24 bit apple itunes downloads.

[Radec]

Interesting they propose an "upgrade" option, as in you can upgrade your previously bought music to a higher quality format---for a price of course. I remember them doing something similar when they allowed you to remove all the DRM from previously bought material for a price. Anyways, interesting read.

24 bit audio: pc pro

[mjb]

I saw this too. I still don't think they intend to sell lossless though, regardless of 16 or 24 bit, although the reports are a bit ambiguous. Hopefully this will soon be clarified, perhaps at the recently announced March 2 event. Currently, I still buy the CD and rip it, but if Apple were to sell lossless music, there'd be no holding me back.

[Chris D]

I'm always all for higher quality music. Very good move, as I do NOT want to see the industry devolve into a "let's just mass produce a bunch of crap recordings because nobody cares about quality anymore".

I still care.

[madmac]

I bought a few songs this way and soon discovered that they were digitally locked on my device. Was NOT impressed to say the least when my phone crashed, had to do a hard reset and the songs were gone. I buy my music on CD now and rip it to MP3. That way I can play it in full rez on my main system, put it on my MP3 and have a CD backup. If I buy a song or album online, then I've BOUGHT it and I should be able to put it on as many of my devices as I please. If they cannot be comfortable with that concept than then I'm NOT buying it that way!!!.

[Radec]

Hey Madmac, how long ago was that? I believe all iTunes music now has no DRM restrictions on it like they used to. I can't remember when they stopped doing that but it wasn't too long ago. I think anything you buy now can be transferred to whatever device you choose with no restrictions.

There are some labels out there who already sell music in better formats. Linn Records is one that I know of. Still, their library is nothing compared what is on iTunes, Amazon, etc.

[mjb]

Nice rant, but Apple went DRM free over 2 years ago (http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/06itunes.html).... 16bit/256K AAC is the standard iTunes purchase these days, which is supposed to be equivalent to approx. a 320K mp3.
Also Mr. madmac, you should probably be looking at ripping your CD's to a lossless format, mp3 is so 90's, unless you need mp3 specifically for the car or something.

[wettou]

192/24 bit Flac, 96/24 bit Flac, 44.1/24 bit

This would be very nice

Here are other places you can get 24 bit downloads

https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=9624albums

http://www.channelclassics.com/high-...ownloads.html/

http://www.klicktrack.com/2l/home

http://www.musiczeit.com/

http://www.resonancestore.com/index.html

http://magnatune.com/

http://www.pristineclassical.com/More/DownloadFormats.html

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Society_of_Sound/Society_of_Sound/Music/lossless-sound.html

http://www.itrax.com/Pages/PostSignUp.php

This one summarize them all :B

http://flacatac.com/music

[Armbender]

thanks for the list Wettou...i like the idea of itunes upgrading as I run an apple tv and itunes doesnt support Flac files...

I am trying to understand whether a cd ripped in apple lossless will have better quality than a song purchased through iTunes.

[stuofsci02]

thanks for the list Wettou...i like the idea of itunes upgrading as I run an apple tv and itunes doesnt support Flac files...

I am trying to understand whether a cd ripped in apple lossless will have better quality than a song purchased through iTunes.

A ripped CD in apple lossless is better then what you currently get from iTunes. iTunes does not provide lossless at this time..

[mjb]

I am trying to understand whether a cd ripped in apple lossless will have better quality than a song purchased through iTunes.

Lossless is, well, lossless - a bit for bit perfect copy of the original CD. iTunes purchased music is currently 256K AAC encoded/compressed, and so a substantial amount of (arguably mostly inaudible) information has been thrown away, hence the comparatively small file size. So, yes, a CD ripped to a lossless format (Apple Lossless or FLAC, etc) will have a better quality.

[Armbender]

thanks guys...understand now..

[madmac]

My daughter has an ipod and uses itunes and we cannot rip a cd of any of her bought itune songs!!??. If it's not digitally locked, why is that?.

[mjb]

madmac, if the tunes are still in iTunes, make a playlist, add the desired tunes to it, and burn the playlist. Or am I missing something??....

