Apple Lossless vs. FLAC

[DigitalBoy]

good to see a swing in the direction of FLAC on this thread. If lossless is a non-negotiable requirement, your only remaining choice is do you want to tie yourself into a manufacturer (Apple), or go with a free, open codec (FLAC). For me, it's simple - flac it.

If you must compress, I recommend vorbis (ogg). Unlike mp3, it's free, open and performs at the top end of any listening tests. You need very high end gear (and good ears) to hear 320kbps vs the original. At 500kbps, you have a real challenge on your hands to hear compression artifacts.

Given that storage is (relatively) cheap, lossless must be the top of everyone's list. Portables are another matter, until we 1TB iPods

db

[DigitalBoy]

Originally Posted by garty

piss poor choice of FLAC software on the mac and no iTunes or iPod support meant FLAC was a temporary solution until Sonos supported Apple Lossless.

would you expect Apple to support anything else? Unfortunately, if you tie yourself to one manufacturer, then you're right, you need to go the whole way. Apple lossless is not that bad, it's just a bit more proprietary than I'd prefer. FLAC is therefore better IMHO, providing your hardware supports it (which my Sonos, PC and all software does). If you're apple only, then I agree apple lossless makes the most sense.

db

[Graham - Sonos]

Originally Posted by DigitalBoy

would you expect Apple to support anything else? Unfortunately, if you tie yourself to one manufacturer, then you're right, you need to go the whole way. Apple lossless is not that bad, it's just a bit more proprietary than I'd prefer. FLAC is therefore better IMHO, providing your hardware supports it (which my Sonos, PC and all software does). If you're apple only, then I agree apple lossless makes the most sense.

db

Nice thing about lossless is that you're always free to change your mind later.. just a conversion away from a different platform.

-graham

[RO53BEN]

I snipped these posts from the "what codec" thread as we try to avoid discussion on there.

You're spot on Graham, lossless is an open choice.

Whilst I chose Apple Lossless in iTunes it doesn't mean I'm tied to it in any way. One click and I can move to another codec with no hassle at all.

It's far from the one way street people make it out to be.

[DigitalBoy]

Ben, I'm not attacking anyone/any codec, just pointing out the issues.

As for being tied to a codec, I would say that lack of FLAC support in iTunes/iPod would mean you are very much tied to apple lossless.

My point was, if you tie yourself to a hardware manufacturer, then you tie yourself to the codecs that the manufacturer supports. In the case of apple, apple rightly supports apple codecs. Simple really. This of course does not preclude you changing to a different manufacturer and therefore different codecs.

My original comment is still correct.

Originally Posted by DigitalBoy

FLAC is therefore better IMHO, providing your hardware supports it (which my Sonos, PC and all software does). If you're apple only, then I agree apple lossless makes the most sense.

If you go with apple hardware, then go with apple codecs - no issue from me. FLAC is open & free (it's a fact, not an opinion), and as I said, if, your hardware supports it, then that's a logical choice. At no stage did I say it was a one way street. It is however restricted by your choice of hardware.

Anyway, the end result is Sonos supports both!!

Lastly, we will see a variety of opinions, and I'm not attempting to be antagonistic. But I am trying to be factual - and I believe my comments to be factually correct.

db

[DigitalBoy]

Hey Ben, I just noticed you took my posts off the other thread here and left the others. Mine sort of seem weird out of context, as I was replying to other posts. I don't object to moving to a new thread as the discussion develops, but partial moves of a particular view (ie mine and no-one elses ) start looking like censorship.

If it's purely because my views differ to yours, then I do object. If it's blatantly offensive/abusive - no argument from me, permanent deletion/ban etc.

And in case you've got me wrong, no, I'm not upset. All good fun
cheers
db

[RO53BEN]

Originally Posted by DigitalBoy

Hey Ben, I just noticed you took my posts off the other thread here and left the others. Mine sort of seem weird out of context, as I was replying to other posts. I don't object to moving to a new thread as the discussion develops, but partial moves of a particular view (ie mine and no-one elses ) start looking like censorship.

If it's purely because my views differ to yours, then I do object. If it's blatantly offensive/abusive - no argument from me, permanent deletion/ban etc.

And in case you've got me wrong, no, I'm not upset. All good fun
cheers
db

DB,

We never edit or delete anything.

The thread about which codec we used stated up front that it was just a means for people to record what codec they used, they could edit at a later date.

The intention was not to have chat, discussion or banter on the thread and...as a result...I've pulled comments out into seperate threads along the way. Your isn't the first and I'm sure won't be the last.

No censorship...just editorial control

Everyone gets to say what codec they use and why...that's it.

[Audiophiliac]

FYI, Rockbox firmware for iPod does now support FLAC. Not sure if its still in beta testing, but a guy I know has been using it successfully except for a few bugs.

So something to look into if you want FLAC and iPod.

[RO53BEN]

Thanks for the info, I'd not heard of that one.

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WhyRockbox

Anybody tried it?