anyone know or prefer the best format i should pick when it comes to ripping my cds into itunes? i have a 60gb 4gen. so i'm not worried about file sizes. I want the best sounding quality becuz i have high-end stereo equipment at home and in my truck.
Apples lossless format is pretty good, but the iPod unfortunately doesn't support other formats like ogg, that would probably be better suited to the task.
If you want the very best quality sounding mp3's, then you don't want to be ripping songs using iTunes.
It just so happens here at Afterdawn we have a guide on how to set up, install and configure the best MP3 ripper around. It's called Exact Audio Copy (EAC for short) and is used by all the top audio phreaks. EAC is more advanced than iTunes and all the other rippers as it checks every sector of the cd twice to make sure there are no problems. It also creates high quality sounding VBR (Variable Bit Rate) MP3's.
An alternative to mp3 is .wav, which is the best quality, as it is totally loseless. However, you are looking at about 40-50mb per track, which is a huge waste of space compared to advanced mp3's created with EAC/LAME.
I highly recommend you stick with EAC, and simply import the mp3 files into iTunes afterwards.
Please check out my iPod forum. Create an account and we'd be more than happy to help you out with your iPod questions.
http://eXtremeiPod.jconserv.net
Try www.pickledproductions.com to do your CD conversion. I can't speak for the others services. I was also stuck between whether to do it myself or pay someone else to do it. Some sites are charging over $1 per CD. I have 250 CDs and couldn't find myself paying $250. A friend of mine got a coupon for 10% off and the service only charges 70 cents a CD. I was concerned about the quality but with the coupon I decided to try it. Everything worked out perfect and I am so glad I did it. I now have my entire collection on MP3 and everything was right on. Two additional notes. If you are lucky to live within their local area (which unfortunately I was not) you can get your CDs ripped for 45 cents per CD which is a real bargain. Also at checkout time you can enter this code (110269018) and get the same 10% off I did. Another friend of mine tried it and it worked for him also. The coupon only says one per household. Good luck!
If you are ripping songs into mp3, then EAC is the way to go, and it's free. Combined with LAME, it will create the best sounding VBR mp3's possible. It really is the best in it's field.
I know I can do it myself. I own Nero which is the best app out there. With Spring here and Summer around the corner, I wanted my collection now. I didn't want to waste the next few weeks ruipping my collection. Too much stuff to do outside. and too many springtime activities. The service does use Lame also.
