High-quality MP3s not comparable to CD WAVs ??

As far as a lossless solution to this problem... The format you want is FLAC. http://flac.sourceforge.net. Hardware is starting to support this natively now, and software tools have been around for a while.

I'm going to start being the FLAC evangelist around here, there are so many advantages to using a computer-based interface to access your music, and with a lossless scheme and the right ripper/soundcard/dac you can do no wrong.

Captain:

It sounds like you have discerning ears and you're able to confirm what most audiophiles think of MP3 audio. Certainly using higher bit rate conversions up to 320 kbps will help improve the sound, but the file sizes really aren't that much smaller than a 16-bit/44.1 kHz .wav file when you consider what you've sacrificed in sound quality. Most people who listen to music really don't "listen" to their music, or the music they listen to isn't well recorded to begin with. I listen to MP3s as samplers, but I listen to CDs and LPs for the experience.

Perhaps the closest you'll ever get to .wav file quality with data compression is to consider Sony's ATRAC data "lossy" compression which is used for their Minidisc format. Some Minidiscs actually sound pretty close to the original CDs from which they were recorded--certainly much better than MP3s. ATRAC compression is Sony' proprietary technology, so I don't think you'll be able to get an ATRAC software encoder. That creates a problem in having to get a Minidisc recorder/player with digital I/O for transfers to and from your PC.

As for me, I am waiting for Apple to come out with the next generation iPod capable of storing .wav files for PC users. Only Mac users can access and archive .wav files on their iPods at the moment, and I am a PC user.

I didnt realize that the Ipod does not support .wav files. Does anybody know if a software update could fix this, or is this something that only buying a new Ipod could fix(i hope its not the latter because i just bought one)?

Also, im a little confused about AAC format. AAC has 44.1 khz sample rate, isnt that the same as a cd? The bit rate is 320 kbps which i thought was better than a cd. If someone could clear this up for me that would be great