AAC, MP3 OR ATRAC? best setting for ripping music?

[HarmlessWaterBuffalo]

AAC, MP3, OR ATRAC? never heard of aac and atrac. what is the best setting to rip it to maintain it's best cd quality?

[ge0ff73]

I prefer AAC, but I live in the Apple ecosystem.

ATRAC as far as I know is some Sony file type that no one uses.

[aygie]

AAC or lossless if you can.

[dk3dknight]

Personal Feelings I say AAC or ATRAC, how about this do a burn of each and listen to them both and find out which one you like best because this tends to be more of a personal thing... One that can vary in opinion and only you know what you like best.

My opinion though..

[Sponge-worthy]

ATRAC is an older Sony codec that never really saw wide adoption.

AAC may be slightly better at lower bitrates, but if you're going for quality, then you're using 320kbps. In which case, they're all pretty equal. I use MP3 because everything plays MP3.

[dk3dknight]

Originally Posted by ge0ff73

I prefer AAC, but I live in the Apple ecosystem.

ATRAC as far as I know is some Sony file type that no one uses.

Yes it is one made by sony, but it highest rate of the 3 codecs for the ps3,
Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding is actually what the abbreviation stands for.

http://www.sony.net/Products/ATRAC3/overview/index.html

Originally Posted by Aygie

AAC or lossless if you can.

Are audio cds actually lossless to begin with?

[HarmlessWaterBuffalo]

Originally Posted by ryan69969

ATRAC is an older Sony codec that never really saw wide adoption.

AAC may be slightly better at lower bitrates, but if you're going for quality, then you're using 320kbps. In which case, they're all pretty equal. I use MP3 because everything plays MP3.

Isn't MP3 320kbps lossless? yes, like you said MP3 is the most widely used so it will be compatible with other devices if i wanted to port it elsewhere. but if aac and atrac are superior then i will go that route.


how are aac and atracs compatibility issues with other devices?

[Sponge-worthy]

Originally Posted by HarmlessWaterBuffalo

Isn't MP3 320kbps lossless?

how are aac and atracs compatibility issues with other devices?

MP3 is not lossless. AAC compatitibility is getting better overall, but it is still hit-or-miss with many devices. ATRAC compatibility could be a real problem, though.

Originally Posted by dk3dknight

Are audio cds actually lossless to begin with?

"Lossless" or "lossy" are terms normally used to describe compression. Much like PCM audio, audio CDs are actually uncompressed, so those terms don't apply.

[dk3dknight]

Originally Posted by HarmlessWaterBuffalo

Isn't MP3 320kbps lossless? yes, like you said MP3 is the most widely used so it will be compatible with other devices if i wanted to port it elsewhere. but if aac and atrac are superior then i will go that route.


how are aac and atracs compatibility issues with other devices?

I still vote with your ears.. while mp3 is the most compatible... theres sacrifices..

Originally Posted by ryan69969

"Lossless" or "lossy" are terms normally used to describe compression. Much like PCM audio, audio CDs are actually uncompressed, so those terms don't apply.

Okay thats why I asked.. personally I rip everything as ATRAC and never looked back. Cheers..

[Trogdor2010]

PCM? Wouldn't you want to take advantage of your hard drive and put real CD quality audio in your hard drive?

[PS3-Playb3yond]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

PCM? Wouldn't you want to take advantage of your hard drive and put real CD quality audio in your hard drive?

I didn't know you could use PCM for music, interesting!

I say MP3 is just fine for music, especially for 320kbps.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by PS3-Playb3yond

I didn't know you could use PCM for music, interesting!

I say MP3 is just fine for music, especially for 320kbps.

When you burn a CD with the PS3, you only copy the file in a compressed ACC track at 128Kbps, which is basically a MP3 file. To get a pure CD quality track (PCM), may require processing from the computer to allow you to convert the burned CD files to PCM (or WAV. which is usually called that for digital downloads), audiophiles definately prefer using PCM for their music and not MP3s (or compressed music files), a PCM track from a Blu ray is basically a Multichannel CD soundtrack (as a stereo or monural track from a Blu ray is a Stereo or monural CD track). I'm kind of surprised some PS3 owners have these set ups to listen to lossless tracks for movies while they don't care if the file is an MP3 file for music. I still wonder why doesn't sony advertise PCM tracks on their games, yet they have dolby digital tagged on them.