Itunes vs itunes+ music

[BLindsay]

there much of a difference that you can hear that anyone has noticed? its 128kbps vs 256kbps, it would cost me $200 to upgrade (.30c a song) all of my purchased songs to itunes+ (ones that are available to do so anyways) which is double the bit rate and removes the drm.

[MattVollet]

iTunes+ is awesome, mostly for the DRM side of it though, rather than the quality upgrade.

As far as telling a difference it really depends on what type of music you have. If you have a library full of Jazz or classic motown, it may be worth upgrading because there is some discrepancy on the high end (cymbals mostly) You'll also hear some timbre change in the brass and woodwind section, but mostly from the new frequencies playing with each other, more than it actually being a part of the sound.

I would say this also depends on what you're listening to it on. If it's mostly coming out of a 15 year old car, laptop, or earbud speakers, I would say no. If you have a high end headphones, a nice car sound system, or a home theater system you listen to it on, then it may be worth it.


If you want to actually HEAR what you're missing in the regular iTunes songs- pick one of your favorite songs you've downloaded, go download Audacity (it's free), and import the regular iTunes and the iTunes+ versions, then flip the wave on the old iTunes version, and only the difference between the two songs will play back.

Let me know if you want to do that test and I can help you further.

[BLindsay]

Originally Posted by MattVollet

iTunes+ is awesome, mostly for the DRM side of it though, rather than the quality upgrade.

As far as telling a difference it really depends on what type of music you have. If you have a library full of Jazz or classic motown, it may be worth upgrading because there is some discrepancy on the high end (cymbals mostly) You'll also hear some timbre change in the brass and woodwind section, but mostly from the new frequencies playing with each other, more than it actually being a part of the sound.

I would say this also depends on what you're listening to it on. If it's mostly coming out of a 15 year old car, laptop, or earbud speakers, I would say no. If you have a high end headphones, a nice car sound system, or a home theater system you listen to it on, then it may be worth it.


If you want to actually HEAR what you're missing in the regular iTunes songs- pick one of your favorite songs you've downloaded, go download Audacity (it's free), and import the regular iTunes and the iTunes+ versions, then flip the wave on the old iTunes version, and only the difference between the two songs will play back.

Let me know if you want to do that test and I can help you further.

well im listening it it either on what you see in my sig, or a pretty good aftermarket car audio system, but more so what you see below.

I listen to mostly rock/metal with a little dance/electronic/rap/pop thrown in there.

that sounds cool ill check out Audacity when i get home from work, thanks!

[supersix4]

I noticed and upgraded the few songs I have had to buy thru them Big difference at least for my ears + in the car I notice it even more

[LORDs_angellos]

Wow, I'm glad I didn't get that into iTunes music before. $200 just to upgrade songs is really steep! I ony have to pay about $25.

[brettallica]

Friggin Apple!!!

The difference between 126 and 258 is significant, especially when you're listening to it through a proper system. As others have said, if you're listening to it mainly through earbuds or a car stereo with weak amp/crappy speakers, you will probably not notice much of a difference. Also, to further back up what MattVollet has already stated, the type of music is a pretty big factor. I'd say instrumentally heavy music (jazz, funk, etc.) has more important sound in the high range, which gets noticeably compressed when listening to it in lower bitrates; if you're a big fan of rap music, you can definitely get away with lower quality rips.

I try to get nothing less than 192, at any time, regardless of the genre. If I have the option to download 256 or 320 or something, I'll do it. The difference in file size is worth it to me. I stay away from 128 at all costs.

[BLindsay]

Originally Posted by MattVollet

iTunes+ is awesome, mostly for the DRM side of it though, rather than the quality upgrade.

As far as telling a difference it really depends on what type of music you have. If you have a library full of Jazz or classic motown, it may be worth upgrading because there is some discrepancy on the high end (cymbals mostly) You'll also hear some timbre change in the brass and woodwind section, but mostly from the new frequencies playing with each other, more than it actually being a part of the sound.

I would say this also depends on what you're listening to it on. If it's mostly coming out of a 15 year old car, laptop, or earbud speakers, I would say no. If you have a high end headphones, a nice car sound system, or a home theater system you listen to it on, then it may be worth it.


If you want to actually HEAR what you're missing in the regular iTunes songs- pick one of your favorite songs you've downloaded, go download Audacity (it's free), and import the regular iTunes and the iTunes+ versions, then flip the wave on the old iTunes version, and only the difference between the two songs will play back.

Let me know if you want to do that test and I can help you further.

hmm i cant seem to get audacity to work with my itunes music, does it actually support that format?

[Chevypower]

Fortunately I buy CDs, and rip them in to iTunes using AIFF uncompressed. I will never need to buy them again. :-)

[Galley]

Originally Posted by Chevypower

Fortunately I buy CDs, and rip them in to iTunes using AIFF uncompressed. I will never need to buy them again. :-)

Same here, except I use Apple Lossless.

[BLindsay]

little bump for trying to figure out why audacity wont work with my itunes music?

[ObiTrentKenobi]

Originally Posted by BLindsay

there much of a difference that you can hear that anyone has noticed? its 128kbps vs 256kbps, it would cost me $200 to upgrade (.30c a song) all of my purchased songs to itunes+ (ones that are available to do so anyways) which is double the bit rate and removes the drm.

not ALL of the itunes+ versions are better. you'll need to listen to the preview and your drm version and compare.

i only upgraded a couple songs because they sounded much better. i.e. Alicia Keys "no one" is 10 times better.

[BLindsay]

Originally Posted by ObiTrentKenobi

not ALL of the itunes+ versions are better. you'll need to listen to the preview and your drm version and compare.

i only upgraded a couple songs because they sounded much better. i.e. Alicia Keys "no one" is 10 times better.

damn thats alot of listening to my songs over again lol

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by LORDs_angellos

Wow, I'm glad I didn't get that into iTunes music before. $200 just to upgrade songs is really steep! I ony have to pay about $25.

yeah mine was about $6-10 I just really started getting into it like 2mo. ago