"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
"HK" wrote in message
...
jamesgangnc wrote:
Without any compression? Are you sure about that. Cause the lossless
formats only achieve about a 70% reduction in file size so you get
around 2 cds or so per gig. Default ripping with itunes uses the
apple acc compression which is a lossy algorythm. Mp3 is also lossy.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Don White" wrote in message
...
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Like this:
http://www.alteclansing.com/index.ph...iproduct_id=64

or:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/iHome...oductDetail.do

The heir to my fortune and empire is apparently enamored of these
toys. Interested in feedback if you've got something like this. I
think it's a mistake and that a guy should have an actual stereo
system, even if this means getting rid of his roommate to make
space in the dorm room. The prince doesn't agree.
The 'kids' are hoked on the iPods or reasonable facimilie.
No point fighting it.
My son has had one for a couple of years , and asked for a new model
this Christmas. Of course his mom ran right out and plopped down
$400.00 + taxes for it.
It was a lot cheaper back in the days of the old 45s.


If we eliminate HD radio from the discussion for the moment, an iPod
is probably no worse than listening to FM radio, which munges up the
music to an extent. My son's at least using music files pulled
directly from CDs for the most part, without any compression that
he's applied. So, at least he's not at the mercy of radio stations.
But then, he's listening with earbuds, which suck, according to my
ears. I offered to get him a set of nice Sennheiser 400-series open
air headphones, but he's not interested.

He's always right, ya know?


MP4 320 kbps


Still lossy. I haven't found anyone that could really tell the
difference though. The problem comes in when you want to switch formats
from one lossy to another lossy. That's why it's always better to go
back to the original uncompressed source. Also why I very seldom buy
music off itunes, because then you never get a copy of the uncompressed
song.



At the "better settings", it's difficult to tell the difference. And,
whether it matters or not often depends on the purpose of the file you're
creating. If I need to send a song to a band member, to settle the "Are
we talking about the same song here?" question, and he's one of these
people whose email is always close to fill, I'll shrink a 15mb song down
to 1mb. It sounds hideous, but at least I get the answer I'm looking for.

If I have to listen to that same song on my stereo every day for a week,
while learning it, then it has to be the original or very close to it.
Otherwise, it grates on my nerves.


Ok, so what settings are you considering close to the original? And what
equipment do you run it through?

I'm using just 256kb mp4 and running it through a dbx223 crossover set at
700hz driving an adcom 555 amp for the woofers and an adcom 535 amp for
the midbass and ribbon tweeters. And I can't really tell any difference
between the uncompressed and the mp4.



I have WMP set to rip tracks to what it calls Windows Media Lossless. I
listen through a Hafler preamp (forgot model #), Hafler DH-200 power amp and
a pair of Kef IQ-9 speakers. It's inconvenient and time consuming for me to
try and compare the CDs I make to the originals (take out one CD, put in
another blah blah blah), but I've experimented with the bit rates in a
program called EZ CD Extractor (http://www.poikosoft.com/) which, among
other things, can take a track on your computer and compress it with a wide
range of settings. There *IS* a point where I notice the beginnings of
harshness, listening with a very nice set of Sennheiser headphones.

I won't mention the bit rate where I notice the loss of quality, because it
would result in "someone" adding a lot of clutter to this discussion.

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:58:42 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


That's why I included the words "that he's applied". Although we have
different purposes in mind when we rip a CD, we both begin use Windows
Media Player as our starting point, with options set to do the least
damage to the files. Even if it's doing a little compression in that
process, my ears still tell me the results are better than some of what he
downloads or shares with friends.


I recently set up a music system using a pair of SL3 Martin-Logan's that
have been stored away since we moved into this house because I didn't have a
good room to set them up properly in. I decided to do the surround thing as
well and bought a new Denon receiver/amp, some Mirage surrounds and, believe
it or not, a decent sounding Bose center channel speaker.

