I believe that iPods traditionnally play 128kbps protected music (when purchased via iTunes). Since early this year though, Apple is moving to the iTunes Plus format, ie. DRM free and 256 kbps.

As for what the maximum playable bitrate by an iPod is, I don't know. It must be pretty high though, since Apple Lossless (= CD quality) is also doable by these machines.

VANTAGE

No idea about MP3 and iPod.

About Apple Lossless : the bitrate is variable between 500 and 900kbit/s approximately, and it plays without any problem in an iPod.
But there's more : when playing Lossless files, I have noted a clear improvement on signal to noise ratio on the iPod output, even comparing to a 256kbp/s AAC or 320kbit/s MP3. Maybe a different processing of the signal, but it's really clearly noticeable.

VANTAGE,

How would you be able to tell if an itunes track/file has lossless?

mbee,

I have just started using my iPod on my BM4500 and I am some what dissapointed, even when listening to the iTunes+ 256kbps files. My dissapointment lies in the signal to noise ratio, much like you mentioned. When I listen to my iPod, it is connected through a mini to RCA cable that connects to a Din-4 connector then is outputted from my BM4500 to another receiver which then goes to the speakers (the speakers are non B&O). This is the only way I can listen to my B&O products as do not have my B&O speakers yet. I thought this noise issue was mainly due to the numerous connections in my setup but on other systems of the same magnitude as mine still present the same characteristics. Any tips/solutions?

Thanks, Ev.

just check the bitrate : more than 500kbit/s file=lossless (maximum bitrate for AAC files encoded by iTunes : 320kb/s)

For the signal to noise ratio issue, try, as I said, to convert some discs to lossless, there is a real improvement on my A8's (never tried with the beosound, I should check).

Then, just buy a dock, which uses the line out of the dock connector and not the phone jack output : there is also an improvement.

And if nothing is enough for you, wait a little bit for the B&O dock, maybe they managed to get a stuning audio quality (not sure...)

Well let me ask you this, is using iTunes part of the problem?

No, the problem clearly doesn't come from iTunes, as it's a good converter (just try an iTunes converted AAC on the Beosound 5 to check that!). It's just the D-A converter and the amplifier of the iPod which is not of Hifi quality (and that's normal as it's just a portable player...)

Run the iPod on it's highest setting. I know many say run it at around 70% but trust me on this one. The iPod's output isn't really know to be incredibly noisy, and I've found in general they can produce a fair/okay sound (I wouldn't describe them as poor).

Nonetheless, when I use my iPod with my BeoMaster 900, I get a huge amount of noise, not from the iPod, but from the amplifier itself. It's true that older amplifiers do tend to produce much more noise than modern amplifiers, and as the newer iPods produce less volume, you'll need to turn the volume up on your amplifier more = noise.

Try using the output from the Apple iPod dock - the output is not only 'higher' (louder), but also higher quality as it bypasses the iPod's built in volume control (which is not known for it's sound quality).