Compressor or Apple Droplets?

[lJoSquaredl]

Thinking about shrinking down a lot of lossless files to AAC but didn't know which would be better. Apple Droplets is used by artists for mastering to the iTunes Store and seems to be Apple's best way thus far to transfer to lossy with as few issues as possible without losing quality or the artists sound. It only exports to 256 tho, whereas if I use Compressor I can do 320kbps. Anyone know if the Droplet method would be worth it more than the extra bit of kbps? Or does anyone know if Compressor uses the same system as droplets but just with even higher bitrates?

 

[tragicwinding]

Both Compressor and Apple Droplets have their advantages.

Droplets, being used by artists for iTunes mastering, gives you the assurance of a certain quality standard. While it's limited to 256kbps, it's designed to preserve the artist's sound as faithfully as possible within that bitrate.

Compressor, on the other hand, allows you to go up to 320kbps. However, we don't have a concrete answer if it uses the exact same system as Droplets.

The decision really depends on your needs. If maximum bitrate is your goal, go for Compressor. If you want a balance between bitrate and preserving the artist's intent, Droplets might be the better choice.