I understand that you can't turn an MP3 into a WAV file.
But my question also pertained to the Apple "lossless" format. To me, this is not a high quality service from Apple, only yet another DRM scheme which forces the customer to stay within an Apple environment.
Since that Apple format is supposedly "lossless" I was in particular wondering if that algorithm might be decoded when backed up to CD -- and might then be re ripped as normal WAV files.
Otherwise, if most iTunes music is low resolution and the back up files are also restricted by DRM codes, then why couldn't you back them up to any device, instead of being prompted to "rip" them to CD.
Because if the back up CDs dont play in normal devices than it isn't really a CD, it is simply an iTunes file backed up to a compact disc.
Used CDs are making more and more sense to me.
As an aside, I have started to use my Hifiman player with WAV files on my morning commute and the sound is dramatically better than what I was getting from my iPod.
I continue to be surprised that so many people seem willing to compress music, or think that portable players should somehow be exempt from higher fidelity.