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Which aac encoder does iTunes use? Is it considered pretty good?

Yes - iTunes uses Quicktime, and Quicktime has one of the better AAC encoders. Unfortunately, it's not easily executable (or licensable) on Linux.

Can you comment on which actual encoder you're now using, or do you consider that a secret?

Yep, unfortunately we can't right now. Maybe down the road?

Looks like a secret: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2787570 (a comment elsewhere on this page).

They use their own encoder. Apple's encoder is considered one of the best (slightly better than Nero).

Apple licensed an encoder. I forget the company that made it - it's mentioned in the dll somewhere.