[Ovation]

My daughter has an ipod and uses itunes and we cannot rip a cd of any of her bought itune songs!!??. If it's not digitally locked, why is that?.

While the quality will not be great, if you want to do that in iTunes, you can. It just requires a few steps.

First, open iTunes and go to the music library.
Second, create a new playlist (call it "songs to convert to WAV")
Third, from the main music library, drag and drop whatever songs you want until you get 70mins or so (I presume this is to make a CD that can play in anything, rather than moving compressed files onto CD to play in certain players that can play back mp3s).
Fourth, go to preferences and go to "import settings". In that setting, select WAV. (I know you are not actually importing from a CD in this case, but this is still a necessary step).
Fifth, go to your new playlist and "select all". Right-click on the highlighted list. Among the options should be "Create WAV version" (if you want another format like mp3, then, in the fourth step, select "mp3" for "import settings"). Select "Create WAV version". It will duplicate all the songs that have been highlighted in the WAV format (but it will not do it in the playlist--I have just tried it). Go back to the main music library (it helps if you have them displayed as albums rather than as just a mega list). For each duplicated song, the first one in the list should be the new WAV file (check a few of them with the "Get info" function, but I've just done a few to test this process and they are all listed ABOVE the original iTunes store files in my lists).
Sixth, create another playlist (call it "songs to burn to CD"). Reselect the songs you want (being careful to select the WAV versions) and drag/drop them into the playlist.
Seven, burn the playlist to CD. You have now created a CD of the music purchased in iTunes that can play back in any CD player that accepts CD-Rs.

The sound quality will not be great but it is more than sufficient for listening in a car (unless the car has an amazing sound system AND is very isolated from road noise--so about 5% of all cars for sale) or as background music with a boom box.

It is a cumbersome process but it works (perhaps it can be done more efficiently, but I know this process, as described above, works).

[mjb]

Ovation, there is no need to go through all those steps.

1. create a playlist
2. add the songs to it
3. select the playlist, and choose File>Burn Playlist to disk.
A window appears as below, where you can select "Disc Format = Audio CD"

[madmac]

Thanks mjb.....I'll try your method.

[wettou]

24 bit apple itunes downloads.

When it happens I will be very happy :B

[wettou]

Lossless is, well, lossless - a bit for bit perfect copy of the original CD. iTunes purchased music is currently 256K AAC encoded/compressed, and so a substantial amount of (arguably mostly inaudible) information has been thrown away, hence the comparatively small file size. So, yes, a CD ripped to a lossless format (Apple Lossless or FLAC, etc) will have a better quality.

CDs are 16 bits/48Khz. 24 bits is studio master quality especially at 96KHZ or 192KHZ

Great article

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/24-bit/2011/02/are-24-bit-downloads-good-digital-music

[mjb]

CDs are 16 bits/48Khz. 24 bits is studio master quality especially at 96KHZ or 192KHZ

Great article

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/24-...-digital-music

If you read the article to which you've linked, you'll discover that CD's are in fact 16 bit @ 44.1K (Red Book). 48K is used in the studio, for DAT recorders, etc.

Don't mix up Kilo-bits and Kilo-Herz.... A bit is a binary or logical 1 or 0, a Hertz is one cycle per second, a wheel turning 360 degrees, or a repeated wave form like AC power. One cycle is the completion of one sine wave.

Bits are a data thing, Herz are a frequency, or cycles per second thing.

Audio can have a sample rate of say, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 thousand Herz or samples per second, expressed as KHz.

Uncompressed audio on a audio-CD has a bit rate of 1411.2 thousand bits per second (16 bits times 44.1KHz sample rate = 705.6 x 2 for stereo = 1411.2Kbits/s). When you rip audio on a PC, the bit rate is much lower: 128Kb/s, 256Kb/s, etc.

[mjb]

When it happens I will be very happy :B

Me too 8)

[Ovation]

Ovation, there is no need to go through all those steps.

