAV-most recognized,and used in copying CD's.