Help major iTunes problem!!!

ok just got my copy of iTunes ready for when I get my iPod this weekend. I started copying my cds over with it and a very strange thing i noticed was that the files were being converted somehow so that they were each taking up around 30-40mb per media file. For example, If i take a look at the maroon 5 album in my music then the itunes folder, the first song is taking up 29.5mb and the second one is 35.1mb. Now if i use media player to copy them over each file takes up about 5mb, how it should be. But I have to use iTunes otherwise it won't play in the correct format. So.... do i need to change a setting in iTunes for conversion so each file won't take up as much space.?
I have 20 albums on here so far and altogether they're taking up 9gb when i'm certain they should be taking up about 1-2max!!!!!

HELP!!!!

 

Click Edit>Preferences>Importing tab. What file format is it set to rip music?

 

its set to WAV encoder, shall i change it to mp3 or aac?

 

Either one. AAC is only compatible with the iPod. WMA (Media Player) is not compatible with the iPod. I generally use MP3 because it tends to work with everything. As far as I know, AAC is a better quality, and since you have an iPod, you mine as well use that format.

 

ah right ok. they're starting to take up less space now, so 1 album is like 100mb

thanks for both your help!

 

iPods will play a variety of formats, but AAC is a little clearer sound than MP3.

 

What is MP3 VBR anyway?

 

Variable Bitrate. It encodes the more quiet portion of the song at a lower bitrate and the more active part at a higher bitrate to allow for a better-sounding file while keeping down file size.

 

So is that preferred over just MP3?

 

I've not tried it yet, but it's supposed to be better.