Audio quality of downloads

What is the comparable quality of music downloaded from iTunes? If we take a CD as the standard how does a download compare and also what quality is then transfered to your iPod? also if a CD is copied to the iTunes what standard is then stored on the computer?

The 2 format/bitrates for store purchases are protected AAC@128 kbps, & purchased AAC&256kbps. Neither of these will match the quality of a CD as they are ripped in a Lossy format, a CD is Lossless. The quality synced to your iPod is the quality of the file in iTunes. The only iPod that can change bitrate "on the fly" during syncing is a shuffle which can take higher bitrate files down to 128kbps. When it comes to importing your CD's, you are the one who determines what quality they are imported into iTunes by setting those options in your importing preferences. You can import in a Lossless format to maintain CD quality sound, or import in one of the Lossy formats. Personally, I import in AAC@256, which I find comes pretty darn close to CD quality sound.

Similar Messages

FLV Audio Quality Drops when viewed online

I have a FLV playing in my SWF and when viewed locally in Flash or just in the Flash player by clicking the file on my desktop the file plays fine with decent quality audio.
However as soon as I upload the file to my website the audio quality seems to drop.
The difference is quite noticeable, is there any reason for this?
Thanks

Thanks for helping, I really appreciate it.
No it just lowers in quality. It plays fine though no stuttering.
When I play in Flash its fine but when I play over the web in sounds really tinny and poor quality.
This site is using the same FLV as mine, I know because I've downloaded it from their website and there's sounds fine, this is how mine sounds in Flash.
http://sleeptolive.com/
Now listen to the same FLV on my website. Can you hear the difference?
http://www.qwerty-design.co.uk/bensons/sleepToLiveIntro.html
Like I say when I listen to this in Flash in sounds great, really good quality, as soon as I upload its sounds different.
Thanks
Richard
Ps
This is the FLV I'm using:
http://files.getdropbox.com/u/508261/sleepToLiveIntroMovie.flv

How Do I Improve Audio Quality on Face Time

Can anyone advise how I can improve the audio quality on Face Time?
Video is acceptable, but audio sounds like a long distance phone call back in the bad old days, lots of background noise and voices barely audible.
I don't think its my internet connection, currently ADSL2+, Line speed 4.9Mbps, download speed 617KB/s

Little Eddy wrote:
Can anyone advise how I can improve the audio quality on Face Time?
Video is acceptable, but audio sounds like a long distance phone call back in the bad old days, lots of background noise and voices barely audible.
I don't think its my internet connection, currently ADSL2+, Line speed 4.9Mbps, download speed 617KB/s
Welcome to Discussions, Little Eddy
Depending on whether you mean sound you hear or how you sound to others, here are some ideas for your consideration:
(1) Call from an area with less background noise.
(2) Use an iPhone. Its sound quality is superior to iPod touch.
(3) Try http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB770G/B It sounds better in my tests than internal mic.
(4) For FaceTime on your iMac, sit closer to the Mac's mic. Also test speaking louder.
(5) For FaceTime on your Mac, try a USB mic like http://store.apple.com/us/product/T6831LL/A
(6) Both you and your connection should test with other users to determine who has the problem.
(7) If sound you hear from other end, ask your contact to double check that his mic is not obstructed by a case, fingers, etc.
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.5); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.5)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

Audio quality on Apple TV G2.

I bought my Apple TV (G2) with the goal to no longer put my CDs and DVDs in a CD/DVD player and so have my audio library, concerts and movies cataloged into iTunes.
I've converted all my CDs (which are originally stereo) to MP3 but now I need convert my DVDs. The big question is regarding the audio quality, because most
of my DVDs has original sound in DTS. How do I convert the DVDs to make sure the Apple TV will play the 6 channel (5.1) with the same quality as the original DVD?

