[Oistrakh]

what's a good encoding mechanism in itunes that gives high quality audio yet doesn't take up a ton of space?

 

[Guarneri]

320 Kbps mp3 is generally indiscernible from cd quality. Otherwise, go with apple lossless.

 

[Oistrakh]

^how do you encode in 320 kbps mp3? how much space does that take compared with apple lossless? which is more needed with use in ipod and ety ER-4p?

 

[The D]

Don't use the itunes mp3 encoder, its old and crap.
iTunes's AAC encoder is much better.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^how do you encode in 320 kbps mp3? how much space does that take compared with apple lossless? which is more needed with use in ipod and ety ER-4p?

If your using Windows, go to Edit - Preferences - Advanced - Importing and select "MP3" from the drop down menu. Then, change the bit rate below to 320 kbps. Such files will use up considerably less space than their Lossless counterparts, sound nearly identical, and will be more energy efficient; which is a definite factor considering your iPod's battery life.

Note: If your files are already encoded in a certain format or at a certain bitrate (i.e. already imported, purchased, or downloaded) then re-encoding them to 320 kbps MP3 will not increase the quality of the original file. This method only works when originally taking music off of the CD and placing it on the computer.

 

[dazzer1975]

I itunes, go to edit>preferences>advanced>importing and you will see a selection of options available to rip your music into, stay away from aiff though I "think" thats for mac's, should play on the ipod too obviously but if you listen to your tunes on your computer and it is not a mac then AIFF wont play...as far as I am aware anyway.

I suppose to really find your sweet spot with regards the point of diminishing returns in terms of sound quality/storage space for files you should rip a few of your favourite tracks that you know well into several different codecs and bitrates and then decide which sounds best at the lowest bitrate enabling you to enjoy greater sq while preserving storage space.

It is pretty frightening how much space lossless wav files take up

 

[intoflatlines]

192 kbps AAC is the best balance of sound quality and compression.

If you want best sound quality but don't want to have enormous files go with Apple lossless.

 

[g500tec]

x2 on AAC 192 kbps.

 

[Guarneri]

AAC is a superior compression method, however, you should take into consideration the compatibility of AAC files. They won't play on many mp3 players (ipod will play it of course since it's an Apple product) and computers without AAC decoding. This could be a problem if you want to share a file one day with your friend (has happened to me).

In terms of quality, 192 AAC will sound similar to 256 - 320 mp3s, so they will take up less space.

 

[Oistrakh]

320 Kbps mp3 or 192 kbps AAC for use with ipod?

 

[intoflatlines]

For iPod, go with 192 kbps AAC.

For maximum compatibility with other players, 320 kbps mp3.

I use both 192 kbps AAC and mp3 (VBR) for most of my music.

 

[Oistrakh]

so how much more space does 320 kbps vs. 192 kbps AAC take up? can either be used with the ER-4p?

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh /img/forum/go_quote.gif so how much more space does 320 kbps vs. 192 kbps AAC take up? can either be used with the ER-4p?

Well, the 320kbps file will be (320-192)/192 = .6667 = 67% bigger.

In all likelihood, they would sound the same to you, and indistinguishable from the original CD, so yes, they can be used with the ER-4p.

(The usual caveat applies: different people have different levels of sensitivity to encoding artifacts, so while it is extremely unlikely, statistically speaking, that you would be able to tell the 192kbps file from the original, the only way to know for sure is to test for yourself.)

 

[krmathis]

If Apple Lossless files are too big for you, then I recommend AAC 256 kbps VBR

 

[Denver Max]

Go apple lossless. Storage is cheap these days. 1000 songs is roughly equal to 25GB.

I used to be satisfied with 192kb/s AAC. One day, I accidentally encoded a couple albums in Apple Lossless upon import. Not knowing that they had been encoded at the higher quality, over the next couple months I found that I was listening to those couple albums vastly more than anything else in my library. I went to send a track to a friend that I especially liked over an email, only to find out that the file was 24MB in size. WHAT? Oh, I figured it out, these files were Apple Lossless, and I pretty much concluded that the musicianship wasn't what was drawing me to the albums, but the quality of the recordings.

So, now I have reripped my entire library in Apple Lossless, and while I can only fit 1/5 of the music on my iPod that I used to be able to carry, I do not regret the transition at all. Furthermore, if I ever am pressed for space, I can encode down to AAC without any loss in quality.