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Ripped CD/DVD/Blue Ray Lossless Audio Compression


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I am looking to use higher quality ripped format rather than standard MP3 or WMA and would appreciate help on the following questions:

1. Does Apple have a lossless music file solution?

2. Does Apple have audiophile-oriented products to manage or play lossless music files?

3. How does Apple compare to other lossless compressions like WMA or FLAC?

4. Does anyone else have a lossless music file solution?

5. Does anyone else have audiophile-oriented products to manage or play lossless music files?

6. Ballpark, how much larger than our MP3 files would a lossless music file be?

7. Would it be easy to down-convert from a lossless file format to MP3 for lower quality use on iPods?

Thanks for the help.

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I am looking to use higher quality ripped format rather than standard MP3 or WMA and would appreciate help on the following questions:

1. Does Apple have a lossless music file solution?

2. Does Apple have audiophile-oriented products to manage or play lossless music files?

3. How does Apple compare to other lossless compressions like WMA or FLAC?

4. Does anyone else have a lossless music file solution?

5. Does anyone else have audiophile-oriented products to manage or play lossless music files?

6. Ballpark, how much larger than our MP3 files would a lossless music file be?

7. Would it be easy to down-convert from a lossless file format to MP3 for lower quality use on iPods?

Thanks for the help.

 

1. Yes Apple supports ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), AIFF and WAV (uncompressed)

2. I believe so using properly configured MacBooks, iMac or Mac Mini (typically upgraded RAM and modified set up or preferences) and the files can be managed by iTunes or iTunes in conjunction with third party software players like Pure Music, Amarra etc

3. The original WMA format as I understand it is a compressed audio format similar to mp3 though there is a lossless version. FLAC is probably the most widely used format but strictly from an audio performance standpoint indistinguishable from Apple Lossless, AIFF or WAV

4. I am not sure who you might mean. There are many codecs out there but I believe FLAC, WAV, AIFF and ALAC are the primary. Apple can play FLAC but requires third party software support.

5. There is an ever growing variety of products from modified computers to digital music players.

6. Compressed files like mp3 are typically from 128 kBps to 320 kBps. Lossless files like FLAC and ALAC may average from 500 kBps to 800 kBps. Uncompressed formats for a 16/44.1 CD file is 1411 kBps. 24 bit files will be considerably larger

7. Yes

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
Frank Zappa
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7. Yes. I converted all the AIFF files in my iTunes library to AAC (320kbps) a few weeks ago which means they all now fit on my iPod Touch (64Gb version).

 

I use Audirvana Plus to play my AIFF and FLAC (mostly 24/192) files. With Integer Mode engaged the sound is very good.

 

I use MAX to convert my FLAC files to MP3 (320kbps) for iTunes playback.

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7. Yes. I converted all the AIFF files in my iTunes library to AAC (320kbps) a few weeks ago which means they all now fit on my iPod Touch (64Gb version).

 

I use Audirvana Plus to play my AIFF and FLAC (mostly 24/192) files. With Integer Mode engaged the sound is very good.

 

I use MAX to convert my FLAC files to MP3 (320kbps) for iTunes playback.

 

7. You can also do this automatically, on the fly, using iTunes. The latest version includes the ability to convert to 256k AAC (current iTunes Store standard setting) on the fly, and it does the conversion automatically during sync with your mobile device - so you don't even need to keep a separate lower quality copy of your lossless files anymore. Older versions would only let you create 128k versions on the fly, but I'm happy with the 256k option for truly mobile listening.

John Walker - IT Executive

Headphone - SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable Ethernet > mRendu Roon endpoint > Topping D90 > Topping A90d > Dan Clark Expanse / HiFiMan H6SE v2 / HiFiman Arya Stealth

Home Theater / Music -SonicTransporter i9 running Roon Server > Netgear Orbi > Blue Jeans Cable HDMI > Denon X3700h > Anthem Amp for front channels > Revel F208-based 5.2.4 Atmos speaker system

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Thanks for all the great information

 

Someone mentioned that one big issue was that imperfections on CD/DVDs and CD/DVD buring HW can cause bad (lossless) data to be encoded. Is anyone familier with offset correction?

 

Thanks

 

Thats why a lot of people use a third party ripping software other than iTunes. For Mac that is usually MAX or XLD. I use XLD and with it you can be quite certain of the accuracy of your rip. if there is a problem you will know based on the result log provided. I have only encountered a couple of CDs so damage that a rip could not be completed. Pin holes seem to be a bigger problem than scratches.

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."
Frank Zappa
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