MP3 to AIFF Encoder

[jtwrace]

I purchased some music that's only available in MP3 format. What's the best way to convert to AIFF Encoder? Should I use Max?

 

[jtwrace]

anyone?

 

[cbarber]

Yes, Max should be fine for that. When I've had that situation I've converted to AIFF using MAX to play through amarra and it was better than the MP3s through Itunes.

 

[jtwrace]

Great! That's what I'll do then. Now I just got to remember how to use Max. Errr.

 

[rmva]

Sorry but you cannot extract lossy to AIFF and expect it to be AIFF quality, that can only be done with Lossless formats like ALAC and FLAC. If you do this with MP3 you will only waste hard disk space, but the quality (or lack there of) will remain the same.

 

Ruud

 

[Christopher]

Hi jtwrace,

 

As you probably already know, MP3 (short for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) is an encoding format that uses a form of lossy data compression. If you have limited hard drive space, or if you want to store a lot of music on a portable player (such as an iPod or other MP3 player), data compression can be helpful because you can store a lot more music with less storage space.

 

While storage is a benefit, there is a potential downside to compressed files. Lossy compression can result in reduced audio quality due to lower bit rates. Some say that audio can be compressed up to 10:1 without any audible loss in quality. Personally, I prefer lossless (e.g., AIFF) instead of lossy compression (such as MP3 and AAC).

 

This brings us to an important question; namely, why convert MP3 to AIFF? In my opinion, lost bits cannot be recovered by converting compressed files to a lossless format. As per Ruud’s post, converting MP3 to AIFF will increase the file size, but I don’t think that you will gain any more quality upon playback. In a sense, you’re getting the downside without the upside.

 

Having said this, I regularly convert compressed “purchased” files from iTunes to AIFF. I do this because Amarra currently does not play compressed and rights managed music (it defaults to iTunes instead of Amarra). If it were not for this issue with Amarra, I would not be in the habit of converting compressed files to AIFF.

 

If you still want to convert MP3 to AIFF, you have a few options. If you’re using iTunes, you can right click on a track and select Create AIFF Version. You can also convert multiple tracks, or an entire playlist, by selecting all of the desired tracks and then following the same steps above. When you create an AIFF version using iTunes, the original file remains and iTunes will add the newly created AIFF file without editing or deleting the original file. In my experience, iTunes will also preserve Album Art and certain metadata, such as Rating and Play Count, when creating the AIFF version. I find this very helpful.

 

MAX and XLD will also convert MP3 to AIFF. I find the process of locating and selecting tracks easier with iTunes, but MAX and XLD work just as well.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,

Chris

 

 

[rmva]

Chris said: "Having said this, I regularly convert compressed “purchased” files from iTunes to AIFF. I do this because Amarra currently does not play compressed and rights managed music (it defaults to iTunes instead of Amarra). If it were not for this issue with Amarra, I would not be in the habit of converting compressed files to AIFF."

 

Sorry I had no idea, never tried MP3 with Ammara.

 

cheers,

Ruud

 

[jtwrace]

Thank you gentlemen.

 

Yes, the only reason I wanted to convert to an AIFF version is to use Amarra. I just converted to AIFF in itunes....so much easier then Max. Hopefully it sounds the same.