iTunes is about to sound a (24) bit better

Apple is bumping up the quality of music available on the iTunes store according to CNN.

Apparently Apple and other digital music services are in talks with record labels to improve how digital music sounds. Currently studios record sound at 24 bits but then knock the sound quality down to 16bits to press it on to CDs or sell it to

The music is then further compressed to make it quicker to download or stream. Possibly 24bit tracks will be able in future on iTunes perhaps as a premium service that you pay more for. There will inevitably be a trade-off with memory space and download times however…

[cnn via rww]