MP3 player through my system

135

Comments

  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited September 2007
    Not sure why you need WMP to use EAC. If you want I can send you my EAC direcory zipped up to you or something... if your e-mail can handle the file you can PM me... EAC does not need to be "installed" and can be moved around freely and run by the .exe. I also have the LAME DLL included in my EAC setup. I think I even have basic ASPI drivers if that is what it is hanging up on. let me know in a PM if you need that stuff and I can try to send later.
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,601
    edited September 2007
    Sona wrote: »
    Kay, here's the source I mentioned

    Maximum PC, Oct 2007 p 12,

    Spin Precession and You

    Researchers uncover the real culprit behind hard-drive data loss

    How a hard drive works is no big secret. When the drive's magnetic head passes over the platter, it flips the polarity of an area on the disk to either a positive or negative charge. But new research from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies suggests that the jump isn't like flicking a light switch.

    Physicists from the two institutions have shown that atoms on a hard drive wobble as their direction of spin changes. This "spin precession" can affect the phase of neighboring atoms, similar to the ripple from a drop of water hitting a puddle. A chain reaction of unintended phase changing leads to data loss.

    Data loss becomes more common as a drive's capacity (and areal density) increases, but better magnetic dampening material can alleviate avalanche-like phase changing.

    So:

    Might be interesting to track down a more rigorous journal article if one exists,

    AND

    So much for bigger and cheaper hard drives?


    Dirves lose date. CD's break down/scratch. Albums get warped/scratched
    and (horror) MOLD! Then the artist dies. We are allways going to have
    something go wrong. Even stone tablets have a shelf life.
    I'm going to the pc route, but I will keep my CD's. I will buy more,
    but most likely put it to the hard drive right away.
    The pc holds much better potential than other archive formats.
    Ask anyone that was using 10" reel to reels!
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited September 2007
    What I was trying to say was that even if a bit switches, there is enough parity on the drive itself to easily correct an error that slight. Hard drives correct errors like these all the time, in real time, and the way the data is stored on the drive itself, is in a way to allow for the reconstruction of the actual data even when there are minor errors. The drive can even recover minor head crashes without you even knowing... it will mark off an area on the platter to avoid and re-map the data.

    That is what I was saying... you would have to have more than just one bit flipping... and the file would have to be HEAVILY fragmented... 99% of the time, data loss is from the severe damage, like a head crash. Using RAID 5, even a crashed drive is not going to lose your data... RAID6, you can lose 2 drives!

    Things like CRC checks can confirm a file's integrity if you do not believe me. Get a hash, do a hundred copies and then compare that file's hash to the original one... you will find that it will be the same.

    The ONLY way to store so much data in such a small area like on a HD platter is to have some built in parity and error correction... like on a CD. It's just 99% of the CD players out there cannot correct the rull redbook spec for an "error" in real time... Using the computer to rip the audio, it can work on that CD for hours if it has to... it will try to correct out to the full level if you let it... be careful though, even new CDs have errors and it can exponentially increase ripping time.
  • Music Joe
    Music Joe Posts: 459
    edited September 2007
    Amazon just debuted over 2 million DRM-free 256kbps tunes under a buck.
    I'm seriously diggin' lossless and 320kbps via Squeezebox>jitter box>dac.
    Some of the internet music feeds surprise me with how decent they sound at bitrates like :eek: 32kbps :eek:
  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited September 2007
    if you want the best sound quality hear is what i did for my neighbor "he own a Massive cd collection" i told him to go buy a Apple Tv now hear is were i came in i installed a 1TB "terrabite" hard drive in his computer than using iTunes Beleive me this is the best program out there that i have used and i went into the settings and changes the quality to something called apple lossless "which means it imports without losing quality" than for literaly a week stright i starting ripping and ripping and ripping and finaly i was done hooked up the apple tv to the stereo reciever using fiber optic and WIRELESSLY played the music what the apple tv does is it can connect to a pc's music list wirelessly and play right from it. and ya know what HE LOVES IT AND SAYS HE CANNOT HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. Hopw this helps have any questions let me know
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited September 2007
    Hahahahahahahahahaha itunes... hahaha... I feel like ReelTrouble now... hahahahaha.