For audio, I did two tests:
FIRST TEST:
In this first test the file was played perfectly in iTunes (MacBook) and AppleTV2. Theoretically, I've got a 5.1 audio in AppleTV2.
SECOND TEST:
In this second test, iTunes perfectly played the file but AppleTV2 had an error and didn't played it.
You are still creating single track audio files. What nightstorm and I were suggesting is that you use the default audio pre-set also. This should ensure compatibility across both systems and devices. Some users have complained that movies containing only the AC3 audio track won't play on their TV devices. Others state that they do play. On my system the ones I've tested with only AC3 audio do play, but since this represents only a few random tests, I cannot say that all such files made this way will play. On the other hand, all of the files I've made with AAC only and AAC + AC3 audio tracks have played correctly (other than my initial 640 Kbps AC3 passthrough test made a year or so ago).
Once again, as you can see, the default Audio preset creates two audio tracks. The first, a stereo AAC track is encoded as Pro Logic II audio using a target data rate of 160 Kbps with a 48.0 KHz sampling rate. This track is the "default" audio used by systems and/or devices not capable of playing AC3 DD5.1 audio. In addition, if connected to a "active" PL II decoder, it will play surround sound. While not true "discrete" surround audio, it is generally audibly better than "passive" PL decoding. As to the AC3 DD5.1 track, it is normally played by "default" when played through an TV device connected to a AC3 DD5.1 decoder equipped TV, receiver, or amplifier and the user has not turned off the passthrough capability.
Here are the statistics for two test clip snippets taken from the same file encoded using my TV preset. As you can see, the audio and video data rates can vary by quite a degree during encoding. This will give you some idea as to how movie content can "drive" the encoder during the compression process. In the first snippet, there is a rapid close-up pan (very difficult to encode) and frequent loud noises in the background that help to drive up the data rates. The other snippet is what I tend to think of as a typical average indoor scene. In any event, I have uploaded both test files so you can download and test then on your system and/or TV device if you wish. I would be interested to know if they play correctly in both iTunes and on your TV2.
Test
Test2
Now I have the following questions:
- Will I get the best (same as the original AC3 5.1 source) audio quality with AAC?
- Why my AppleTV2 couldn't play the content with AC3?
Apple recommended preset is 64 Kbps data rate at 44.1 KHz sampling rate per channel. (I.e., 128 Kbps at 44.1 KHz for stereo.) When listening to things like piano overtones or rain falling on an empty street, I can hear a difference between these settings and stereo 160 Kbps at 48.0 KHz. So I admit I do use the latter for may AAC track. However, as I am on the "high side of 65" and my hearing is not as good as it could be, I really do not hear any differences above these settings. If you want you can try using stereo 320 Kbps at 48.0 KHz and see if you can hear any differences in the quality. Frankly, your target data rate of 448 Kbps seemed higher than necessary for stereo.
As to a comparison of AAC with AC3, a stereo 160 Kbps/48.0 KHz audio track is supposed to equal a stereo AC3 track at 192 Kbps/48.0 KHz which is the standard for DVD. As to AC3 DD5.1 the standard for a DVD is 448 Kbps at 48.0 KHz. As you can see if the data rate were divided equally between all 6 channels, the the allocation would only be about 75 Kbps per channel. Luckily, sounds allocated to each of the 6 channels rarely, if ever, require to push the full amount of data through all channels simultaneously. It might be more appropriate to say that each AAC channel has a higher sustained quality potential than each standard AC3 track, but that the increased number of AC3 channels provides a potential for more natural, directional sounds.
As to your not being able to play your AC3 only files, there simply is not enough information to evaluate at the moment. For instance, your system may be one that wants/requires/expects an AAC track be included in the file. Or, as previously mentioned, the audio data rate for your output files may exceed the limits allowed for streaming to the TV2 device. For that matter, while all of my tests were made using the "Auto" setting to output audio at 48.0 KHz, your screen shots of target settings do not confirm that your file output is, in fact, using a 48.0 KHz sampling rate. (I.e., some TVs/receivers may not accept other sampling rates which may be why Apple added the new "16-bit" audio preference setting.)
In any case, see if you can play the files I posted let us know the test results.

