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When importing or ripping music into a digital file within iTunes, the bit rate and sample frequency determine the quality of the recording that is saved to disk and ultimately passed to your iPod. Like most high end software, there are editable parameters or preferences that control variables and how the program operates in standard situations.

To change the bit rate in iTunes you select the Edit' menu and then select Preferences' from this drop down. In the pop up window a row of tabs will be displayed across the top of this window clicking on the "Advanced" tab and then selecting the "Import" tab from the three tabs now shown (along with "General" and "Burning"). In the Import tab, the drop down box labeled "Setting" identifies the bit rate currently selected. Clicking the drop down box will list all the possible recommended choices for bit rate - corresponding to Encoder settings in the box above; labeled "Import Using". Users can select from the choices available for higher or lower recording quality or in some cases select "Custom" and pick between 16 kbps and 320 kbps for the bit rate to be used when importing music into iTunes.

The default encoder in iTunes is AAC and the bit rate is set for 128 kbps, designated as high quality. Changing the encoder type changes the available bit rates. The 128 kbps setting is a standard bit rate for digital music and represents a quality level higher than the 96kbps of FM radio, but lower than CD quality which is between 224 and 320 kbps. The bit rate is different than the sample rate which is measured in Hertz and is typically either 44.1kHz or 48kHz for digital music sampling. It is easiest to think of sample rate as how often the audio signal is sampled and bit rate as the amount of information recorded for a unit of time.

Keep in mind that higher sample rates and higher bit rates will translate directly to larger file sizes and less songs that will fit into your iPod or hard disk. This is the quality trade off. For most people the default settings within iTunes are sufficient for a quality recording and should be acceptable, but those discerning ears of audiophiles, who have the extra storage room, may want to adjust those advanced import parameters in iTunes to get that higher digital quality.

Learn more about this author, Chuck Moyer.
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