best format for iphone tunes

jayman_1975

I am wondering what format you guys are using for tunes on your ipod/iphones? I currently have all my music ripped as Flac files but am wanting to convert some to put on my Iphone. Does it pay to convert it to apple lossless? I have no experience with this format and don't know if it's noticable when playing music on an iphone. Am i just as well to convert to mp3? Thanks.

Ps. Is there programs for converting that produce better quality results than others? If so, what should i be looking for?

BlueFox

Use Apple Lossless. Never use a lossy format for any reason. Later, you can buy the Wadia 171 iTransport so you can use your iPhone as a music server in your two channel system.

http://www.wadia.com/products/transports/171i/

mantis

I use Apple Lossless.

Glowrdr

I had about 1/3 of my collection as FLAC from when I got my SB. Then I picked up an iphone, scrapped the whole project and started ripping everything as apple lossless.

SB does apple lossless, and in itunes - there is an option to transfer songs to your device as 128bit. This feature is great depending on your preferences. I get to keep my lossless files for home use, and I can load a crapload of files on my phone where I don't care what they sound like (Mostly listening to using the phone speaker or a dock while playing cards or having a beer someplace)

Plus, if you need to burn the files to a disc for a road trip or anything - I've found apple lossless to be a much more forgiving format compared to FLAC (in terms of finding compatible software for listening, and the ability to burn). Granted, once you find a good solution, your probably set either way. But I think there are more options with apple (as odd as that sounds)

BeefJerky

I agree with the general consensus here.

If you don't want to lose any sound quality, then recode them to Apple Lossless. They're both lossless, so nothing is lost or changed.

If you want to store more music, I'd go with AAC over MP3 for lossy. AAC will have a bit better sound quality at the same bitrate as MP3.

For converting the music, I would recommend dbPowerAmp. It is very easy to use.

simm

as Glowrdr said above you can burn your music using apple lossless and then transfer it to your device at the bitrate of your choice. I have done my entire collection this way in lossless format it takes up 273 gigs on my hard drive but have all my CD's on my ipod classic at less than 65 gigs. In the car or in an outdoor environment I don't notice a huge drop in quality.

engtaz

You can play FLAC on iPhone just get the app that plays FLAC files.

bigaudiofanatic

I have all my music in apple lossless, never had a problem.

jayman_1975

Thanks for the replies. Storage size is indeed an issue for me here as I only have the 32 gig iPhone and do not want to have all of the space used and not have room for pictures and possibly some video.

I did not realize there were apps that play flac files, I will look into that.

I really do no not want to have to re-rip all my music into another format at this point so converting will be the way to go if the flac route doesn't work for me. I will google search for a more indepth discussion on sound quality loss with AAC vs Apple Lossless.

Can someone tell me is flac and Apple Lossless close to the same as far as file size?

bigaudiofanatic

I have to oposite problem, I have all my music in apple lossless and own an android phone. But they make pass to play them as well. But me having a 160GB ipod just works better.

Glowrdr

jayman_1975 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Storage size is indeed an issue for me here as I only have the 32 gig iPhone and do not want to have all of the space used and not have room for pictures and possibly some video.

I did not realize there were apps that play flac files, I will look into that.

I really do no not want to have to re-rip all my music into another format at this point so converting will be the way to go if the flac route doesn't work for me. I will google search for a more indepth discussion on sound quality loss with AAC vs Apple Lossless.

Can someone tell me is flac and Apple Lossless close to the same as far as file size?

Yeah, they are pretty comparible. Not trying to bully you into changing - but do you have all of your music fully ripped onto your HDD yet? The reason I ask this is that itunes will convert the files automatically for you upon syncing. Otherwise you are looking at converting FLAC to MP3/AAC into a smaller file to put on your phone.

Both are perfectly good options, and there isn't much of a benefit either way. If I have a choice though - I like keeping things in a native format. While not always the best, it's the easiest. I use the built in feature of iTunes, and the Music app on my iphone rather than downloading a second app that handles FLAC (not that you are going to want FLAC on your phone - you would get all of about 600 songs on your phone)

Just a few facts as well for some thought. I'm using Lossless, and an example is G'n'R November Rain is 56.7 MB in size. The entire Use Your Illusions I album is 522 MB. (If you want a file size of something you have, just post it and I can let you know what it is for comparison to FLAC)

I've also got the 32 GB iPhone 4, and I currently have 18.4 Gig audio (5451 songs), 3.6 Gig photos (3804), 3.4 gig apps (37), 1.2 gig other and 2.1 gig free. So there is plenty of room for whatever you may need.

jayman_1975

I get to keep my lossless files for home use, and I can load a crapload of files on my phone where I don't care what they sound like (Mostly listening to using the phone speaker or a dock while playing cards or having a beer someplace)

I actually do care what it sounds like. I have invested in a decent pair of phones so i would like to get the most out of them. This being said, i also want to be able to store a good amount of songs. I suppose i get either, or, but not both lol.

I cant find anywhere on itunes where it lets me convert music.