Audio quality on apple TV

Audio quality when playing songs thru apple tv is poor (too much bass) when those songs originated from download sites other than itunes......Is this normal??? If not any ideas to fix this???

I use appleTV for 90% of my audio listening. I output via the digital on the ATV into my naim hifi and have to say that at the price point it beats without doubt hifi well over ten times the price.
However the analogue audio out is mediocre to say the least. The issues you are having with too much bass in fact is a lack of definition caused by a number of factors.
1. 'Downloaded from other than iTunes' I will assume means you to-rent-ed them. Invariably these are at very low bit rates converted by muppets and therefore will sound dire.
2. Rubbish hifi or worse out of the TV. For the best playback use a dedicated hifi, your TV speakers are not up to the task of TV sound playback let alone music.

Poor imported audio quality in Captivate 4

Hi Everyone,
I'm having some serious audio quality issues with Captivate 4. I'm recording my audio in Audacity and importing it into Captivate. The audio sounds great in Audacity, Windows Media Player, iTunes, and everything else I've tested it in. However, once I import it into Captivate and press play, it sounds horrible. It's thin, tinny, and robotic. The degradation in quality is considerable. I've tried recording my audio as both .mp3s and .wavs, but they both sound bad once imported. I've also downloaded all of the available patches, including the patch specifically designed to address poor audio quality in Captivate 4. I've tinkered with every audio setting I can find. No luck. I have noticed that the shorter/smaller audio files are less garbled, and really short files are sometimes not garbled at all. I would record directly into Captivate, but the audio sounds even worse when I do that. Anyone have any idea how I can remedy this situation? Just for background info, I'm running Captivate 4 on a macbook running XP via parallels.
Thanks

Hi,
I responded here in the forums because I figure other people might need this info as well.
In Audacity, I go to:
Preferences -> Quality -> Default Sample Format and set it to 16 bit.
Then click OK.
When you record new audio tracks, they should automatically be set to 16 bit.
Does that help?
Shawn
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Audio quality vs. storage capacity

I recently, accidentally, selected some option somewhere that improved my audio quality at the expense of my storage capacity. My 1st gen 2gb nano which held like 335 songs now holds 210, and my kid's new 8gb 5th gen nano holds 475 songs at a cost of 6+gb. I cna't figure out what i did or how to undo

You can't change what you download from the itunes store - it will all be at 256 kbps.
You also can't change anything about file size during burning.
If you are burning and then reimporting and get an even bigger file size, your import settings can't be correct.
As Dave & Chris noted, you don't even have to burn anything. Just let itunes convert it. That will give you 2 files on your PC of the same song. One at the original size,and one at the (hopefully) smaller size.

ITunes Match: Fixing Damaged Audio Quality CDs

I'm contemplating setting up an iTunes Match account.
I have ~20GB of music and counting, so it would be pretty convient/backup. $25/year sounds nice too. Just got an AppleTV so I can stream from my TV.
However, I have a question: sometimes I burn a CD, the audio quality gets damaged sometimes (like a tiny blip, just enought to be annoying). If you use iTunes match, would you be able to re-download the damaged song fixed?
The way I figure, iTunes match matches (duh) the song with that on its database, so the source song Apple has is undamaged. Would I be correct?

RadioactiveLog wrote:
I have ~20GB of music and counting, so it would be pretty convient/backup. $25/year sounds nice too. Just got an AppleTV so I can stream from my TV.
Read this: FAQ: Why iTunes Match can NOT be used as a backup!
RadioactiveLog wrote:
However, I have a question: sometimes I burn a CD, the audio quality gets damaged sometimes (like a tiny blip, just enought to be annoying). If you use iTunes match, would you be able to re-download the damaged song fixed?
The way I figure, iTunes match matches (duh) the song with that on its database, so the source song Apple has is undamaged. Would I be correct?
That "blip" may not necessarily be caused by a "damaged" audio file. It could have simply been a skip while the audio CD was being burned. So downloading a "matched" track would not necessarily fix the issue.