    No offense, but apple can kiss my ****. They are supposed to be masters of interface design and they came up with the most obfustcated, bloated, buggy, feature-weak software for music... and the worst part about it is, if you buy an ipod, you are STUCK with the piece of crap if you want to buy from their store.

    The Amazon store is a godsend for mp3 people... no DRM, no proprietary format, and lower prices... AND!!! you don't need special software to get and play them!

    If you are serious about PC audio, and want to use a PC... (squeezebox has it's own merits and I am not knocking them), then you NEED to use Winamp with ASIO or kernel streaming, or you need to get Foobar2000 and get that setup with the proper plugins. iTunes is a joke... learn this, get a real playback suite and setup, and then give it another shot.

    You wouldn't want to use the latest no-name chinese $50 turntable (cartridge included!) at bestbuy for your precious vinyl, you do not want to use itunes for your precious digital music. It can't even output to ASIO or even kernel streaming! How can you bypass the OS's built in mixers, or ensure a bit-perfect signal with itunes? You can't. Once you install it, there is a very good chance that it will destroy your entire music file structure if you are not careful. It is almost like a virus... a brushed aluminum virus.

    Also, why would you want to buy into a format that requires itunes to play them, and a player that requires itunes to copy the music to it, rather than have them in an open format, or on a player that you can mount as a standard USB drive and copy them over?

    This Amazon deal is just another nail in the coffin of the stupid itunes platform. Apple used to be known for killer interfaces and software... yet here we have itunes. What a joke.

    Sorry if that sounded like a rant, but that is because I have been wanting to vent off steam about that piece of crap software ever since I bought my father an ipod for his birthday thinking "it's apple, it will be easy to use"... It took me a while to figure out why the files I was copying to the mounted ipod weren't showing up, and then when itunes tried to screw up my entire music library's structure, and THEN once I got the albums he likes copied over (takes forever since it has to DRMify everything, even non DRM files), half of them wouldn't even f'ing play for more than 10 seconds. Apple is the new Microsoft.

    The guy earlier in the thread using a non-apple brand player for trying out digital downloads has the right idea. Stay far away from apple... you pay more for less features, and pay more for a greater headache.

    Apple has to be the only company that can release a phone that has 50% less features than a 3 year old blackberry, yet costing magnitudes more, but people will still happily sign away a several year AT&T contract lock-in just to get to use it.

    /rant
  • phipiper10
    phipiper10 Posts: 955
    edited September 2007
    Psyched about Amazon! Higher bit rates and no DRM. Bought a new album for $8.99 last night - Amos Lee.


    I agree with previous post on all the bad about apple but bottom line is it's really user friendly for people who are less tech saavy. They sell the music in their store which interfaces with their software/pc player which interfaces with their mp3 player. Seems like a no brainer.

    It's really brilliant but things are changing quickly and with DRM free music and a maturing mp3 player market and more compatability with music/stores/players things won't continue to be so good for apple in the mp3 sales dept. This closed loop market place idea is starting to weaken as consumers realize they have a choice.

    Sure apple's sales will continue to grow but that growth will slow. The labels are looking for alternatives to apple and so are consumers who know they deserve to truely own their own music and want more choice

    Emusic and Amazon are serious and in the end more friendly to the consumer.
    Analog Source: Rega P3-24 Exact 2 w/GT delrin platter & Neo TT-PSU Digital Source: Lumin T2 w/Roon (NUC) DAC: Denafrips Pontus II Phono Preamp: Rega Aria MK3 Preamp: Rogue RP-7 Amp: Pass X150.8 Speakers: Joseph Audio Perspective 2, Audio Physic Tempo Plus Cables: Morrow M4 ICs & Audio Art SC-5 ePlus, Shunyata PCs Misc: Shunyata Hydra Delta D6, VTI rack, GIK acoustic panels
  • bigaudiofanatic
    bigaudiofanatic Posts: 4,415
    edited September 2007
    O please my nighbor has had his apple tv for almost a year and me i swear by my ipod i HATE all of those crappy mp3 players that say there great like the ipod but not the S*** i have tried them all the crappy and buggy and unreliable zune the creative peice of junk but ya know what i have a 3 year old ipod thats been slamed up agains the wall and droped on moving treadmills and ya know what IT STILL WORKS apple products are by far the most reliable peices of machinery out there forget the amazon junk they just dont know how to test the stuff and if you ask me it all boils down to what the cunsumer wants anyway and i have recomended the apple tv to at least 13 people and ya know what even the very tech savy LOVE IT so my comments stand if you can show me a product thats more reliable than my ipod ill try it out but if you cant well o well than.
    HT setup
    Panasonic 50" TH-50PZ80U
    Denon DBP-1610
    Monster HTS 1650
    Carver A400X :cool:
    MIT Exp 3 Speaker Wire
    Kef 104/2
    URC MX-780 Remote
    Sonos Play 1