1. create a playlist
2. add the songs to it
3. select the playlist, and choose File>Burn Playlist to disk.
A window appears as below, where you can select "Disc Format = Audio CD"

I'm not surprised there's a faster method. It never occurred to me to just try it like that. Good to know.

The way I outlined is how I converted AAC to mp3 to put on a USB flash drive. I just continued from there. But your way is much better. :T

[wettou]

If you read the article to which you've linked, you'll discover that CD's are in fact 16 bit @ 44.1K (Red Book). 48K is used in the studio, for DAT recorders, etc. Don't mix up Kilo-bits and Kilo-Herz.... A bit is a binary or logical 1 or 0, a Hertz is one cycle per second, a wheel turning 360 degrees, or a repeated wave form like AC power. One cycle is the completion of one sine wave. Bits are a data thing, Herz are a frequency, or cycles per second thing. Audio can have a sample rate of say, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 thousand Herz or samples per second, expressed as KHz. Uncompressed audio on a audio-CD has a bit rate of 1411.2 thousand bits per second (16 bits times 44.1KHz sample rate = 705.6 x 2 for stereo = 1411.2Kbits/s). When you rip audio on a PC, the bit rate is much lower: 128Kb/s, 256Kb/s, etc.

Thank you :T So http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD

Also
Intel High Definition AudioIntel released this spec in 2004 that implements HD audio on PCs. IHD can handle up to 36-bit/196 kHz audio.Now that would be cool

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_definition_sound_effect

[Gump]

Me too 8)

Me three...

[PewterTA]

It's great they are moving to better resolution files. There's still two problems...

1) the Mastering is even more of a problem than the quality of the rip. I have 128K and 224K files of songs I can't find anywhere in a higher resolution and they are mastered EXTREMELY well and they hold up very well. They are MUCH better than most things these days that are at a higher resolution. Are they perfect, no...but the loss of quality for not being 320K or lossless is easily over looked.

2) However they rip the music for iTunes it's not the same as any CD I've also purchased and ripped for myself. Everytime my friends compare, my rips from the CD are noticeably better. One thing we notice is a "hump" in the mid range and slight loss in the upper end 15KHz+. So I don't know if they aren't getting the "retail" version or a differently mastered track...but it really surprises me that no one brings it up. I'm on a range of about 400 CDs that my friends and I have compared and of those, about 250 - 300 are noticeably different... Only difference is iTunes vs Winamp (as far as players) no "enhancements" on either and both burned to CDs then compared as well. Both ways noticed a difference in the "quality" of the disc.

Again though, i'm applauding them moving forward and closer and closer to lossless downloads...

I just really wish we could get record companies to stop producing crap and master the disc well.

[madmac]

"I just really wish we could get record companies to stop producing crap and master the disc well"

You couldn't have said that better Pewter!!. A well made and mastered recording will trump it's resolution anytime. I too find my CD rips noticeably better than anything downloaded off the net. Not sure why but I always supposed there was more compression being used to save internet bandwidth.

[madmac]

Can anybody give me layman's advice how to move a song from Itunes to windows media player easily?. My PDA syncs with windows media.

[Ovation]

I would make an mp3 version in iTunes and then drag and drop it into WMP. That seems the most straightforward.

For multiple tunes, make a playlist, drag them into the folder and convert them there. Then drag and drop the whole lot of them.

[madmac]

Ok...........how do you make an mp3 off of Itunes?. Are not Itunes already mp3 format?

[mjb]

OK....
1. Go into the preferences, and select the CD "import settings"...

2. Change this to whatever format you want on your other player, assuming thats different to the format the music files are in already.

3. Right click a track you want to convert, and from the menu choose "make MP3 version" (this menu will change depending on your setting). If you want to do several files, select them, and right click the selection.

4. Drag-drop the resultant file(s) onto the desktop - the MP3's are copied out of iTunes.

5. If you don't want the copies left in iTunes, while they're still selected, hit delete - you will be prompted if you want to remove and delete them, hit "yes"/"yes".

There are LOTS of iTunes tutorials on the web, Google can probably find answers to all your questions....