IPhone 5 Poor Headphone Audio Quality

I got my iPhone 5 a few days ago and I must say the sound I'm getting from my iPhone 5 to my headphones is pure garbage.
I use Beats By Dre heaphones and when I listen to music on my Mac and other devices the audio quality is great, but when I listen to music from my iPhone 5 to my headphones, I hear excessive rattling over the vocals of the music I listen to. I'm assuming it might be the Music app's fault, since I listen to songs from the YouTube App as crystal clear as I do from my Mac from iTunes. I have the same problem with my EarPods: They sound great on anything but my iPhone 5 Music app. Is there any fix possible? Is there any Music app alternative I can try? I'm tired of searching for the songs I want to hear on YouTube everytime to get good sound quality...In short:
Sound quality from the Music app: Really poor quality, I can't stand it.
Sound quality from anywhere else on my iPhone: Crystal Clear
Does anyone get the same problem/complaint from their iPhone 5's?
Side Note: I do purchase my music from iTunes, so I should get good sound quality.

Hey, I recently discovered that when I purchase music from iTunes directly to my iPhone, the sound I get is crystal clear. Do the test with any song: Listen to it before downloading the song from iTunes > Delete it > Download from iTunes from your iPhone > Listen again.
The problem is that not all my music is from iTunes, most of my music comes from CDs. Another thing I must point out is that I can't figure out whether to blame the new Lightning Connector or iTunes from my Mac, since I thought Wi-Fi Sync would solve the problem but I see no changes at all with the music I didn't purchase from my iPhone 5

Depeche Mode's new album Audio Quality

I purchased and downloaded the new CD (playing the Angel) thru iTunes, etc etc,
but I don't like at all the file's audio quality, I can hear a sort of digital distortion, specially on the hi frequencies, like a bad rip thing, it's very subtle, but I can hear it and really bothers me.
I guess the next logical step is to listen the original CD and compare.
so
does anybody hear the same thing?
also I would like to know what to do... (for example can I have my money back, can I re-Download the album, etc)
thanks in advance

well, their first response was to "encourage" me to check an article about how EQs work and how to use it... :s
I'm a big Apple fan and defender, and I know this is part of a long systematic procedure, but this response really ssuuxx
Or maybe I forgot to tell them that I'm a Sound Engineer.
Oh well...

Facetime for computer audio quality

Loaded Facetime on my wife's computer and my computer. We are both connected to the net via ethernet. Both computers updated to most recent version of Snow Leopard. I like the program. Video quality is OK, but sound quality is not good. My wife can hear me fine, but every other word she says is either garbled or even worse, the audio completely cuts out. The problem doesn't seem to be hardware specific since our conversations on Skype work fine. Anybody experience anything similar?

Actually, I've found that audio quality is quite excellent, with extremely low latency compared to other VOIP offerings. I don't know what technology Apple is using, but the latency on FT is rather low: about 200-300ms (vs 3,000ms typical for Skype).
Of course, I should say I have a fast cable connection (20 Mbps) with low measured latency (60 ms), and the video/audio load of a FT represents no real burden (about 120 kbps). Obviously, your results will vary, depending on the upload/download speeds of the wi-fi systems at both ends of the call.
It's a good idea to verify the connection speed when using wi-fi: there's a number of free bandwidth testers available on iTunes app store that are worth running before attempting to place a call, as the quality of the connection is directly tied to voice/video quality.

What is the audio quality on an iPod Shuffle?

