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iTunes idiot needs some help


Hi,

Although I've owned an iPod for quite a while now I'm in need of some help. Up until now I've stored approximately 400 WAV files on my iPod. I recently bought two Western Digital 160gb external hard drives and I'm copying 400 CD's on to the hard drives using iTunes, importing the songs as WAV files (I bought all these CD's BTW).

I'd like to rip all of my music on to my iPod. To fit all this music onto a 20gb iPod will require compression, any recommendations as to which compression format to use would be appreciated. Priority is sound quality (I really hate the sound of MP3's) but by the same token I'll need to fit a lot of music on it. I'm very interested in your opinion and will certainly appreciate any advice.

I want to keep the WAV files on the hard drive(s) as is, allowing me to make compilations or copies of my CD's as required. The thing I can't figure out for the life of me: I have the WAV files on my hard drive and want to use some sort of compression to load them on the iPod while I maintain the original WAV files on the hard drive. There must be a way to grab the WAV files off my hard drive and using iTunes compress the files, store the compressed music in a directory on the drive, and then load my iPod with the compressed files. All the while keeping the original WAV files in WAV format on the drive. I'm running XP with the latest iTunes software. Thanks in advance to any iTunes aficionados who can lend a helping hand. Best Regards, Jeff
jeffloistarca
jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Thanks for all the info, very much appreciated! I'll experiment and see how it goes, I'd rather do that now than before I end up ripping all my WAV files to the HD. Thanks again folks, Jeff
thedautch
329 posts
 
I recently bought a 60 GB iPod. I know it would set you back $600, but I really think it's worth it to hear all your CDs at rates as uncompressed as possible.

Apple Lossless is great, but does eat up a lot of space. I tried Variable Bit Rate (VBR) at 320, which yielded pretty good results. VBR basically only goes up to 320 when it needs to, and employs a lower bit rate when the song hits quiter/simpler passages. I find it vitually indistinguishable from Lossless, but in a far smaller file size.
unclejeff
1,313 posts
 
Wonderful thread! Lots of help here.
nikturner920
144 posts
 
One thing to keep in mind when using an I-pod is that playing higher bit rate files eats up more battery and results in shorter playtime. This is do to the way the i-pod runs its hard drive into a memory buffer....larger files run the disk more and that uses lots of power. I think the best solution is to find a lowest bit rate you are happy with given the headphones you are using and go with that rate.

Two programs I like that allow you to process wav to MP3 are

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

and

http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/

I think both need the LAME encoder installed seperately, but there are instruction on one of the sites. The will make mp3 without deleting the wave if you select that in the options.

Cheers Nik
edesilva
768 posts
 
I didn't have as good luck with audiograbber as I did with EAC.

Just out of curiousity, why do you want *everything* on the iPod? One of the great things about the iPod is how easy it is to load/delete stuff. A 20 GB iPod will hold... er... about 50 CDs in WAV format--totally uncompressed. Even with a lossless compression scheme, you should get at least 100 or so...

I'm happy with my 20 GB iPod. I keep a core group of full CDs on there and throw in some single tracks to form a "core" iPod load. Then, I'll do a playlist with new CDs I've bought, some random theme stuff, or whatever to fill it out. That keeps me happy for a cross-country airplane ride, and usually quite a bit longer...
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