Lossless

[nkk]

First off let me say that I had no idea where this belonged, so my apoligies if it is not in the correct forum.

I was wondering at which point you actually notice lossless (specificaly the one used by itunes)? I will probably using an mp3 player with mid range headphones, and maybe hooking up my computer to a 5.1 sound system. Is it worth the computer space for lossless if that is what I am doing, or would another format (which one?) be more appropriate?

Thanks, and sorry for my lack of knowledge,
Nkk

 

[xxbaker]

that's something you should probably ask yourself. i'm guessing mp3 would be a better choice for you but what you should really do is rip the same song in a few different formats and see which one is the best compromise of sound quality and space. many people can't tell a difference between high bitrate mp3 and lossless even though there's a fairly large file size difference.

it also depends on how much space is an issue for you. if you've got an 80gb mp3 player you probably don't need to worry about the space too much, but if it's 4 or 8, ripping at a little bit lower quality to save a lot of space would be preferable

 

[salami]

The best idea is to keep a lossless copy and encode it as soon as you want to put it on a mobile device where storage is an issue.

However, most people won't be able to tell the difference between a properly encoded mp3 on the hardware you are going to use. If you don't plan to upgrade soon and keep your original CDs at a safe place, you can probably ignore the lossless backups.

You should also make sure that you use the proper encoder (LAME 3.97 or newer) and settings (--vbr-new -v2 or higher) to get the best results when encoding mp3 files.

 

[krmathis]

Only you can tell! Really...
Cause we all have different ability to hear artifact. We have different gear and listen to different music as well, making it even harder to set a rule.

Some of us are perfectly happy with a well encoded lossy file at lets say ~192Kbps (AAC, LAME V2, Ogg Vorbis, ...), while others don't accept anything less than lossless.

 

[scompton]

I originally ripped all of my CDs to 128kbps AAC. I'm slowly reripping everything to lossless for archive purposes. I cannot hear the difference between 128kbps AAC and lossless. Some people can hear the difference some people can't. I'd suggest doing some ABX tests to see where you can hear the difference.

In any case, I agree with xxbaker that a lossless archive is best. If you have lossless, you can convert at any time if you need to. I can think of 2 reasons you might want to reconvert. First if you buy a player that doesn't support the format you have. The other reason is if you upgrade equipment and can hear the difference or you train yourself to hear a difference.

For me, I'd still use 128kbps on my iPod, even if I could hear the difference in an ideal environment. I don't listen to my iPod in an ideal environment. I listen while commuting to work on mass transit or traveling on airplanes. I doubt that many people can truly hear the difference in such a noisy environment. The background noise, even with the best isolating IEMs, overwhelms any subtle difference.

 

[Chri5peed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by salami /img/forum/go_quote.gif The best idea is to keep a lossless copy and encode it as soon as you want to put it on a mobile device where storage is an issue.

Yep, find space for lossless. Get some blank DVD9s if necessary or a little WD notebook drive.

Then its a one-stop job, CD warms optical drive once.

 

[nkk]

Ok. Thanks for the help. Now, my question is how would I go about converting apple's lossless to a lossy format, probably AAC or high quality mp3?

Thanks,
Nkk

 

[tim359]

The following instructions assume you are using iTunes.

While in iTunes, go to preferences. From there go to import settings and select which format you want. Then, right click on the song you want to convert and there should be an option to convert to mp3 (or whatever format you want). Note that the import settings control both songs imported into iTunes and changing song formats.

 

[nkk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim359 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The following instructions assume you are using iTunes. While in iTunes, go to preferences. From there go to import settings and select which format you want. Then, right click on the song you want to convert and there should be an option to convert to mp3 (or whatever format you want). Note that the import settings control both songs imported into iTunes and changing song formats.

I am indeed using iTunes, so that was exactly what I was looking for. How odd that import settings control something like that.

Anyway, thank you,
Nkk

 

[Tea]

For your first question, I'll suggest you mp3/aac format because you can't really hear the big difference between lossless format or not from a mp3 player, and the most important is lossless format(big file size) will draw out the mp3's battery life too quick.

 

[Chri5peed]

iTunes does not use the LAME mp3 encoder.

 

[scompton]

I'd use AAC if your using iTunes. Don't take the default settings. Make sure you check Use Error Correction and pick custom settings and check VBR.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok. Thanks for the help. Now, my question is how would I go about converting apple's lossless to a lossy format, probably AAC or high quality mp3?

Open iTunes Preferences, and alter the "Import Settings". To be found in the 'General' tab.
Quite easy, but not all that intuitive.