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iPod Lossless. Can there be an even better format?

Quasiperfectto said:
I have converted all my iTunes library mp3 to Apple Lossless to get rid of the slight distortion sound at 128 bit. But the problem is that I still can detect a very minor distortion in the highs. Is there another way I can further enhance the sound via apple Itunes etc... Thanks
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You mean you converted MP3 to Lossless???? That does absolutly nothing but use up space. Once the sound is gone it's gone.

When you convert from the CD to MP3 you loose a lot of the sound. You can't get it back except to go back to the CD. So what you need to do is re-rip the CDs to lossless.

But experimant. Maybe re-ripping the CDs to 256 AAC is good enough for you and 256 AAC uses 1/4 the space of Lossless.
 
Distortion

When I say distortion, I mean you hear a feedback in the highs of the song. Like a vibrating sound, regardless of the volume. But only with some cuts on the CD when notes are sung in crescendo fashion. I have also tried changing from pop to rock to classical etc... on the settings. Same result.
 
So what are you saying... CD Quality isn't good enough? Have you considered its your equipment? digital-integrated amp? headphones? crossover?

... Your ears? ;)
 
Only other thing I can think of when I hear distortion is a lack of amplification power. Depending on how loud your listening at, you could be pushing your system(s) more than the built in amplification can provide for.

I honestly don't think the source is the problem. Unless somehow iTunes is screwing up the encoding which is very unlikely, whatever your hearing is a result of the system or your ears.
 
Quasiperfectto said:
When I say distortion, I mean you hear a feedback in the highs of the song. Like a vibrating sound, regardless of the volume. But only with some cuts on the CD when notes are sung in crescendo fashion. I have also tried changing from pop to rock to classical etc... on the settings. Same result.
Click to expand...

Your EQUALIZER setting is over amplifying the sound, so it's clipping.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)

Compressed material are less likely to run into clipping because there is less material.
 
Well, not to harp on you, but....

Have you considered using high end audio equipment to listen to these AIFF, Apple Lossless, and the cds directly? Meaning, I am assuming you are doing all this testing on some cheesy $45 speakers plugged into your generic computer audio card (worth about $9)...you need to give us much more detail on your computer hardware as well as software that is ripping/playing.

Please detail your audio card, how it is hooked up to your speakers, and what brand/model speakers you have. It does not sound like you are pushing the music through a home stereo system.

Moreover, try this: rip your cd to AIFF or WAV...immediately burn the files to another CDR...go to a quality home stereo system and play the original cd...then play the CDR...do you notice a difference? If not, then it is something in your computer hardware setup that is altering the sound of your AIFF files in real-time. If you *do* notice a difference, then I would state that yes, something is wrong with your computer settings from the moment the music is ripped...such as equalization being permanently etched into the files...because if your CDR sounds "tinny" on your home stereo, something happened during the ripping of the original cd to make it tinny.

I have been ripping cds to WAV (I'm on a pc) since 1994...I've never had any problems.

One of the problems is that if you want great sound coming from your computer you need: 1)great sound input (cd itself, lossless file format) 2)a great soundcard (like spending $100 or more) 3)pushing the signal out of the audio card and into a home stereo receiver with great stereo speakers. I'm sure people will scream and yell that their $250 "computer speakers" are great and/or match a home stereo "system" but that's just false. My computer system has been set up with my 3-step rule above for over 15 years...it rocks. The receiver is about $400 and the speakers about $700. Audio card is about $100. But that's me...someone who LOVES music and loves a great sounding piece of music.

-Eric
 
You can try ripping using the software program Max, found at sbooth.org. Turn on Paranoia and have it rip to whatever format you like. It's said to be more exact than using iTunes to rip, particularly on older CDs that aren't pristine.

If you're testing audio fidelity between a CD and the lossless rip of it, use the same program on the same hardware (i.e. Macbook playing CD, Macbook playing lossless). Music can be perceived to sound different - clearer, less clear, etc - with even -3dB changes in volume, so be sure to level-match your comparison.
 
ericinboston said:
Well, not to harp on you, but....

Have you considered using high end audio equipment to listen to these AIFF, Apple Lossless, and the cds directly? Meaning, I am assuming you are doing all this testing on some cheesy $45 speakers plugged into your generic computer audio card (worth about $9)...you need to give us much more detail on your computer hardware as well as softwar
Click to expand...

He said he has Bose speakers. I think that's part of the problem right there...
 
Quasiperfectto said:
I I need the space and it appears there isn't much of a difference with AIFF.
Click to expand...

Ok, as everyone has said...AIFF is EXACTLY the same quality as Apple Lossless...there is NO difference...other than the fact that Apple Lossless in effect is like a .zip file on a computer that roughly makes the thing a little smaller but in NO way, shape or form is any different than AIFF for audio quality.

If you're hearing distortion, it might be because your CD's your importing from are badly scratched up and the error correction in iTunes isn't the greatest.

iTunes is a great program, but XLD http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html and Max http://sbooth.org/Max/ could get rid of these distortions IF they are being caused by scratched up CD's that iTunes isn't completely compensating for.

BTW: These are pretty "hardcore" programs for audio and may be more than you're looking for...with that said, Max I think is easier to use and has a better interface, but they both have tons of options.
 
Lots of good and lots of miss information in this thread.

In a nutshell the distortion you are hearing is almost certainly caused by using the iTunes EQ. Since you don't list your playback equipment there is a chance it could be some problem with your setup.


It's a fact that it has nothing to do with Apple Lossless since after decoding it is bit for bit the same info as the CD ripped to WAV or AIFF file.
 
Julien said:
Lots of good and lots of miss information in this thread.

In a nutshell the distortion you are hearing is almost certainly caused by using the iTunes EQ. Since you don't list your playback equipment there is a chance it could be some problem with your setup.


It's a fact that it has nothing to do with Apple Lossless since after decoding it is bit for bit the same info as the CD ripped to WAV or AIFF file.
Click to expand...

I would not say it's caused by iTunes equalizer.
I would say it's caued by incorrectly applied equalizer settings.
 
Julien said:
Lots of good and lots of miss information in this thread.
Click to expand...

Until he/she replies back with details on:

1)all the equipment being used for ripping/encoding
2)the exact steps he/she is doing to rip/convert/play/listen to the music


we will be shooting in the dark.

-Eric
 
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