AIFF vs Apple Lossless Ripping

One reason you may not hear a difference is that the Mac sends everything to the Airport as Apple Lossless. It converts the AIFF file to lossless and then the AE converts it back to SPDIF for your Dac.

Thanks for that - I did not know this. I don't use iTunes for playing files myself. I stream them via Squeeze software to a Modwright Transporter. I assume they are not converted going this route. Thanks also to Kijanki - is "MAX" by the same folks who created EAC? I'll look into it. I was really surprised by the differences i could hear in the EAC files I compared with a friend. There were certainly subtle improvements in bass, clarity and resolution overall. Have you compared using this "MAX" software? I must have missed some threads or is this brand new?

EAC is apparently one of the most accurate for ripping and critical for scratched/damaged CD's - iTunes with Error correction on is apparently identical to EAC on most normal undamaged CD's. (this has been garnered from Head.fi forums - I have no experience with EAC myself)

"is "MAX" by the same folks who created EAC?"

I don't think so. Wasn't EAC written by the student in Germany?

I use MAX (http://sbooth.org/Max/) with Snow Leopard on Intel Mac Mini in Cdparanoia "don't allow skipping" error correction mode. One bad disk I have gets stuck on MAX while iTunes lets it go. You can also set any number of tries. Cdparanoia (check in Wikipedia) can be used with drives that don't cache music. It works on my Intel Mac Mini. If it doesn't - there are two other modes. Itunes has better Metadata library and Max has subprogram to transfer it. Max allows then to obtain CD cover picture (Itunes won't get cover of CDs ripped by other programs).

Sidssp - I was using iTunes v. 8 when I did the test.

As an update, can any iTunes users comment on the latest version of iTunes and best options for audiophiles, please?

I like the convenience of the iTunes store and the selection seems to be getting even better with the Beatles, etc.

However, I do not like the fidelity of my iPod, nor do I want to pay for files that have digital rights encoding, or use any proprietary Apple formats which tie me to Apple.

For ripping one's own CDs, it seems easy to simply set preferences to WAV?

But what about buying/downloading from the iTunes store?

How do I get lossless downloads from the store that can be played on any windows machine or my new HiFiMan 601 DAP?

Thank you