Mark Ward
Prominent Member
Advice sought for my specific needs......Namely great sound and compatibility with other devices.
I'm getting an 80gb I-Pod and want to encode a load of albums on iTunes that I can also access on various other devices around my home.
I've worked out that I can get ITunes to encode in MP3 to make the resulting music files more compatible with external devices and iTunes seems to consider 192kbps is "High Quality". I've previously been manually encoding at 320kbps for WinAmp/MediaPlayer but if 192kbps is actually good enough I'll get more on the player.
Now I know the simple answer is try & see, but I'm interested in the experiences of others as I don't yet have the high end kit under which the difference amay (or may not) be distinguishable. Right now 192kbps sounds pretty damned good on the computer in I-Tunes, but what will it be like when I get a Squeezebox (Burr Brown Dacs) on my main HiFi System? I'm also intending to get a full BMWCar Kit to play through my Car's Logic7 system, will this show any weaknesses?
In short, who's come to any conclusions as to the best method of encoding and bitrate options for someone who also want device compatibilty?
I like great sound, but I have a LOT of CDs
I have a HTPC front end (XLobby) that uses Winamp or Foobar which will need to access the directory where the music is stored.
I'll be getting a squeezebox for my main HiFI
I'll have a SNazzio Upstairs on a or more modest HiFi.
I don't want to encode 100's of albums at 192kbs only to find that when I get the high end kit they sound awful, similarly I don't want to encode at 320kbs or a Lossless format if the end result isn't distinguishable on the high end kit.
Any experiences you can share,
Many thanks,
Mark.
I'm getting an 80gb I-Pod and want to encode a load of albums on iTunes that I can also access on various other devices around my home.
I've worked out that I can get ITunes to encode in MP3 to make the resulting music files more compatible with external devices and iTunes seems to consider 192kbps is "High Quality". I've previously been manually encoding at 320kbps for WinAmp/MediaPlayer but if 192kbps is actually good enough I'll get more on the player.
Now I know the simple answer is try & see, but I'm interested in the experiences of others as I don't yet have the high end kit under which the difference amay (or may not) be distinguishable. Right now 192kbps sounds pretty damned good on the computer in I-Tunes, but what will it be like when I get a Squeezebox (Burr Brown Dacs) on my main HiFi System? I'm also intending to get a full BMWCar Kit to play through my Car's Logic7 system, will this show any weaknesses?
In short, who's come to any conclusions as to the best method of encoding and bitrate options for someone who also want device compatibilty?
I like great sound, but I have a LOT of CDs
I have a HTPC front end (XLobby) that uses Winamp or Foobar which will need to access the directory where the music is stored.
I'll be getting a squeezebox for my main HiFI
I'll have a SNazzio Upstairs on a or more modest HiFi.
I don't want to encode 100's of albums at 192kbs only to find that when I get the high end kit they sound awful, similarly I don't want to encode at 320kbs or a Lossless format if the end result isn't distinguishable on the high end kit.
Any experiences you can share,
Many thanks,
Mark.