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Can Anyone Please Walk Me Through This?

Hello Everyone.

There have been several threads that touch on the subject of lossless files for the Ipod, including my own posts describing my frustration "tagging" ordinary WAV files.

Although I still can't seem to find the right information in any one single place, an Audiogon friend recently told me that this whole business was a piece of cake with the latest version of Itunes.

Using Itunes or EAC (my old reference standard) could someone please tell me how to do the following in a Windows 2000 environment:

1) "Rip" individual tracks and/or entire CDs into my computer's drive in a true lossless or WAV format for maxium fidelity with no concern for storage space and

2) Do this in a way that preserves the track information, or at least permits easy "tagging" which will also transfer to the Ipod and

3) Extra credit: anything that enhances the ease and convenience of creating a library and/or contributes to maximum audiophile flexibility for other devices or formats or exportation to an external DAC.

Fingers crossed I might soon enjoy maximum fidelity for my big gig Ipod, even if I can only store a few CDs worth of content.

Thank you very much.
cwlondon
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
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.
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
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.
sidssp
1,077 posts
 
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.
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
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.......
ultraviolet
105 posts
 
I second the VBR mp3 file suggestion using EAC. In addition, as I've mentioned elsewhere, with the ipod, storage isn't your main concern, battery life is. The ipod has only a 16 or 32mb buffer (I think it's 16 though). With uncompressed wav files this keeps the hd spinning nearly constantly and battery life will plummet from an already sub-par battery life of 7-8 hours. Using my ipod, with several amps and with several headphones (the best being shure e5's) I was unable to distinguish between wavs and vbr mp3s.

The VBR mp3's are so good, that I picked up an m audio firewire audiophile external soundcard and run a digital out with coax Signal Cable from my computer into my stereo. The sound is excellent. The only reason I can occasionally tell a difference is because the mp3s sound a bit quiter for a given volume setting--I have no idea why this is though.

Avoid the standard 128kbps mp3s like the plague (I'm sure you know this already).
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