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Hi everyone,

 

This is my first post here.

 

I am completely new to computer audio and have just got myself a Mac mini - Ipod touch (for remote purpose) - Dac.

 

I am still kind of in the process of setting this up, but I have a question.......

 

If I am using Apple lossless to play through my main system, and, I am using the touch as remote, synced to that Itunes library, can I store mp3's on the touch for use on the move away from home??? and if so, how do I transfer mp3 to it when all my music is stored in lossless format on the Mac???

 

I know this is very likely to be a stupid question, but please bare with me, I am a total novice.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

T.

 

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You can store mp3 or Apple lossless files on iTouch. You use Itunes to upload songs to the iTouch via USB, it's just a drag and drop system and is very fast with USB. A whole album takes just a few seconds.

 

Might be a bit confused here. Mp3 files can be converted to Apple Lossess, right click the song in iTunes and you're done. The Apple application Remote will play the itunes library, and the iTouch has a separate Ipod type function to play local files on the iTouch when you're away from home.

 

When you rip your CD's, itunes needs to know what format you want to store your songs as. Under edit preferences, General tab, import settings and set lossess. Add error correction and it's done.

 

When you do the conversion to Lossless, a 128k MP3 will sound not so great, even with lossless, it will retain the below par sound quality.

 

AS Profile Equipment List        Say NO to MQA

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Thanks for the reply.

 

Yes, I think perhaps we're at cross purposes due to me not explaining it clearly.

 

What I am looking to do is to rip or store music on my mini/external drive in Apple lossless to play on my main system, using the Itouch as a remote to control it. I think I'm ok with that part and have set Itunes to import in Apple Lossless.

 

But......

 

I also want to be able to use the touch on the move, and so, want to take some of my library to use on it, but in MP3 format, so as not to use heaps of space.

 

The question is...... How can I take files from my Mac mini (which are stored as lossless) and transfer these to my touch (as MP3) to use away from home???

 

Is it better for me to have a separate library, or is there a way I can transcode the files into MP3 for use on the touch, while retaining the lossless files on the mini for home use?

 

I hope that is clearer, I know I'm not the best with this stuff.

 

Many thanks again.

 

T.

 

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Choice 1.

Get the 32GB iTouch or two of them? :). How much do you want to take with you? If you carry your notebook around, copy your ALAC library to a small portable drive and run iTunes from there. They go up to 500GB + in just a USB cable these days. Take the itouch with you so you can change songs on the itouch if you want a change.

 

Choice 2.

If you want to suffer SQ, you can write to a virtual CD, and make MP3 to upload to the iTouch. Bit of a compromise. Software I know that works is Noteburner. http://www.noteburner.com/ available for Mac and Windows.

 

iTunes can only burn to a CD to "export", so Noteburner mimics the CD and can then convert to WAV, MP3 (any bit rate) as a series of files. To upload to the iTouch, you add the created files to the iTunes Library, and from there to the iTouch. Noteburner can also convert M4p to flac, ogg, a host of others.

 

Bit of a workaround there sacrificing SQ, you will hear the difference. Quality versus quantity!

 

AS Profile Equipment List        Say NO to MQA

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Good question. Do this.

 

1) Add the "kind" column to your master library list in Itunes if you have not done this. Right click on the column headers to do this. This will show what each track is encoded in.

2) Change your preferences/Import Settings to MP3 or AAC whichever you prefer. This will activate the ability to convert from lossless to MP3 or AAC.

3) Right click on any tunes or group of tunes you want to create an MP3 version of. This will create a COPY of the lossless version as an MP3 and you will be able distinguish from the original with the Kind column

4) Create playlists with the MP3 versions and sync them to your IPOD.

5) Remember to reset your import preferences back to lossless before ripping any new CDs

 

Test the above on one or two or three tracks first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have this "problem" too ... my solution was a combination of scripts and programmes I found at Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes

 

I use his iTunes Library Manager to create a second iTunes library on the one Mac. Yes you can just hold down Option (MacOS) / Shift (PC) but the iTunes Library Manager just makes it easier. The free version allows you 2 libraries with more available with the paid for version. There is a few quirks with it when using the remote control - sometimes it drops the association between the two.

 

After installing this I had two copies of my library (one set of files). The next thing you need to do is ensure in the new library you are going to use for your lossy files, is to deselect "copy to library" option. I also created a new location for my music files so I have one set of music as Lossless and another as Lossy AAC.

 

The second script I use is called Quick Convert. This allows you to select a set of files, then run the script and it automatically converts it to a format of your choice - AAC or MP3, etc. You can also tell it to remove the original file (make sure you remove it and don't delete it).

 

The way I do the convert is to create a Smart Playlist selecting all Apple Lossless files.

 

If you need further help please ask.

 

I find Doug's AppleScripts site a great resource for automating tasks on iTunes on the Mac ... unfortunately doesn't work on Windows.

 

Best wishes

Eloise

 

Eloise

---

...in my opinion / experience...

While I agree "Everything may matter" working out what actually affects the sound is a trickier thing.

And I agree "Trust your ears" but equally don't allow them to fool you - trust them with a bit of skepticism.

keep your mind open... But mind your brain doesn't fall out.

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Thanks again for the replies on this everyone, really appreciated.

 

Bottlerocket, I used the technique you suggested and it works well.

It's a bit of a fiddle to create a copy file in MP3, but it's definitely worth it in my view.

 

What I'd like to know now is, how can I get the album art onto the touch?

 

I've got artwork is on Itunes library on the Mac for the lossless files by using amazon albumart, but I have no idea how to get this across to the touch containing the MP3 files.

 

I'm sure this is a simple fix, but being a numpty newbie, I ain't got a clue.

 

Any advice folks???

 

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To retrieve album artwork for songs in your library, select the songs and choose Advanced > Get Album Artwork. The song must be available in the iTunes Store.

 

To have iTunes automatically download album artwork when you import a CD or add songs with missing artwork, choose Edit > Preferences, click Store, and select “Automatically download missing album artwork.”

 

 

 

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