So which is better quality?

kobe4threebang · Nov 16, 2011

If I download straight from iTunes or if I purchase the cd and then rip it to iTunes?And is there anyway to tell what quality the music I have In my iTunes is (besides just listening)What brings this question about is that I usually just dl off the net but recently i was forced to download a song from iTunes and I realized The quality is great

ham city · Nov 16, 2011

If you want to see check the quality of a song, right click -> get info (or just command I) and go to "Summary"

Audio quality is always gonna be limited when dealing with .MP3s since they're compressed but generally 320kbps is the highest quality MP3. V0 and V2 .MP3s can have a lower bitrate but are more or less the same quality, getting over my heard here but as I understand it they appear to be a smaller bitrate (around 250kbps) because you don't always need 320, V0 and V2 adjust for that when you need it. Most people prefer V0/V2 because they're smaller in size but don't sacrifice quality.

Downloading from iTuens vs ripping to iTunes won't make a difference in quality assuming the bitrate is the same. Neither will have the quality of the actual CD since it's compressed.

If you're just downloading off the net chances are you're not downloading 320kbps or V0/V2. I don't use google for music much anymore but when I do I include "320kbps" in my search since they're definitely out there.

All of this won't make much difference if you don't have decent equipment.

To be honest though, I'm an amateur and don't want to feed you any misinformation. Someone like mondaynightraw knows this !$*@ like the back of his hand he'll probably come through.

kobe4threebang · Nov 17, 2011

Much appreciated Thx

jc619er · Nov 17, 2011

If you're going to just DL off the net than go with 320 since unfortunately iTunes won't play FLAC files which are the best. Ripping CDs into iTunes using Apple Lossless instead of just the standard 256kps, which is what you get when you buy a song off iTunes, is much better. Apple Lossless is almost CD quality and actually doesn't take up too much more space. For me I would always pic CD over MP3 but if you need a digital file for your computer trying ripping them in Lossless. Definitely much better quality.