utter tosh, first question without reading it was who is ken rockwell? luckily the about me clarified that, someone who knows hee haw about audio.
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iPod What's best: 320 kbps mp3 or 256 kbps AAC from the iTunes store?
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utter tosh, first question without reading it was who is ken rockwell? luckily the about me clarified that, someone who knows hee haw about audio.
I don't have an ultimate answer to your question, but if you have such simple way to obtain your music files as 256 kbps iTunes AAC files, then I would take an advantage of that and do so for every file. I bet Apple devices are more optimized for those iTunes files.
Even people with super high end gear will struggle at a double blind test between lossless and 256kbps vbr aac.
However, your question is slightly more complex. Mastered for iTunes changes the actual mastering pipeline, so its not the same recording as what you get on CDs...so comparing that with a CD rip is an apple/orange comparison.
on the other hand, Mfi is technically 'better' in that it has guidelines on distortion limits etc, optimized for the AAC encoder. So, if your original rips were 320kbps MP3 CD rips, I totally would go for the Mastered for iTunes versions.
However, your question is slightly more complex. Mastered for iTunes changes the actual mastering pipeline, so its not the same recording as what you get on CDs...so comparing that with a CD rip is an apple/orange comparison.
on the other hand, Mfi is technically 'better' in that it has guidelines on distortion limits etc, optimized for the AAC encoder. So, if your original rips were 320kbps MP3 CD rips, I totally would go for the Mastered for iTunes versions.
What's interesting is that earlier in this thread I have a post from 2 years ago comparing a tune ripped in Apple Lossless format vs. 256 AAC vs. an Apple Store download (also 256 AAC but from a different source).
My conclusion was that I couldn't tell the difference between the lossless rip and the 256 AAC rip, but I could tell the difference in the iTunes store version and it clearly did not sound as good.
Fast forward to today and I did the same listening test, and I couldn't tell the difference between the iTunes store version and the lossless rip, expect perhaps the iTunes store version sounded better (it's a little hard to tell exactly because the volume levels don't exactly match).
I wonder if the difference between my test now is that I now have a "Mastered for iTunes" version, and that it is clearly of superior quality to the old iTunes store version?
A bit off topic, but if someone could clarify this, I would appreciate it: I have some music on CD's from my nostalgic youth, which I like for 'this' is what is was used to hear over and again.
Now, if I import those in iTunes, and I have an iTunes match - which I do - I sometimes do not hear the same music any more. So, is this me being off my socks? Or could it be that - even from a CD which seems similar in the iTunes store -, I get a different "mastering" when listening to it on the same or a different device?
Is there any way to 'and' use iTunes match, 'and' control which mastering I get to listen to? Or will it be that for instance, on my Mac, it will be the original 'import', and through the AppleTV, the iTunes version.
If this is totally a dumb question, just say so; no hard feelings
Now, if I import those in iTunes, and I have an iTunes match - which I do - I sometimes do not hear the same music any more. So, is this me being off my socks? Or could it be that - even from a CD which seems similar in the iTunes store -, I get a different "mastering" when listening to it on the same or a different device?
Is there any way to 'and' use iTunes match, 'and' control which mastering I get to listen to? Or will it be that for instance, on my Mac, it will be the original 'import', and through the AppleTV, the iTunes version.
If this is totally a dumb question, just say so; no hard feelings
320kbps mp3 ? crazy. for music, on mac and the ithings, go to aac. mp3 and aac are quite equal in quality and size. benchmarks usually not use vbr and use very old encoders, which give fake and stupid results. for best quality, use a lossless compression if it exists on itune. So mp3=aac, but on mac, i should use aac. Elsewhere, I would take mp3.
It does, iTunes uses ALAC for lossless stuff and it's been supported in iTunes for over a decade.
They need to add this to Apple Music for audiophiles....maybe higher bitrate too.
So, can someone answer this for me. I was thinking of getting into this stuff, but there are so many variables (the software encoder, the DAC, the headphones, the source, the lossy/lossless format) that it's nauseating.
I listen to music such as Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD which is re orchestrated songs with many instruments. I have official CDs. I imported it with the typical 256 kbps settings and it's 9.3 MB. I then imported the same song with the Apple Lossless format in iTunes and it's 27.3 MB. Even with a pair of nice headpones ($100-$150) would a user generally be able to tell a difference between the two listing on just an iPhone or MacBook Pro Retina? I can't tell a difference right now, but I'm just using Apple EarPods.
Like I said, I wanted to get into this, but even a quick search of the forum leads to nauseating amounts answers including file formats, DAC in different devices, the source, what headphones, external DACs. I'm just an above average (in terms of music passion) user, but not an audiophile.
@gnasher729 I tagged you because you've been very active in this thread and I was hoping you could answer this question.