Immediately ran into the problem I discovered the last time I used these
speakers. Many of the CDs that sound ok on a couple of other systems we
have using conventional speaker drivers sound terrible on the
electrostatics. But, the "good" ones sound spectacular, showing off the
acoustically transparent nature of this type of speaker.

Then, to my surprise, I found a royalty free, MP3 version Sousa's "Stars
and Stripes Forever" somewhere on the 'net. It was reported to be a high
quality file, recorded at a higher than normal bit rate, (don't remember
what it was). Anyway, I burned it to a CD and it sounds excellent. Lots
of dynamic range and you can clearly hear every instrument being played.
In terms of fidelity, it's better than half the commercially produced CDs I
have.

Eisboch


Try some Telarc CD's.
--
John H

"Eisboch" wrote in message
news

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


That's why I included the words "that he's applied". Although we have
different purposes in mind when we rip a CD, we both begin use Windows
Media Player as our starting point, with options set to do the least
damage to the files. Even if it's doing a little compression in that
process, my ears still tell me the results are better than some of what
he downloads or shares with friends.


I recently set up a music system using a pair of SL3 Martin-Logan's that
have been stored away since we moved into this house because I didn't have
a good room to set them up properly in. I decided to do the surround
thing as well and bought a new Denon receiver/amp, some Mirage surrounds
and, believe it or not, a decent sounding Bose center channel speaker.

Immediately ran into the problem I discovered the last time I used these
speakers. Many of the CDs that sound ok on a couple of other systems we
have using conventional speaker drivers sound terrible on the
electrostatics. But, the "good" ones sound spectacular, showing off the
acoustically transparent nature of this type of speaker.

Then, to my surprise, I found a royalty free, MP3 version Sousa's "Stars
and Stripes Forever" somewhere on the 'net. It was reported to be a high
quality file, recorded at a higher than normal bit rate, (don't remember
what it was). Anyway, I burned it to a CD and it sounds excellent.
Lots of dynamic range and you can clearly hear every instrument being
played. In terms of fidelity, it's better than half the commercially
produced CDs I have.

Eisboch


Buy this CD for your electrostatics. They'll like it a lot.
http://www.telarc.com/gscripts/title...6F V7FJTSDMFC

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
The itunes acc format is actually considered to be better at the same rate
than mp3. Mp3 is pretty old now.


Perhaps, but any discussion of itunes only applies to my son. He uses it,
not me.

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:49:59 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Eisboch" wrote in message
news

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


That's why I included the words "that he's applied". Although we have
different purposes in mind when we rip a CD, we both begin use Windows
Media Player as our starting point, with options set to do the least
damage to the files. Even if it's doing a little compression in that
process, my ears still tell me the results are better than some of what
he downloads or shares with friends.


I recently set up a music system using a pair of SL3 Martin-Logan's that
have been stored away since we moved into this house because I didn't have
a good room to set them up properly in. I decided to do the surround
thing as well and bought a new Denon receiver/amp, some Mirage surrounds
and, believe it or not, a decent sounding Bose center channel speaker.

Immediately ran into the problem I discovered the last time I used these
speakers. Many of the CDs that sound ok on a couple of other systems we
have using conventional speaker drivers sound terrible on the
electrostatics. But, the "good" ones sound spectacular, showing off the
acoustically transparent nature of this type of speaker.

Then, to my surprise, I found a royalty free, MP3 version Sousa's "Stars
and Stripes Forever" somewhere on the 'net. It was reported to be a high
quality file, recorded at a higher than normal bit rate, (don't remember
what it was). Anyway, I burned it to a CD and it sounds excellent.
Lots of dynamic range and you can clearly hear every instrument being
played. In terms of fidelity, it's better than half the commercially
produced CDs I have.

