calvinhobs there's a little confusion as we're talking about two different players (nano and X5) which each only accepts one form of lossless (ALAC on nano, FLAC on X5). No need to worry. They should sound the same.
For your X5 (which also plays Ogg Vorbis - an AAC like newer codec competitor). For LAME MP3, Vorbis or FLAC you have different options but most recommend EAC and the appropriate encoder. I haven't set up the Windows only EAC in a while (on OS X mostly likely), so someone else should pipe in. I'm sure there are some tutorials. For LAME depending on the version (new has other options though you can still use this) use "--alt-preset standard", "--alt-preset extreme" or "--alt-preset insane". For FLAC leave the default (usually '5') as you don't gain much space and it just takes up time.
In case anyone wants to see a single example of different file sizes take a look here. Also some EAC settings here.
And dave-g listen to iamdone. Converting from ALAC (or any lossless) up to AIFF or WAV or down to MP3 and AAC is simple.
Originally Posted by blessingx calvinhobs there's a little confusion as we're talking about two different players (nano and X5) which each only accepts one form of lossless (ALAC on nano, FLAC on X5). No need to worry. They should sound the same.
For your X5 (which also plays Ogg Vorbis - an AAC like newer codec competitor). For LAME MP3, Vorbis or FLAC you have different options but most recommend EAC and the appropriate encoder. I haven't set up the Windows only EAC in a while (on OS X mostly likely), so someone else should pipe in. I'm sure there are some tutorials. For LAME depending on the version (new has other options though you can still use this) use "--alt-preset standard", "--alt-preset extreme" or "--alt-preset insane". For FLAC leave the default (usually '5') as you don't gain much space and it just takes up time.
In case anyone wants to see a single example of different file sizes take a look here. Also some EAC settings here.
And dave-g listen to iamdone. Converting from ALAC (or any lossless) up to AIFF or WAV or down to MP3 and AAC is simple.
Thanks for all that great information...it helps.
Where can I get LAME...anyone have a specific website??? Also, you say to use: "--alt-preset standard", "--alt-preset extreme" or "--alt-preset insane".
What does all that mean? I'm doing 320kbps right now...I looked at that link you had so my 320kbps would equal the "insane" right? Or am I missing something here? Thanks-
Originally Posted by calvinhobs Thanks for all that great information...it helps.
Where can I get LAME...anyone have a specific website??? Also, you say to use: "--alt-preset standard", "--alt-preset extreme" or "--alt-preset insane".
What does all that mean? I'm doing 320kbps right now...I looked at that link you had so my 320kbps would equal the "insane" right? Or am I missing something here? Thanks-
just do a google search for "lame mp3" and you will get a ton of sites.
the different settings for LAME give different bitrates for encoding. i've been happy with standard for most recordings, but for some jazz and classical pieces i've used extreme and insane.
Originally Posted by iamdone You might as well convert it all to apple lossless and save about 40% space and still have the same sound quality. You can still convert it to any format, even back to AIFF without any loss of data or sound quality.
Actually, I did try ALC, and it sounded great. at half the file size I thought it was the perfect solution... one big problem though... a G2 ipod won't play ALC files, so ONCE again, i had to go back and start over, that's when I started using the AIFF files. like i've said, i've been down the sample rate street many times, (mp3, ogg, LAME, AAC, ALC) and I'm finished. when i run out of space on one firewire 800 drive, i'll buy another. it's a lot easier than re-ripping everything again and having to fix all the improperly labled info from CDDB (have you seen what the idiots type in the info tags for classical works?!!) When I do get another ipod, I will probably convert all non-classical and jazz to ALC to save some space, but right now, I'm quite happy listening to the AIFF files.
Originally Posted by kugino just do a google search for "lame mp3" and you will get a ton of sites.
the different settings for LAME give different bitrates for encoding. i've been happy with standard for most recordings, but for some jazz and classical pieces i've used extreme and insane.
My fault...I meant LOSSLESS. Where can I find LOSSLESS?
