ROFL doom on the ipod? I actually don't have an ipod(and not a fan of Jobs so, never wanted one) but that might be reason enough to get one hehe I love my portable players even tho its only 8GB (I really hope they bump it up soon tho) I actually mentioned the hacked firmware for those people who are stuck in proprietary land to give them options Don't feel bad mike, it's the same concept as vinyl->cd... cd's imposed a hard limit of 20hz on the low and 20khz on the high...and *cry* threw away the rest because they said you couldn't hear it anyway. mp3's chops off even more of that spectrum most notably in the low end. Once lost, there's no way of replacing the sound or nuance of the original. Which is why FLAC rules
Re: Bwana's Cosmos Hedo! I started to truly enjoy music again when I stopped getting hung up on the fetishization of formats and just listened to the music as-is: And for me, MP3s are the best thing in the world. I flipped my whole CD collection on eBay and Amazon and though local sellers a few years back and never regretted it. Now I have space for other things and don't ever have to worry about lugging a hug box of plastic up the stairs again. Well, I have a 60 Gig iPod I use solely at home as a home stereo jukebox. But I caved in and got a 2nd gen iPod shuffle for public transportation. My hangup is I grew up in NYC watching my friends and others get jumped for sneakers, jackets and their Walkmans (Walkmen?) so the idea of carrying a $300 piece of steal-able item is not appealing. The shuffle? Nobody would steal that because they are so cheap and if they did steal it, whatever. I'll buy a new one. As for buying MP3s, yeah that seems "stupid", but in some cases there is no choice. I wanted a CD collection of Margie Joseph's greatest hits. Go to the local CD store. They don't have it. They say they can order it. One week passes. Two weeks. Three weeks later, I call and nothing. Go to Virgin Megastore. They have it at the most jacked up price ever. So then the only place to get it is iTunes. Tons of other similar examples with less obscure artists as well. And 256 kbps is not bad at all. If you use LAME as an MP3 converter you can squeeze MP3 tracks down while still retaining the fidelity. And the worst thing I had to do was get a second hard drive to serve as a backup to my music collection. But that barely cost anything in the big picture. Oh cassettes, I used to be the pro at cleaning tape heads and stuff. I even still have my cassette shaped head demagnetizer. And guess what? Over 20 years later the damn battery still works. So if you're in Brooklyn and need your head demagnetized, I got that covered.
My main problem with iTunes is that they aren't paying the royalties to the respective artists. I'll get what I need thats out of print from what.cd and waffles at a decent bit rate (v0 or FLAC). I do think digital format is the future, if its not here already. But with the cost of storage so low I wish they'd treat customers with a bit more respect with regards to the sound quality. Although I fear 95% of the mp3 buying public are oblivious to the sound issues. I also think that there are too many hi-fi enthusiasts who aren't music enthusiasts. $15k on a turntable and $10 worth of records...brilliant
That's nothing new and that's part of the larger issue of how artists should be compensated. Before MP3s they weren't getting a decent deal either. And while I do believe in buying directly from indie artists is the way to go to keep it all legit, I knew of a few small labels in Chicago specifically that took most of their merch. table funds and blew it straight up their nose. You don't have to me major or indie to be an asshole; you just have to be an asshole to be an asshole.
Most definately. But if i'm buying direct from the artist, or at least a small label or even smaller diy label then i'm sure the artist gets a better chance of seeing more cash than if I went through iTunes. Because they didn't get a decent deal before doesn't mean they should continue to get a shitty deal through iTunes. more iTunes shittiness http://torrentfreak.com/pirated-by-itunes-artist-turns-to-bittorrent-080206/ I don't have a vendetta
my problem with itunes is that most the music i listen to isn't even available on there: dinosaur jr., crimson moonlight, screaming trees, etc. also, i like a lot of grunge music, and even though the grunge hype of the early 90's brought all that stuff to cd, most of the albums where cut nearly in half. sonic youth's goo is one that i can think of. basically, it all depends on what you listen to, i guess. and all this 20hz whatever is waaaaay over my head. it's like listening to the gearheads at work tell me about there new snowmobiles, naming them off by model name and whatnot. and there is nothing wrong with that, if that's what your into, cool.
got a question what program can i use to record a live mp3 stream to my comp im using winamp to listen to it and using a PC
I agree. Not enough musical range. Genre's aren't sorted well enough. Cant search by Label, Producer, Song writer (important in indy or underground music) Its crazy cause all that info can be added to the file, but its not searchable (they completely miss the point) When i do a search on i-tunes Australia, certain artists and songs come up but are only available to buy on i-tunes USA. It comes back to regional regulation again. I find its easier to buy the CD from overseas and it works out cheaper, and i own a physical copy to do whatever i want with. It's just really the convenience of getting it there and then when you use i-tunes. (sound quality sucks) I just couldn't be damned ripping my vinyl collection. It would take me years. Pisses me to have to re buy things on CD or itunes when i already own it on wax. Don't get me started
Oh yeah, and what's the deal with 'Partial Album' ? Don't put it up if the whole album isn't available.