Glowrdr

I'm not sure that you can truely "convert" music - i.e. take your FLAC files and turn them into something else through itunes. But when the device is hooked up and ready to sync, if you click on the device in the left list - you will see an option to convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC

If you're looking to get the best of both worlds - you may be better off keeping FLAC, and having a second library with some 256/320 mbps rips as well. Then again, there is always just loading 50Mb songs too. Not everyone needs to have thousands of songs at their fingertips at a moments notice. Perhaps loading a good 50-60 albums will suffice while keeping top notch quality.

(anyone know if there is a limit for the dacs in iProducts? Will a FLAC file sound just as good on an ipod as it would a squeezebox etc?)

jayman_1975

Well after doing some research it seems there is a noticable difference going from Apple Lossless to aac or mp3. I pretty much already knew this but i cant seem to find much talk on if these differences are noticable on an Iphone/Ipod. Has anyone done the comparisons on this? I find that AAC 300kbps sounds very good on my Iphone and i can't say i can hear a difference between that and Apple Lossless. Next i'll compare AAC 300kbps to 128kbps.

Glowrdr

Unfortunately I don't even have a pair of headphones to try it out. And with the iPhone speakers - I can't tell the difference between Pandora, an MP3 or a ringtone on my phone :redface:

You might be treading on "try it yourself" territory here. Although I am still curious if there is a "max" that you can hear from the phones, or where the limit really is. I mean I could put 96 kHz/24 bit files on my phone all day long, but it doesn't mean that it can play them. I wonder if there is a threshold to what can be output - headphones, dock or whatever else.

jayman_1975

The iphone specs state it can handle audio output to 320kbps. I haven't looked into specs on my headphones yet.

BlueFox

jayman_1975 wrote: »

I find that AAC 300kbps sounds very good on my Iphone and i can't say i can hear a difference between that and Apple Lossless.

That is because you are using the $1.99 DAC in the iPhone.

EndersShadow

jayman_1975 wrote: »

Well after doing some research it seems there is a noticable difference going from Apple Lossless to aac or mp3. I pretty much already knew this but i cant seem to find much talk on if these differences are noticable on an Iphone/Ipod. Has anyone done the comparisons on this? I find that AAC 300kbps sounds very good on my Iphone and i can't say i can hear a difference between that and Apple Lossless. Next i'll compare AAC 300kbps to 128kbps.

Here is the rub. If you hook that iPhone up to a player (car stereo headunit, docking station, home theater receiver) that will bypass the DAC's in the iPhone (many products now do this) there WILL be a difference in sound between the formats. Through the iPhone speakers or headphone jack on the iPhone. Through a portable headphone amp via a Line Out adaptor, maybe.

In my case I don't plan on loading my full library into my iPhone, BUT the car headunit I am buying will bypass the DAC's in the iPhone so I WANT the higher quality on my iPhone for just that reason.

AsSiMiLaTeD

How do you set iTunes to change the format of files on the fly as you sync? I have a whole separate MP3 library that I maintain because I didn't know about that feature, that would be a huge help.

Glowrdr

First, with your device plugged in - goto the left column where your libraries are, and click on your device.

Then once there, you will get a main menu for your device (Make sure you are at the Summary screen), check the box that says to convert higher bitrate songs.

jayman_1975

BlueFox wrote: »

That is because you are using the $1.99 DAC in the iPhone.

This is the response I was looking for. The question then is, where does the iPhone's DAC quit revealing better quality files. Do you think that 128 k could possibly sound different than 300k given the fact that the DAC in the iPhone is limiting the quality.

tonyb

I'm not aware of anything that will give music files from an Iphone/pod cd quality sound on the fly. At home thru a good dac on your home system is another story but listening thru buds.....man I dunno. Hope you find what your looking for.

Glowrdr

I have a little more vested interest in finding some of these answers out now too. I received a set of composite cables for my iphone (composite to dock connector). The reason? I'm ditching XM in my car, and I happen to have composite connections in my center console. This will allow me to connect my iPhone and use the aux settings on my stereo.

It will not display any video while I am in motion, but it does pass sound through. I tested this with Pandora last night. So now I will be replacing XM with Pandora - but will also be interested in sound files as well (might create some car playlists)

Not to hijack thread, but along the same note - I would assume when you use the dock connector, you are bypassing the internal DACs? My SC-37 also came with a USB to dock connector cable so I would assume that would be the preferred connection? I've got a SB so I've never direct connected my iPhone to my AVR as of yet.

Glowrdr

Just reading, it looks like the iphone 4/s is using a Cirrus Logic DAC. Previous to the iPhone 4, or 7th gen ipods - they used Wolfson DACs. Looks like they downgraded, although I have not run across any specs regarding either DAC at the moment

BlueFox

Glowrdr wrote: »

Not to hijack thread, but along the same note - I would assume when you use the dock connector, you are bypassing the internal DACs?

Some docks will take the digital off the phone/iPod. This is a relatively new feature. Wadia did it first a few years ago, and others are now providing that ability.

Believe it or not, but even though it is digital output, the dock can affect the sound quality. I believe it was the absolute sound a few months ago doing a review on an iPod digital dock and they panned it. Even Wadia upgraded their 170 iTransport to the 171, and the sound is much better with the 171.