What Is Best Audio File Download for Itunes?

I regularly get questions about lossless audio files, or files compressed in a lossless format, for my Ask the iTunes Guy column. These questions come up from people who seek to heed to the best quality audio files with iTunes. But many iTunes users don't know what these files are.

In this article, I'm going to explicate what lossless audio files are, how to create them, why you might want to use them, and why yous might not.

What is pinch?

Let's start with a simple question: what is compression? You've probably familiar with Zero pinch, which lets y'all shrink the size of a Discussion file or a PowerPoint presentation for storage or to send to someone by e-mail. When you lot unzip—or decompress—the archive, the resulting file contains the exact same data as in the original. This seemingly magical compression algorithm looks for redundancies in data, and writes a sort of autograph, saving a smashing deal of space.

With audio files, in that location are two types of compression: lossy and lossless. The one-time is the style files such equally MP3s and AACs are shrunk to one-quarter, even ane-tenth the size of the original files. This type of pinch removes data for sounds that you can't hear, as well as using other "psychoacoustic" techniques to compact the files.

Lossless compression for audio files allows yous to accept an original music file—on a CD, for example—and shrink information technology to salvage infinite, withal retain the aforementioned quality. Information technology's not as small equally a lossy compressed file, only when yous play it back, the file is decompressed on the fly, and the resulting data is exactly the same every bit the original. This is similar to the style a Cypher file of a Discussion certificate containing the text of Moby-Dick has all the same words when it's uncompressed.

File formats

iTunes handles several audio file formats:

WAV and AIFF are uncompressed audio files, which encapsulate the data on a CD (or converted from a studio master) in a manner that the files can be read on a reckoner.

Apple Lossless is a lossless format, which retains the full quality of the uncompressed audio, however uses much less space; generally nearly 40 to 60 percent less than WAV or AIFF files.

AAC and MP3 are both lossy compressed formats. AAC is actually the MP4 standard, the successor to MP3.

You cull which format you use to rip CDs and convert files in iTunes in the General preferences. Click Import Settings, and so make your choice.

iTunes import settings; here I've selected Apple Lossless.

These unlike formats take different bit rates, and, as such, issue in files of dissimilar sizes. Here's an case; I ripped a song in three different formats:

You lot tin can see that the AIFF file is the largest. The Apple Lossless file is smaller, and the "iTunes Plus" format rip, at 256kbps, is even smaller.

The AIFF file will ever be 1411kbps; that'due south the bit rate of music on a CD. The Apple Lossless file's bit rate and size depend on the density and complexity of the music. And the AAC (or MP3) file will be at the chip rate you  choose unless you opt for a true VBR (variable scrap rate file), where the fleck rate will exist near a target flake rate. (Apple'due south iTunes Plus format is a sort-of-VBR.)

Note that it's mostly non a skillful idea to utilise AIFF or WAV files in your iTunes library. Non simply practise they have up a lot of space, only tags—metadata y'all add to the files—aren't supported as well equally with the other formats. While you can tag WAV and AIFF files in iTunes, not all of these tags remain in the files if y'all move from your iTunes library to some other reckoner or device.

Why rip to lossless?

Yous accept the option to rip your CDs to Apple Lossless format. You may also have some FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files you've downloaded; they're very mutual. But why utilise lossless files? What's the advantage?

As you lot've seen above, lossless files take up a lot more space. So if you accept a large music drove, y'all'll demand a bigger hard bulldoze (or more than i). And lossless files sound exactly like CDs, so y'all'll accept the all-time quality for your habitation listening. Also, if you rip to lossless, y'all'll have archival files, which you can afterward convert to any format without needing to re-rip your CDs.

However, if y'all're listening on the go—on an iPhone, with headphones, or streamed to a portable speaker—there's little advantage to using lossless files. You won't hear any difference in sound quality over the ambient background dissonance, and on headphones that are certainly not as skilful as those you utilize at home. And these files take up a lot of infinite on a device that has a limited amount of storage.

Fortunately, iTunes lets you have the all-time of both options. Connect your iOS device, select it, and so click on Summary. In the Options section, cheque Convert higher bit charge per unit songs to, and cull a bit charge per unit. I employ 256kbps, but yous tin also choose 128 or 192. This setting tells iTunes to convert your lossless tracks on the wing when syncing to your iOS device.

Have iTunes convert your lossless files on the fly when syncing to your iOS devices.

Converting files to Apple tree lossless

I mentioned higher up that you may have FLAC files that yous've downloaded, either from websites where bands permit trading of live music or from vendors who sell lossless files in that format. While iTunes doesn't back up FLAC files, yous can merely convert them to Apple Lossless, retaining the same quality. See this commodity for more than on this conversion.

Using iTunes Friction match or iCloud Music Library with lossless files

You may want to employ iTunes Friction match or iCloud Music Library to go along your iTunes library in the cloud. If your iTunes library contains lossless files, iTunes Lucifer and iCloud Music Library treat them differently from other files. If the files are matched, and so they're matched to the iTunes Shop equivalents: files at 256kbps AAC. If iTunes can't friction match them and needs to upload them, iTunes converts them to 256kbps earlier uploading. This means that your lossless files will never exist in the cloud.

Still, if you use the deject to listen to files on the go, you don't need them to be lossless, as I explained above. So this might exist the ideal solution: keep lossless files in your iTunes library, and use the matched or uploaded versions on your iOS devices.

One more thing: Is it worth re-ripping CDs to a lossless format?

I become this question a lot. It's a large task to re-rip a CD collection. I would say that if yous're satisfied with the way your rips audio, and so don't bother. If non, yous might want to consider re-ripping CDs, particularly if you have old rips you fabricated at very low chip rates, back when storage was more expensive, such as 128 or even 96kbps. If you practise, and you lot can afford plenty storage, think almost ripping to lossless. While yous might not notice the difference in sound quality, yous'll have an archival file that you can convert at whatsoever fourth dimension in the future. You'll never need to rip those CDs once more.

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