I listen to music such as Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD which is re orchestrated songs with many instruments. I have official CDs. I imported it with the typical 256 kbps settings and it's 9.3 MB. I then imported the same song with the Apple Lossless format in iTunes and it's 27.3 MB. Even with a pair of nice headpones ($100-$150) would a user generally be able to tell a difference between the two listing on just an iPhone or MacBook Pro Retina? I can't tell a difference right now, but I'm just using Apple EarPods.
Like I said, I wanted to get into this, but even a quick search of the forum leads to nauseating amounts answers including file formats, DAC in different devices, the source, what headphones, external DACs. I'm just an above average (in terms of music passion) user, but not an audiophile.
@gnasher729 I tagged you because you've been very active in this thread and I was hoping you could answer this question.
Once you start getting into higher end AMP's and DAC's and headphones like at least the HD650 or HD700 you will need to have Flac files either in HD audio or CD rips. Your 256kbps AAC files will have artifacts when you listen with a higher end setup like a tube amp and a nice pair of cans.
When you rip an original CD to Apple Lossless it's pretty much the same as Flacs. Even with a decent pair of headphones $100-200 you will definitely hear a difference between 256kbps and Apple Lossless. However, it WON'T be much of a difference because your laptop or iphone DACs are pretty mediocre.
So to answer your question, no you will not really hear the difference UNLESS you have a really sharp ear and a low end system. On a higher end system (hundreds to thousands of dollars) you WILL hear a big difference because better equipment has better soundstage and it doesn't hide artifacts like Dre Beats headphones does. You are using audio earpods, which are extremely cheap headphones.
Audiophilia is a very niche market, so you shouldn't really worry about it.
Thank you for the reply. The thing is, I have a lot of CDs imported years ago and iTunes Store music and I don't really want to re-import those and lose certain metadata and re-do playlists. And to be honest, I want to get a pair of good headphones, but I don't every see myself going much farther than listening straight from a Mac.
One other quick question: Even with 256 Kbps AAC files via a Mac or iPhone, would I still be able to tell a difference between Apple's EarPods and a good/decent pair of headphones such as Sennheisers HD 280 Pro? I haven't used anything besides Apple's offerings for a few years (because the EarPods fit me perfectly and are the most comfortable set I've every used). I've never had a good pair of headphones, but I don't want to get a decent pair and not be able to tell a difference.
Thank you.
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256kbps AAC is the equivalent to 320kbps MP3 in terms of audio quality. It's a decent format actually. But if you do plan to have better headphones and a real amp like a tube headphone amp in the future, I would say rip your CD's to Apple Lossless from now on or Flac. You can always go to 256kbps or MP3 from Flac anyway so you don't have to pop in your CD's again. Space is cheap.
What I do is I have my audio setup on a Mac Pro via a good Woo Audio tube amp and a few nice headphones and I only have these higher quality files on my desktop when Im home and want to enjoy high quality music. On my portables like a laptop or iphone I just have Apple Music or MP3's loaded from my Flac rips on my desktop. So to save space I just use 320kbps MP3s when im out and about like driving etc.
I used spotify and started using Apple Music now while I'm on the go...however I have a lot of music that's not available on these streaming services.
As do I, which is one reason I'm not that big on streaming.
I doubt I'll ever get a tube or better amps. Just a decent pair of headphones.
You need to have pretty (darn) good audio system to hear difference between 250kbps AAC and lossless. Of course if disk space isn't an issue (you have big hard drive vs small SSD) then by all means go for lossless if you want to. But you are just wasting disk space.
For audio quality you want as good DAC and speakers/headphones as your wallet can handle. Both will noticeably improve sound quality. Although changing from low end headphones (such as Apple EarPods) to anything with a price tag that hurts you will likely give more bang for your bucks than using said low end headphones with a DAC which price tag hurts you. Also you will want an amp to go with your headphones/speakers.
For sound quality (in my opinion) the order is: Speakers, DAC, amp, recording and mastering of the song, file format. (lets not consider file formats below 250kbps AAC)
For a DAC get something that connects with USB cable to your computer. Plug an amp to that and then your headphones/speakers to the amp.
For audio quality you want as good DAC and speakers/headphones as your wallet can handle. Both will noticeably improve sound quality. Although changing from low end headphones (such as Apple EarPods) to anything with a price tag that hurts you will likely give more bang for your bucks than using said low end headphones with a DAC which price tag hurts you. Also you will want an amp to go with your headphones/speakers.
For sound quality (in my opinion) the order is: Speakers, DAC, amp, recording and mastering of the song, file format. (lets not consider file formats below 250kbps AAC)
For a DAC get something that connects with USB cable to your computer. Plug an amp to that and then your headphones/speakers to the amp.
Even a tiny little amp/Dac like the Fiio e17 will help you and a decent pair of headphones that are easy to drive will be good.
If you like music a lot and appreciate it, you will definitely gain something out of that.