iTunes Match down-converting my files....

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Level 1

2 points

iTunes Match down-converting my files....

I wouldn't go so far as referring to myself as an "audiophile", however I can definitely tell the difference between AAC files @ 256 kbps and those with the bitrate of a CD. That said, I've spent the past 3 hours searching for an answer to the cause of my frustration - iTunes Match is down-converting my ALAC files. When I originally signed up for iTunes match a few months ago, I specifically remember reading somewhere (was just now unable to find where so I could quote it) on the Apple website that your original files in your library would be unchanged.

What happened - I noticed today that several of my "matched" songs had the iCloud download icon next to them. At the time, I was streaming from a Macbook Pro to my home theater receiver and using AirPlay and my iPad for the remote. I inadvertently clicked on the download icon, which would have been understandable were I streaming straight from the Music app on my iPad, but since I was accessing my library on my Macbook that struck me as odd. This particular song had been ripped from a CD as an ALAC file somewhere in the ballpark of 900 kbps bitrate.

So I went back to my MBP and pulled up my library - I had played several songs from this same album and only downloaded the one. All the songs that had played were replaced with 256 kbps AAC protected files.

Why it matters - iTunes match has been around for several years. I only recently upgraded to it because I was forced to - I wanted to try Apple Music, and you can't do so without enabling iCloud sharing, aka iTunes match. Long ago I was in college and knew "everything" we were downloading MP3s as fast as our dial up connections and Napster would let us. It occurred to me that digital music would be the future, so I ripped all my CDs to my computer (and at horribly low bitrates). Now I have a nice stereo and can truly appreciate the difference between compressed and uncompressed music - granted my ears aren't discerning enough to hear a significant difference between 44.1 kHz/16-bit music and 192kHz/24-bit Hi Res audio files. That said, I have begun repurchasing my music library in some cases for the third time. I'm buying CDs and ripping them into my iTunes library as ALAC files. At least until iTunes deems it necessary to down convert these files for me.

So I suppose what I'm asking is this - is there any way around this or am I just wasting my time with Apple Music and iTunes Match? Would setting up a second library for only lossless songs be a solution? Is it possible to only include one of my libraries in iTunes Match? Should I give up on my wish that I can do everything in iTunes and switch my library to something like JRiver Media Center?

For what it's worth - I just pulled up the album in Finder and the original file is still there, it's just been replaced in the iTunes window by the lower bitrate file.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), iPad Air 2 running iOS 9.2

Posted on Jan 11, 2016 6:43 PM

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Answer 1

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jtlturne Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 18, 2016 12:05 AM in response to jtlturne

So at first I thought you fellas were leaning slightly to the side of less than helpful, but after reading your responses, I see your points. I suppose that I had envisioned everyone jumping on board with what I was saying - so here's what I'm saying w/ screen shots.

1) iTunes library sorted by bitrate.

2) I played the song at the top of the list >>>

Notice that the bitrate has now changed from 1411 kbps to 256 kbps.

3) I played the next song, just for good measure.

4) Here are the original files from that album in Finder AFTER I played them in iTunes. Nothing has changed

5) Here is the file info screen in iTunes. For the track played. Only thing that looks changed (including the files size) is the bitrate.

6) The file info screen in iTunes for an unplayed track in the same album. The "Internet Audio Stream" and Kind attribute doesn't exist for the played track.

7) Finally - and I thought this most revealing - I disconnected the MBP from my network. The matched tracks are unavailable for playback.

This is exactly what I was saying - and I take issue with this for several reasons.

1) I want to play my original tracks. Period. What is the benefit of streaming an inferior version of a song and expending network resources when the track that I want to play is on the hard drive.

2) I cannot play these tracks offline - tracks that I have already spent time and effort importing into my library and still exist on my hard drive - without manually downloading them from the cloud. What's the point of that? Having two versions of the same song on my MBP. Again - different story when you're talking about a large music library on a device with more limited storage such as an iPhone or iPad. Besides, the playback bitrates are limited for those devices. It's my library on my Mac that's got me upset.

3) The main issue I have is with the quality of the songs - I've expended extra effort and resources to improve the quality of my library by adding higher resolution content manually since Apple doesn't offer uncompressed music for download. I realize CDs are still compressed, but they are significantly and audibly better reproductions of the original tracks. Apple plays it up like you'll be getting a deal because your lower quality downloads and older tracks will be "upgraded" I'm sure that it's true in many cases, but what I noticed was that tracks that I had ripped long, long ago - we're talking in the ballpark of probably 9-10 years - that were of the worst quality weren't matched (I know there's a minimum threshold - something like 128 kbps. These songs were above that)

So that's it. I'm done with iTunes Music. Looks like I'm headed back to Tidal.

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Answer 2

Jan 12, 2016 12:06 AM in response to jtlturne

HI,

ITunes match matches ALAC as 256 Kbps or transcribes uploaded tracks to 256 kbps. It does not alter your originals unless you opt to delete and replace them. The matched or uploaded files will available to stream or download on other devices.

You can have a separate library which you don't use for iTunes Match or Apple Music. Read this user tip Make and keep a backup of your iTunes library, and only stream from the cloud.

So you could keep iTunes Match library separate from your lossless library. Whether you keep both match and Apple Music in a separate library is your decision. You may not need match but read this:

iTunes Match User Tips

Jim

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Answer 3

jtlturne Author

Level 1

2 points

Jan 13, 2016 4:17 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

iiTunes does match most of my ALAC files with 256 Kbps AAC files and I would expect to see those on my movie devices. But that's not what happened. Every time I play a lossless ripped ALAC file from my library on my MacBook, it is replaced with the 256 Kbps AAC file. Like you said, it's unaltered. The original remains in the file system, it's just no longer included in my library.

And keeping a second library isn't going to work. The whole point of this was to have lossless uncompressed files for listening to on my Hiri system, whether wirelessly or not. Don't get me started on the AirPlay sample rates OS X vs. iOS. Was just trying to retain the convenience of iTunes.

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Answer 4

Jan 13, 2016 6:46 AM in response to jtlturne

Hi,

Whilst you still have the ALAC files on your computer, is iTunes still linked with them or not?

Any music that was in your iTunes library as ALAC should still play as ALAC but if you have had to download files then they would be as 256 Kbps.

Jim

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Answer 5

RTW's

Level 1

45 points

Jan 14, 2016 11:51 AM in response to Jimzgoldfinch

Seconded what Jim says. If you are seeing the download icon on a track in your library, then it suggests the original file is no longer in your library. Your original files will show the iCloud status (i.e. matched or uploaded) but won't show you a download cloud. iTunes does not allow you to download a track that is already in your library unless you remove the download or original file first.

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