Zune HD mp3 320kb vs Ipod Touch 4G Apple Losless?

Question

What sounds better using the same earphones? Or generally which one has better quality?

Answer 1

In terms of audio quality, a Mp3 encoded at a bit rate of 320kbps will sound 1 to 1 with a CD to human ears. That's not to say that the CD doesn't sound better then the 320kbps Mp3 though, because the CD does in fact sound better. It's just that are hearing is not good enough to pick out the superior CD sound. The Zune HD is well known to have better audio quality then the i Pods, due to it's superior audio chipset. So even if the i Pod is using the Aiff lossless format which is the same as Wav for the PC, it is not going to sound as good as the 320kbps Zune HD. But don't for get that the Zune does support a wider range of audio formats then the i Pods. The Zune HD will play back Wma, Wma pro, Wma lossless, AAC/m4a, and Mp3. So the Zune can play songs that were bought on the i Tunes store for example. You would just have to copy the song from i Tunes to a folder on your computer, or Windows Media Player. Now i Pods in turn, cant play Wma files of any kind. A Zune HD will also play back both MP4 video, and WMV video.



i Pods are geared for the average consumer who looks at having a device with unlimited app support. While audiophiles tend to prefer the Zunes.



Windows Media Player by the way, will rip Cd's into Wma lossless by the way. (Which the Zune HD does support.)



Note: i Tunes will convert Wma into AAC that the i Pod will understand, but unfortently it does cause a slight loss in audio fidelity. Audiophiles tend to look down on this process.



Also, there are multiple lossless audio codecs that do exist. The Zune HD can handle Wma lossless, while the i Pod can handle Apple lossless (ALAC) or also known as Apple lossless audio codec. Now all lossless audio codecs are eaqual to each other in terms of sound quality. The only difference is that some lossless codecs support compression, while others don't. Also some are exclusive to either PC or Mac. (But all are 100% true lossless.)



Here is a small list of the most popular lossless audio codecs that do exist.

AIFF, WAV, ALAC, FLAC, and WMA LOSSLESS.

Answer 2

"Ipod Touch 4G Apple Losless" is not a sound format..... (I assum you mean ACC)



As for the quality- this is a tricky question, They are both very good sound quality players.

The touch 4 gen is a bit more fragile than the Zune HD (as far as music players go).

ACC format takes more space - even more than a high quality mp3 file (320 kb is like listening to a CD).



I would go with 320kb mp3- on BOTH players (I don't think the Zune can read ACC anyway).



P.S- why Ipod Touch 4G ? buy an older model and save money.

Answer 3

MP3 320 is better, If you seek sound quality the only losless codec is .flac the others are not.

Anyway Zune HD sound quality is so much better than iPod Touch.