Can't get itunes to rip at 24 bit

[Bobby]

I am just getting started ripping my CD collection on a Mac mini running Mac w/ OS X 10.5.6 with iTunes 8.0.2. I have configured the Audio MIDI Setup for 96000.0 Hz and 2ch-24bit. I set the import setting in iTunes to rip AIFF files with error correction and auto Sample Rate, auto Sample Size and auto Channels. When I rip CDs, I get a Sample Size of 16 bit. Shouldn't this be 24 bit? Am I doing something wrong?

 

I'm new to lossless ripping. I've never used anything but MP3s and an ipod.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Bobby

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Bobby - Good question, you're not the first person here to ask this. Unfortunately all CDs are 16 bit and ripping them in iTunes will be 16 bit. It is possible to convert 16 bit to 24 bit but in my opinion that is fruitless. Some people here have done it though. Also the Audio Midi Settings are for playback only and will not effect your ripping at all. If you download some 24/96 content from HDtracks or iTrax you will be able to play it back at full 24/96 resolution from a Mac. Of course you'll want a DAC that can accept 24/96 but that may be another story. Let me know if this clears anything up for you or you want to continue the discussion.

 

[Bobby]

Chris,

 

Thank you for your quick response and for clearing this up for me; and thank you for such an outstanding resource! You've done a great job with this site.

 

I recently bought a Benchmark DAC1 Pre to use with my Mac Mini. I plan to use it as a DAC and a headphone amp. Is there anything else I should be doing to optimize the quality of the music? I'm planning to try music from HDtracks and iTrax as soon as I get the basics figured out.

 

Thanks again!

Bobby

 

[poop]

Hi Bobby,

 

Check out the appropriate Benchmark Wiki (if you haven't already) to ensure you are using the correct settings for your setup. This will run you through everything related to output (things like turning off eq, unity gain on digi volume etc). http://extra.benchmarkmedia.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

 

[Bobby]

Chris,

 

I went to the Benchmark Wiki and got it all set up. I'm ripping and listening now and it sounds great! Thanks for your help!

 

Bobby

 

[poop]

It's an amazing device, the quality of sound I get from my DAC1 USB still surprises me at times. Can't imagine I will ever want to part with it (unless I get a PRE I guess). Great to hear you are enjoying yours!

 

[Bobby]

Poo,

 

I agree. What kind of speakers are you using? I'm looking for speakers and trying to find a good match.

 

Bobby

 

[poop]

Krix Neuphonix in my main system and Quad 12L in a secondary system. I also use Sennheiser HD650 and Shure SE530 straight out of the internal headphone amp. 530s aren't really suited due to attenuation, but they suit my purpose and still sound wonderful!

 

In looking for a match I would narrow your choices by listening to various models over a little time at different dealers (or one large one should you be so lucky), then take in your DAC1 and a source with lossless files and try out the more specific selection of speakers you decide on. Bear in mind that they will change a little in your listening environment anyway. There honestly are some amazing sounding speakers out there at reasonable prices - just throw away your preconceptions and trust your ears... ignore the salesperson for good measure!

 

Good luck!

 

[g8k3pr]

Bobby,

 

Unfortunately, ripping CDs to ALAC in iTunes will only products 16bit / 44.1khz files. I would steer clear of AIFF since they take up way too much space (I know I tried to use AIFF for 24 bit/96khz content). I too just recently ripped 525+ CDs to ALAC. They are all at 16bit / 44.1khz and this is fine. Even when you set your output to 96khz, 24bit using the Audio Midi Setup utility. That's because in order to output the 16bit / 44.1khz data, the Mac will have to upsample using Core Audio to match the output settings (that is same same library used by most converters). I know and have tested this on both the Analog output as well as the Digital output of my Mac Mini. So, no worries.

 

However, there is another way you can upsample the CD during the initial rip. For that I use a modified version of Max for the Mac (that I modified to meet this very need) and a customized preference file that has two ALAC settings. One is for regular 16bit/44.1khz conversion to ALAC. The other is for converting either original 24bit/96khz FLAC/AIFF or for upsampling CD content. It works very well well. But remember, the resulting ALAC file will be ~3 times the size of a 16 bit/44.1khz file and the benefits for analog output are marginal at best. For digital output I have yet to hear a difference.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Stuart

 

[hatari]

I also had the same question as Bobby... this is helpful. If I may:

 

- so when I take my Opus3 24bit HDCD and rip it via itunes (same setup as Bobby), it stores at 16/44? Is there a loss of information here, or simply some form of compression?

 

When it's replayed and if MIDI settings are 24/96 on output, do I effectively "reconstitute" the original data available on the HDCD?

 

Foregive my ignorance and thanks. I may have a fundamental lack of understanding of bits and sampling.

