CD Rip to iTunes quality v Downloading from iTunes.

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Level 1

13 points

CD Rip to iTunes quality v Downloading from iTunes.

Is there any difference in quality if I download an album from iTunes or if I rip a CD to iTunes to its default .m4a format?

Also - If I download an album from iTunes and then burn it to an audio CD, is the quality still the exact same as the downloaded version or does it become CD quality?

-Frankie

PC Clone, Windows Vista

Posted on Jul 28, 2008 5:32 AM

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Answer 1

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Jul 28, 2008 6:54 AM in response to Frankiedude

The default setting for iTunes (at least in version 7.0.2 that I use) AAC (.m4a) files are imported at 128-kbps. I believe iTunes store bought tracks are 128-kbps for the protected tracks and 256-kbps for "Plus" tracks (which do not have copy protection).
If you burn compressed files (AAC, MP3) to audio CDs, then no, they will not be the same quality as "CD quality". But the level of quality will depend on the bit rate they were encoded with in the first place and in many cases, depending on the type of music and listening environment, you may not even notice any difference.
I import my files as 192-kbps MP3s and when I burn audio CDs (a rarity these days) I usually do not notice any huge difference in sound quality, but then again I am usually listening to my music in the car (noisy environment) and not listening to the type of music that has a lot of subtle sounds that could be lost in encoding (e.g. Classical).
Cheers,
Patrick

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Answer 2

varjak paw

Level 10

182,668 points

Jul 28, 2008 8:38 AM in response to PT

I believe iTunes store bought tracks are 128-kbps for the protected tracks and 256-kbps for "Plus" tracks (which do not have copy protection).

Correct (just for confirmation's sake).

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