Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

how can i tell if a song is an mp3,4 or lossless in iTunes

In my iTunes library i would like to upgrade my songs to lossless is there a way to do this?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Dec 14, 2015 5:15 PM

Reply
3 replies

Dec 14, 2015 6:50 PM in response to packfannn

If displaying columns you can choose the option to show "kind", or you can look at the summary information for a track in Get Info.


Note, saving a file to a higher format will not increase quality. If anything you risk losing more quality. The only way to get lossless quality is to re-rip your CDs or find a vendor who sells lossless files (Apple does not)..

Dec 14, 2015 7:04 PM in response to packfannn

You can use Smart Playlists to filter your library against any combination of Kind - using values:


  • "AAC audio file" for AAC / M4A (via CD import or conversion)
  • "Purchased AAC audio file" for Store purchases
  • "MPEG audio file" for MP3
  • "Apple Lossless audio file" for ALAC
  • etc


and Bit Rate. For example, this:

User uploaded file

will show all MP3 files whose bit rate is less than 256kpbs. This (for my library, at least) will show everything that is not lossless:

User uploaded file

As Chris hints, the only way to "upgrade" media to lossless is to re-import it from CD or from lossless files. Converting from AAC or MP3 to ALAC or AIFF will just give bigger files with no improvement to audio.

how can i tell if a song is an mp3,4 or lossless in iTunes

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.