best audio format for Ipod

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FaH33m

FaH33m

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i have a 3rd generation 4GB Ipod nano ...and till now ive been directly transferring mp3 format songs to the ipod..

and now i find that the 4gb is already full..as many of the tracks are around 10-15 mb in size...and mostly all of them are 192 kbps mp3.

so i was wondering if i could covert the tracks to some other format to reduce the overal size of the tracks without much loss in sound quality as compared to mp3(for playing on ipod).

which would be the best format and at what bit rate is what i want to know..

something that is smaller in size than normal mp3, without compromise in SQ and most importantly supported by the Ipod.

if possible along with audio format also please suggest a audio converter (paid/free)for the same ..

thanx...waiting for the suggestions.

PS:

1)i tried converting my tracks to aac(*m4a extension) using the inbuilt i tunes converter but didnot notice and difference in file size in fact some files were bigger than original .

2)and when i convert my mp3 files to *aac extension using DBpowerAmp converter...the ipod doesnt play them.though they work perfectly on my PC and also my nokia 6270...

earlier i used to convert all my files to 96/128 kbps AAC using the dbpoweramp ..as the file size used to be less and ..even the SQ was good enough ..but now these files doint work on the ipod..
 
192 kbps mp3 should sound good enough in ipod , you re-encode those mp3's at 128 kbps bitrate and decrease size , sound quality would be ok . Anything below 128 kbps will be unbearable to long time listeners ( quality wise ) . You can also try variable bitrate in mp3 . Use dbpoweramp to convert the mp3's .
 
sound quality wise, 128kbps AAC is supposed to be equivalent to 192kbps MP3, so try that. n just use itunes itself to convert :) just right click the song in library and you will c the option. + guaranteed that the songs converted by it will work ;)
 
rapt0r said:
192 kbps mp3 should sound good enough in ipod , you re-encode those mp3's at 128 kbps bitrate and decrease size , sound quality would be ok . Anything below 128 kbps will be unbearable to long time listeners ( quality wise ) . You can also try variable bitrate in mp3 . Use dbpoweramp to convert the mp3's .
Click to expand...

ya even i have heard of using variable bitrate (VBR mp3)..

but how do i convert my mpr files to VBR using dbpoweramp ??

any more suggestions advice from other guys is also welcome..
 
...any more suggestions from first hand ipod/mp3 player users ??

...guys please post which format\bitrate u convert u r tracks to before transferring it to your PMP /ipod.
 
128kbps AAC :P

For VBR conversion n normal conversions: u may also want to try mediacoder. free n does a good job of conversion (both audio n video)

personally my library is small enuf for my zen W ;) else my choices are 192MP3 mostly or else 192AAC. depends on the mood :P
 
I usually take 256/320 bit mp3s for the songs which I absolutely love... or listen most of the time. To say it in average most of my collection is ranging between 128-192 kbps, with few songs in 192 above. Since I've 20gig iPod size isn't a matter for me.

But I'm planning to convert my entire collection to 128kbps AAC mostly, and few in Apple Lossless format. I've heard that higher biterate files will drain your battery faster than normal biterate files. I've yet to research on this and confirm myself. Besides, 128kbps AAC should sound identical to 192kbps mp3.. . so it does sound like good idea. I hope that file also goes bit down, since my girl uses mostly my collection for her iPhone (4GB) so filesize matters there.

So in the end, I guess 128kbps AAC file should do good. Do let us know if you use that setting, about how much size difference does it make and how much quality difference you notice.
 
i still havent got any converter which converts mp3 to aac ..and that too aac which works on an i pod..cause normal .aac files dont work on i pod i think ..only i tunes converted aac(ie. .m4a) files work...

for the time being i converted 20 256\320kbps mp3 tracks to 128kbps mp3 using MP3 Workshop ..

and the file size was reduced by almost 40-45 % and there was not much loss of sound quality when hearing on i pod ..using ep630

but when i played da same on the PC connected to the ATP3 ..i could notice a small loss of SQ and a bit reduced volume..

overall 128kbps mp3 wasnt bad for ipod..

if u have any way to make aac files work on ipod ..please post..cause i want to try 128kbps aac ..
 
wait.. are you planning to take your mp3 files and convert them to .aac? bear in mind that you are technically compressing twice so it will sound worse than a 128kbps aac file compressed from a source like CD.
 
course it ll lead to some loss, but no other option :P

nz, use itunes na. even if u dont like it, use it once to convert ur library n then remove it ;)
 
ashr said:
wait.. are you planning to take your mp3 files and convert them to .aac? bear in mind that you are technically compressing twice so it will sound worse than a 128kbps aac file compressed from a source like CD.
Click to expand...

that is completely true!
 
for best quality mp3 or aac file u need to rip the file directly from the CD TO WAV format .and then covert to mp3 or aac.

many proggys are there to rip and covert eg.foobar2000 -
foobar
 
ohk here am i with my results of some testing i did this week end..as i had some spare time.:)

first i took 10 tracks(3 trance tracks/4 bollywood/3 english) of 320 kbps Mp3. the total size was around 100 mb for the 10 songs.

please note that all the conversions were done using the built in Itunes converter.and for testing i used the i pod nano.3G 4GB with the creative ep-630.

then first i converted the 10 songs to 128 Kbps AAC..the file size reduced by 30 % almost ie it was around 65-70 mb.
couldnt notice any difference from the 320 kbps mp3.

then i tried 96 Kbps AAC. with both constant bit rate and variable bit rate.
the file size reduced by almost 50 % and came down to 47-50 MB..for 10 tracks..

and then i put all these tracks on to the i pod again for comparing them...

and to be frank ..i really couldnt make out much difference between 96 kbps aac (CBR) \128 kbps aac and 320 kbps MP3.:P

on the i pod they all sounded the same..there was a negligible difference between the original mp3s and 128/96 kbps aac..and that too you could notice it only when listening to it very very keenly ..with full concentration ..
otherwise they all sounded good enough.
infact at times when i changed tracks randomly without lookin at the screen i couldnt make out if it was 320 kbps mp3 or 128\96 kbps aac.:huh:
now does this mean my ears are not that good to make out the difference between 96 kbps aac and higher bit rate mp3..?? :ashamed:
i am thinking of asking a few more people to listen to the tracks and ask them if they notice the difference..

one thing is there..i can surely make out the difference when playing the files on the ATP3 on my pc at high volumes...but on the Ipod they all sound almost same..

what i wanted to conclude from this was..that low bitrate aac\mp3 really dont sound that bad on a portable mp3 player..infact they are quiet good..if u need maximum songs on the portable..
its only when u play them on speakers u can make out the difference..

or may be ...somethings wrong wid me ..that i cant make out the difference..:huh: :ashamed:

any comments ,advice of previous similar experiences welcomed..

if anyone has the time and is interested in doing the same test for me ..can PM me .I will upload a few samples which u can test and tell me what u feel.. ;)
 
only one thing to say. If they sound good enough to you...well then go with them. No need to waste space on something that you can't hear anyway.

BTW i have the same setup as yours iPod+EP-630 and ATP3s and I usually listen to mp3 tracks @128Kb/s (or above in the case of d'loaded stuff). I only convert podcasts to AAC.
 
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