Is their a difference ripping at aac or converting from flac

[michael31986]

So I have some flac files. I want to convert to iTunes plus… 256kbps aac.

Is their a difference between ripping the album directly in the “music” app at 256 aac or converting flac to aac?

 

[cbautis2]

256 AAC is a lossy file. If you want to not lose fidelity, you can choose to convert to lossless ALAC instead

 

[michael31986]

256 AAC is a lossy file. If you want to not lose fidelity, you can choose to convert to lossless ALAC instead

I prefer to have all my music in iTunes plus (256). Just not sure if converting from flac or straight from cd rip is same quality.
Some songs I found online are flac files and I converted them to acc 256 but I wonder if it would have been better if the person ripped it at “iTunes plus” from the cd

 

[mikzn]

So I have some flac files. I want to convert to iTunes plus… 256kbps aac.

Is their a difference between ripping the album directly in the “music” app at 256 aac or converting flac to aac?

As far as I know - Apple Music (or iTunes) do not convert or play .flac files ? - strange because macOS has been able to play .flac files for a long time back - via quicktime

FWIW - I use Permuute to convert .flac files to .mp3 or .m4a (apple store) or whatever you wish - for use in Music - and then I create a archive sub-folder in the artist folder and keep the "orginal .flac files" in case I want to use them later for a better quality conversion - based on the theory that every-time you convert it will be be less quality than the original files

edit to correct .4Ma to .m4a - typo

 

[michael31986]

As far as I know - Apple Music (or iTunes) do not convert or play .flac files ? - strange because macOS has been able to play .flac files for a long time back - via quicktime

FWIW - I use Permuute to convert .flac files to .mp3 or .4Ma (apple store) or whatever you wish - for use in Music - and then I create a archive sub-folder in the artist folder and keep the "orginal .flac files" in case I want to use them later for a better quality conversion - based on the theory that every-time you convert it will be be less quality than the original files

Yea I use a third party to convert my flax files to (iTunes plus).
Just was wondering if any difference in directly ripping to iTunes plus or converting a flax to iTunes plus.
But I think it’s the same.

 

[ian87w]

Yea I use a third party to convert my flax files to (iTunes plus).
Just was wondering if any difference in directly ripping to iTunes plus or converting a flax to iTunes plus.
But I think it’s the same.

It is the same.
FLAC is lossless, so it's the same as the CD it was ripped from.
And since CD = FLAC quality wise (lossless), the encoded AAC from either should be the same.

Personally, I would transcode from FLAC as it's faster than ripping the CD (and less potential for errors).

 

[mikzn]

Yea I use a third party to convert my flax files to (iTunes plus).
Just was wondering if any difference in directly ripping to iTunes plus or converting a flax to iTunes plus.
But I think it’s the same.

My preferences are - to convert from CD with iTunes / Music with custom pref settings .mp3 at 320 bit rate- see screen shot - why convert to flac if you have the orginal CD?

For Flac files I convert to the similar 320 bit settings on the 3rd party software and keep the orginal .flac files archived as mentioned above.

I avoid the Apple lossless and other apple proprietary formats - but my "Apple purchased" music downloads as .4ma files which are non apple format - so I don't convert them (can always download again later)

 

[casperes1996]

Is their a difference between ripping the album directly in the “music” app at 256 aac or converting flac to aac?

Assuming the encoder/converter uses the same encoding strategy and the Flac is the same sample rate and bit depth as the CD (44.1/16 (or higher)), no it'll be the same result.

As far as I know - Apple Music (or iTunes) do not convert or play .flac files ? - strange because macOS has been able to play .flac files for a long time back - via quicktime

Correct, but it will support ALAC which is a lossless format just like FLAC so there will be no conversion loss between Flac and alac. You can convert back and forth between those all day long and maintain quality, cause really they're just different containers for the same raw data.
XLD can convert and decode various lossless audio files including both ALAC and FLAC. It's the X Lossless Decoder.

 

[michael31986]

My preferences are - to convert from CD with iTunes / Music with custom pref settings .mp3 at 320 bit rate- see screen shot - why convert to flac if you have the orginal CD?

View attachment 1818704

For Flac files I convert to the similar 320 bit settings on the 3rd party software and keep the orginal .flac files archived as mentioned above.

I avoid the Apple lossless and other apple proprietary formats - but my "Apple purchased" music downloads as .4ma files which are non apple format - so I don't convert them (can always download again later)

They are files I found online of an album. So I don’t have the cd. So the files are flax or aalc but I don’t need that taking up space so I convert to m4a.

 

[mikzn]

Yeah I get that - especially for iOS devices with limited storage - ie iPod's etc

I mostly convert to .mp3's for this reason and more important to me because they are the most compatible files for may different devices - apple or otherwise

For my main music / media folder - on my External media drive - keeping a few original .flac files does not eat up a lot or space and nice to have the originals in the future - Space is not a big deal when comparing the space these require compared to video files and pictures etc.

I don’t need that taking up space so I convert to m4a.

I have a lot of .m4a files - mostly from Apple "Purchased Music" Apple store - I leave them alone - less work / time

Many of my first / old CD's were ripped to low file size 128 bit / 192 bit - back in the early 2000's Sound Jam days - slowly re ripping those CD's to 320 bit

 

[michael31986]

Yeah I get that - especially for iOS devices with limited storage - ie iPod's etc

I mostly convert to .mp3's for this reason and more important to me because they are the most compatible files for may different devices - apple or otherwise

For my main music / media folder - on my External media drive - keeping a few original .flac files does not eat up a lot or space and nice to have the originals in the future - Space is not a big deal when comparing the space these require compared to video files and pictures etc.



I have a lot of .m4a files - mostly from Apple "Purchased Music" Apple store - I leave them alone - less work / time

Many of my first / old CD's were ripped to low file size 128 bit / 192 bit - back in the early 2000's Sound Jam days - slowly re ripping those CD's to 320 bit

Do you think it’s best to use vbr or cbr. iTunes plus import seems to default to 256 vbr. I hear vbr is best

 

[casperes1996]

Do you think it’s best to use vbr or cbr. iTunes plus import seems to default to 256 vbr. I hear vbr is best

vbr is better, yes.
With a constant bitrate, the specified bitrate will be used to encode the entire track.
With variable bitrate, the specified bitrate is considered more an average. If there's a very complex section in a track, it may get a higher bitrate, while a simpler section of the track gets a lower bitrate