The loss of sound quality that people express is from the compression being used, not the USB connection.

If you want the quality of the original cd, then that's what you should stick with. There is no magic compression technology that sounds as good as the original disc .

I'm a CD listener, I don't download music. AAC is just another form of compression . Apple itunes , to me , is just another way they try to hook a consumer into spending your $$ with them. It seems convenient and all, but convenience here comes at the price of losing musical data, hence quality ..... and CD's already have lost a substantial amount compared to real analogue recordings .