I prefer to use Exact Audio Copy to rip my CD collection. This gives me good quality WAV files to start with.


After that, I have tried various encoders:

iTunes (both MP3 and AAC)
LAME MP3
SoundForge 8.0 (this uses an MP3 encoder plug-in from Sony)


I found that the sound quality on MP3s encoded in LAME was better than ones done with iTunes. I also felt that LAME MP3 sounded better than AAC.



I tested Apple Lossless, too.... and found that the sound quality improvement over LAME MP3 did not warrant the loss of storage capacity.

I would like to test FLAC files, but Apple is gay and won't allow FLAC files to play on iPods.


So I now use Exact Audio Copy with a LAME MP3 plug-in. It rips to WAV, and then converts to MP3. I use the highest quality VBR encoding setting on LAME.

 

That's why I'm not listening to CDs in the car. I'm just hoping I can learn to live with the inferior sound of my iPod, because I like the convenience.


Just listening to CDs in my E60 is a major step backward for me. My last three cars have all had serious aftermarket stereo systems installed. But I don't dare try to go that route with my BMWs.

 

It can sometimes be a lottery with several "encoders" on a single PC system.

Sometimes, due to path hierarchies, one piece of encoding software will use the MP3 DLL from another (and there is no real easy way of telling whether this has happened).

Example : http://www.highcriteria.com/tr_ext_mp3.htm

ABC

 

I find having 7 "inferior quality" MP3 albums on one CD more than enough for my (perhaps slightly longer) attention span on any particular journey.

ABC

 

I was having this exact same conversation with a friend of mine today. We were discussing DVD-Audio vs. SACD formats and how they are not taking off. I surmised it was the rise of MP3 and he agreed. Convenience trumps quality. That said, I do like my iPod Adapter.

 

The problem is that the general public doesn't know anything about music, and certainly nothing about quality audio. Your average person thinks that Bose and Harmon Kardon make good equipment. They think that Best Buy and Circuit City sell good stuff. It drives me up the wall to watch people spend money on crap like that, when you can get stuff so much better for similar prices.

 

On the other hand, if high quality media remain available (big IF), then more people listening to more music is all for the better.

 

Slightly off topic, but is there a preferred methodology for arranging the iPod files when using it with the MOST connector (with the 255 song limit)? Also, if you use a Smartlist, and it goes past 255, what occurs? Is it just that you can't see past 255?