What settings do you use when ripping a cd?

[IronHorseTamer]

I have a nice stereo and want to get the full experience of my cd collection through iTunes. Also, MP3 would be preferred so I am compatible with a wider array of players.

Is 160 VBR sufficient?

Quality high?

Join stereo off?

Smart encoding?

Filter below 10 Hz?

 

[realityisterror]

simple answer... if it sounds good to you, then it's good...

personally, for most songs, 128kbps AAC, is just as good as CD-quality to me...
but if 160kbps sounds good to you, then stick with it...

you may want to try similar settings but at 128, 160, and 192 and see which one gives you the best sound to MB ratio...

reality

 

[internetbum]

192 AAC

I personally find after numerous tests that 192 kpbs AAC audio files sound most like their original aiff copies on a regular audio CD. THe vocals and instruments are seperate and defined. I recommend to anyone that likes to pump up the volume on their stereo or is just picky with audio quality to re-rip their CD's into at least 192 kbps AAC. I also must say that I am highly discuraged to use the itunes music store the song quality is too low for my ears. And at a buck a song i expect quality.

 

[chv400]

i'm not sure what join stero actually means but i think it means that it puts the same stuff through both speakers. so i dont have it do that since some songs actually do have different things coming from both speakers

 

[Cuckoo]

Personally i keep away from AAC (or is it ACC??), whatever..

192kbps MP3, suits my needs. I chose not to use the apple standard because i like the idea to be free and move my music to any player on any platform or on any mp3-player as i please. And although i do own an ipod, still i like the illusion of freedom.

But that are just my two cents

Cuckoo

 

[Vector]

I use 192 kbps on my songs because i am normally listening to my ipod through my stereo or my car. I think 160kbps sounds good, but i cannot stand 128kbps, which is why i have only bought a few songs from the ITMS. The sound in the car might not be a problem if you plan to use an fm transmitter or tape adapter, but if you use a auxiliary in port or some other direct connection like the BMW adapter i would suggest using 160 or 192. I just got my BMW adapter installed last week and the clarity is amazing compared to the tape adapter i had had to use before. I assume that the other auxiliary input solutions also have a similar quality.

If you plan to listen to your music on a home stereo system, i would suggest you use 192 if it is a good enough set of speakers to delineate the subtle sounds.

I use AAC because i only use my iPods to play my music so i don't care about interoperability between different devices.

 

[decksnap]

i'm not sure what join stero actually means but i think it means that it puts the same stuff through both speakers. so i dont have it do that since some songs actually do have different things coming from both speakers

Well if that's what it means then it's not 'stereo' is it? I thought the same exact thing coming out of both speakers is called mono.

 

[IronHorseTamer]

Joint Stereo

a little more research has revealed that joint stereo was is intended to improve sound quality at low bit rates. It does this by recording the left channel as usual, but for the right channel it only records the difference between the left and the right.

The downside is that you lose all spatial seperation such as dolby surround.

So, I have ruled out joint stereo for sure.