It's certainly possible to convert Apple Lossless files to WAV within iTunes but how many CDs do you plan to convert and where is the point that it is reported iTunes becomes a problem? I have about 400 CDs in iTunes so far without a hint of any problems. |
Yes, you can do that, but I don't think you can do it with iTunes. You'll need a recording application like Amadeus Pro or similar. To do it with Amadeus, open the file from within the application, then save it in one of a list of supported formats, which includes WAV. |
It's very simple in iTunes. Open 'Preferences,' click on the 'Advanced' tab, then on the 'Importing' tab and choose WAV as the format. Close the Preferences window, select as many songs as you want to convert and choose 'Convert to WAV' from the Advanced menu.
Having said that, I think you might want to do more research on the disadvantages of WAV files compared to Apple Lossless before you go down that path. |
I second Sfar' suggestion; you can also control-click a song and the "Convert to ..." option will be one of your choices.
What exactly is the problem using iTunes for large libraries? And why would you want to convert everything to WAV? We've had endless WAV vs FLAC/Apple lossless discussions before, and I'm still clearly in the FLAC/Apple lossless camp. If you think that Apple lossless has problems with album art, just wait until you see the problems you'll have with WAV.
If it were me, I'd stick with iTunes and Apple lossless. You're using an uncompressed format with advanced tagging support and software that is widely used and available on both macs and PC's.
Michael |
Right. I think you'll lose any album art you have if you convert to WAV. I also think you have bad information about the limitations of iTunes, but regardless, you should be able to find an alternative piece of software that will run on the Mac and will accommodate your library of ALC files. There's tons of stuff out there, more every week. And you can reasonably expect iTunes to evolve to better meet the needs of peoples' growing music libraries. |
I have over 4000 CDs ripped via apple lossless and have had no problems at all. |
i also have over 1000+ cd's ripped via apple lossless with no problems. |
I'm very glad to stand corrected about iTunes thanks to Sfar and Sufentanil. |
Thanks for the valuable input guys. This is the thread that I referred to:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1220427207
From what you say though, maybe I will just stick with Apple Lossless, and I guess there is a lot more I should read up on before exploring with questions like the one I had.
Overall, I'm looking for the best quality sound (virtually no compromise) using PC as a server. I don't have to get there immediately (I can upgrade to a very high quality DAC later on), but I want to make sure that the investmet of time, effort and $ that I make in transferring my CDs to my PC is done in the best way, so that I get the source data 'right'. From there, I'll then work on optimizing the output all the way to my preamp. A key route I'm pursing is Squeezebox duet (Love the remote), and from tehre will upgrade to Transporter, and then maybe Modwright Transporter or a stand-alone dac. I'm amazed at how little consensus there is on the right way to best sound from the PC though.
Anyways, I'll keep reading and then post more if I have questions |
I started with Apple Lossless but have recently switched to AIFF. Not convinced that I can hear a difference, but disk space is cheap.
AIFF is uncompressed but allows you to have all the tags and album art in the files themselves. I am into classical - which unfortunately means manually correcting the tags because of lack of standards - and I would hate to lose that.
WAV is tricky and it is easy to lose the tags/art when copying things around. |
There are a few people who argue you should go uncompressed, that lossless compression, even though bit perfect, loses something in the uncompressing process, perhaps due to some codec anomaly. I know, it doesn't make any sense, but hey, this is the land of audiophiles. I've started experimenting to see if I can hear a difference. I'm amazed at how little consensus there is on the right way to best sound from the PC though. No kidding! That's what's held me off from jumping in with both feet -- I can't get a straight answer. |
Outlier, if you're planning on going the Squeezebox route, that's another argument for staying with iTunes. It's not the only way to use the Squeezebox (I personally use the Perl-based server software on my Linux box), but its server software can integrate with iTunes. There are benefits to using one of the most popular pieces of software in the industry.
Michael |
why would somebody go the squeezebox route? there are other alternatives that work just like the squeezebox for much less $$$$. the 2 people i know that used squeezebox's sold them and 1 purchased the transporter and the other i set up a whole house audio system using airport express devices. i'm not saying the the airport express sounds any better, because IMO, they both sound bad going directly into a preamp or receiver. i always use jitter devices after the airport express units and then into a good quality external dac (of course depends on how much you want to spend and how you will be listening to the music (just background, or for dedicated listening)). |
What works just like the Squeezebox for much less money? |
Mozartrules how do you mean..."AIFF is uncompressed but allows you to have all the tags and album art in the files themselves."? I thought aiff is just Apple's version of uncompressed cd audio/wav file. Everything I've read states that aiff files do not hold any extra tag info, etc. |
Thanks guys for the continuing input. I'm inclined to keep going on transferring my CDs to PC with iTunes and Apple Lossless. Seems like the easiest path and hopfully retains highest quality source.
I'll then need to figure out optimum dac, connection (USB, Firewire, or wireless to Squeezebox followed by toslink to high-end dac, or wireless to Transporter and use as is, or output to seperate high end dac) and if/how I need to solve clock/jitter issues seperately. It seems like the Benchmark is a good option for to solve most issues, although I really really like the Duet remote (I may experiment with getting an iPhone which can be used as an iTunes remote too). Anyways, sooo many options - it would be easier if there were a consensus single best quality option, although it can be fun to waste hours reading and arguing about it too :-)
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Windows .WMA lossless, sounds exactly like .wav but can have Tags and photo of the art included in the same file.
better than .flac or .ape or .wv wavpack .mpc
in PC, the apple quicktime v7.x, with purchasing the PRO unlock code from apple store, can convert any apple .aiff or .mov to almost any other file format with user selectable quality.
but does not have batch processing. = time consuming.
other software that has batch processing is the adobe audition 3, but thats more expensive than the PRO unlock code. try the demo to see if it loads your file format,
if the QT PRO does not convert the TAGs and ARTs, its better to Extract again, with WMP10/11 to .wma lossless
another easyer work arround,,,
its to download the free codec: cole2k media pack 7, that has a verry nice Audio deCoder, that can be tweaked/activeted to read most applee sound file fotmats with in WMP10/11 = maybe will not need to convert.
but i dont think will load tags and art photo.
another way is to use an alternate software like VLC player, media center, etc.... |
Good discussion. I have been using ALAC on iTunes for over 3 years now and have had n o issues in over 1000 CD's ripped and played. I have converted some of these files to .WAV and other roughly equivalent formats and not been able to discern a meaningful difference.
Choose a lossless format and the computer/server you like to interact with and spend the big money and time choosing the right DAC for you. |