    Living Room
    63 inch Samsung PN63C800YF
    Polk Surroundbar 3000
    Samsung BD-C7900
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited September 2007
    Compressed music is a compormise and I won't pay for a compromise. If I'm paying my hard earned money it better be the real thing.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • Lowell_M
    Lowell_M Posts: 1,660
    edited September 2007
    if you want the best sound quality hear is what i did for my neighbor "he own a Massive cd collection" i told him to go buy a Apple Tv now hear is were i came in i installed a 1TB "terrabite" hard drive in his computer than using iTunes Beleive me this is the best program out there that i have used and i went into the settings and changes the quality to something called apple lossless "which means it imports without losing quality" than for literaly a week stright i starting ripping and ripping and ripping and finaly i was done hooked up the apple tv to the stereo reciever using fiber optic and WIRELESSLY played the music what the apple tv does is it can connect to a pc's music list wirelessly and play right from it. and ya know what HE LOVES IT AND SAYS HE CANNOT HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. Hopw this helps have any questions let me know

    I have a question. What about the giant "laser" you were going to put on your "death star". Didn't you call that the Alan Parsons Project or something? What did you ever do with that "time machine"?
    HT
    RTi70 mains
    CSi30 center
    RTi28 Rears
    Velodyne CHT-12
    H/K AVR-247
    ADCOM GFA-7000
    Samsung PN58B860
    Playstation 3

    2-Channel
    Polk Audio LSi15's
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Nakamichi CA-5 Pre
    ADCOM GFA-555
    Signal Cable Analog II IC's
    Signal Ultra Bi-Wire Speaker Cables
  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited September 2007
    I guess it's time to move into the 21st century and go with the masses...HOWEVER...baby steps. I can't do it all at once. Something new...something traditional.

    My new reference system:
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited September 2007
    shack wrote: »
    I guess it's time to move into the 21st century and go with the masses...HOWEVER...baby steps. I can't do it all at once. Something new...something traditional.

    My new reference system:

    ROTFLMAO! That's priceless.

    Perhaps add one of these before you head out the door to the gym or the jogging trails?
  • fatchowmein
    fatchowmein Posts: 2,637
    edited September 2007
    Yashu,
    While I agree iTunes has its weaknesses, there are third party free applications that will allow you to recover and retrieve music off your iPod and allow you to copy non-DRM music from itunes to itunes. I'm sure there are other apps I don't know about.
    I've never had the amount of headaches you encountered and I find itunes rather simple for the non-technical family members like my wife and mother-in-law. Furthermore, the iPod/iTunes combo is fully supported by multiple vendors, some free some not, which makes them pretty popular.
    Be that as it may, I'm not thrilled about being locked into a proprietory format like .m4a (lossless) using a device that's not very durable (I've replaced both a 4GB and 30GB ipod under warranty). I love flac and MediaMonkey and perhaps one day I'll get off my lazy butt and reimage my ipod to play flac. When that day comes, I get to reconvert all my .m4a back to flac so I guess the joke is on me. :)

    For now, my setup is pretty easy and most folks should be able to easily duplicate what I've done. Just make sure to avoid the iTune store and DRM (digitally rented music).
  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited September 2007
    m4a is not a locked-in format. Winamp can play them natively, and there is also a great mpeg4 plugin that has more features.

