Thread: CD vs iPod sound quality

I notice my CD's sound so much better than our iPods played in the same unit.
Anyway to get better quality sound out of an iPod?

Originally Posted by Trailer Park Casanova

I notice my CD's sound so much better than our iPods played in the same unit.
Anyway to get better quality sound out of an iPod?

iPod MP3 are compressed to 128 Kbps and CDs are in the 320 Kbps range. When you rip a CD, its best if you want quality to rip them at 320 instead of the standard 128.

In iTunes you can change this setting in the import options (preferences>import settings) and you can change it to AAC or Apple Lossless encoding (or MP3 or WAV). All of these formats will work on you iPod, with AAC and Lossless being the best. You will have larger files and not be able to hold as many songs, but I think its worth it for better sound. I don't think it ever quite reaches CD quality, but its better than an MP3. I think I read somewhere that even CDs have lost some quality over the years?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure thats the answer. There are probably some audio experts around here that can help you more.

Thanks.

Just change to apple lossless. Only prob, if you have alot of music, you need to get a higher capacity ipod. Music lovers can tell the diff between regular mp3 and apple lossless. Only a bat could see a diff betwen CD audio quality and lossless.

Vinyl is better.

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Vinyl is better.

Only in a scratch DJ's wet dream.

Originally Posted by atwater27

Only in a scratch DJ's wet dream.

Its one case in which analog is better than digital. Would love to get my hands on some old vacuum tube amps and a great turntable.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

iPod MP3 are compressed to 128 Kbps and CDs are in the 320 Kbps range. When you rip a CD, its best if you want quality to rip them at 320 instead of the standard 128.

In iTunes you can change this setting in the import options (preferences>import settings) and you can change it to AAC or Apple Lossless encoding (or MP3 or WAV). All of these formats will work on you iPod, with AAC and Lossless being the best. You will have larger files and not be able to hold as many songs, but I think its worth it for better sound. I don't think it ever quite reaches CD quality, but its better than an MP3. I think I read somewhere that even CDs have lost some quality over the years?

Anyway, I'm pretty sure thats the answer. There are probably some audio experts around here that can help you more.

The only file type I'm aware of that gives you the closest to 100% CD quality is FLAC files, but Apple Lossless is pretty good as well. The difference is unnoticeable.

Originally Posted by getlynched47

The only file type I'm aware of that gives you the closest to 100% CD quality is FLAC files, but Apple Lossless is pretty good as well. The difference is unnoticeable.

Yeah, that too. I was just talking in regards to iTunes. I think Lossless is just Apples version of FLAC.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

Yeah, that too. I was just talking in regards to iTunes. I think Lossless is just Apples version of FLAC.

Yet another reason I am not a fan of Apple.

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

Yet another reason I am not a fan of Apple.

Its not a matter of Apple not playing FLAC (you can easily play FLAC files on an Apple, I do it all the time with VLC), it just that FLAC is a third party encoding that requires plugins. Even Windows Media Player can't play FLAC files without a codec.

I still don't get all the Apple hate.

I guess I must be an apple "fanboy" because I prefer it, but I have zero problem with the PC platform I use at work and switch between the two easily. I just don't get why people have to jump on sides. Truth is I think they are both great operating systems. I've always thought of PCs better for programming and gaming applications, and Macs for design programs (which I use all the time). I think it comes down to what I'm using them for mostly, because I do prefer my PC for work, but when I am designing marketing campaigns I really wish I had a Mac.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

Its not a matter of Apple not playing FLAC (you can easily play FLAC files on an Apple, I do it all the time with VLC), it just that FLAC is a third party encoding that requires plugins. Even Windows Media Player can't play FLAC files without a codec.

I still don't get all the Apple hate.

I guess I must be an apple "fanboy" because I prefer it, but I have zero problem with the PC platform I use at work and switch between the two easily. I just don't get why people have to jump on sides. Truth is I think they are both great operating systems. I've always thought of PCs better for programming and gaming applications, and Macs for design programs (which I use all the time). I think it comes down to what I'm using them for mostly, because I do prefer my PC for work, but when I am designing marketing campaigns I really wish I had a Mac.

