[selzini]

Those who have been here a while, know all this is new to me, so please be kind.

I've downloaded iTunes to my computer, and will be getting the iPod Classic, which has 160Gb of memory. After downloading two CDs, I see that there are various options for the download. So:

1) There are five options where it asks, "Import using what?"
a) AAC Encoder
b) AIFF Encoder
c) Apple Lossless Encoder
d) MP3 Encoder
e) WAV Encoder

Does it matter which option is used? And if it does, should I delete what I've already downloaded and start over?

2) The setting for downloading gives two options:
a) High Quality - 128 kbps
b) iTunes Plus - 256 kbps

I assume that the sound will be better with the iTunes Plus, but since it takes up more room(I assume), is it that much better than the High Quality setting? If I need to change, do I need to delete what I've already downloaded and start over? (between the two CDs downloaded I've already used about 1.4 Gbs - 37 songs)

There are many other settings, none of which I understand. Should I just leave it in the default that was on there originally?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[greenhut]

Will this ripped music only be played in your Q50 and maybe over headphones?

DO you tend to obsess about the ultimate sound quality?

How many CDs do you want to fit on that iPod?

 

[selzini]

Will this ripped music only be played in your Q50 and maybe over headphones?

DO you tend to obsess about the ultimate sound quality?

How many CDs do you want to fit on that iPod?

Yes, it will only be used in the car, with the iPod. Obsess? That all depends on what you mean. I want fine quality, but I've never messed around with equalizers. To give you an idea, I did get a Yamaha sound bar for my TV, but did not get the sub-woofer to go along with it. For really good music on a DVD or BlueRay, I can switch the sound over to my Pioneer sound system. Basically, I'd like to know if the sound using the lesser of the options will noticeably affect the sound quality. As far as the number that I plan to download, I now don't think that will be an issue, based upon the two CDs I've already downloaded. Even a 100 would easily fit, using the same options. Even using the "better option would allow at least 50 CDs, more than enough. So, which options give the best sound? And which of the five import options would be necessary for the car - or does it not matter? Thanks for your help.

 

[tt_45]

Selzini, I"ll let those tech gurus answer your question. Just wanted to wish you good luck and be able to enjoy all the music that you already have. I love tech featuers in car (and in general) but I'm very poor skilled with itunes. I had a similar question posted several days ago trying to import music thru itunes (but via USB drive instead of ipod). I got some very helpful advice. Here is the post in case you have too much time waiting for the answers to your post...

http://www.infinitiq50.org/forum/new-2014-q50-general-discussion-forum/6985-usb-flush-drive-q.html

Congrats on your Q decision! I'm sure you will have fun with Q! Can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[greenhut]

My suggestions based on your answers:

Use the MP3 encoder. MP3s are the most universally supported format. Lossless formats consume much more space and you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference - especially in a car. Using MP3 would allow you to copy the ripped files to other digital audio devices. I don't recall the exact options iTunes provides for ripping MP3, but I would suggest 256kBps and Variable Bit Rate (VBR). Leave all the other settings alone.

Similarly would suggest iTunes Plus (256kBps) for downloads.

 

[selzini]

Selzini, I"ll let those tech gurus answer your question. Just wanted to wish you good luck and be able to enjoy all the music that you already have. I love tech featuers in car (and in general) but I'm very poor skilled with itunes. I had a similar question posted several days ago trying to import music thru itunes (but via USB drive instead of ipod). I got some very helpful advice. Here is the post in case you have too much time waiting for the answers to your post...

http://www.infinitiq50.org/forum/new-2014-q50-general-discussion-forum/6985-usb-flush-drive-q.html

Congrats on your Q decision! I'm sure you will have fun with Q! Can't wait to see the pictures!

Thanks for the good thoughts, and for the link. It was somewhat helpful, I guesso), but have no idea what .m4a and .mp4 mean. And I don't know if I can find that in iTunes. I'll have to look. I'm hoping that there will not be a problem, once I do get the iPod, with the downloading to it, and then the playing of the music.

