Ipod Settings and Music Quality

[tige']

I am new to using Ipods. My wife has a Ipod Nano shuffle and I bought the CNet cable to connect it to the boat stereo.

I understand that there are different settings (byte size?) that can affect the quality of the music.

How is the quality of the music affected and how do I change the settings?

How does the best setting compare to a CD?

Some of the songs on her Ipod sounds great, about the same as a CD. Others not so great, but still OK.

She hasn't changed any of the settings (at least not intentionally) and I understand if she copied a lower quality track that is what she will get.

Thanks

[philwsailz]

Good morning!

Good topic!

The sample rate / bit rate / file size is dictated at the time you order, copy or rip the music. There is nothing you can do in the player to change the setting. You have to manage your settings in your iTunes, or ZUNE for you Microsoft lovers....

With the music download programs, (iTunes for example) where you can pay for and download the music, there is a way to set up your download for maximum quality, (large files) or you can go for holding lots of songs, (small files) at lower quality. In general the higher the bit rate / byte rate number, the better the quality. You sometimes also have options for downloading in mono, (smaller file size). Then you have other options lots of times... MP3 is pretty much a universal format, but there are others, including WMA, ATRAC, WAV, (which is a HUGE file) etc. WAV is an exact CD copy and will re-burn an exact CD duplicate if one wants to burn a CD. Everything else is lower fidelity, and the fidelity tracks directly with BIT RATE.

I would bet most folks can not or can just barely hear the difference between CD and MP3 at 320 or 256 bit rate. With a little training everyone can hear the difference between CD and a low - fidlity 128 bit rate file. The sound gets jacked up in the high frequencies first, and affects things that are rich in complex harmonics. Cymbals start to sound like they are ringing in single notes rather than "shimmering";that is one of the first things that goes.

To check settings, go to your file ripping or downloading software and dig around in your tools, or options, or preferences, or something like that in your music downloading software if you go that route.

My preferred method is to actually purchase my music on a CD and rip it. That way I have a hard copy if I ever have a catastrophic failure. So, I rip my music, and I do it with WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER. MP11 is real nice... Under the RIP tab there is a little arrow. If you click on that you will see options for FORMAT and BIT RATE. FORMAT allows you to pick your format, (duh) and I have defaulted to MP3 for my files. I have a thing against Apple, and preferred WMA, but there is no support out in the rest of the world for WMA so oh well... Then under BIT RATE you can choose several options between 128 and 320. The bigger bit rate rips make bigger files, and so you can store less of them... I use 256 as it is a reasonable compromise for most songs.
I know that there is some software out there that will allow lower bit rate rips, but those will sound BAD!!



Hopefully that sort of gives you an understanding of the fact that the bit rate of a piece of musc is permanently defined in its highest resolution at the time it is saved in a compressed digital format, AKA MP3, WMA, etc... There is no way to upconvert from a low bit rate file to a higher bit rate file and restore a bad sounding piece of music. Once the damage is done, it is done. As you point out above, if you are file sharing with a friend, you have no way of knowing where they got the file, and what resolution/bit rate it was saved in. You also do not know for that matter what software / hardware was used to create the file and what its total quality really is.

Hopefully this is a decent explanation without the need for reading glasses and a Mountain Dew and/or a healthy dose of Vivarin.

[tige']

OK, I was flipping through the Ipod and couldn't find any settings. So that make sense now.

She is a Mac user and has her iTunes loaded on it. I will go through the options and see what I can find. (I am a PC user so that is usually a struggle in itself)

I spent some time this weekend building a small playlist. I was loading CD's and copying songs over that I wanted onto the Ipod. So, it sounds like if it is set less than 256 I may want to redo all that (which is no problem).

I am all for better quality and less songs. Even at that it will still hold plenty of songs!!!

Inevitablly, when I need more space there will be songs that can be deleted.

Thanks!!

[philwsailz]

My Pleasure!