Eisboch


Buy this CD for your electrostatics. They'll like it a lot.
http://www.telarc.com/gscripts/title...6F V7FJTSDMFC


It's good, but this one will blow you out of the water,

http://tinyurl.com/238bz3

--
John H

"John H." wrote in message
...
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:49:59 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Eisboch" wrote in message
news

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


That's why I included the words "that he's applied". Although we have
different purposes in mind when we rip a CD, we both begin use Windows
Media Player as our starting point, with options set to do the least
damage to the files. Even if it's doing a little compression in that
process, my ears still tell me the results are better than some of what
he downloads or shares with friends.


I recently set up a music system using a pair of SL3 Martin-Logan's that
have been stored away since we moved into this house because I didn't
have
a good room to set them up properly in. I decided to do the surround
thing as well and bought a new Denon receiver/amp, some Mirage surrounds
and, believe it or not, a decent sounding Bose center channel speaker.

Immediately ran into the problem I discovered the last time I used these
speakers. Many of the CDs that sound ok on a couple of other systems we
have using conventional speaker drivers sound terrible on the
electrostatics. But, the "good" ones sound spectacular, showing off the
acoustically transparent nature of this type of speaker.

Then, to my surprise, I found a royalty free, MP3 version Sousa's
"Stars
and Stripes Forever" somewhere on the 'net. It was reported to be a
high
quality file, recorded at a higher than normal bit rate, (don't remember
what it was). Anyway, I burned it to a CD and it sounds excellent.
Lots of dynamic range and you can clearly hear every instrument being
played. In terms of fidelity, it's better than half the commercially
produced CDs I have.

Eisboch


Buy this CD for your electrostatics. They'll like it a lot.
http://www.telarc.com/gscripts/title...6F V7FJTSDMFC


It's good, but this one will blow you out of the water,

http://tinyurl.com/238bz3

--
John H

"Please check that the URL entered is correct. "

What's Telarc's product code?

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:35:14 -0500, gfretwell wrote:


Radiohead released an album on the net for 90 cents(plus whatever your
conscience had you add) . They said they were pleased with the result. I
don't doubt they made more than the record label pays them and it is
virtually all profit. You are not paying for the manufacture,
distribution and retailing of a chunk of plastic.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...ortune/59.html

On Dec 20, 10:47 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"jamesgangnc" wrote in message

...





"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
"HK" wrote in message
...
jamesgangnc wrote:
Without any compression? Are you sure about that. Cause the lossless
formats only achieve about a 70% reduction in file size so you get
around 2 cds or so per gig. Default ripping with itunes uses the
apple acc compression which is a lossy algorythm. Mp3 is also lossy.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Don White" wrote in message
t...
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Like this:
http://www.alteclansing.com/index.ph...t_detail&iprod...

or:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/iHome...or-iPod-Silver...

The heir to my fortune and empire is apparently enamored of these
toys. Interested in feedback if you've got something like this. I
think it's a mistake and that a guy should have an actual stereo
system, even if this means getting rid of his roommate to make
space in the dorm room. The prince doesn't agree.
The 'kids' are hoked on the iPods or reasonable facimilie.
No point fighting it.
My son has had one for a couple of years , and asked for a new model
this Christmas. Of course his mom ran right out and plopped down
$400.00 + taxes for it.
It was a lot cheaper back in the days of the old 45s.

If we eliminate HD radio from the discussion for the moment, an iPod
is probably no worse than listening to FM radio, which munges up the
music to an extent. My son's at least using music files pulled
directly from CDs for the most part, without any compression that
he's applied. So, at least he's not at the mercy of radio stations.
But then, he's listening with earbuds, which suck, according to my
ears. I offered to get him a set of nice Sennheiser 400-series open
air headphones, but he's not interested.

He's always right, ya know?

MP4 320 kbps

Still lossy. I haven't found anyone that could really tell the
difference though. The problem comes in when you want to switch formats
from one lossy to another lossy. That's why it's always better to go
back to the original uncompressed source. Also why I very seldom buy
music off itunes, because then you never get a copy of the uncompressed
song.

