Mastered for iTunes - poor/worse quality?!

I'm really disappointed with the quality of the Mastered for iTunes songs: Compared to the normal AAC-files they sound markedly less "spatial"!
I've noticed this especially when I completed some albums - e.g. from Linkin Park. The old files sound in my opinion much better - more "open", "airier", more "spatial", the voices "nearer" and louder - than the new ones.
Am I the only one with this sensation or can somebody here confirm this?
A current example is "A Light That Never Comes" by Linkin Park & Steve Aoki: Especially the middle part around 2:30 sounds very "flat" and the voice gets almost lost.

For each song that had fuzzy bass, I adjusted the "equalizer".
I tried many settings, synced my iPod, listened, tried another setting....
(The "POP" setting took away most of the fuzz, esp. on iPod.)
However, this took quite a while - not worth 99 cents. If I really like a song, I'll buy the CD.
Thanks for your help - I appreciate it.

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ITunes: "Mastered for iTunes" and old purchases.

I've purchased some albums in iTunes sometime ago. Now, the same albums are available as "Mastered for iTunes" - which much superior audio quality. The issue I have is iTunes is mixing the content of this two purchases. There is no clear way to differentiate which music belongs to which album. Pretty annoying. Any idea on how to fix it?

You posted here --> Apple Support Communities / iTunes / iTunes for Mac
I will request this be moved.

ITunes Match problem with Mastered for iTunes tracks

My question is, has anyone solved the problem I'm describing here?
My wife bought an album (David Bowie, The Next Day, it's great), as a Mastered for iTunes album, under her Apple ID. I copied the album to my computer using Home Sharing. My computer is authorized with both of our Apple IDs.
I have iTunes Match activated on my Apple ID. This album uploaded - didn't match - to iTunes. I assume that this is because Apple is trying to keep people from getting the Mastered for iTunes version of things and refuses to match that version if it's not already associated with the Apple ID. This seems silly, but so be it.
Now I try to listen on an iOS device and see more strange behavior:
- The uploaded tracks stream fine, but
- They will not download. No matter what network I'm on, no matter the time of day, there's always an error in downloading them.
I'd be interested to know if anyone has any insight into what's going on; how to get around it; or just if you've seen the same.

Scott Shuchart wrote:
So I infer that - to keep the "no free upgrades to Mastered for iTunes" policy with the technical limitation that iTunes cannot perfectly match to the same master - it has a policy not to match to Mastered for iTunes unless the track was purchased with the right Apple ID. This seems like a silly but obvious solution to those two constraints. No?
No, there is no such policy. I know this because I was recently able to get Eric Clapton's new album Old Sock matched to the Mastered for iTunes version. All the downloaded tracks have the logo on them. Same goes for the matched AC/DC tracks I have downoaded. All are Mastered for iTunes. These are my rips from CD which were matched.
This is completely different from if someone has an album that was previously bought from the iTunes Store, such as Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which then gets re-released in a remastered version (Mastered for ITunes). Of course we don't get a free upgrade to that version. We have to buy it if we want it. It is just as if you bought the album on CD, then a remastered version is released. You have to buy the CD again.
As you are talking about an iTunes Store purchase, of course you can't re-rip it, since it was never ripped from CD in the first place. But you might want to read the iTS TOS which can be read here: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html
But, to get back to the original question, this does seem to be an issue with this particular album for whatever reason.

Mastered for itunes issues with iTunes match

I am rather confused over the itunes match and mastered for itunes programs overlap each other.
First of all I imported "coldplay mylo xyloto" album and when re-downloaded from itunes match it did not download the mastered for itunes versions of the songs.
Then i just imported "Bloc Party - Four" and when I re-downloaded these songs from itunes match it downloaded all the songs with the Mastered for iTunes logo.
So do I get my other imported songs from itunes match to download the mastered for itunes versions as it appears for some albums it does and for others it doesn't?

That all depends on the mastering of the Album and what is available in the iTunes Store. There's not anything you can do to affect the results one way or the other.
I don't know this for sure, but I would hazard a guess that when the Coldplay album was released in 2011 it was first released on the iTunes Store in a non-mastered for iTunes version, then later released in the mastered for itunes version. So the two are just different enough, from a mastering perspective that your CD rip does not get matched to the iTunes Master version.

Difference between mastered for iTunes and previous versions?