I don't want to sound like a grumpy old fart. I think the main thing is that people are still enjoying music bet it played via mp3, vinyl or reel to reel. I just have concerns for the future if iTunes is all we'll end up with. I find it strange that in the visual aspect people are really going to town on HD, and are very particular about it. 1080p de-interlaced fancy shcmancy (I don't understand it), but when it comes to audio, people will accept any old crap.
I still havent switched to MP3. Sure on the PC, but otherwise I still roll with tapes, CDs, and vinyl. The most MP3 i was willing to get was Mini Disc.
I really wanted to add to this discussion, but I would basically be saying everything Parka is saying. I will add however that what really pains me about the lower quality music that has been coming out, is that the kids who are listening to it don't realise that music is not supposed to sound like that. I hate people on the bus listening to music on their phones, yeah, cuz it's usually shit, but also because the obviously don't know that it sounds like shit. I guess it's another tick in the dumbing down box.
anyone know how to convert mini discs onto mps or anything, have over 1000 albums that I need to listen to in my car that has a cd player and an SD card reader (bring back the cassette deck)
I think 'going to town on HD' is a little misleading. The market penetration for HD is still only around 30%. It only seems like it's more because they are trying to force the technology on a market that really wasnt ready for it. There's also a difference between not knowing, and not caring. Sure, some of them don't know any better, but at the same time, if they did, would they change? iTunes isnt the leader because everyone thinks their song quality is better than everyone elses. They win because it's incredibly convenient and fits in with the eco-system that they've bought in to. Personally the DRM aspect never really bothered me. I can play my music on 5 computers/ipods, and can burn as many cds as I want. Since I dont have 5 ipods...i've never really run into a problem with it.
The concept of "high fidelity" and the whole industry based around getting people to buy new gadgets to make their "sound" sound better was really born in the late 1960s/1970s. Before that music sounded like "shit" and nobody complained. Nobody cared if a recording didn't sound perfect because it was a recording. Live performances were the big deal. And it's kind of funny how people are coming out of a stupor and saying "Whoa, we can't make money off of record/CD/MP3 sales anymore, gotta tour!" It's not a new idea. Just a more consistent reality for anyone who wants to perform. FWIW, most of the the best music producers in the 1960s mixed their music for "bad" sound systems. Elvis Presley was known to always listen to mixes through car stereos of the era so he knew just how it sounded when a kid would hear it on the radio. Then in the 1970s it went all crazy and even Steve Martin mocked it with his famous "This is shit one, this is shit two." stereo buying sketch. I mean technically if you are listening to "Dark Side of the Moon" in stereo, it's wrong; Alan Parsons did a 4 speaker mix of it.
After all this time of MP3's I still get up in the morning & pick out a few CD's to take on the drive to work & back. I also still prefer to listen to CD's at home. About the only time I listen to MP3's is when I am sitting in front of my computer. I have only ever bought one album in MP3 format: NIN Ghosts I-IV. I don't plan on buying anymore anytime soon. I am all about the sound quality of recordings, and it sucks that MP3's have gotten as popular as they have. Don't get me wrong I am glad they are available as an option, I just wish they weren't the norm.
i just bought Interpol's 7" box set, and it kicks ass. bunch of tracks not available on cd or download. yeah, i realize this thread is all about cd vs. mp3 quality recordings and all that, but i'm just gonna keep talking about vinyl records...
i have a sony MD 1.gb disk player that also can use to store data so i can use the crap software they have to get mp3s from it to other comps same way you do mp3 player not sure about pre loaded MD as mine always started as mp3s do you have sonicstage i think that is the default sony(iv only had sony md players) software oh yah 7" rules my favorite size record even though i hate the reggae 7" with those big ass holes in the middle great cheap way for bands to put out music
DRM is a horrible, horrible invention. It may not bother you now but when you change mp3 player away from an iPod (!) and they won't work, i'm sure you'll be pretty pissed. MD is a great format, shame it died really.
what i like about the MD is that i can chose how high i want to transfer files to it plus it is like an udgraded version of cassete tapes blank MD are cheap as hell store a bunch just my one grief about them is i hate the software
When I talk about hi-fi I end up contradicting myself all over the show. Ignorance about the quality of the files that people listen to annoy me, but then if they enjoy the track who the hell cares? I have marble slabs (amongst other things) under my speakers, which are on spikes etc etc, but then I listen to necro black metal which sounds like it was recorded inside a toilet so does it really matter
hehehe I feel ya Parka, I've got my speaks on spikes as well but its directly on the carpet... Hell I even DIY'd my own speaker cables(bi-wire, cross connected belden 89259 coax) IMO its all about squeaking the last little bit of capability out of your current system, all incremental "updates" adds up/helps Give those bad boys some jazz or clasical to play with sometimes as well though, not just necro black metal(I've not even a clue as to what that is lol) If you want crazy bass/low end that will sound Amazing on a real hifi system, I Highly recommend Kodo They are a Jpnese Taiko group, imo the best in Japan. But portables do have its place, the commute on the train etc For cars, there exists plenty of high quality sources and speakers... I just hope in the future they will have more options than mp3 for car computer systems. My Navi has 30GB space...but I don't/won't use it since it only rips it to mp3 and I really don't wanna have to hack it(not that I would heh) so, here's hoping the manufacturers support/add more file formats!
