Is itunes HD music compatible

[lordmortlock]

Another thread on here got me wondering ... I don't listen to any 24 bit music at the moment but I'm sure it'll become more popular and the releases less obscure. I stream using itunes. Is itunes actually capable of playing 24 bit files or not?

[jbcortes]

Yes it is, at least up to 24/96. But Itunes doesn't detect high-rez files automatically, so before playing one, you have to close Itunes, open Midi Configuration, manually select 24/96 and then reopen Itunes. Otherwise your file will be downsampled to whatever rate is selected in Midi Configuration usually 16/44.1. If you're using a PC, I think you can find plenty of software which will play up to 24/192 and automatically adjust to the incoming sample rate. Plus they'll probably sound better.

JB

[lordmortlock]

Cheers JB. Bit of a faff then...

[jbcortes]

Yes. Good news is when you hear a properly made 24/96 or above, there's no going back...

[steve rb]

That was my thread I reckon - much research later, on a Mac it's a total PITA as you've got to manually adjust the audio settings to avoid up/down rezzing in the driver. on a PC, for once, its a POP, driver passes it through natively and automatically up to 24/96.

BUT

Fuck Itunes. TWICE I've had to re-install the latest bloody version 10 today, and quicktime in and out twice. AND it killed my iphone which needed a factory reset. Must have spent 4 hours faffing with the poxy software today, about as stable as my arse after a dodgy lamb dansak

[jbcortes]

It is indeed the very first time in my life I'm thinking a PC might be better than a Mac! Itunes really sucks in that respect.
The other option is to simply get Pure Music, which solves the problem and also sound better than Itunes, while still using it's library. But then you have to fork out $129. Amarra is the other option, but I think the guys there must've smoked weed before deciding on a pricing, and I think the boot of the market is going to give them a wake-up call very soon...

[lordmortlock]

Still want to have control through the iphone for multiple airports (for now), still want some kind of genius option which I love. Amarra just sits over the top of itunes right? All the same functionality? Might have a piss about with the freebie.

[lordmortlock]

Ah both mac only? Maybe not then.

[jbcortes]

Yes Amarra and Pure Music are only for Mac users. But I think you also have plenty of choice for a PC. It's not my specialty!

[Purite Audio]

You can use Foobar on your PC ,there is an app available for your phone/ipod.
Keith.

[steve rb]

Genius. It does exactly what it says on the tin, that's the ONLY thing I am after, a better more intelligent way to browse and play music in my collection, sounds like Jake does too. Issue is that there IS only Itunes Genius for this (and again, as per previous thread, don't bother with MusicIP recommendations...). So cack stability or not, and it's relentless ability to fuck up my library structure & tags regardless of which box I tick, iTunes it has to be.

[lordmortlock]

Sounds like I've been lucky with iTunes Steve - I've had very few problems. My main gripe would be that everytime they update it sends remote into a flap and it stops working for a bit. Completely annoying.

I need to sit down and make sure I'm getting the best playback possible. I rip in lossless but are there tweaks you can make to ensure things are sounding as good as possible? Any good sites that deal with this?

[jbcortes]

computeraudiophile.com would be the authority on that and there's also a forum there.
JB

[lordmortlock]

Thanks JB. Keith - I've heard of Foobar but I've not looked at it ... always got the impression its super techy and fiddly. Maybe I should have a play with it.

[steve rb]

Sounds like I've been lucky with iTunes Steve - I've had very few problems. My main gripe would be that everytime they update it sends remote into a flap and it stops working for a bit. Completely annoying.

I need to sit down and make sure I'm getting the best playback possible. I rip in lossless but are there tweaks you can make to ensure things are sounding as good as possible? Any good sites that deal with this?

I should probably apologise for my bad language, not entirely usual, but it was that or my laptop out of my 14th story hotel window.
I have had various issues to be honest, the good news is, their server is ultra fast and it's very simple to uninstall/reinstall, doesn't really screw up anything. The big problem I get is that whenever there is a new version, I get some 'problem with your audio configuration' message until I install it, when you are travelling, especially in Asia, it's not always easy to just download the 80mb you need, and I rely heavily on my itunes for on-the-go music.

But, as I said before, it is the lesser of many evils, and I've tried most of them. For me, it's Genius and the access to the HUGE genius database they use, itunes is the univeral constant in downloaded music at the moment, and that database is comprised of everyone who uses itunes, which is a huge resource to pull on, that's why I find almost every playlist I generate with it is super.
Foobar, nice free software, just as easy / difficult to use as the next, but no Genius....