For all of you that were curious as to what a 128kbps AAC file from the iTunes music store sounds like.

[notfred]

UPDATE
I've got a WAV file available now. This is a 30 second sample of the song (5mb), which is also available for free to anyone with a Mac who is browsing the iTunes store. There shouldn't be a problem posting it here.

WAV sample from 128kbps AAC file

If you don't like this choice of song, I'm willing to download 1 more song and do a conversion on it so you guys can lsiten to it. However, you have to agree on what song to download, as I'm not going to pay $1/each for a bunch of songs for you guys to listen to. One more and that's all.

Note that I still have the MP3 from the original post (see below) if you want to PM me and ask for it. I also have a wav file of the entire track (55mb) that I will put online if people really want to hear it (still, via PM for the whole track).

Everything below here is the original post before the update:

I've prepared a demo file. It was downloaded from the iTunes music store, recorded to CD, then ripped from CD and encoded to MP3 using lame set with "--alt-preset extreme". Due to the reencoding to MP3, it should not be as high of quality as the original AAC file, but it should be fairly close. At least, if you find the quality of this file satisfactory, original AAC files should only surpass it's quality.

The file I've encoded is, by neccesity, a copyrighted song, so I have to ask people to PM me for the link.

 

[Shawn]

why bother doing all that when you can just go to kazaa or winmx or many others like them....

 

[notfred]

ah, LAME messed up on me... it encoded my file, but decided not to save it... hold on a few minutes.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: notfred
I've prepared a demo file. It was downloaded from the iTunes music store, recorded to CD, then ripped from CD and encoded to MP3 using lame set with "--alt-preset extreme". Due to the reencoding to MP3, it should not be as high of quality as the original AAC file, but it should be fairly close. At least, if you find the quality of this file satisfactory, original AAC files should only surpass it's quality.

The file I've encoded is, by neccesity, a copyrighted song, so I have to ask people to PM me for the link.

if anyone can actually pick a --alt-preset extreme mp3 from the cd original in a double-blind test using any listening equipment they want i'll be impressed.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Wake me up when they start selling songs in lossless FLAC format.

I'm willing to pay (I own over 1,000 CDs after 16 years of collecting) but not to pay for lossy.

Good idea to set up the track though, for less snobby people

 

[pennylane]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Wake me up when they start selling songs in lossless FLAC format.

I'm willing to pay (I own over 1,000 CDs after 16 years of collecting) but not to pay for lossy.

Good idea to set up the track though, for less snobby people

Same here. I wouldn't pay for lossy. But good enough idea.

 

[notfred]

Ok, fixed the file now, PM me for the link.

 

[notfred]

Either everyone's asleep, or I overestimated demand for this.

 

[Phuz]

Originally posted by: notfred
Either everyone's asleep, or I overestimated demand for this.

.... or working.

 

[Frodolives]

sorry notfred, maybe you overestimated my ability to get this on dialup

It's quite excellent quality as far as mp3 goes I'm sure. I understand the argument of those who are reluctant about "lossy" formats, but hey, when I was growing up I used to pay 99 cents for 45 rpm's so wth

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Frodolives
sorry notfred, maybe you overestimated my ability to get this on dialup

It's quite excellent quality as far as mp3 goes I'm sure. I understand the argument of those who are reluctant about "lossy" formats, but hey, when I was growing up I used to pay 99 cents for 45 rpm's so wth

Well, it's a 35% smaller file as AAC than as MP3

 

[jonmullen]

Originally posted by: notfred
I've prepared a demo file. It was downloaded from the iTunes music store, recorded to CD, then ripped from CD and encoded to MP3 using lame set with "--alt-preset extreme". Due to the reencoding to MP3, it should not be as high of quality as the original AAC file, but it should be fairly close. At least, if you find the quality of this file satisfactory, original AAC files should only surpass it's quality.

The file I've encoded is, by neccesity, a copyrighted song, so I have to ask people to PM me for the link.

you are really bored tonight arn't you...but so am I YGMPM

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: notfred
I've prepared a demo file. It was downloaded from the iTunes music store, recorded to CD, then ripped from CD and encoded to MP3 using lame set with "--alt-preset extreme". Due to the reencoding to MP3, it should not be as high of quality as the original AAC file, but it should be fairly close. At least, if you find the quality of this file satisfactory, original AAC files should only surpass it's quality.

The file I've encoded is, by neccesity, a copyrighted song, so I have to ask people to PM me for the link.

if anyone can actually pick a --alt-preset extreme mp3 from the cd original in a double-blind test using any listening equipment they want i'll be impressed.

what is the compression ratio on that

 

[Kev]

btw i use all wma's because they are smaller and sound better than mp3's

there is no changing my mind, my ears know what is right !!

 

[Xionide]

why dont you just clip the file so its not the whole song so then you can post the link? would that be acceptable?

-Xionide

 

[jonmullen]

Good song...I think it sounds good. This is however listening through by laptop speakers. I have no complaints though.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: Kev
btw i use all wma's because they are smaller and sound better than mp3's

there is no changing my mind, my ears know what is right !!

don't you have to pay for a wma encoder?

 

[jonmullen]

I know I have heard that song b4 but I cant thing of who sings it...care to give me a clue notfred

 

[jonmullen]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152

Originally posted by: Kev
btw i use all wma's because they are smaller and sound better than mp3's

there is no changing my mind, my ears know what is right !!

don't you have to pay for a wma encoder?

I'm pretty sure WMP9 will encode wma so I guess if you pay for windows you have an encode...correct me if I am wrong.

 

If you re-encoded it with LAME the quality is not going to be the same. I know it's going to be a huge file but you should just share the WAV you ripped from the CD.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: dwell
If you re-encoded it with LAME the quality is not going to be the same. I know it's going to be a huge file but you should just share the WAV you ripped from the CD.

OK, ripping with EAC now. Anyone know a good wav editor so I can jsut grab a section from the middle of the song isntead of the whole thing?

 

Cooledit will do. Get the pro version, I think the trial lets you save.

 

[jonmullen]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: dwell
If you re-encoded it with LAME the quality is not going to be the same. I know it's going to be a huge file but you should just share the WAV you ripped from the CD.

OK, ripping with EAC now. Anyone know a good wav editor so I can jsut grab a section from the middle of the song isntead of the whole thing?

I know you can open it in windows sound recorder and go to the middle posistion and do a cut before, then move down a little but and do a cut after. That should do it.

 

[notfred]

Ok, is EAC trying to piss me off or what? First try it rips a track, says 97% track quality, then the wav file is blank... 5 minutes of silence.

I switch CD drives, and it rips 4 times faster in the second (SCSI) drive, and shows no errors at all the whole time, until it gets to 99.9% and then it sits there and VERY SLOWLY lights up the red lights in the "error correction" section... whick takes like 10 minutes. Finally finishes, and says 99.8% track quality. Then the track sounds like complete ass, all kinds of pops and hissing in it...

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

That's a really boring song (probably because the lyrics have always sounded like gibberish no matter where I hear this song)...but it sounds pretty good.