The iPod is not the reason music sounds bad – format and compression matter!

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Music today lives on portable devices, in computer hard drives and out on servers that deliver it over the Internet. Many of today’s customers are used to having their music choices with them everywhere they go, yet those same customers do not always understand the choices they have in making that digital music file have the best probability of sounding like the original recording. You can convey some basics to your customers that will make what you install sound and perform better for those with portable music players (such as an iPod).

Just because something is on a CD does not make it a good recording. Loud and good sounds are two different things. Recording methodology varies widely based on the target audience. In many modern recordings for Top 40, R&B and Hip-Hop music, something called Dynamic Range Compression is implemented to make the overall average volume level of a song seem much louder for most of the song. There are fewer swings from low to high volume (dynamic range) so the “entertainment value” is not necessarily as pleasant to the ear as other, more dynamic recordings can be. Dynamic Range Compression is part of the original recording, not a file compression format. Some CDs are just better candidates for great sound quality than others. Find examples of both to demonstrate to your customers.

Once a CD is “ripped” into a music management program to go onto a portable device, you have a choice for file formats and, in most of those cases, the bit rate (or degree of file compression) for that file format. Many people feel like you get more bang for the buck when you can squeeze every possible song you’ve ever owned on to an iPod by using low-bit-rate (highly compressed) files, but the reality is reduced sound quality when you drop below a certain threshold. Storage is much less costly these days, and there is simply no need to sacrifice sound quality for a super small file size.

The player must play back whatever file format is chosen, so this somewhat determines what file type is used when ripping the original CD. It’s also a concern for consumers when purchasing music online because some players only play certain file types, particularly if there is Digital Rights Management (DRM) as part of the file. Ripping from a CD is completely free of DRM and allows users to move audio files from player to player without restrictions. MP3 is perhaps the most popular format, however Apple iPod users with iTunes have a default setting that uses AAC encoding for MPEG 4 audio files (.m4a). There are also many “lossless” file formats that are virtually indistinguishable from the file on the original CD. Many customers don’t know you can choose the file format and compression rates in iTunes, and you can help them maximize their ability to rip files from their CDs in the best possible manner.

Buying music online often means you are limited to whatever bit rate the store offers, although some services offer a higher bit rate option for a few more cents per file. You should recommend that your customers choose that option whenever possible, assuming of course that sound quality matters to them. When people share music from websites like Limewire, they often get the most compressed, worst-possible-quality copies of music by doing that. It’s also important to let your customers know that “free” music to them may have bad sound that you (or they) can’t control. Ripping from original CDs is always preferred because whoever is doing the ripping controls far more of the variables that affect sound quality.

1-Turn any internal EQ settings in the media player off when it’s connected to a car system.

2-Rip from CDs whenever possible and do so with lossless file formats where supported by the player. Apple iTunes uses Apple Lossless. Other popular formats include FLAC, WAV lossless or the original WAV files from the CD.

* Example (in iTunes): Choose Edit>Preferences, then on the General tab select “Import Settings,” choose “Apple Lossless Encoder,” then press “OK.”

3-Choose lossless formats first, but when encoding using compressed media formats (MP3, AAC, WMA, etc.) use low-compression, high-bit-rate encoding wherever possible to preserve the best possible sound quality. Generally this means 256kbps or better AAC files in iTunes, it’s WMA Variable Bit Rate (240-355kbps) in Windows Media Player and with any MP3 choose 320kbps or better.

4-Practice and use this on your own media players. If you don’t know how to do this, why would your customers think you’re an expert? It’s also useful to rip a few CDs at low bit rates and in lossless formats to sample the differences for yourself and drive home your point. iPod and MP3 players are not the devil! Get over it and help them sound great!

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