Our default bitrates are: MP3 240kbps VBR (-V 0), AAC 256kbps CBR. These represent the best balance of sound quality and file size. VBR (Variable Bit Rate) tends to provide better sound quality. CBR (Constant Bit Rate) provides consistent file sizes. At high bitrates (224kbps or higher) the difference between VBR and CBR is negligible.
If you plan to send your own storage device, please make sure the device has at least the above Total Disk Space Required amount of free space available. Also please note that this number is an estimate, it would be best if your device had a little more free space just to be safe.
When choosing this option, we will load your new digital music library onto an external storage device (hard drive, flash drive, SD card, NAS, etc). You can either send us your device or purchase a device from us. We accept bare IDE/SATA hard drives. If you plan to send a flash drive or SD card, we prefer one device to store all of the files onto, rather than multiple smaller devices with files spread across. If purchasing from us, external USB3.0 hard drives will be either Seagate or Western Digital brand, SD cards and flash drives will be a well-known brand name like Kingston, SanDisk, etc (as supplier prices dictate). We also offer RAID NAS devices (Synology, NetGear ReadyNAS, Drobo, etc), but they are custom ordered because models and prices change quickly. If the device you want is not listed here, we can special order it for no additional cost or delay -- please contact us for a custom order.
Our shipping is 3-way (three legs of shipping covered by the cost); upon receiving your order we send you a shipping kit with all the materials required to securely ship your CDs to us for processing, then you use an included pre-paid return shipping label to send your CDs to us, and after processing we ship everything back to you. Please note our shipping rates are calculated for the lower 48 states of the USA (contact us if you live in AK or HI). If you would like REALLY fast shipping (2nd Day or Next Day) please contact us for pricing. If you want shipping insurance (expensive! USPS only), please contact us for pricing.