Is there a noticeable difference between Mastered for iTunes albums and any previous versions? I purchased Bon Jovi's "Have A Nice Day (Special Edition)", and now it has been replaced with a Mastered for iTunes version. Is there any value or noticeable difference if I were to purchase the new version?

One of the inexpensive compilation downloads I purchased on iTunes was terrible, I'd much rather listen to the original mix of " I had too much to dream last night" than the remaster, which destroyed the song completely.
Well, there is really no way to improve on the sound of The Electric Prunes coming over an AM transistor radio!
I guess I'm suspicious of iTunes files in general. I am a dying breed, using separate amps and pre-amps and real speakers as well as Ultimate Ear earbuds and a great car system. The cuts that are engineered for iTunes are mixed for lo-fidelity appliances and just don't sound that good.
There are online download stores that cater to a more audiophile crowd. Check out HD Tracks.

Possible to get notifications for new Mastered for iTunes albums?

I notice that every so often a new album appears in the Mastered for iTunes section of the iTunes store. Does anyone know if there's a way to somehow subscribe to automatically get email notifications when new albums are added?

Thanks Jorma for sharing this central page for all Help and Support related info about Adobe Connect.
I, with help from Connect Support team, manage this page. I shall also reach out to the broader Connect team internally. We will share regular updates on this page.
You may also want to keep an eye on http://www.adobe.com/support/connect/downloads-updates.html#connect-patches page, where all new patch are posted.

When will we get a fix for the poor camera quality that's a result from the ios 7 update??

Since the update to ios 7, the camera picture/video quality are very poor and the flash has become hit/miss when it actually works.

My iPhone 5 camera continues to work well after the update to iOS 7. So this doesn't appear to be a common problem? First thing to try is to reset your device. Press and hold the Home and Sleep buttons simultaneously ignoring the red slider should one appear until the Apple logo appears. Let go of the buttons and let the device restart. See if that fixes your problem.
You might also quit the Camera app then reset the phone.
Double click the Home button to show the screen with running and recently used apps. Each app icon will have a sample page above it. Flick up on the page (not the app icon) and the page will fly away and the app icon will disappear. This quits that app.
If that doesn't help Make an appointment at an Apple Store to have your device examined by a technician. Or contact Apple Support.

I updated my software for my Iphone and my maps disapperead. New maps provided by Apple or of significantly worse quality than my previous Googke maps. How can I get my Google maps back?

I updated my software for my Iphone and my maps disapperead. New maps provided by Apple or of significantly worse quality than my previous Googke maps. How can I get my Google maps back?

This app does it well, including StreetView
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ifindview-connect-to-facebook/id480510706?mt=8

Poor sound quality on some iTunes songs

Downloaded some songs from iTunes and realized a really poor sound quality on some files.
The worst example is "Precious" from "Depeche Mode" (Album version). It seems to me that the AAC file is encoded at a much too high level, so its overdriven and distorted.
If i burn the song to CD and than analyze the track in WaveLab it is obvious that the song was encoded with a level more than 6dB over the usual level and i can see a lot of clippings.
Downloaded another song of another band that i allready have on CD, just to compare... and this song was much better. Even this was 3dB over the original CD level (and the song on CD had a peak level reserve of only 0.1dB), but while listening that song i heared no negative effects...
So from my point of view iTunes is not really an acceptable offer if i can't rely on a minimum sound quality of the songs that i pay for!
So, the question is:
Is this normal or is the "Depeche Mode" album only one rare bad example???

Yes, of cause, tried all.
EQ off, or EQ with all sliders a little below 0dB.
With my tests i saw no effect of the EQ to the CD burning quality.
Only if i change the CD burning options (in german "Lautstärke anpassen", something like "adapt volume" or so), than i get a CD that has the same bad quality, only at a lower volume.
The same distorted and overdriven sound with clippings at a lower level (peak -12dB).
What if it's really a bad file?
Do they fix such files?
Will i have a chance to download it again? (without paying another time?)
PC Windows XP Pro

