What do I mean?

 Well, there are two things that can really affect how your mp3 player or iPod sounds: the bit-rate you use to encode your mp3 files, and your choice of headphones.

 Huh?

 Okay, your iPod or MP3 player reads special types of files, usually Mp3 files, though iPods also read “special” AAC files.  We’ll just focus on Mp3 files because they are the most popular type of music file used by people.  When you copy music from a CD using a program like iTunes, you can choose the “bit-rate” of your mp3 files.  If you choose a higher bitrate, it will create a larger mp3 file, but will keep a lot of the detail in the sound.  If you choose a lower bir-rate, the program will create a smaller mp3 file, but will “chop off” the sounds it thinks you won’t mind missing: usually the low frequencies and the high frequencies.

 So?

 Well, here’s the problem.  A lot of people like keeping as much music as possible on their mp3 player, so they choose a really low bit-rate like 96 kbps (kilobits per second).  The problem with this is, iTunes will chop off a lot of the high-frequency sounds (like cymbals crashing or snare drums) and also the low frequencies (like the bass).  So the music you will hear will sound a lot “thinner” than the actual real song on the CD. 

 This is okay if you’re listening to loud music or audio-books, where you don’t need or want to hear every little detail in the song.  But if you listen to jazz, classical music, or even hip-hop, you’ll be missing a lot of the detail in the music. 

 So, what should you do?  Well, if you care about the sound of your music, try to import your music using as high a bit-rate as possible.  I use 320 kbps, the highest setting in iTunes.  Sure, you’ll fit fewer songs on your iPod, but I think quality is more important than quantity.

 If you are buying songs from the Internet like iTunes or another online store, check that it is recorded at as high a bit-rate as possible. 320 kbps is much better than 96 kbps.

 Listening to MP3 files recorded at a high bit-rate will give you a better appreciate for the artistry of the musicians.

 Next time, I’ll tell you about headphones.  Because I think the little white ear-buds that came packed with my video iPod are terrible.  There are much better headphones that will make your music sound MUCH better!