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Hatari - I'm not totally sure about your specific Opus3 24bit HDCD. Is it on a Compact Disc playable in a CD player or is it on a Data DVD or similar data disc? If this is on a normal CD the content is only 16/44.1 despite whatever sample rate it may have been recorded at. Ripping to 16/44.1 should mean you use the 16/44.1 setting in audio midi for playback. Setting it to 24/96 is not advised in my opinion unless your content is 24/96 as stored on your hard drive. Upsampling from 16/44.1 to 24/96 is an awkward upsample because 44.1 and 96 are not multiples of each other. 88.2 would be the better upsample if you wanted to do this. Anyway, you're not reconstituting anything by ripping to 16/44.1 and playing it back at a different sample rate.

 

Let me know if I've only confused you more :~)

 

[BEEMB]

 

Stuart,

 

Beg to differ with you there. I'd encourage anybody to RIP files as uncompressed audio such as AIFF or WAV, or FLAC. Storage space is so cheap, why not.

 

Guess it's personal preference.

 

Matt.

 

[hatari]

So no matter whether K2HD or HDCD or XRCD24, it is stored as 16/44 info on the disc? Is it a bad conclusion to say that only files that are specifically stored and available as 24bit 88/96..192khz can be effectively played back as such? So this really gets us to the realm of specific computer downloads via the net, rather than anything else. The K2 HD sampler (FIM K2 HD 078) I have, for example, has a track from Reference Recordings (The Hot Club of San Francisco, Star Dust). This disc says "100khz and 24 bit resolution!" on the front. Is it fair to say this is "regular" CD, but has tracks that a HD CD player or DAC can effectively upsample to get this extra definition and dynamics?

 

DVD-Audio and SACD I suppose are a different beast where the material is 24 bit on the disc, but I'm not aware on how these would be "ripped", other than the "hybrid" versions that have both CD and SACD tracks.

 

Am I getting it? I have read everything in the Academy section (just so you don't chastise me).

 

All the best

 

 

 

[hatari]

Yes - all AIFF. I'm sorry, didn't mean to imply otherwise. I'm simply trying to get a handle on higher definition files, and whether they can be ripped using the Apple optical drives, or whether downloads via specialized sites are the way to go.

 

Thanks

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Hatari - No matter what a Compact Disc says as long as it is a music Compact Disc the content will be 16/44.1. Data discs like CD-R and DVD-R can hold higher resolution material because it's stored as regular data files. Any file can be played at 24/192 or any other sample rate by simply upsampling, but you won't get anything out of it in my opinion. You can't turn a low resolution file into a high resolution file. HDCD is a little different because an HDCD player can squeeze extra resolution out of an HDCD encoded file but the file is still whatever resolution was on the disc.

 

DVD-Audio can be ripped using DVDAExplorer.

 

Let us know if you need more clarification.

 

[wgb113]

Poo,

 

How do you find the QUAD 12L to match with the Benchmark?

 

Bill

 

[praer4life]

hi hitari

just saw your post and remembered when i joined it was a lot of information as to why my setup would not go high def and was there a difference. myself i changed the format to wav on logic 8. but as the guys say whats there is still the same only the file was bigger. what i did do was something most people wont which is mp3s i had i remastered them. otherwise again as these guys say once ripped at 16bit you could then upsample to a higher resolution while outputeing through a dac they could advice you on. but i see you got the benchmark good unit i say that was my little story for you.

 

respects raju

 

[bikemig]

I recently purchased what I think is a 24 96 audio dvd. The cover says its 24 96 and my macbook drive can read it which must mean its an audio dvd, right? It's Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (RCA, Gunter Wand). I ripped it in apple lossless and the music sounds very fine on my Grado SR60 headset. So how would I rip it at 24/96? Does itunes support that (I use a mac)? Or do I have to use a different software to get the higher bitrate?

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi bikemig - iTunes cannot rip a DVD-Audio disc. Does your disc actually have a DVD-Audio logo on it or was it just remastered at 24/96?

 

[bikemig]

Chris, thanks for the reply. Interesting. I guess it was just remastered at 24/96. Can an ordinary CD be mastered at 24/96 then? I thought some audio DVDs had a CD layer as well? Miguel

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Miguel - The remastering can be done at any sample rate and then at 16/44.1 version created for the CD. Some DVDs do have a CD layer. These are usually called Dual Discs.

 

[g8k3pr]

Bobby,

 

I've recently switched to XLD (http://bit.ly/XLDMac) for all my Macintosh based audio conversion and ripping. It supports all the popular formats including ALAC (Apple iTunes lossless), including ALAC at 24bits/96kHz content (Audio DVD). So with that said, I would try to take your 24/96 FLAC or DVD audio files and process them through XLD. I've done this numerous time with great success. I output all my audio at 24bits/96kHz it just sounds better, deeper stage, etc. Computer does a great job of upsampling. And, XLD will gladly convert and keep the same bit depth and sampling or the original content (WAV, FLAC, AIFF, etc).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Stuart