I am learning too, so lets hear what you fine in the Mac *gasp*

[ImaPigDog]

Here is where you need to go from a Windows PC. This may be slightly different on the Mac but should be close.

Within iTunes, go to Edit => Preferences

On the General tab, press the Import Settings... button.

This will bring up the "Import Settings" dialog box.

• The first drop-down box you will see is Import Using: and you can select "MP3 Encoder" to get away from Apple's default, proprietary AAC Encoder.
  
• The second drop-down box you will see is the Setting and this is where you determine the quality when you rip the music from the CD. You can select from some standard options or even Custom... to go to more of the extremes of quality vs. file size.

I recommend testing with a couple different songs that you frequently listen to and compare to the actual CD to determine what is the minimum quality level that is acceptable.

Good Luck!

[Matt Garcia]

On the Mac it is nearly identical.

It is iTunes > Prefrences > General > Import settings.

Good thread. I can certainly tell a difference in CD vs iTunes downloaded files.

[Matt Garcia]

Well I changed up my settings and just read, "These settings do not apply to songs downloaded from the iTunes Store".

DAMN!

[philwsailz]

When you are ripping a stereo track, you have twice the information. That is why the number is doubled; you are actually creating two unique MP3 tracks, one for left and one for right.

Your settings on the right are going to create some really large files... This based on the 320 bit rate and 48K sampling.... You will be able to go to 256 and 44.1 and not really notice anything audibly. If you change to my lower recommended settings you will make a smaller file in the computer too...

[philwsailz]

Well I changed up my settings and just read, "These settings do not apply to songs downloaded from the iTunes Store".

DAMN!

Try only chainging from AAC to MP3 without changing the other stuff...

[philwsailz]

Matt removed a picture....

[Matt Garcia]

Try only chainging from AAC to MP3 without changing the other stuff...

I did. Same thing, no matter what you change you can't change the quality rate downloaded from iTunes.

Yes, I removed a previous post after I read that I couldn't change the quality.

[ImaPigDog]

Try only chainging from AAC to MP3 without changing the other stuff...

I don't think that iTunes gives you a choice...as my kids say, "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!"

[philwsailz]

Quieter files:

There are lots of software packages out there that will allow manipulation of digital files after being ripped or purchased. One available is Wave Pad; Google it for a trial free download.

Be careful with these programs, as you can destroy files as easily as you can "improve" them...

There is a function whereby you can have the computer read the file and NORMALIZE it so that it is playing as loud as possible, based on the files current dynamic range, (softest sound to loudest sound).

Another function, (which can be badly aboused) is COMPRESS. Compression either takes the loudest sounds and makes them quieter, or it takes the quietest sounds and makes them louser. Either way, it reduces dynamic range and can increase what I like to call teh "density" of the music. NORMALIZE your file after you COMPRESS and it will sound a lot louder.

Just know that when you do this you are permanently altering the file, so before you hit SAVE after manipulation, make sure that is what you really want to do.

A quick note on file manipulation... iTunes HATES it and it has the potential to turn your library upside-down. All of the sudden, the file looks different from a "1's and 0's" standpoint, and sometimes iTunes thinks it is a different song, and all of the sudden, the iTunes library can put it under UNKNOWN ARTIST, despite the fact that you bought Barry Manilow's MANDY straight from the iTunes store.

[da.bell]

iTunes does not have an adjustment to their quality. Personally I feel they do a great job with managing and providing a quality file.

[philwsailz]

I did. Same thing, no matter what you change you can't change the quality rate downloaded from iTunes.

Yes, I removed a previous post after I read that I couldn't change the quality.

There is a way.... It is lossy, but you can compile a playlist of AAC files, then burn a CD of the playlist.

Removce the CD, reinsert, and then RIP the CD using MP3 as your preferred file type....


This is a classic example of why I refuse to buy music as a download...

It is like going to Olive Garden, and not being able to pass the pasta bowl.... they severly limit your freedom to do, (within the law) everything you should be entitled to.