A bit off topic, but I know a bunch of you use Ipods in your G's. I have a few questions.

Can an Ipod play WMA files?
Is WMA (particularly the variable bit-rate) better than similar size MP3?
If I want sound that is as good as a CD, what bit rate do I need to use?

Thanks,

 

There will never be as good as CD from compressed files. There may be close for some people, but depends on how discriminating your ear is. If I'm correct you can compress at a higher bit rate to get better quality, but that also makes the files much larger.

 

The iPod does not play back the WMA format. As for a sounding as good as it can compared to the original CD. You will need to go with a lossless compression scheme. The newer iPods are capable of playing back music converted to Apple's proprietary lossless compression scheme, so that would be your best bet. Or I believe the WAV format will also be close to the original CD, but the files sizes will be larger than the Apple lossless format.

 

I'm not particularly discerning when it comes to audio. I'm no audiophile. I find that I can't tell the difference between CD and MP3 when encoded at 192KB, or AAC at 160KB. Of course this is just me, I know a guy that can tell the difference between CD and 320KB, so you're going to need to do a blind study to verify.

On the WMA, no the iPod doesn't play WMA (as far as I know).

 

Thanks, guys.