iTunes to iPod bitrate question

[Spiritboxer]

All my music is ripped at AAC 320kbps. and it's been transfered to my iPod at that rate as well. I'm considering changing the bitrate on the iPod to 224kbps because of battery issues. Is there a way to do this with out re-ripping all my cd's for the third time this month. I may just leave it as is but I'd like to know I have the option to do it if I want. I'm going to rip one cd at both bitrates to see if I can tell the difference. 90% of my listening is on the go so I'm thinking a lower bit rate won't make much of a difference. Did a search btw but couldn't come up with anything useful. :UM2smiley:

 

[blessingx]

You may want to read this guys comparison. Others may feel differently.

 

[Spiritboxer]

I read his review earlier which is one of the reasons I'm considering lowering the bitrate on the iPod to aac224. I'd like to know if I can do that while leaving my songs on my laptop at 320?

 

[rhythmicmoose]

Whatever you decide to use, you'll be disatisfied with at some point, so I don't really know what to tell you. I used to use 224 kbps AAC (and before that 192 kbps AAC), but I've been ripping at 256 kbps VBR AAC since iTunes 5 came out. Each time I switched settings, I tested to see what was the lowest bitrate that I could not distinguish from lossless files. It used to be 192. Then it was 224, and when I reevaluated with the new VBR settings, I found that 224 wasn't cutting it anymore if I was really listening carefully. This is with side-by-side comparison, by the way. I don't do blind because then I feel like I'm cheating myself out of something that, if I knew the difference, I might enjoy.

So really that's just a long way of saying that it's not going to matter much. If battery life is really a problem, switch back down. Otherwise, you're probably saving yourself not one, but two full reencodes by not doing anything.

As a side note, I was testing 256 kbps VBR AACs against -V 0 --vbr-new LAME MP3s using the new 3.97 beta release, and I was definitely not impresssed. The bass encoding of AAC was noticeably better, even on my so-so equipment. When I EQed to isolate the bass track, it became quite apparent that the MP3 version was much more simplified than the same clip in VBR AAC.

So I guess that's just a long way of saying that you should stick with AAC.

 

[jefemeister]

I have my music as 224kbps and am quite happy with it. I didn't think going 320 made much sense for portable use as I use flac at home. Whatever you decide, do not re-encode you already lossy files. For the best quality, you should start with fresh rips.

 

[Jahn]

256 VBR AAC here and happy as courses!

 

[warpdriver]

I would not convert 320 to 224. I would start over again.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver I would not convert 320 to 224. I would start over again.

Transcoding beetween lossy codecs are bad!
You will always end up with better sounding files if you encode directly to the specific bitrate.

I suggest you keep a lossless set of all your music.
Then you can just encode from those when you want to change encoder or bitrate. No need to rip the CD again.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver I would not convert 320 to 224. I would start over again.

I second that comment.

 

[Spiritboxer]

Here we go! Re-ripped from 128 to AAC 256 and then to AAC 320 when I got my 4G 20GB iPod. Guess I'll just take my time and bring 'em down to AAC 224 or maybe I'll just leave it the way it is. Feel like a wastrel, charging everyday but it's only a feeling. I'll see what 224 sounds like and decide. It's only for portable use anyway. Man, I coulda stayed with my Mini after all, now I'll be loading entire operas on here. Just what I need for on the go.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[bigshot]

In the future, rip to Apple Lossless, tag your files the way you want them, then delete the files to the trash and fish them out to back them up on your hard drive or DVD-Rs. Then whenever you want to change your encoding rate, all you need to do is delete all the old files in your library, empty the trash, drop the lossless files into iTunes and let it compress them to the new setting. When it's done, delete the lossless files to the trash and your iTunes library is full of the new encoding rate.

See ya
Steve

 

[Spiritboxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot In the future, rip to Apple Lossless, tag your files the way you want them, then delete the files to the trash and fish them out to back them up on your hard drive or DVD-Rs. Then whenever you want to change your encoding rate, all you need to do is delete all the old files in your library, empty the trash, drop the lossless files into iTunes and let it compress them to the new setting. When it's done, delete the lossless files to the trash and your iTunes library is full of the new encoding rate. See ya Steve

Thanks Steve, thought I might be able to do this from 320kbps but I guess not. Think I'll leave what's there at 320, in the true spirit of head-fi. Bought a Belkin spare battery pack and some rechargeable AA's last week so I won't run out of juice when I'm out and about. Hey, it's all about the music, eh?

 

[mitchjordan]

What sample rate are you guy's using?

 

[Parrothead]

I have over 8000 songs downloaded at 160kbs....they sound decent but i just got a st of good earbuds and im sure i'll hear the compression...I dread reburning all those songs. I also hate the fact that i'd have less room on my IPOD with higher bit rates.

 

[Spiritboxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parrothead I have over 8000 songs downloaded at 160kbs....they sound decent but i just got a st of good earbuds and im sure i'll hear the compression...I dread reburning all those songs. I also hate the fact that i'd have less room on my IPOD with higher bit rates.

Yeah, it's a real pia. I re-ripped one CD back to 224 but it just sounded too flat for me. Jacked it back up again to AAC 320 and that's it for me, everything just sounds better at the higher bit rate. Well, to these ears anyway,everybody hears things differently and I can only speak for myself.