Edit: I just found out that the bitrate is the lowest, also(about 44 kHz). Is that O.K., or should it be larger - and again, does it matter? This sure is a hassle. :-(

 

[tt_45]

Thanks for the good thoughts, and for the link. It was somewhat helpful, I guesso), but have no idea what .m4a and .mp4 mean. And I don't know if I can find that in iTunes. I'll have to look. I'm hoping that there will not be a problem, once I do get the iPod, with the downloading to it, and then the playing of the music.

I have NO idea about m4a, mp4 either. I'm keeping it simple and just use mp3 format. That worked on my M and sounds like it will work on Q as well. ... Seems like Greenhut is also advising mp3 format. So there!

Well, get a glass of wine before you start downloading. ... I know I was quite frustrated when I spent long time downloading/importing CD to the drive only to find it can't play in the car....

Good luck to us!

 

[Gandhi]

http://www.wikihow.com/Rip-MP3s-from-an-Audio-CD-with-iTunes

I would go with minimum 192 kbps MP3 setting myself. 320 kbps is best.

 

[chicagokevo]

256 kbps is certainly higher quality vs. 128 kbps (technically speaking). In a quality system like the Q50 Bose (w/ tweeters and mini subs), a keen audiophile like myself would notice the difference. Regardless, just make sure you're getting all of your music from iTunes, which it sounds like you are. Quite honestly, you'd be perfectly fine w/ the 128, so don't fret about that. In fact, most music you hear on the radio (i.e. SXM radio quality) is streamed OTA in no more than 128k--so if you're satisfied with that quality, then you have nothing to worry about. To answer the other Q, .mp4 music DOES play on virtually all modern day music players--incl. the Q50 InTouch system; mp4 is loosely sourced from Apple's Quicktime platform and generally takes up less space than mp3. All in all, Selzini, it sounds like you're thinking too hard on the quality. I'm certain you'll enjoy the sounds from your basic 128k iTunes music. Also, for you, I'd select the standard MP3 encoder.

 

[avanti5010]

Yes, it will only be used in the car, with the iPod. Obsess? That all depends on what you mean. I want fine quality, but I've never messed around with equalizers. To give you an idea, I did get a Yamaha sound bar for my TV, but did not get the sub-woofer to go along with it. For really good music on a DVD or BlueRay, I can switch the sound over to my Pioneer sound system. Basically, I'd like to know if the sound using the lesser of the options will noticeably affect the sound quality. As far as the number that I plan to download, I now don't think that will be an issue, based upon the two CDs I've already downloaded. Even a 100 would easily fit, using the same options. Even using the "better option would allow at least 50 CDs, more than enough. So, which options give the best sound? And which of the five import options would be necessary for the car - or does it not matter? Thanks for your help.

I have a 320gb iPod and have about 15,000 songs on it - a "long" lifetime collection. I have always used the standard iTunes setup and all sound fine to me. Of course, some CDs are inherently better than others in sound quality and I can distinguish that. But no amount of tinkering on the iPod can make them sound better than they already do.
I'ts like speakers - they will only sound as good as what is playing on them.
I have a hearing loss in one ear and use a hearing aid, so I may not be what is considered a sound "aficionado", but I am happy with the sound I get no matter where I use my iPod.

 

[greenhut]

Edit: I just found out that the bitrate is the lowest, also(about 44 kHz). Is that O.K., or should it be larger - and again, does it matter? This sure is a hassle. :-(

Careful - if you are seeing something labelled 44KHz, it is not the bitrate, it is the sample rate. 44Khz is the sample rate used by CDs, so no need to go higher. I would suggest you leave the sample rate alone - it probably defaults to 44kHz which is fine.

If you care, sample rate is the number of times per second that the music waveforms are captured digitally. Bitrate is how much data is captured per sample.

