Menu
What's new
Troll Kingdom

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Importing CDs in iTunes

Number_6

Number_6

beer, I want beer
Given that I've asked for an iPod for my birthday, I've started transferring my CDs in earnest.

But, I have a question. I've been using the AAC format, 128kbps, but I note I could increase that to 320 kbps, or I could use the Apple Lossless encoder.

Do I want to do this? I know this will decrease the number of songs I'll be able to store, but will it provide me with an appreciable difference in sound quality?

It's difficult to tell on the laptop, because the speakers are crap and I don't have a really good pair of headphones that are in working order.
 
First an iBook, and now iTunes.

Number_6 is turning into a Machead.

I've never been prouder... *sniff* :D

I'm not sure about the size. I've been told AAC 128 kbps is the optimum, but you might want a second opinion. Lossless is a setting you use if you have trouble getting a clean import from your CD.
 
Well, AAC 128 kbps is the optimum mix of quality and file size, according to the help file. But if bumping up to 320 kbps or the Lossless is going to give me a substantially better copy, I might be willing to sacrifice the extra space.

These are the headphones I want to get:

http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-application/our-10-best-headphones/sennheiser-px-100.php


And don't get all excited about the MacBookPro, not the iBook. The one I want is $3,000, even with the educational discount, so it won't be coming for awhile. In the meantime, there's Linux, which I need to get back to fucking around with this weekend.
 
I don't think the quality is better if you go to a bigger filesize, but the best person to ask would be Ishcabittle, the Mac God. ;)

I know you won't be buying it for awhile, but you're still considering it, which makes you a potential Machead.

OH! THE IPOD! I forgot the iPod! 6, you can't deny it any longer...

Another one converted. :bigass:
 
Depends on the quality of music u want. 128 kbps izn't CD quality. Me thinks 320 kbps is [close to] CD quality. But u it takes up more memory. I like quality over quantity. I can always cahnge songs on my iPod.

MacBook iz nice. Has Intel inside. Expensive, but very nice. Less than Powerbook, me thinks.
 
Eevil1 said:
Depends on the quality of music u want. 128 kbps izn't CD quality. Me thinks 320 kbps is [close to] CD quality. But u it takes up more memory. I like quality over quantity. I can always cahnge songs on my iPod.

MacBook iz nice. Has Intel inside. Expensive, but very nice. Less than Powerbook, me thinks.
Click to expand...

Less expensive, or less nice?
 
Number_6 said:
Less expensive, or less nice?
Click to expand...

Less expensive than PowerBook, and the MacBook iz nicer because it has the newest stuff that all future Macs and Mac software will have. I see a MacBook 4 me in da' future. :) A friend has one, very nice.
 
Okay, well, I'll take your word for it, since you're using quality headphones and mine are crap.

What about the fact that about 1/8 of the songs I've imported are filled with noise? What's causing that? The CD plays fine.
 
Well, here's something else that's weird.

Last night, I tried to play Steely Dan's "Aja," and about half way through the song, I started get a lot of noise and distortion, that lasted through the end of the track. I went back to the beginning of the track and tried again, but there was still noise. But then, when I came home, I switched over to the ear bud headphones, and the noise and distortion were gone.

But there were 4 other tracks, out of a total of maybe 40 that I listened to, that were consistently filled with noise, regardless of which headphones I was using.

So what would make a track have noise sometimes?

And I've just listened to Edie Brickell's "Good Times," and can confirm that there are no children laughing and playing.
 
There's definitely only one copy of "Aja" on there, because I only have it on the one CD, and I haven't started making folders yet. I'm not sure about the other four. I'll do some testing today, because I'll be doing a lot of listening while I grade these midterms, which, so far, are making me want to pull my hair out.

The nice thing about this whole iTunes thing is that I'm listening to stuff I haven't listened to in ages, thanks to the Party Shuffle. I can't remember the last time I listened to Edie Brickell.

The bad thing is that iTunes is always presenting me with new albums by these artists, and asking me if I'd like to buy some tracks. Bastards.
 
I'm tempted to. But it's also interesting to learn that there are so many new CDs I'm completely unaware of.

We have no good radio stations around here, and while I like Sirius, their playlists get a little repetitive after awhile.

This is a good way to gain exposure to new stuff. I'm not opening an iTunes account, though, so at least I can't just click and buy. Also, I want the packaging and the physical CD. Given the number of times I've had to reformat and reinstall on this computer, I'm very reluctant to buy something with no physical existence.
 
ISHY! I've been psychically calling you here!

Did ya hear me? ;) :D

Guess what? Number_6 has become one of us...

I knew we'd convert him to a Machead sooner or later! :bigass:
 
Ok, so for bit rates:

128 for AAC is good, much much better than than 128 MP3... it's good. That said you'll get about 12:1 compression ratio, so a song 5 minutes will be around 4.2 MB (approx).

That's a good file size and a good sound.

I don't mind using extra space, it's all on the server, so I encode at 192kbps. so a 5 minute song is around 6.4 odd MB. A little bigger, but it's as close to CD quality as I can hear, and I have very learned ears.

So in the end, try encoding the same song in a couple different bit rates and see for yourself whether you can hear the difference.
 
Friday said:
ISHY! I've been psychically calling you here!

Did ya hear me? ;) :D

Guess what? Number_6 has become one of us...

I knew we'd convert him to a Machead sooner or later! :bigass:
Click to expand...

Heh, another Mac man, fucking sweet.

Yes, I did hear you. I've got that widget. ;)

(gawd that was a little nerdy)
 
Number_6 said:
Given the number of times I've had to reformat and reinstall on this computer, I'm very reluctant to buy something with no physical existence.
Click to expand...
I hear ya. When my computer crashed late last year, my friend backed up my music on his hard drive, but when he came out again for Christmas, he didn't bring that particular one with him.

So even tho I have a shitload of music, I still have a shitload of purchased music sitting in California. It's frustrating, to say the least.
 
What I need to do is find a quick way to import my library onto the desktop as well. I've never been able to get the two computers networked to one another, though.
 
Sardonica said:
All I can think of would be that I've noticed that sometimes I'll get multiple copies of a song (coming from the original album, compilations, soundtracks, singles, etc.) and iTunes doesn't know that it already has the song and to cross index it... as a result, you may have multiple copies, but listed only once under the "Songs" menu. Try listening to the song from different menus---"Songs", "Artists", etc. Also, I believe there's a function in iTunes for locating and deleting multiple copies...

Another tip: Make sure to regularly use the "Consolidate Library" function under "Tools." I made the mistake of copying over 1000 songs to a folder on my desktop, importing them, and then deleting the folder. Then, none of the songs could be "found" by itunes, yet they were listed in the Library. A big mess. "Consolidate Library" makes copies of the songs in the default iTunes folder.
Click to expand...

The best thing I've found for keeping my library tidy, honestly, is the "Let iTunes keep my music organized" plan. Go to Preferences > Advanced > General and check both the "Keep my iTunes folder organized" and "Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" checkboxes.

This way you just drag music into your library and then delete it from wherever you copied it.

Say you just snagged a bunch of files from Aquisition (which integrates with iTunes so you wouldn't actually have to do this) and they're on your desktop. Drag their asses onto Library and when all of the copying is done, delete the songs off you desktop.

Boom.

Although, sometimes you'll get duplicates.

Click once on the Library, go to the menubar, and select Edit > Show Duplicate Songs. You delete your doops and then click on "Show all songs" at the bottom and your back.

What'd I miss?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top