Posted 06/01/2007 at 12:07:07am

So we rip them both with iTunes, we play them both with the same iPod and use Apple 'buds and somebody else's high-end 'phones, and no one can hear the difference. Uh, so does anyone else think either iTunes or the iPod itself (or both) might be the problem?
Any music fan in the world can hear the difference between 128 and 256, if the software and/or equipment can reproduce the files at their full potential. Use crappy equipment-'buds, 'phones or speakers-and if you can't hear any difference, the reason isn't the files, it's the crappy equipment.
So I say this test only proves than an iPod only reproduces crappy 128kbs sound no matter what it's really playing, or iTunes only really rips at 128 quality no matter what the setting is. And why wouldn't Apple do that? They want you to buy their crappy 128 downloads. If you could hear a difference when you ripped your own CDs @ 256, you'd stop buying from iTunes. Duh.
Prove it to yourself: rip one of your favs at 128 and again at 256 USING SOMETHING BESIDES ITUNES. Now do the same thing using iTunes.
Burn all 4 files to a CD and play it in your car or home stereo-somewhere where there's actual speakers and good equipment. I'm sure you'll hear the difference between the first 2, and if you don't, your equipment isn't worth much. But if you hear the non-iTunes difference but can't hear the difference between the iTunes rips, then it's iTunes that's degrading your rips. Now d/l all 4 files to you iPod. If you do't hear a difference between any of the files, then it's the iPod itself or your earbuds or headphones that's degrading your sounds, all to 128 quality. Only you can decide if that's what you want.
I don't have an iPod or iTunes, so someone else will have to do this. Do it and register here (free and spam-free) and post your results. But the whole premise that people can't hear the difference between 128s and 256s is just ridiculous unless some part of the equipment-ripper, player or sound reproducers-is not capable of reproducing all the information in the files.
When there's only three parts, and two of them are common to all the tests (iTunes rip and iPod play), and the other part involves hardware that's very different in specs, then there's no way to say it isn't one (or both) of the Apple parts that's affecting the outcome.