watchnerd Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I'm in the process of downloading some Super HD (.wma) files from MusicGiants. Once I copy them out of my Windows VM and into OSX, what's the best way to convert them in such a way that it's part of my iTunes library, retains all tags, and retains the HD quality? MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Hi watchnerd - Check this article and the following comments out for conversion etc... http://www.computeraudiophile.com/musicgiants_on_mac Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
watchnerd Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi Chris, I followed the directions and thought I'd share some comments/results: 1. Damn, this is a bit of work and fairly inconvenient. I look forward to the day when I don't have to do all this on a Mac. 2. For the $19 I paid for the download ("A Boy Named Charlie Brown", by the Vince Guaraldi Trio), I could have bought the SACD. An interesting tradeoff to consider. 3. After converting everything to WAV, I copied the files from my Windows VM to OSX. I then imported the files directly into iTunes and had iTunes convert straight to Apple Lossless (superior to AIFF, IMHO, at least if you're on a Mac). I didn't use MAX for the process, and I'm not sure what, if anything would have been gained by doing so. 4. The iTunes data before doing so: WAV version (track 1): 71.9 MB, 4233 kbps, 88.200 kHz, 24bit Apple Lossless version (track 1): 48.9 MB, 2880 kbps, 88.200 kHz, 24bit Are those the expected results, or should I have seen something different? UPDATE: I tried converting via Max, and got the following results: AIFF version (track 1): 71.9 MB, 4233 kbps, 88.200 kHz, 24bit Apple Lossless from AIFF (track 1): 48.9 MB, 2880 kbps, 88.200 kHz, 24bit In other words, the results are identical to doing it within iTunes, but far less convenient. MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi watchnerd - I agree 100% you could have purchased the physical disc for less money and possibly less time. The only reason MAX is necessary is to convert to AIFF and keep the bit/sample rate. iTunes can't import high resolution AIFF files. Anyway the whole thing is an interesting exercise :-) Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
watchnerd Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi Chris, At least from my testing, importing a WAV (converted from WMA) into iTunes allowed me to convert it to Apple Lossless while retaining the high bit rate. Give that Apple Lossless has tags like AIFF, and has a higher compression ratio, why not just import the WAV files directly into iTunes and convert to Apple Lossless there, bypassing the Max step? Am I missing something? MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi watchnerd - I'm a fan of AIFF. So I need to import AIFF into iTunes and keep it in this format. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
watchnerd Posted August 13, 2008 Author Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi Chris, I see your point for using Max is you prefer AIFF. It seems that converting within iTunes gives the following results: 24bit WAV=>AIFF=16bits 24bit WAV=>Apple Lossless=24bits Any idea why there is a difference? MacBook Pro -> AppleTV ->Rotel RSP-1570 -> Martin Logan Electromotion[br]MacBook Pro -> Icon HDP -> AKG K701[br]Apple Lossless all the way Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 This one has bugged me ever since I ran into the issue. For some reason AIFF within iTunes can only convert up to 48k and 16 bit, but it can playback up to 24/192. Just a weird iTunes limitation. I am researching some other options, but I can't really speak about them at this time. Things are looking very good for computer audiophiles though :-) Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
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