I reconverted all the albums I used iTunes to create mp3s for starting back in 2011. They all sported slightly-dulled top end and a sort of smearing between instruments that can best be described as a lack of definition and instrument-separation / integrity. IOW, the outlines that defined what they were were smudged. This was very obvious and annoying, but I'd originally opted for the utility of iTunes' conversion speed as I had so many CDs to convert.toodamnhip wrote:For the longest of time, I used iTunes for Mp3s. It sounded very good and was VERY FAST. Before DP 9, and maybe even before DP 8, I thought DP mp3 was slow and kind of sucked. With the latest versions and the mp3s DP now makes, I use DP over iTunes and have tested it and can say it sounds better than iTunes.
I learned the hard way. I only finished sorting out my iTunes library last year, rebuilding it from scratch since 2011, and reconverting everything that had originally been handled by the iTunes algorithm. It seems obvious to me now that Apple chose speed over quality in a nod to the practicalities and lower standards of todays end-user.
Everything had been done in "True Stereo", not the interleaved rubbish which messes with instruments' positions in the stereo field, and at 320k constant bit rate, but still, as I said, the effect was obvious, even on a sub-par system.
I opted to use LAME in Audacity for all my reconversions, and have continued to do so; there's no need to fire our hefty and much-loved DP up for this purpose alone. The difference in the end result is like night and day.
