Can Anyone Please Walk Me Through This?

I'll preface this by saying I'm an iPod newbie to some degree myself, but what you are looking to do is exactly how I load music on my iPod.

When I first installed iTunes I set the compression ratios to WAV and made iTunes my default audio player in Windows 2000. When I load an audio CD in my computer's CDROM the operating system sees the disc and iTunes pops up. iTunes queries Apple's data base and the track listing appears; all the information about the disc is right there in front of you. The default is to select all the songs on the CD, click to de-select the tunes you don't want to save. You then click on Save in iTunes and the songs are saved as WAV files in My Documents=>My Music=>iTunes=>iTunes Music.

Sync up your iPod to your computer and the newly saved songs are downloaded to your iPod. Once the download is complete you can delete the WAV files from your computer, I always defrag after I do this.

Creating a library is simple in iTunes. Click on Edit => New Smart Playlist and fill in the info. Drag and drop your tunes into your new playlist and you're good to go. There is a new version of iTunes available for download on Apple's website, I suggest you update your software. Happy Podding, Jeff

Please take a look at these web sites for detail how-to steps:

http://www.ipodlounge.com/
http://www.ipoding.com/
http://www.ipodhacks.com/

In addition, based on my own experiences, I have the following recommendations if you have enough disk space:

1. If you are going to play from iTune, rip CD to Apple Lossless. Apple Lossless sounded the same as WAV when played from iTune. No need to waste 50% disk space.

2. If you are going to burn CD from iTune, rip CD to WAV, not Apple Lossless. CDs burn from WAV sound better than burn from Lossless. I cannot explain it but I have tried a dozen CDs and every one sound better when burn from WAV.

3. Convert the ripped WAV or Apple Lossless to MP3 VBR at 320kbs for iPod upload. When played back from iPod through HD-650 headphone, I cannot tell any difference between MP3 at 320kbs and WAV. No need to waste limited disk space on iPod.

4. Use smart playlists to separate the WAV, Apple Lossless, and MP3.

5. Do not delete the WAV or Apple Lossless even after you have uploaded to iPod because you cannot transfer them back from iPod easily – at least not from iTune, you will need other tools.

Thanks for the excellent posts so far. As much as I would like tubes and a turntable in my car, I think hard drived based music is here to stay for a while.

Sidssp, interesting that you were comfortable with MP-3 at 320kbs. Perhaps I was not using that standard but I thought I was using the highest quality settings on the LAME compression software, after ripping CDs with EAC.

(Maybe that is out of date now, but was supposedly the hot thing not long ago.)

The surprise for me was installing a Nakamich CD-400 in my car and there was a DRAMATIC difference between WAV files and my MP-3 files when played from my Ipod through the car stereo.

The MP-3 files had vague wandering image, a harder, more fatiguing sound quality, and less dynamic range ie compressed.

I have other Agon friends that say the best MP-3 is very good now, but that is why I was obsessed with the lossless files, even at the expense of disc space.

Cwlondon, I don't know how well LAME or EAC work, I have not used either. But I believe your MP3 files were encoded at a lower bit rate. I have experienced the same edgy, hard, and fatiguing sound quality you described when I ripped CDs at below 192kbs. But at 320kbs VBR, the sound quality is really excellent. Give it a try. It might surprise you.

Sidssp

I am sure the 320 kbs is much better and probably pretty good.

I do find it interesting, however, in a forum where we split hairs between CD transports and cables, that the WAV (bit for bit) files would be indistinguishable from the compressed files on Sennheiser 650's which I dont own but understand are very revealing, more or less reference quality headphones.

Perhaps this is because the playback is ultimately still limited by the iPods internal amp and D/A converter?

Sorry to continue to be so stubborn on this subject, but it still seems to me that a lossless WAV file would be the best digital archive.

Then, if I could ever figure out how to get those bits from the computer, or the iPod, into a serious D/A, an external headphone amp, and my Etymotics ER-4's with custom silicon earpieces.......