I have just received a free iPod shuffle. I would like to know whether the sound quality is different on all different models/varieties of iPods. I am an audiophile and quality is 1st priority. If one has music files as AAC format with highest bit rate possible, will it sound exactly the same on a Shuffle as on an iPod classic, or what about an iPod touch? Where can I find a description of the different audio quality of playback on these different size devices?
Thanks

Apple does not publish audio specs on the various iPods and this information is tough to come by. They all sound pretty similar, some will have slight differences from others due to the difference in chipsets used.
Personally I think my 1st Generation iPod Shuffle has slighter better bass than the 2nd Generation Shuffle, 3rd Generation is on a par with the 1st Gen, my fifth generation iPod sound cleaner than my 160GB iPod Classic and I prefer the 2nd Generation Nano sound to all of them.

HP Slate 21 Kit Kat OTA Update Fix for Audio Quality and LAN Connectivity

Recent Over The Air (OTA) update for Slate 21 Update
Link to thread discussion here, fix listed below -
ISSUE:
A previously applied HP Slate 21 Kit Kat Update (Android 4.4.2) over the air (OTA) update may have caused issues with audio quality or wireless LAN connectivity.
Audio Quality: Bass response will be poor. Audio will play but bass frequencies will be lacking.
WiFi Issue: 5 GHz band not functioning properly
Status:
A new update (17r25.1-011-11-WW) has been released over the air (OTA) to end users
Resolution:
Apply update 17r25.1-011-11-WW
If the user was previously on 17r25.1-010-10-WW then a Factory Reset should be performed to complete the resolution.
I work for HP, supporting the HP Experts who volunteer their time and technical knowledge to help others.

Pebbles65,
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HP Slate 7 Voice Tab - Audio Quality Issue

I see drastic change in audio quality in HP Slate 7 Voice Tab after an upgrade to recent Kit Kat update. Songs and other media is not all audible , Volume through external speaker is very very less at maximum volume also.Tried with many song, HD videos but issue remains same and feels its related to new android version update on HP Slate 7 voice tab.
So would like to know is there any new update or solution for this issue.

Hey @S_Thomas ,
Welcome to the HP forums.
I understand you're experiencing issues with audio quality on your Slate 7 Voice Tab after updating to KitKat.
How to check for system updates:
You must be connected to the Internet to check for updates. Use the following steps to check for system updates on your tablet.
1. On the Home screen, touch the All apps icon, and then touch the Settings icon.
2. In the System section, touch About tablet.
Figure 1: About tablet.
3. Touch System updates.
Figure 2: System updates.
4. Touch Check now.
Figure 3: Check now.
5. Install any available system updates.
If no updates are available, or updates do not resolve the issue try the following.
Clear all cache on the tablet: Settings > Storage > Cached Data. You should have the option to erase all the cached data here.
Hard reset: While the tablet is on, press and hold the power button for 8+ seconds to force shut down. Turn the tablet back on and see if that helps.
Factory reset: Make sure you backup any important files or information first. Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset.
If this fails to resolve the issue please call our technical support at 800-474-6836. If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the following link to get the support number for your region: Phone Assist Worldwide.
Thanks.
Please click the "Kudos, Thumbs Up" at the bottom of this post if you want to say "Thanks" for helping!
Please click "Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
The Great Deku Tree
I work on behalf of HP.

When playing any audio the audio quality on my Thunderbolt display steadily worsens over an hour period and becomes garbled. Restarting the media player fixes it. Does not occur when MacBook Pro is undocked.

When playing audio/video on my MacBook Pro docked to Thunderbolt display the audio quality steadily worsens until it is garbled beyond understanding. I don't know if it occurs when using the MacBook undocked. It takes about an hour to become noticeable and steadily worsens. Simultaneously when the computer speaks the time this is also gargled. As the problem develops it sounds like there is a static halo around each spoken word.

Hi GeoChester,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand that you are experiencing some sound issues on your Mac that worsens over time. In this situation, the first troubleshooting step that I would recommend would be to reset your computer’s PRAM. To do this, please follow the instructions in the following attached article.
OS X Yosemite: Reset your computer’s PRAM
Best regards,
Joe

Audio quality of downloads

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