Posted 06/16/2007 at 01:58:38pm

There are two issues here. (1) Portable player use: Is it worth it to pay more for a file that's twice as big and offers little if any improvement in perceivable quality on portable devices? Answer: No. (2) Hi-Fi system use: Can the larger file deliver better sound quality on bigger, higher resolution systems? Here the answer is definitely YES. With iTunes Plus, you can convert the AAC file to WAV, send it to an upsampling program like DVD2oneX2 and burn a 24-bit 96kHz interpolated file to a standard DVD for high resolution playback on a standard DVD player. The slight improvement in air, space, and upper harmonics in the iTunes Plus file is maximized by the interpolating program, and depending on the quality of the original material, the result is actually superior to the CD version (DVD's superior filtering is a big reason)! There is potential here for a new preferred way to purchase all music, even for critical listening.