But I gather that there's some compression in the storage/playback chain somewhere -- and my impression is that it's always "on" in an iPod. The compression can't be gotten around.
I'm guessing that even though the original file may have been recorded at a higher bit rate, the compressed version that gets stored on the iPod isn't at that high of a bit rate.
But I could be completely wrong on this.
I have no idea how it works, but Mp3 compression technology apparently gets rid of the parts of the recording that are not detectable to all but the most sensitive of ears.
Let's face it... most music these days is not "pure"... they've all been tinkered with during the recording to CD transfer process... especially older albums, which have been remastered.
I have an old Jazz album that still retains the scratchy recording sound. The only thing "authentic" about the experience is that it replicates the inferior recording technology of the 20s/30s. The person hearing it live back then didn't hear those scratchy noises, and I doubt the artist intended those noises to be present either.
When you 'rip' your CDs into computer files (for an iPod owner, typically using iTunes) you have a choice on what format and what bitrate the resulting file will be. The iPod can play all the formats that iTunes can encode.
Looking at iTunes right now, I see that it can encode into:
It's all there in iTunes - just look in the preferences, at the "importing" tab.
I'm a pretty demanding listener, and I use AAC 256 to encode my music - I can't tell the difference between that and a CD. But if you are really a fanatic, go with Apple Lossless - it's exactly like the CD, but saves (by my memory) half the space.
Why don't you give it a try? Just go to the iTunes download page, install it, and try it out on some of your favorite music.