I ripped my CD collection at 256 bit rate. If I use iTunes match to delete my ripped music and replace it from iTunes, will I see in increase in quality? I know the bit rate is the same, but are the versions on iTunes better than the CD's that I ripped? I hope this makes since. Help!
Kevin
iMac 27, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 8 gigs Ram
It is possible that there will be a very slight difference in quality, but not enough to be noticed. In my opinion doing this would be a total waste of time, especially given the possibilities of mismatches. I can almost guarantee that there would be many more instances of the listening experience being reduced than there would be of improvements.
I agree with Keith. Since you've already ripped your CDs at 256 it would be a waste of time to delete the original files and download replacements of the same quality.
A lot of my CD's were from the 80's. There are now Remasters on iTunes. If I replaced the files with iTunes Match, would I get the benefit of the Remastered versions?
Kevin
The tracks presently in your library might match to newer masters that are in the iTunes Store. But it is not certain that will happen. If the tracks do match then, yes, it will be possible to download the "matched" tracks to your computer. If the tracks do not match there will be nothing for you to download.
Michael is correct, but probably understates the case slightly.
I'd go as far to say that, if an album is remastered in the iTunes store, you are extremely unlikely to get a full match of the tracks. You will be able to download the remastered version of those tracks that do match, but you will be left with odd transitions between tracks and varying volume levels.
I would strongly advise against using match to upgrade to remasters. You will wish you hadn't bothered.
That's my secret identity... "Major Understatement!"
177 out of 672 albums of mine have the partial match (partial upgrade) problem -- ie. the album is clearly available on iTunes, and most of the tracks do match, but a few don't. Apple support says this is the way it's supposed to work, because maybe the artist changed 1 or 2 tracks so that match available for those few tracks, and there's nothing Apple or anyone else can do to make them match. Yeah, right. They won't admit maybe their matching software is failing to match what should match. Very annoying.
Hi,
I have had problems similar to yours.
I have noticed that on remastered versions the length is slightly different or in some instances, the length of the track has been extended. So this means that matching is unlikely.
If the version in iTunes Store is a few seconds shorter, I have edited my version by removing those extra seconds. I have converted the edited versions to a different format an then re-run match. Not total foolproof but have had some success. No chance of matching if the playing time is longer than my version.
Jim
Upgrade quality of 256k music?
