Wow, Markxxx, thanks for all the (very clear) info.
I guess I should make the point that I am not - by any stretch of the imagination - an audiophile. My goal is to do this simply, and to clean up the muddy sound I encountered when I first hooked up my ipod to the new system.
With that in mind, I’ve decided to go with 128kbps in AAC for most of my music. My most beloved artists*, though, I’ll kick it up to 256kpbs, AAC, variable bit rate. This seems to be my best overall solution.
Anyway, I have just 140 CDs to replace, not as bad as I first feared. Already have about 10 knocked out.
I don’t really see the point of converting all my CDs to lossless files, unless I were planning to get rid of the CDs (which I’m not).
*Beatles, Costello, Neil Young, Dylan, Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’