 

[Doyle]

mp4 can handle both audio and video. m4a is Apples native audio only format. m4b is for audiobooks and allows bookmarking so you don't lose your place. AIFF and Apple Lossless are both formats that preserve all of the audio data. Apple Lossless is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of AIFF so it would be the preference for best quality. mp3 and AAC both are compression algorithms that lose some of the data but give you smaller files and the sound difference may be noticeable to you and may not depending on the material you are playing and the system it is playing on. In your case, you have a 160 GB hard drive in that Classic iPod so storage space is not a problem. Go for the Apple Lossless unless you are planning to put 10,000 songs on there. A 4 minute song in AIFF is about 45 MB and about 32 MB in Apple lossless, in AAC or mp3 it is about 4 MB. If you are still unsure you can record a song in each format and then listen to them to see which you prefer.

One other comment: Welcome to the Dark Side!!

 

[selzini]

Thanks to you all for the advice. As far as using iTunes, I won't be downloading from them - I'll just be downloading the CDs to the computer(in iTunes) , and then transferring to the iPod when I get it. It looks like the only real change I need to make is to have it encode with MP3(and if that screws things up, I'LL BE COMING TO FIND YOU!)

 

[selzini]

mp4 can handle both audio and video. m4a is Apples native audio only format. m4b is for audiobooks and allows bookmarking so you don't lose your place. AIFF and Apple Lossless are both formats that preserve all of the audio data. Apple Lossless is about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of AIFF so it would be the preference for best quality. mp3 and AAC both are compression algorithms that lose some of the data but give you smaller files and the sound difference may be noticeable to you and may not depending on the material you are playing and the system it is playing on. In your case, you have a 160 GB hard drive in that Classic iPod so storage space is not a problem. Go for the Apple Lossless unless you are planning to put 10,000 songs on there. A 4 minute song in AIFF is about 45 MB and about 32 MB in Apple lossless, in AAC or mp3 it is about 4 MB. If you are still unsure you can record a song in each format and then listen to them to see which you prefer.

According to my math, it seems like I averaged about 35Mb for each song when I used the AAC encoder. That's a lot more than you indicated. Did I figure wrong?(37 songs used 1.3 Gb of memory). Obviously, I'd rather use the option that sounds better, since I won't be putting more than about 50 CDs on the iPod. There's no sense in testing things out right now, since I don't have the iPod, and the sound on the little computer speakers won't really tell me anything.

 

[Doyle]

That does not sound right for AAC. Typical 4 minute file size with 128 kbps and 44 Khz should be about 4 MB. If you are looking at the file size on the CD then they will be about 40 MB but after you import it then it should be less. AAC was the original Apple format and it has higher quality than mp3 but not as good as Apple Lossless. On you iTunes, select the song under Music and do a Get Info and it will tell you the size. You may still be on the CD tab where you imported the files. You do not need 256 kbps and should use 128 kbps but you should use 44 Khz sample rate.

 

[selzini]

I just went through the first album, song by song(couldn't figure out how to get the entire album in one shot). The 18 songs took up 60 Mb(there were some cuts that were live performances and took up at least 5 Mb each). The bit rate was 128 and sample rate was 44.1. Just to be clear, you're saying that if I deleted the album, and then re-downloaded in the lossless encode, then the sound would be better? One more thing. Even though lossless is an Apple file, it still is O.K. to have it on a PC? And again, THANK YOU.

 

[Doyle]

60MB sounds much better for 18 songs. You should be able to import an entire album just by going to "Add to Library" then selecting the CD and checking all of the songs. I am on a Mac so if iTunes is open on the Mac, it asks whether you want to import the entire album. It should do the same on a PC. The only thing I am not sure of is that iTunes may have to be the default audio player.

Yes, whether it is PC or Mac, the control program is iTunes so it will handle all of the formats listed in the menu.
Second is the iPod and it will also handle those formats.

• Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

 

[selzini]

60MB sounds much better for 18 songs. You should be able to import an entire album just by going to "Add to Library" then selecting the CD and checking all of the songs. I am on a Mac so if iTunes is open on the Mac, it asks whether you want to import the entire album. It should do the same on a PC. The only thing I am not sure of is that iTunes may have to be the default audio player.

Yes, whether it is PC or Mac, the control program is iTunes so it will handle all of the formats listed in the menu.
Second is the iPod and it will also handle those formats.

• Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV

Yep, when I inserted the CD, it asked if I wanted to import it. It did so quickly. Again, thanks for all the help.