Edited by author 04-29-2003 08:20 PM
I did a experiment today and ripped a CD first at 190Kbps MP3 and then the 128kbps AAC format and played them back to compare. Through some average headphones, I could definitely hear the difference, especially in the low end bass. In comparison the file sizes where 6.1Mb for the 190K MP3 and 4.9Mb for the AAC file.

I've been a subscriber to Emusic for over two years and the Apple AAC format at 128Kbps is very noticeably better then their 128K MP3 format. Emusic's format is o.k. for alot of the stuff I download from there as it is mostly old blues stuff which wasn't recorded very well to begin with.

For ripping, I'm sticking with 190k MP3, but tomorrow is payday so Apple will be getting some more of my money for some old BNL and Tower of Power. My iPod is needing some spring tunes for jamming. Now if only my iTrip would get here...

I've personally never been satisfied with MP3s. I've always noticed the difference in the quality of an MP3 compared to it's original CD track, even at bitrates higher than 128 (I listen to a lot of distortion-laden music and MP3s handle distortion about as well as they handle applause or ocean waves - which is poorly). When I do rip MP3s (very rarely), I tend to do so at bitrates exceeding 192, which in some cases results in files nearly the same size as the original CD audio file.

Even when I was downloading great music off of Napster before they killed it, I was disastisfied with MP3. I liked the ability to preview music or find music that was nearly impossible to acquire otherwise, but I always hated the MP3 format itself and I always wished there was something that sounded better. I was one of those people who really did listen to music on Napster and then go out and buy the CD if I liked it.

I am willing to pay money for a copy of the music that sounds better, I am a true, dyed in the wool audiophile, and to be honest, I have little need for copying my music. Custom mix discs are nice, but I very rarely do that even, so AAC may be the first format sicne CDs that really shows promise for me.

AAC is a locked in format (supposedly - who wants to start a pool on how long it will take someone to crack the copy protection? You can already rip MP3s from the burned CDs), but it's based on the widely known and pretty open MP4 format. I imagine it won't be long before people start writing their own media players and codecs and for MPEG4 audio files that also play AAC or vice versa. Anything that offers me better quality than MP3 without a massive jump in file size gets my vote though, even if I have to pay for it.

I frequently see people saying that they use higher bit rates for their MP3s but rarely do they specify if they are using a fixed bitrate or VBR. Personally I us VBR and my MP3's bitrate can jump up to nearly 320kbs for some songs.

From what I can tell, the AAC files you rip into iTunes from CDs you own do NOT contain the DRM restrictive features which AAC files from iTunes Music Store do.

There doesn't seem to be a good reason to refrain from using AAC for ripping your own music. It's as free to be used as MP3s are.

Am I missing something?

"AAC is a locked in format"

What does that mean? AAC is just as open as MP3. You can do the same things with an AAC file as with an MP3 file. You are in no way locked in. Only songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store have DRM in them.

The main downside to ripping you own music to AAC is the distinct lack of options for playback. For instance, I can play a CD full of MP3s on my DVD player through my stereo, but that option doesn't exist for a CD full of AAC files...

It's only a matter of time before more portable players start supporting AAC now. I would expect that many MP3 players currently available with updatable firmware will have new firmware versions with AAC support forthcoming. Once the windows version of iTunes is released, I'd expect a lot of portable players to be revamped. If the firmware of the existing players can't be updated for whatever reason, future models will probably have AAC support. It didn't take very long at all for MP3 players to be developed and released, and when you compare them to most consumer electronics, the development and widespread acceptance of MP3 players was lightning fast. If this new online store takes off the way everyone seems to be expecting it to, AAC players are just around the corner.

Hi
Is mp4 really better than mp3? What is the highest mp_? out now.

Do they all work good for burning music files.

Kimmi

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