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  1. #1
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Music Now Being "Mastered for iTunes"

    Interesting initiative now being undertaken with the iTunes Music Store aimed at improving the sound quality for the music tracks sold through that site. Apple has issued a set of technical guidelines for optimizing the music files that record companies submit for sale on the iTunes Music Store. They're aimed at retaining the sound quality of a song as it gets converted from the original master format down to the compressed iTunes Plus (AAC, 256k) music file. Even though audiophiles have been clamoring for Apple to offer up higher res or lossless files, these guidelines are all about making better sounding compressed files, nothing more.

    http://images.apple.com/itunes/maste...for_itunes.pdf

    Apple also opened a new section in the iTunes store of albums that have been "Mastered for iTunes." Right now, the selection is relatively limited, but supposedly all of the albums that have been resubmitted following these new mastering guidelines will be highlighted in this section.

    Connecting to the iTunes Store.

    Ars Technica has a good article on this, including some interesting commentary from the mastering engineer currently working on remastering Rush's catalog for iTunes. He outlined the differences in the mastering steps taken with the vinyl, CD, and now iTunes versions.

    I have the LP for Moving Pictures, and I remember how horrid the original CD issue sounded by comparison. Turned out that they purposely blunted the highs because they knew that "the end users' stylii would be crap." The Blu-ray audio version that I now have sounds stellar compared to the others.

    It's also interesting to hear how much massaging and trial and error is needed to work with the AAC format.

    Mastered for iTunes: how audio engineers tweak music for the iPod age

    The AAC compression algorithm is "quite quirky." Without compressing a song, and carefully listening to it, then comparing to the uncompressed master, there's no way to predict how the sound will change. Vlado Meller, another engineer at Masterdisk, described mastering for iTunes "like polishing your Bentley in total darkness, then turning on the lights to see where you missed."
    I've bought several tracks on iTunes, and the sound quality generally leaves a lot to be desired. I wasn't sure what, if any, quality control steps were taken before the music files would get posted to the iTunes Music Store. I'm not even sure if it's the AAC compression, because tracks that I rip from my CDs and DVDs, and encode into AAC seem to sound better.

    Seems like more of a stop gap measure until Apple starts offering lossless tracks. But, given my experiences with iTunes, anything that adds a layer of quality control to the process seems like a much needed improvement.
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  2. #2
    Ajani
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    I agree - it is probably just a stop gap measure. But I as far as I'm concerned, anything that gets persons interested in improving the quality of albums is a good thing. I hope a similar approach will be taken when they eventually offer lossless music. Too many CDs are poorly mastered - so as important as format is, I believe the quality of the recording is even more vital.

  3. #3
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    The extreme equalization and pre-compression we have to use for Apple masters makes the audio unlistenable on a stereo system with speakers. It will only sound acceptable over headphones, and that is if you cannot hear the AAC or MP3 compression at work like I can.
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  4. #4
    Oldest join date recoveryone's Avatar
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    Hey SIr TT, I thought you be out out growing a beard and pork chop sideburns by now with the new relax facial code at the Magic Kingdom...lol long time no hear from.
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  5. #5
    Suspended Smokey's Avatar
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    Wecome back Sir TT

    Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer View Post
    Apple has issued a set of technical guidelines for optimizing the music files that record companies submit for sale on the iTunes Music Store. They're aimed at retaining the sound quality of a song as it gets converted from the original master format down to the compressed iTunes Plus (AAC, 256k) music file.
    No matter how they remaster or compress files for better sound, 256K bit rate is the bottle neck that restrict the sound quality. There is just too much informatin that is thrown away with that low bit rate.

    I listen to alot of MP3s on my PC, and any bit rate lower than 320k sound too flat on my system and don't have any dynamics.

  6. #6
    M.P.S.E /AES/SMPTE member Sir Terrence the Terrible's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by recoveryone View Post
    Hey SIr TT, I thought you be out out growing a beard and pork chop sideburns by now with the new relax facial code at the Magic Kingdom...lol long time no hear from.
    LOLOL. A bald head and pork chops is decidedly uncool to me. Anyway, the dang rule does not apply to us post production types anyway. We come to work in shorts and polo shirts on occasion, and they never cared if we had hair on our faces!

    The only extra hair I have gotten over the last several months is from dogs hair showing up after a training sessions. LOL While I have been gone, I have earned my CTC, APDT, and dog behavior consultant certificates.
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  7. #7
    Sgt. At Arms Worf101's Avatar
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    Whoa!!!

    Good to see you back Your Terribleness! As to the original topic, it kinda... kinda makes sense. Berry Gordy of Motown fame mastered and mixed his songs so that they'd sound good in the mono GM and Ford speakers he kept on his desk for just those purposes. That's why his music was so consistently bass heay.

    Worf

  8. #8
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    Anything to charge allot more money...

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