iTunes has best sound quality? Yes or NO?

IS this a myth or fact..


Is the Sound quality produced by all media players like iTunes, WMP, VLC, Foobar the same??

or does it differ?

 

Hi.

I suppose they are mostly the same, i suppose itunes is used more than any other ripping program, and i have not head anything bad about the quality.

I use it tunes to rip my cd`s

you can select you own quality setting and audio format, even lossless formats.

I use 160kbps and enable cd error correction, Always prefer to rip to mp3 rather than apples AAC encoder.

regards

John.

 

Aren't they all using the same codecs anyway?

 

I am listening my to U2- How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb CD RIP on iTunes..i also did a 160kbps & mp3 format.

The output is quite good. did some pre-Amp

 

I would imagine its all the same with the only difference being the settings for the media player being used.

 

I can`t say.
I`ve used Winamp and Fubar most of my life. Winamp is getting better,Fubar was always good.(I sure hope that`s the name, I forgot it, but it`s an F in the beginning for sure )
EDIT FOOBAR

 

For the most part, I would think that if you have the same encoding type at the same bitrate transcoded from the same source and played on the same device, they should be equal. Unless their transcoders are fairly different, such a scenario should be nearly identical. That said, different encoding formats, different bitrates, and different source materials, or playing the music through different players will likely sound different. So yes, that basically says if everything is the same, it is the same, but if things are different, they are different.

It's a hard comparison to make, since there are so many factors.

 

It's spelled Foobar

 

LOL, I thought something was fishy

 

I always rip CD's with WMP in WMA variable bit rate format, which rips an average music track to 320 kbps.

 

Omg,

I am listening to my U2 CD on my old Sony Disman...

I can't tell u Audiolicious the sound is.

The 160 kbps mp3 format is a joke! nothing below 256 kbps

 

i dunno... under windows; i think when playing MP3 the detail is a bit more pronounced on WMP than iTunes... it sounds more flat on itunes... i think that makes itunes a bit more natural sounding though.

i use itunes though.. i ripped my CD using the 128kbps AAC.. sounds good.. the sound detail is retained for the most part.. with 128kbps instead of 192kbps in MP3 make my music much more manageable (backups).. moderately better than MP3.

your milage may varies... it may depends more on the sound card or audio codec you've got on.

 

Hi.

I read a report, on audio compression comparison.

And virtually nobody could tell the difference between mp3 160, and RAW CD, and lossless compression.

you must have very good hearing, or you are quite young.

regards

John.

 

Any of the major audio players should sound the same playing the same file (unless you change settings).

Beware of a large amount of placebo effect on audio files. It's very easy to hear a large difference between, say, 320 kps and 160 kps, when you know what you are listening to. It's very rare to tell the difference on most music in a blind test.

www.hydrogenaudio.org discusses the issue in great detail. The creators of foobar even point out that foobar is no better than other players, despite their fans assertion that it sounds better.

 

Is this about playback quality or encoding quality?

 

To get best quality/size i prefer, by a lot, WMA.

192 kbs WMA is equal in quality to 320kbs in mp3, at half the size.

That figure comes from my using Beyerdynamics DT880, a professional 24/96 audio/MIDI interface and a range of mp3/wma encoded samples. Below 320kbs, mp3 is losing highs.

 

WOW, you will hear the DIFFERENCE between an mp3 and a RAW CD for sure! get a good sound card and a speaker and you should hear the difference. YOU WILL hear the difference when you play it with a hometheatre setup for sure. mp3 just dont have that vibrancy of the original CD recording.... hmmm i wonder what Super Audio CD (SACD) sounds like.

 

You've done this in a double blind test? What was your testing protocol?

 

i just listen to the music; one is the original, one is the mp3 rip just to see whats the difference... it was not a blind test.. there is nothing scientific about the testing. if i remember correctly; there was a little lost in volume too. i feel that there is a lost detail in the music, especially the background music. the feeling of being surrounded by music is lessen when listening to mp3...

 

Gawd, if you had a real sound system you wouldn't be asking this question. Even CDs suck after one has spent a little time listening to the uncompressed audio on Blu-ray.
Having said that, I'd agree with alekkh. If you gotta compress it WMA sounds more like music than MP3.

 

FLAC or APE ftw!

 

Best quality would be gained by a player that supports kernel streaming for bit perfect playback. As far a formats go, FLAC and OGG are much better than mp3

and nocturnal , “My laptop is so hot, i no longer call it laptop.” - me. This supposed to be funny or you just have to tell us everything about your self.

 

I agree that .flac and .ogg ( .shn also ) are far better than .mp3 but I still only find myself using them in areas where they are almost exclusively used, such as live concert downloads. I mostly listen to CDs in my car and the stock speakers aren't good enough to discern any difference.

edit: I'm pretty sure I've seen people on here swear up and down that Foobar has better audio quality than most all other players. I don't remember their logic, but I though I'd mention it.

 

Yes, i agree Foobar has better quality ... used it last nite & compared with iTunes.

Foobar + the DSP's give out the best Sound output on laptop

 

Foobar , I`ve told you.Although for me Winamp + WOW effect give a more clearer bass than foobar,and Winamp is by far among the easiest media players out there.
I`m to lazy to use foobar , lol.

 

My Foobar with modded theme... Love it!

& love the song.. Extreme Ways

 

well put sir

 

if you're listen to music on your laptop; i would suggest you get the creative X-Fi X-Mod, the difference in sound quality vs. the intergrated sound is A LOT. plus if you like sound enhancements; it also has an X-Fi Crystaliser and CMSS 3D sound processor that can be turned off.. although; if you (like me) already have a decent speaker, i would turn this sound enhancements off. with so-so speaker, turning it on might improve the sound, but with decent speaker, it is redundant, and detract from a more natural sound.

 

I use ASIO4ALL plugin + Foobar + high bitrate files like FLAC with my M-Audio Sonica USB > headphone amp > Equation Audio RP-21 headphones.

 

I use iTunes only to manage my imported CD collection. I don't even have an iPod or any DRM songs from the store. It's a resource hog but that's ok because it manages my (somewhat) large library easily with its batch retagging and things. The browser is also easier to use than other players I've tried (musikcube, foobar).
I had my CDs imported as AAC through iTunes several years ago. I am currently re-importing them as mp3 just for more compatability. It's like beta v. VHS. AAC is smaller and better sounding, but on the other hand I can't tell the difference and mp3 can be used everywhere, in all software and players.