At the "better settings", it's difficult to tell the difference. And,
whether it matters or not often depends on the purpose of the file you're
creating. If I need to send a song to a band member, to settle the "Are
we talking about the same song here?" question, and he's one of these
people whose email is always close to fill, I'll shrink a 15mb song down
to 1mb. It sounds hideous, but at least I get the answer I'm looking for.

If I have to listen to that same song on my stereo every day for a week,
while learning it, then it has to be the original or very close to it.
Otherwise, it grates on my nerves.
Ok, so what settings are you considering close to the original? And what
equipment do you run it through?

I'm using just 256kb mp4 and running it through a dbx223 crossover set at
700hz driving an adcom 555 amp for the woofers and an adcom 535 amp for
the midbass and ribbon tweeters. And I can't really tell any difference
between the uncompressed and the mp4.

I have WMP set to rip tracks to what it calls Windows Media Lossless. I
listen through a Hafler preamp (forgot model #), Hafler DH-200 power amp and
a pair of Kef IQ-9 speakers. It's inconvenient and time consuming for me to
try and compare the CDs I make to the originals (take out one CD, put in
another blah blah blah), but I've experimented with the bit rates in a
program called EZ CD Extractor (http://www.poikosoft.com/) which, among
other things, can take a track on your computer and compress it with a wide
range of settings. There *IS* a point where I notice the beginnings of
harshness, listening with a very nice set of Sennheiser headphones.

I won't mention the bit rate where I notice the loss of quality, because it
would result in "someone" adding a lot of clutter to this discussion.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I can't store my collection in lossless. I'd need about 400gig and I
only have a 250 gig second drive.

On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:06:12 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"John H." wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:49:59 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Eisboch" wrote in message
news6SdnRGrl725HvfanZ2dnUVZ_hynnZ2d@giganews. com...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


That's why I included the words "that he's applied". Although we have
different purposes in mind when we rip a CD, we both begin use Windows
Media Player as our starting point, with options set to do the least
damage to the files. Even if it's doing a little compression in that
process, my ears still tell me the results are better than some of what
he downloads or shares with friends.


I recently set up a music system using a pair of SL3 Martin-Logan's that
have been stored away since we moved into this house because I didn't
have
a good room to set them up properly in. I decided to do the surround
thing as well and bought a new Denon receiver/amp, some Mirage surrounds
and, believe it or not, a decent sounding Bose center channel speaker.

Immediately ran into the problem I discovered the last time I used these
speakers. Many of the CDs that sound ok on a couple of other systems we
have using conventional speaker drivers sound terrible on the
electrostatics. But, the "good" ones sound spectacular, showing off the
acoustically transparent nature of this type of speaker.

Then, to my surprise, I found a royalty free, MP3 version Sousa's
"Stars
and Stripes Forever" somewhere on the 'net. It was reported to be a
high
quality file, recorded at a higher than normal bit rate, (don't remember
what it was). Anyway, I burned it to a CD and it sounds excellent.
Lots of dynamic range and you can clearly hear every instrument being
played. In terms of fidelity, it's better than half the commercially
produced CDs I have.

Eisboch


Buy this CD for your electrostatics. They'll like it a lot.
http://www.telarc.com/gscripts/title...6F V7FJTSDMFC


It's good, but this one will blow you out of the water,

http://tinyurl.com/238bz3

--
John H

"Please check that the URL entered is correct. "

What's Telarc's product code?


Worked for me, but here's the info:

Artist: Michael Murray
Recording: Saint Saens: Symphony No. 3 and Encores a la francaise

Release# CD-80634
Compact Disc Price: $9.99
--
John H

"John H." wrote in message
...


Artist: Michael Murray
Recording: Saint Saens: Symphony No. 3 and Encores a la francaise

Release# CD-80634
Compact Disc Price: $9.99
--
John H


Oh yeah. That helped me sell an awful lot of audio equipment when I was in
that biz. Customers would come in say "This CD just flomped my speakers".
Usually, they were trying to play it with 30 watts a channel into some lame
Japanese speakers. $3000 later, they left happy.