Dave-g do you have buffer gaps with AIFF files on the 2G? I did on a 1G so curious about the 2G? Also if you ever get another iPod why not convert your classical and jazz too (since the sound quality will be exactly the same as AIFF)?
Quote:
Originally Posted by calvinhobs They say their audio compression is the best version of LOSSLESS out there!
Compression is only one aspect of lossless. CPU cycles, compatibility, tag support, etc. are other considerations. If you want the files to play on your iAudio pick FLAC.
Originally Posted by blessingx Dave-g do you have buffer gaps with AIFF files on the 2G? I did on a 1G so curious about the 2G? Also if you ever get another iPod why not convert your classical and jazz too (since the sound quality will be exactly the same as AIFF)?
Compression is only one aspect of lossless. CPU cycles, compatibility, tag support, etc. are other considerations. If you want the files to play on your iAudio pick FLAC.
Thanks BlessingX! I appreciate it...I'll try it out and see what I hear.
Originally Posted by blessingx Dave-g do you have buffer gaps with AIFF files on the 2G? I did on a 1G so curious about the 2G? Also if you ever get another iPod why not convert your classical and jazz too (since the sound quality will be exactly the same as AIFF)?
yeah, every 2 minutes and 9 seconds! it drives me nuts but i really don't have the need to use the ipod much at all these days. the wife just a free mini with the purchase of a new powerbook (some educational deal) so i may have to confiscate it for a while to see if 4 GB's is enough to get by on (if it is, hello nano). back in the states i used take the train to work so it got a lot of use, now it's every blue moon when i actually take it to the beach. i found that the ety's don't like being put in an ear that's filled with salt water
yeah, i may convert all of my music to ALC, but i'll still keep the AIFF files as a backup. this way if i end up with a player other than an ipod (highly unlikely but you never know) i can downsample them to whatever the format of the moment is...
Originally Posted by dave-g yeah, every 2 minutes and 9 seconds! it drives me nuts but i really don't have the need to use the ipod much at all these days. the wife just a free mini with the purchase of a new powerbook (some educational deal) so i may have to confiscate it for a while to see if 4 GB's is enough to get by on (if it is, hello nano). back in the states i used take the train to work so it got a lot of use, now it's every blue moon when i actually take it to the beach. i found that the ety's don't like being put in an ear that's filled with salt water
yeah, i may convert all of my music to ALC, but i'll still keep the AIFF files as a backup. this way if i end up with a player other than an ipod (highly unlikely but you never know) i can downsample them to whatever the format of the moment is...
dave-g
As I said, if you going to have to downsample anyway, you can still have everything in ALAC and right click any of the files to convert to the format of your choice (within itunes limits).
Apple should really setup iTunes to work with the nano like the shuffle and offer downsampling on the fly so you can keep your files in ALAC and allow more space on the smaller players. This way you could use ALAC for the 20gb - 60gb ipod and for you home library, but not need a second set of smaller files for you nano or mini.
Originally Posted by dave-g the nice thing about iTunes is that i can right click on a file and convert it to any format I specify in the import preference setting.
the above is from my original post.
this is also how i take my original music from Ableton Live 4.0 (which I bounce at AIFF) and put it in MP3 formats for clients and my web site. Pro Tools can bounce right to MP3 (for a $20 upgrade) but Ableton Live 4.0 doesn't have that option yet.
on an interesting note, almost every radio commercial voiceover you hear these days is only a 128k mp3 file! sad and scary, but true.
Originally Posted by dave-g on an interesting note, almost every radio commercial voiceover you hear these days is only a 128k mp3 file! sad and scary, but true.
But if the quality of FM radio is approximately 64-96kbps does it really matter?
Originally Posted by Big D But if the quality of FM radio is approximately 64-96kbps does it really matter?
well if that's true then i suppose not. I have never heard that FM radio was 64-96 kbps before though. or are you just translating that the compressed analog signal sounds like sounds like an equivalent 64-96kbps digital signal?
What i do know is that most stations down here sound like crap, but then again, that's most likely just the music they are playing
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