Importing CDs - Apple Lossless

[Will]

Hi everyone,

Having recently re-formatted my computer and also having bought a new iPod (80GB Classic) I'm looking to import a number of CDs into my (iTunes) music library.

Question:

Is it worth using the Apple Lossless Encoder?

I appreciate that it's supposed to offer the best sound quality for a trade-off of using up significantly more storage space. My iPod will probably hold enough/all of the music that I wish to transfer in this format.

Only downside if that the hard drive in my computer will quickly fill using this format (It's only 80GB on a 2 year old laptop) and I'm wondering if this extra effort will be worth it long term - are there other/better formats coming out in the near future?

Surely as Lossless takes up about 50% of the original music file size (something like 400MB per CD album), it's can't be long before there's no point in compressing at all - ie, import the CD as full music files?

Is it better compromising, and say importing at 256kbps or something for the moment?

Any advice most welcomed

Thanks,

Will

 

[bolide]

I'd get an external drive for music & movies and then just sync the music you want to the iPod

Whether you can also sync the music you want to the laptop (ie have a temporary, regularly changed library on the laptop and the main one on the external drive) I don't know - possibly not

Apple Lossless is pretty good in my experience. If you're hooking up to an external amp & speakers the improvement over MP3 is clearly audible

Nick Froome
www.pvision.co.uk

 

[Will]

Thanks for that Nick.

Haven't done anything yet, but I was just wondering:

Is there an easy way of importing music as Apple Lossless, storing it on the iPod as such (plenty of space, 80GB (200+ full CD albums), and then archiving on the computer at a lower bitrate (eg, 256kbps).

I guess I could import like this (lossless), and then change the setting of automatic sync between itunes and ipod to 'off'. Once music is transferred manually to the iPod, convert the lossless files to 256.

Is there an easier/quicker way of doing this - any other suggestions anyone?

Many thanks,

Will

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I too have an 80GB Classic and pondered the very same thing, as I planned to play it through the BOSE set-up in my car.

To be honest I'm amazed at the clarity with the standard (recommended) sample rate. It sounds just as good as the CD to my ears. An audiophile might spot the difference but it's exceeded my expectations.

Rip some tracks at the standard rate, higher rate, and lossless rate, and then hook it up to the system you intend to use - see if it makes a difference to your ears. Afterall it's your ears the music must please!!

 

[Will]

You're right BD, I guess it's probably part psychological and part technical intuition that's got me here.

I know I can fit probably each and every CD I want to import onto the iPod at full lossless, so it seems logical to go for the very best quality.

Sadly, my 2.5 year old thinkpad has only got an 80GB hard drive, with about 40-50GB free, so it'll fill this up well before the iPod

I'm tempted to stick my head in the sand a bit and just import everything as lossless, and deal with the problem when the laptop finally starts overflowing

Will

 

[bolide]

I'm tempted to stick my head in the sand a bit and just import everything as lossless, and deal with the problem when the laptop finally starts overflowing

I'd do exactly that. Chances are you'll upgrade the laptop before the drive fills

Comparing sample rates & encoding types is difficult. Sometimes the difference is in the "air" and ambience round the music and it's a difficult quality to assess and to listen for. I'd hate to have to go back and re-encode every CD later once I'd decided I didn't like the way I'd been encoding

Nick Froome
www.pvision.co.uk