12-28-2010, 02:55 PM

Hello

I'm a kind of audiophile, I don't like how mp3 sounds and I like to import my cds in aiff format, also because I sample from cds sometimes (for composing music) and I like to do it at the best quality.

So I have all my cds in aiff, my library is around 200gb, I have a dedicated HD for it.

The problem is, I'd like to put all my library on my iPod Touch, which is 32 gb, doing the math 200gb should become around 20gb in mp3 at 128k

Which is the best way to do this without having a mess in my library?

1) Is there a command which let me change all aiff files in mp3 (without touching the one who are already in mp3?)

2) Will I have all the albums duplicated making more confusing the choice of albums?

3) Will I keep my original aiff library or will be substituted?

4) Is there anything I have to pay attention to to avoid losing something, compromising something?

5) Any ideas to do this in the best way is really appreciated!!

12-28-2010, 03:17 PM

Hi.
Ok, you can use iTunes to make MP3 versions of the songs, though128 is pretty poor quality, I would not go below 192 personally.
To make the conversion you'll need to set the bit rate first in iTunes>preferences>general>import settings>import using>mp3 encoder>setting>higher quality (192 by default) or custom for higher bitrates.

Once you have done that, you can select all of the AIFF files in your iTunes window, go to the file menu and click create MP3 copy.
iTunes will then make MP3's of those files, and keep the original AIFF too.
Both sets of files will be stored next to each other in the iTunes library folder.

The only problem I can forsee for you is getting just those files onto the iPod. The best way would be to create a playlist with just the MP3 versions in it, and sync just that to the iPod.

12-28-2010, 03:33 PM

Thank you

you mean the iTunes conversion is poor or 128k is poor?
AAC occupy much more space?

I never convert to mp3, I mean I just use 128k when I have to send stuff via email, so I don't care about quality when I do that.. just they have to be light

12-28-2010, 05:12 PM

No, iTunes conversion is decent. 128 in general is very poor, especially converting down from AIFF. It's because it's massively compressed, and the way that MP3 works is by removing frequencies that the human ear can't detect in normal situations. However, those frequencies are what give the music it's depth. This I'm sure you know, as you are an audiophile.
For the difference it makes 192 is a bare minimum, and 256/320 better still, but of course, those aren't so small.
I don't like AAC myself, and it makes smaller files. I always think it sounds very thin.
If you do go to 192, you should just about get down to 30GB, but that's not going to leave you much space for anything else. At a pinch there is also 160, a happy medium maybe?

12-28-2010, 05:53 PM

ok, thank you for the precious suggestions

yeah I know 128 is bad I will use 192, btw it's not my ipod, it's of my dad, so maybe he can live with it considering he will use it also in the car with the headphone output which cuts a lot under 80/100hz or so

but maybe I'll just forget the idea to convert all the library and I'll simply select what he likes more..

and probably I'll use the mac book for the ipod library and the mac pro for the main library.. because I don't like the idea to have duplicates etc..

managing itunes and ipod is a bit a pain in the ***..

12-28-2010, 06:40 PM

I'm going to take the other side this time.

For the scenario you're talking about, I'd have to say 128 kbps isn't all that bad - especially when listening through a cheap set of headphones - aka the iPhone headphones, nor more than likely for your Dad in his car.

I have a 650 watt, 12 speaker plus double subs setup in my car. All my tunes are at highest bitrate possible when imported into iTunes. But, I put everything into 128 on my iPhone. I use both, streaming through bluetooth and listening via USB port. Yes, I notice some audio quality loss. But, for listening while driving... All the people that get in my car are blown away by the sound system. Doubt very seriously, that your Dad will ever notice the difference either while he's driving down the road.

Instead of creating all those duplicates in your iTunes Library - when you sync, there is an option to convert to 128 kbps AAC on the General tab. You can use this to convert and the conversion is done while syncing. This avoids having all those duplicate files in iTunes of more than one version. The sync will take a long time doing a conversion of that many songs. I probably wouldn't try to do more than 1,000 or so at a time.

12-29-2010, 03:06 AM

I will now agree that for the listening purpose intended, you aren't going to notice the 128/192 difference, and as Bob says, you can use that sync option for 128 AAC, which will make things easier.

01-01-2011, 11:00 PM

To my ears (having worked in the music and radio biz for more than two decades), high-bitrate (256kbps) AAC is the "sweet spot" between crappy MP3s and too-large lossless files. I find "audiophiles" a pretentious bunch but as someone who listens to a LOT of music every year (literally hundreds of albums) I can't tell the difference between 256 AAC and AIFF -- and at 10x space savings, it's a no-brainer which one to use for portable devices IMO.