Greetings all, this is my first post. I am no stranger to the MP3 world, I have been using EAC and Lame since 2000. Stopped ripping for a while, life got in the way. So here I am, and alot has changed. I have been adding CDs to my collection and I have decided to RIP them. But before I do, I need to get feedback on what the best format and settings would be. I have a ton of MP3 files in fact well over 50 gigs, some sound great, others don't. I am open to lossless, but not sure how the ipod will handle these, especially when I choose to use the ipod as a portable device, will the lossless codecs affect battery life etc.
I intend to add my collection to my newly acquired 160GB ipod. This will be connected to my Onkyo receiver by the Onkyo ipod docking station. In turn I will be listening to it mostly through Polk speakers.
How would you guys approach this? given the scenario, ample hard drive space, 160 Gb iPod used as a portable device, also connected to a stereo receiver.
Full Version: MP3 or M4a for iPod through Stero receiver
I would go the lossless+lossy route. This means that you rip an audio CD once to a lossless format, then encode the lossless format to your lossy format of choice. Keep the lossless format as a backup and don't use it for portable listening. iPods can natively play only one lossless format and that is Apple lossless. Battery life takes a pretty big hit as my 5G 60GB iPod is rated for 20 hours of audio playback but I continually get about 21 hours when using lossy content. I have conducted a couple of lossless tests and it gets about 12-14 hours depending on the complexity of the music (99% of lossless formats use VBR encoding).
That is why I have a 500GB hard drive for a lossless backup of my music in the Apple lossless format. I then encode to whichever lossy format I like. I actually have two lossy libraries right now: one at 128kbps VBR using iTunes AAC and one at -V 2 --vbr-new using Lame mp3. I have two libraries for a couple of reasons: I find that 128kbps VBR iTunes AAC is more than acceptable when it comes to portable listening and listening at home. I have the -V 2 library mainly for my PS3 as it isn't compatible with Apple's AAC tagging standard (even though everyone else seems to have adopted it). I have been waiting to use Nero's AAC encoder for the longest time at around 130kbps VBR but there are still some compatibility issues with my Zen and Xbox 360 (but they work great on my iPods).
The general census seems to be that, at lower bitrates (particularly below 128kbps), AAC is the better format. HE-AAC is even better at 64kbps and below but the iPods aren't fully compatible with HE-AAC files. They will simply play the LC-AAC portion so a 64kbps HE-AAC file played on an iPod will have sound quality worse than a 64kbps LC-AAC file. At 128kbps, I believe the last listening test showed that iTunes/Nero AAC had an edge over Lame mp3. I think that once you get up to the 160kbps bitrate and beyond, Lame mp3 and Nero/iTunes AAC should sound about the same. Once you get up to 192kbps, they should all blend together in terms of sound quality.
So it really depends on the bitrate you want to use. I suggest that you rip some songs to a lossless format (iTunes has built-in support for Apple lossless, WAV, and AIFF but that is it) and to Lame mp3, iTunes AAC, and Nero AAC at various bitrates. Then download foobar2000 and conduct a blind ABX test. I think most people would agree that either Lame mp3, iTunes AAC, or Nero AAC perform very well at the 128kbps VBR bitrate range.
That is why I have a 500GB hard drive for a lossless backup of my music in the Apple lossless format. I then encode to whichever lossy format I like. I actually have two lossy libraries right now: one at 128kbps VBR using iTunes AAC and one at -V 2 --vbr-new using Lame mp3. I have two libraries for a couple of reasons: I find that 128kbps VBR iTunes AAC is more than acceptable when it comes to portable listening and listening at home. I have the -V 2 library mainly for my PS3 as it isn't compatible with Apple's AAC tagging standard (even though everyone else seems to have adopted it). I have been waiting to use Nero's AAC encoder for the longest time at around 130kbps VBR but there are still some compatibility issues with my Zen and Xbox 360 (but they work great on my iPods).
The general census seems to be that, at lower bitrates (particularly below 128kbps), AAC is the better format. HE-AAC is even better at 64kbps and below but the iPods aren't fully compatible with HE-AAC files. They will simply play the LC-AAC portion so a 64kbps HE-AAC file played on an iPod will have sound quality worse than a 64kbps LC-AAC file. At 128kbps, I believe the last listening test showed that iTunes/Nero AAC had an edge over Lame mp3. I think that once you get up to the 160kbps bitrate and beyond, Lame mp3 and Nero/iTunes AAC should sound about the same. Once you get up to 192kbps, they should all blend together in terms of sound quality.
So it really depends on the bitrate you want to use. I suggest that you rip some songs to a lossless format (iTunes has built-in support for Apple lossless, WAV, and AIFF but that is it) and to Lame mp3, iTunes AAC, and Nero AAC at various bitrates. Then download foobar2000 and conduct a blind ABX test. I think most people would agree that either Lame mp3, iTunes AAC, or Nero AAC perform very well at the 128kbps VBR bitrate range.
QUOTE(redsvt @ Mar 26 2008, 22:06) 
I have been using EAC and Lame since 2000. Stopped ripping for a while, life got in the way. So here I am, and alot has changed.
Well, not really, lol. EAC and Lame are still pretty much the most popular way to go, though there are now more options when it comes to secure ripping such as dBpoweramp or foobar2000. Mac and Linux users have almost caught up as well. When it comes to alternate lossy formats there's nothing wrong with aac (nero or Apple). Considering that you've got 160GB at your disposal, you could go with Apple Lossless, but I'd stay with high bitrate lossy unless you can actually hear the difference.
Here are some links from our wiki:
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Nero_AAC
This one will tell you how to configure EAC to rip to Apple Lossless:
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?ti...Lossless_Backup
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