iTunes - Best settings for importing CDs?

Dinarius

I only want to import CDs once and I'm happy to wait a bit for each one if it means I have the best quality rip and I don't have to do it again.

So, what settings should I choose?

I will be playing back the files through my 3Gs iPhone.

In Import Settings I have two drop down menus......

1. "Import Using": AAC Encoder, AIFF Encoder, Apple Lossless Encoder, MP3 Encoder, WAV Encoder.

Which one?

2. "Setting": High Quality (128kbps), iTunes Plus, Spoken Podcast, Custom....

Again, which one?

Many thanks.

D.

banquo

mp3 at 128kbps will be fine, might want to go one quality step higher to 320kbps though. Takes up a bit more space, but the difference is notable.

AAC works pretty much only with iTunes, mp3 is much more universal.

Dinarius

OK, so from the Import Using menu I've chosen MP3 Encoder and from the Setting menu I've chosen Custom and set it to 320kbps.

Make sense?

Also, should I tick the box "Use error correction........."?

Many thanks.

D.

JayC5

Dinarius wrote: »

I only want to import CDs once and I'm happy to wait a bit for each one if it means I have the best quality rip and I don't have to do it again.

So, what settings should I choose?

I will be playing back the files through my 3Gs iPhone.

In Import Settings I have two drop down menus......

1. "Import Using": AAC Encoder, AIFF Encoder, Apple Lossless Encoder, MP3 Encoder, WAV Encoder.

Which one?

2. "Setting": High Quality (128kbps), iTunes Plus, Spoken Podcast, Custom....

Again, which one?

Many thanks.

D.

It all depends on what type of quality you are looking for... personally if I were you I'd create a custom profile and rip at 160kbps (Variable Bit Rate) - 320kbps is way to high IMO and would be a waste of space, if you're putting your tunes on an iphone you want to conserve as much as you can. I'd also choose AAC over MP3, as supposedly it's better quality at the same file size (sounds better to my ears anyways...) - if you are going to be using your music files on any other setup tho you may want to keep it MP3, like what was mentioned in a previous post it's compatible with practically everything.

So yeah, unless you're a complete audiophile 160kbps AAC VBR (44.100khz) gets the right balance of file size and quality audio. You could always go 192kbps which is what I ususally rip at (rarely need higher than that, get some good speakers/soundcard and if you play your tunes throught Itunes look for a cracked copy of the Volume Logic software/plugin - this REALLY! improves the sound when playing from your desktop/laptop etc. PM me if you can't find this

Best upgrade you can get it terms of sound from your iphone however is to ditch those crappy earphones that apple bundle with it - I got a set of 'Ultimate Ears' after a bit of research and they are fantastic (shop about on the net as they are cheap enough, think mine were less than 50 quid) - link is below

http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/products/metrofi/index.php

Hope this helps

Brian

Gizmodo : How to rip your music like a pro

Dinarius

Cheers guys. Thanks for the info.

On the issue of earphones/headphones, I'm very partial to Sennheiser and will probably go for a pair of these >

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=404512

They combine the build quality and sound quality of Sennheiser (with variable fit) without losing the ability to answer the phone!

D.

ps.

Review here>

http://www.cnet.com.au/sennheiser-mm-50-for-iphone-339291753.htm

pps.....

and look at the price of them here>

http://store.apple.com/ie/product/TR530ZM/A

You gotta love their cheek!

ppps.......

even cheaper here than Komplett...

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/r/sennheiser-mm50

Brian

Dinarius, sorry to break this to you but Sennheiser earphones aren't great. Those ones seem especially overpriced. If you want an iPhone headset I would recommend the NuForce NE-7Ms.

Review here : http://www.touchmyapps.com/2009/03/17/nuforce-ne7m-earphones-and-mic-new-kings-on-the-block/

TrueDub

Dinarius wrote: »

Cheers guys. Thanks for the info.

On the issue of earphones/headphones, I'm very partial to Sennheiser and will probably go for a pair of these >

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=404512

They combine the build quality and sound quality of Sennheiser (with variable fit) without losing the ability to answer the phone!

I use those, and have done for quite a while (2+ years). I'm a big fan, and can recommend them.

sink

I rip at 128kbs AAC and I can't tell the difference between that and a CD on a decent set of speakers.

Brian

sink wrote: »

I rip at 128kbs AAC and I can't tell the difference between that and a CD on a decent set of speakers.

There's more than the bitrate and the speakers involved. The basic setup is -

CD -> Digital-to-Analogue Converter -> Amp -> Speakers -> Ears.

The experience is only as good as the weakest link.

sink

Baza210 wrote: »

There's more than the bitrate and the speakers involved. The basic setup is -

CD -> Digital-to-Analogue Converter -> Amp -> Speakers -> Ears.

The experience is only as good as the weakest link.

I have a universal docking station plugged into a pioneer amp and a set of bose speakers.

Brian

I have a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700s plugged into the headphone-out of an Eee PC 1000H. Even with that mediocre source the difference between 128k AAC and 320k MP3 is glorious.

Idleater

Get ITunes to rip to AAC Lossless if you want its best quality.

As already stated, the whole experience is as good as the weakest link.

I've gone for 2 libraries - FLAC and Mp3. One for lan streaming and one tor the ipod/wan streaming. I generate the mp3's from flac as an add on to the basic rip process.

Obviously, ITunes doesn't like FLAC so I use other Software for that.