I am not a fan of apple primarily due to their business practices. Their OS is great. When I was in college, I was actually looking into getting a macbook to do all of my work on, but I realized I could get better hardware for half the cost, I stuck with a PC. I thought iTunes was a great idea until I realized what DRM meant for all the music you bought off of iTunes. When I had an iPod, I used fubar2000 to transfer music on and off of it. It supported any format I wanted out of the box, and I had more control of my device and my music. It also didn't help that my first experience with OS X was bad. I made it crash by simply trying to log into AIM with the native OS X chat client. And the mac had to be reloaded with a fresh copy of the OS to fix it.

Sorry to take this thread OT, but the combination of Monopolistic business practices (at least in my mind), big brother tactics with music and software purchases and use, and the cult like following of Apple users are a really big turn off of the company as a whole.

All that being said, I admire Steve Jobs for what he did for the computing industry as a whole, just not for what his company did taking something Open source (unix) and going against that philosophy.

Originally Posted by Thnikkaman

I am not a fan of apple primarily due to their business practices. Their OS is great. When I was in college, I was actually looking into getting a macbook to do all of my work on, but I realized I could get better hardware for half the cost, I stuck with a PC. I thought iTunes was a great idea until I realized what DRM meant for all the music you bought off of iTunes. When I had an iPod, I used fubar2000 to transfer music on and off of it. It supported any format I wanted out of the box, and I had more control of my device and my music. It also didn't help that my first experience with OS X was bad. I made it crash by simply trying to log into AIM with the native OS X chat client. And the mac had to be reloaded with a fresh copy of the OS to fix it.

Sorry to take this thread OT, but the combination of Monopolistic business practices (at least in my mind), big brother tactics with music and software purchases and use, and the cult like following of Apple users are a really big turn off of the company as a whole.

All that being said, I admire Steve Jobs for what he did for the computing industry as a whole, just not for what his company did taking something Open source (unix) and going against that philosophy.

I think I read somewhere that Apple and PC components are all made at the same factory. I understand the whole dislike of their kind of monopolistic approach to business, but you can say the same thing about the PC. And the Cult of Apple pisses me off too. I like my iPhone, but I don't run out and buy every generation of it the first chance I get. I went from a iPhone 1 to a 3gs then finally to a 4 just about 3 months ago. And I don't think I'll ever get an iPad unless I just have some money to burn because its mostly a media toy.

The only thing I can really speak of from my own experience is the quality. In the same time frame I've owned my Macbook Pro laptop (about 5 years now) my friend has gone through two PC Laptops and mine still rivals his performance wise. The only thing I've had to do was replace the battery about a year ago.

I have no problem with iTunes, but I think I've only bought a few things from their store. I burn my DVD collection with Handbrake for my iPod movies and all of my music comes from "alternative" sources. Othe than that the UI is similar to every other media management program I've ever seen. PC and Mac are like Superman and Lex Luthor IMO - they need each other. I guess its up to the individual to decide which represents which!

CDs are the best of both worlds when it comes to Vinyl and mp3.

Records are overrated, IMO. I still love them, and there are some albums that kick ass on vinyl more than any other format, but I wouldn't chase after them while saying goodbye to my CD collection.

Originally Posted by aberdien

CDs are the best of both worlds when it comes to Vinyl and mp3.

Records are overrated, IMO. I still love them, and there are some albums that kick ass on vinyl more than any other format, but I wouldn't chase after them while saying goodbye to my CD collection.

You ever hear about how the original Playstations matched the quality of high end CD players, and for a while they were going for big bucks? This was the article about it: http://www.switched.com/2007/06/05/p...000-cd-player/

I've never been much of an audiophile, but I do appreciate good sound. My iPhone is great for listening to stuff at work, but I have an old Sony CD player and a good set of Bose headphones at home for when I really want to listen to something. The levels and layerings on a properly mastered CD are incredible. I can't wait for the re-release of Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins this month, the samples so far are incredible.