I have an Apple TV and I've started to copy the original AIFF files from my CDs to iTunes rather than importing as Apple Lossless. I was wondering what differences there are in playing an actual CD vs. playing the AIFF file (from iTunes) on my Apple TV. In other words, what sounds better, playing the CD or playing the AIFF from my computer (via Apple TV). I feel I have "audiophile" ears and I can't tell any difference. But I can tell the very subtle differences between the Apple Lossless file and the AIFF file.

Two important cautions:

1) When we "know" that two things are different, we have a tendency to hear them as different, even if they're exactly the same.

2) If one of the two is playing back marginally louder than the other, they won't sound the same. Even if one doesn't sound louder than the other, the sound quality will be different.

If you hear a difference between two digital presentations, one of these two factors will likely be the explanation. In particular, there is virtually no chance that you can really hear a difference between AIFF and Apple Lossless files. For all intents and purposes, the Lossless file is converted back into the AIFF file for playback.

Though both points mentioned above are true I believe the question was regarding the difference between CD and AIFF, not lossless.

The answer is there is none. CD's are 16 bit 44.1 PCM, AIFF is the equivalent apple format, both are 16 bit 44.1.

Lossless....I'm not going there.

Steve.

CD=AIFF=WAV=Apple Lossless=FLAC

All are 100% bit for bit the same exact data (after decoding).

Why not use Apple Lossless and save about 40% HD space?;) If need be you can always convert the Apple Lossless to AIFF/WAV or a lossy codec.