[Randy]

I am not computer savy but have used Macs for many years and only just now I downloaded a CD to iTunes and then burned a copy on a blank CD. Is the new CD a bit for bit copy with no loss of resolution or what? I have read some lately about lossless downloads etc. and wonder if the burned CD is "lossless" so to speak.

[yooper]

Randy,

No, it is not lossless if downloaded via iTunes.  Albums will be available to download at either 128 kbps or 256 kbps.  256 is only available if you see the words "iTunes Plus", otherwise it will be a 128 kbps download.

If you rip your own cd's you can rip to a lossless format.

Mark

[Nels Ferre]

iTunes downloads are either 128kbs or 256kbs (most are 256kbs as they convert to iTunes Plus.)

Either way, they are not lossless. Your burned CD is an exact copy of a

lossy  download.

[Randy]

Thanks.  That's what I was afraid of and suspected.

[santacore]

Randy,

The CD you burned should theoretically be an exact copy of what you downloaded. Slower burn speeds are said to be best, as they have less errors. As for the quality of the download, that's a whole different story.

[Randy]

If you rip your own cd's you can rip to a lossless format.

Mark

How do you do that? (My book only describes the iTunes route.)

[yooper]

http://sbooth.org/Max/ is my choice for ripping.

[bunnyma357]

http://sbooth.org/Max/ is my choice for ripping.

+1

[PhilNYC]

I am not computer savy but have used Macs for many years and only just now I downloaded a CD to iTunes and then burned a copy on a blank CD. Is the new CD a bit for bit copy with no loss of resolution or what? I have read some lately about lossless downloads etc. and wonder if the burned CD is "lossless" so to speak.

Just want to clarify...did you insert a CD into your Mac and then "import" that CD into iTunes?  Or are you talking about buying and downloading music from the iTunes Store?

In the case of importing a CD into iTunes, you need to look at your "Import Settings" (in iTunes Preferences) to see what format you are importing.  If it is set to AIFF or WAV encoding, then you are getting a bit-for-bit copy.  If it is set to Apple Lossless, it will compress the data for storage-purposes only...playback of those files will be bit-perfect.  If it is any of the other settings (eg. AAC, MP3, etc), then you will be getting compressed (not bit-perfect) copies of your music.  You should also set "Error Correction" on to minimize any bit-reading problems.

In the case of buying a song from iTunes Store, as others have said here, those are compressed files (not "CD-quality")...they are MP3 or AAC files...

[Crimson]

If you rip your own cd's you can rip to a lossless format.

Mark

How do you do that? (My book only describes the iTunes route.)

If I understand your original post, you ripped a disc to iTunes and then burnt those ripped songs back to disc. Correct? If that's the case the deciding factor is whether you ripped using a losssy or lossless format. If the former, then burning a disc of lossy tracks will not give you 'CD quality' as the original rip removed data. If the latter, then the burnt disc should be identical to the original CD.

In iTunes (assuming v8.0), go to Preferences > General > Import Settings and see what it's set at. Lossless formats are Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV. The rest are lossy.

EDIT: Great minds.......................

[Randy]

Guys, thanks. I looked at preferences and saw the options, but unsure what they mean. (yea, I know.) I see you can set sample rate and sample size for the import. Should they be set at 44 kHz for rate? Sample size, does it matter? I see suggestions for a program called Max. What does that do different and/or better?

[Randy]

I went back and looked at import settings and under AIff, Custom, the only choice now is "automatic." When I tried it before I had sampling rate choices and then a choice between 8 bit and 16 bit. This has now all disappeared. What gives?

[Crimson]

I went back and looked at import settings and under AIff, Custom, the only choice now is "automatic." When I tried it before I had sampling rate choices and then a choice between 8 bit and 16 bit. This has now all disappeared. What gives?

Select Automatic then Custom and you'll get the options back. The Automatic (Default) setting for AIFF is 16/44.1.

[Atlplasma]

Is there any downside to importing CD using the Apple Lossless option? Can you change the format of already imported CD (say from Apple Lossless to WAV) with reimporting the songs?

Steve

[Crimson]

Is there any downside to importing CD using the Apple Lossless option? Can you change the format of already imported CD (say from Apple Lossless to WAV) with reimporting the songs?

Steve

No downside to importing in Apple Lossless. You can change the files to any format you like (you'll actually be making copies of the original Apple Lossless files):

In iTunes, go to Preferences > General > Import Settings and change to the format you'd like to convert to. Click OK. Then highlight the tracks in your main music library that you want to convert, go to Advanced and select Create XXX Version (XXX being the format you chose in Preferences).

 iTunes will then create copies of your ALAC tracks in the format you selected. Just remember to change your Import Settings back to what you originally had before ripping more CDs.