DP MP3 creation vs iTunes.

[NealF]

Hi,

If I have to make a high quality MP3 from my 32 bit or 24 bit master, is there a quality difference in exporting it through DP as opposed to converting it in iTunes?
Thanks.

[HCMarkus]

I use iTunes. You can set your preferred quality in Preferences>Files>Import Settings.

[mikehalloran]

How valuable is your time?

DP takes forever to process and convert in one pass. Bouncing first, then converting to mp3 is generally a lot, lot faster.

Just for kicks, I bounced a one hour 27 track project to mp3 — took 70 minutes. Bouncing it to 48k/24 Core Wave took the 11 minutes. Converting that to mp3 in TwistedWave took another 2.

I did this the last time this subject came up but my results are typical.

[NealF]

Geez. You'd think by now DP would have a quicker bounce time.

I'm just creating 3 to 7 minute MP3s. I usually do it in iTunes. But sometime ago someone told me iTunes wasn't really a quality converter.
Don't have details but it left me wondering.

[bayswater]

I've never had a complaint using iTunes, although I convert to M4a. Haven't made an MP3 for a long time. If I have a lot to do, I use DSP-Quattro for the convenience of the batch converter.

[NealF]

Thanks.

I'm only doing a few at a time. I'll wait a bit to see if anyone else has experience with this.
But it looks like there should be no problem using iTunes.

[mikehalloran]

How you do the eventual conversion doesn't really matter anymore. The standard default using most current CODECs is VBR (variable bit rate) and it sounds very good despite the reams of armchair expert nonsense you'll find on the internet telling you why this goofball or that thinks it's no good. When emailing preview files or uploading to the Library of Congress, VBR is just fine.

If not doing Apple Lossless m4a, Apple defaults to 256K for quality sound on iTunes/AppleMusic for loading on iPhones and iPods. Very few can detect the difference between 320k and 44.1/48k and fewer still will submit to blind A/B comparisons. So, even though I wish that iTunes would put 320K on my phone, it doesn't and the sounds in my car are very good. If your phone or iPod has limited space (my old 2GB Shuffles), then iTunes limits your rate to 128K to conserve space.

There are ways to do batch conversions in iTunes but I prefer TwistedWave because it's fast and I have custom sorting options. Though I have DSP-Q and it has its features, I'm used to TW.

[NealF]

Good info.

I'm just making these to sell from my website. Although they probably will also end up being distributed to all the usual sited.
Thanks.

[stubbsonic]

If I'm exporting soundbites using DP (and converting to MP3 as part of that process)-- there's a bug in DP that causes the export window to become almost infinitely wide - when more than one soundbite is selected. So that's a factor.

I use DP's export (with L.A.M.E. encoder) or Rogue Amoeba's Fission. I'm sure iTunes is fine, but I avoid it only because it adds a layer of complication (wrt how iTunes adds everything to the library).

[NealF]

Yeah.
That bug with the super wide window is a pain. I just save it to the Bounce folder (default) and then move it from the desktop.

[NealF]

Hm.
Just wondering if I should take the 320k mp3s I already made and make 256 instead.
Or is that a waste of time?

Will customers who get the 320 be able to play it on anything they have?

[monkey man]

I usually do it in iTunes. But sometime ago someone told me iTunes wasn't really a quality converter.
Don't have details but it left me wondering.

I've said it many times here and elsewhere:
iTunes' conversion sounds duller and smears transients.

Use L.A.M.E. via Audacity or another host, compare the same files side-by-side with 320k iTunes equivalents and you'll hear the obvious differences.

I surmised many years ago that the obvious-to-me differences were due to Apples' prioritisation of convenience (speed of conversion) over best-possible sound quality, which is understandable given the huge customer base.

I'm not going to get into a debate about this; I never have. The difference in quality between the two systems is so great that I reconverted my entire iTunes library, a huge undertaking.

To be clear, the settings I recommend for ultimate quality using L.A.M.E., and IMHO they apply to iTunes et al as well, are:
320k
CBR
Normal Stereo (not interleaved or so-called "joint stereo").

It's an open-and-shut case AFAIC, an absolute no-brainer.

EDIT:
I would assume that 256k L.A.M.E.-converted material would sound better than iTunes' 320k equivalents and by some margin, such is the chasm I perceive in quality difference. I haven't bothered to determine the bitrate required using L.A.M.E. that would yield iTunes' 320k setting because, well, who cares? I daresay that you'd likely have to go to 196k or even lower to mimic that dullness and transient smear I hear. Ridiculous.

[NealF]

Thanks Monkey Man.
I'll do some testing.

[rp88.2]

Hi Neal:

I usually use XLD (X Lossless Decoder) as my converter from uncompressed formats (AIFF or WAV) to AAC or MP3 encoded files.

In addition to accurately ripping CDs to AIFF, WAV or AAC encoded formats, it works on files too. It provides a 'user-friendly' front end to the CODECs. For MP3, it is using LAME 3.1, It will also convert multiple files in parallel.

The only time I use iTunes for format conversion is when I need to make constant bit rate (CBR) AAC encoded files for some projects that have specifically asked for that format.

Check it out here: http://tmkk.undo.jp/xld/index_e.html

Good luck with your file conversions!

Rich

[Bobbyd]

I used to bounce to mp3s (320 bitrate) but last year I started bouncing to AIFF. Next I open the AIFF with Audicity - partly so I can see the result of the soundwave. From there I export to 320 Mp3. But since I lack expertise in mastering, the results vary in quality anyway.