Poor image quality save for web

It doesn't matter whether i'm exporting from Ai or Ps or whether it's CS6 or CC. I have changed the raster settings in Ai and i've also tried all optimization options with all different export file types (jpg, png, gif) at all different quality settings. It doesn't matter if I start with an ai, eps, pdf, png... the export result is always poor quality.
I have tried exporting at 300ppi and that does fix the quality issue and bloats the file size, but this way (the export route) is so time consuming since you have to resize your artwork each time as well as the artboard so that it doesn't cut off pixels. Save for web never used to have these quality issues and it also never used to cut off pixels around the edges. These workarounds prove very time consuming and produce file sizes that are not ideal.
When i first noticed this issue I was using Mavericks with CS6 and since am using Yosemite and Creative Cloud.
Steps to reproduce:
1. Create any bitmap or vector graphic in Ai or Ps, It doesn't matter whether you convert text to outlines or not
2. Save for web
3. View image in any application or browser to see poor quality and pixel trimming. Others running the same version and system are not having this issue, but I have checked many forums and found many others that do have this same issue but can't seem to find a solution.
Results:stair stepping, degradation, pixel trimming, general poor image quality
Expected results: Previously the save for web feature allowed for a decent quality image

First try the Cleaner. here's the link for CC but there exists one for Cs6 as well Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6
Everything I have read says that you kind of have to compromise file-size for quality. Could you post a screenshot of your settings?
also, if it helps: Creative Suite * Optimizing images

Poor image quality with save for web

It doesn't matter whether i'm exporting from Ai or Ps or whether it's CS6 or CC. I have changed the raster settings in Ai and i've also tried all optimization options with all different export file types (jpg, png, gif) at all different quality settings. It doesn't matter if I start with an ai, eps, pdf, png... the export result is always poor quality.
I have tried exporting at 300ppi and that does fix the quality issue and bloats the file size, but this way (the export route) is so time consuming since you have to resize your artwork each time as well as the artboard so that it doesn't cut off pixels. Save for web never used to have these quality issues and it also never used to cut off pixels around the edges. These workarounds prove very time consuming and produce file sizes that are not ideal.
When i first noticed this issue I was using Mavericks with CS6 and since am using Yosemite and Creative Cloud.
Steps to reproduce:
1. Create any bitmap or vector graphic in Ai or Ps, It doesn't matter whether you convert text to outlines or not
2. Save for web
3. View image in any application or browser to see poor quality and pixel trimming. Others running the same version and system are not having this issue, but I have checked many forums and found many others that do have this same issue but can't seem to find a solution.
Results:stair stepping, degradation, pixel trimming, general poor image quality
Expected results: Previously the save for web feature allowed for a decent quality image

I thought of that too so I tested on another machine with retina display and the file i saved on my machine looked bad on my machine and on the other comparable machine/display. So I sent them the original vector ai file and watched while they saved it the exact same way on their machine and the file looked fine on both of our machines/displays.
All of the settings they used appeared the same as what I used but with different results. I don't recall changing anything but does anyone know if there is some setting that could have been changed that is causing this issue?

Highest quality import settings for iTunes 9?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;ylt=AooGuxvheq40oC0etoPY8yvty6IX;ylv=3?qid=20090909143724AALIlSP
*What are the highest quality import settings for iTunes 9?*
I just got iTunes 9 and I want to know what the HIGHEST quality import settings are with the exception of Apple Lossless. I usually import cd's as
AAC
Stereo Bit Rate: 320kbps
Sample Bit Rate: 48.000 kHz
Channels: Stereo
Now when I go into the custom menu and try to set these settings, it gives me an error message that reads the following:
"The selected combination of bit rate and sample rate is not allowed."
I was thinking about using WAV but I want a format that will be compatible with other/future personal media players as well such as Zune's and Creative MP3 players. Right now I have an iPod and don't plan on changing anytime soon. I just want the highest quality sound for my ears to hear.
so, *What is the highest for AAC?*
*Should I switch to WAV?*
& if you could, *What are highest quality settings for the other formats as well.*

well i personally think you should go with mp3 at 320kbps (max for that file format) main reason for this is that mp3 is compatible with pretty much everything, where as aac isn't although it is getting a bit better. the main difference between aac and mp3 is in the lower bit rates, i.e aac 128kbps sounds equivalent to mp3 192kbps (suppoesdly) but when you go from 192kbps and up both file formats sound basically the same, just a variation in file size. ig you want the highest quality for you ipod i would say 320kbps mp3. anything higher isn't worth it becuase most earphones cant even pick it up, only if you have high quality ones.

L7780 poor print quality after not using for 6 months

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I'm fairly tech savy, been in IT for 27 years starting with hardware support.
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thanks
Brent

Hi @Brentl
Yes, you can clean the printhead and the inside of the printer. The following document will help; 'The Following Printheads are Missing or Damaged, Replace the Printhead' Message Displays on the All....
I hope this helps.
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