[Blasto_Brandino]

Now I'm encoding all my music in FLAC level 5 (that is good right? I've only done 1 cd, don't want to go too far until I've conferred with the "Brain Trust" that is Head-Fi
I've also got a Walkman X1061 and It says it can handle AAC but I'm not sure if it can handle m4a files, and does it handle aac LC or can it handle the higher end stuff?
as always all input is appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[KingStyles]

Use flac. It is a lossless format that will save you a little room on your hard drive. Use compression level 5 (default) as the higher levels well barely compress it anymore and take a lot more time.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Ideally you rip to a lossless format and then transcode to a lossy format for the portable.  Use the lossless files as your archive and main computer listening library.  Use the lossy files for the portable.
 
Much easier said than done.  Managing two libraries (one lossless and one lossy) is a real PITA.  If you use a media player that does that management for you you're good.  Few media players do that though.
 
How enthusiastic are you about maintaining a lossless archive of your CDs?  Do you have enough CDs that it would be too time consuming to re-rip them to lossless in 5 or 10 years when you decide you want lossless rips of your CDs?
 
If you're going to rip to a lossy format I'd suggest MP3 rather than AAC.  MP3 is far more compatible with more portables, more computer media players, and more utilities.  At a high enough bit-rate MP3 sounds good and is effectively transparent to lossless for practical purposes.  AAC might get you slightly smaller file size for that same level of transparency, but at the cost of less compatibility with what is out in the real world.

 

[falis]

I'd go with FLAC myself unless I were an iPodder, and provided the player can handle FLAC.  That's ideal because as long as there's enough space on the player, you don't have to bother converting to lossy.  So you convert to lossy as you need or want to.  If an iPodder, convert to ALAC as your lossless format, and one of the formats supported by the iPod for lossy, preferably one that can be played on other brand devices, like mp3 variable bit rate (you'll have to check iPod compatibility - I've never used one).
 
The idea is to have a safe archive.  Ripping to lossless takes a lot of time to do right, so you don't want to have to do it more than once.  I had two armoire drawers (wide, like 3+') with double-rows of "pop" CDs and 3+ shelves of jazz, where the shelves are pushing 3'.  It took me a month and a half to rip them with EAC when I remembered to while I was working in the home office.  Wouldn't want to have to do it again, though it wasn't all that bad.  Still haven't finished the classical.
 
Pretty much what the Ham Sandwich said.
 
- Ed