import settings

[jakalapa]

I have started importing CDs to iTunes 4.5 for transfer to my new iPod 20gb. What are thoughts on the default import settings of iTunes = AAC and 128 kbps? Does a higher bit rate effect the volume level at all? Do the volume settings in iTunes transfer to iPod? Thanks to all - this is a great resource!

Jay.

[AndyH]

Originally posted by jakalapa
I have started importing CDs to iTunes 4.5 for transfer to my new iPod 20gb. What are thoughts on the default import settings of iTunes = AAC and 128 kbps?
AAC is very good, but I personally feel 128Kbps is too low. I decided to rip & encode my CD's at 224 Kbps with a few select albums at 320 Kbps. But I'm listening through high-quality earphones, and I'm more concerned with high-quality sound versus cramming as many songs as possible onto my iPod.

Originally posted by jakalapa
Does a higher bit rate effect the volume level at all? Do the volume settings in iTunes transfer to iPod?
No and Yes.

[Morfious]

First thing you want to do is get Exact audio copy (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/) (It's free) and use secure mode to ensure that the songs you rip are exactly the same as they are on the CD. After that get yourself the lame MP3 encoder (http://mitiok.cjb.net/) (if you are going to use MP3's). Now that you have the right tools you can decide the correct bitrate. I like to use variable bit rates because you can get better quality at the same or smaller file sizes. To my ears 128 sounds like crap. I have a few different "standards" for encoding audio. 224 AAC, 192 VBR (in command line settings of EAC put in --alt-preset-standard) and for really important music (--alt-preset-extreme) which comes out to about 224 VBR. To my ears these sound acceptible and I don't notice a difference b/w the encoded files and the orig. I use my iPod all over the place including my home stereo system and my Jeep's car sudio system. Good speakers will let you hear crappy encoding artifacts. Here #7 (http://www.geocities.com/altbinariessoundsmusicclassical/vbr-encoding.htm) is a link explaining all the --alt-preset commands and what they mean.

[treffmeister]

I agree with Morfius, except there are better codecs

[AndyH]

Originally posted by treffmeister
I agree with Morfius, except there are better codecs
Yeah, yeah, yeah...we all know you love Ogg Vorbis, Treff. Damn shame the iPod doesn't support it, so there really isn't any sense in mentioning it in this thread, is there?

[Teqnilogik]

It depends on how good your hearing is. Encode a song using AAC at 128kbps, 160kbps, 192kbps, and 224kbps. Then rip a WAV file of the song. Determine which bitrate that you can't distinguish from CD quality. Personally for me, 128kbps is fine since I have discovered that for most music I cannot tell a difference from CD quality. This was surprising to me at first since I used 192kbps+ bitrates for MP3. Just experiment and you'll find your ideal bitrate.