[steven94]

Hey,
 
I just ordered a pair of new ATH M50's and I am looking to try and redo my music collection to provide the best audio quality. I have heard that you can rip cd's into FLAC format and that will provide much better audio quality than mp3s, my question is: How much better would a FLAC file ripped from a cd be, compared to a 320kbps mp3 file? Also, I have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro and was wondering if I should use an amp or some sort of usb device to provide better sound quality or will my macbook audio port be good for beginning? 

 

[tzjin]

Welcome to Head-Fi!
 
The FLAC won't make much of a difference unless you have high quality gear decoding your audio files, and a very resolving amplifier and headphone.
 
This topic has come up numerous times in the past. You may want to try searching before you post next time.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/431522/abx-test-of-320kbps-vs-flac-results
http://www.head-fi.org/t/594934/blind-test-lossless-vs-mp3-320
http://www.head-fi.org/t/570621/flac-vs-320-mp3

 

[Feedback]

320 MP3s are pretty good. They're transparent to my ears. I'm running my audio through a Headroom Total Bithead and Shure SRH840s. My library is mainly V0 MP3, and ALAC. You'd be fine with high bitrate MP3 files. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start ripping new music in lossless though. Slowly re-rip your current catalog if you want to, but I don't think it's very critical.
 
ATH-M50s are a great choice. They are very efficient, and you'll definitely be fine without an amp if you're just starting out. Happy listening!

 

[mrbean667]

I agree with starting by ripping *new* music as FLAC. There is a lot of debate over whether FLAC is dramatically better than 320kbps (I think it is) but the clincher is how good your equipment is (mine is not too good ).

 

[crossjeremiah]

get 24 bit dac before listening to any FLAC files.
 

 

[theprezz]

Quote:

get 24 bit dac before listening to any FLAC files.
 

Why do you say that?  The OP is ripping from CDs and was looking for a USB device, and both those factors would limit him to 16 bit anyways.