    The problem is the DRM format files, and also the fact that itunes does not offer any way to get a true bit-perfect ASIO output, or even through kernel streaming. I know that it is not marketed towards audiophiles, and I know there are some 3rd party apps, but the only way to actually buy the tunes is through itunes. Amazon, Emusic, Bleep.com, and all the other DRM free sites are wonderful for people that just want music that can use anywhere in any way they want without trouble, although emusic needs to increase their SQ... I tried their free trial and you can easily hear artifacting.

    I am not saying the sound quality matches uncompressed, because it doesn't, however a lame encoded mp3 at 320k -insane, sounds pretty good, even on my reference control monitors where their unforgiving tweeter makes almost all other lossy music unlistenable.

    M4a, mp4, these formats are one in the same, and they actually sound pretty good. Bit for bit, they are better than mp3, and I have found that quite a few people are beginning to have their collections in this format as opposed to mp3 (in the communities that I am active in).

    As the average bandwidth increases, so will the sound quality of digital downloads. I can see 5 years from now, it being easy to find lossless downloads. It is only a matter of time. Mp3s used to be mostly 128k, then 192, and now much are 256 and 320k in the communities. You can also find quite a few m4a and FLAC files. Soon enough lossless compression will be standard.
  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2007
    shack wrote: »
    I guess it's time to move into the 21st century and go with the masses...HOWEVER...baby steps. I can't do it all at once. Something new...something traditional.

    My new reference system:

    yea your a geek............

    waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


    prime example of generational diversity defined, Chuck is going to pay for this, I am hiring GG to do a fly by...........

    RT1
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,601
    edited September 2007
    I just got my media pc put together. It's a micro atx board in an Antec case(quiet) with a gig of ram and 500 g hard drive. Until I get my dac, its roughing it with the integrated sound board. Flac via EAC, playback with Slimserver and the squeezesoft player. Not bad. Ive got it playing to my headphone amp through a pair of AudioTechnica athw100's. Now for the hard part of getting good burns of my collection.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2007
    wow, I just mash play.....

    RT1--Audio Infidel.......
  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited September 2007
    yea your a geek............

    waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


    prime example of generational diversity defined, Chuck is going to pay for this, I am hiring GG to do a fly by...........

    RT1

    Believe it or not it actually works quite well (for what it is). It is an iPod Shuffle (1G) that I listen to when I mow the yard (and sometimes on the golf course). I hate the stupid "ear buds" that came with it but never felt the need to invest in better. I went on a trip recently and tossed the Sens in the suitcase with the iPod. They are very sensitive and don't require an amp on anything i've tried them with. I was very suprised with the sound (for what it is). I may just bring this "reference rig" to PF and show you guys what a "real" system should sound like. :D
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2007
    cool, we need to blow something up besides blose........

    I bet you just like the sound and the way the motor vibrates your cheeks........
  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited September 2007
    Ok. So in summary...a squeezebox with Apple lossless and a Benchmark DAC1 sounds like.....
    Sharp Elite 70
    Anthem D2V 3D
    Parasound 5250
    Parasound HCA 1000 A
    Parasound HCA 1000
    Oppo BDP 95
    Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
    Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
    Totem Mask Surrounds X4
    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,601
    edited September 2007
    wow, I just mash play.....

    RT1--Audio Infidel.......

    There is a bit of a loading delay while you fumble about the empty pizza
    boxes and beer cans for your favorite cd?:D

    I had some reservations going this route. The real problem was I wasn't using my whole collection very well. This should help that. I'm a relic trying hard to come to grips with the 21st century.

    Of course, my favorite response was when someone asked me if my
    Audio Research amp was my 1st venture into tubes... it all used to be tubes
    when I was young!
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
  • Music Joe
    Music Joe Posts: 459
    edited September 2007
    Ok. So in summary...a squeezebox with Apple lossless and a Benchmark DAC1 sounds like.....

    I am curious about the same SB3>Dac1 combo. I have not listened to the two together and can only point out this reviewhttp://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/906slim/
    Attkinson bought one and kept it.
  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited September 2007
    Music Joe wrote: »
    I am curious about the same SB3>Dac1 combo. I have not listened to the two together and can only point out this reviewhttp://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/906slim/
    Attkinson bought one and kept it.

    Thanks MJ. I have the Benchmark. Maybe I will try the Squeezebox out.
    Sharp Elite 70
    Anthem D2V 3D
    Parasound 5250
    Parasound HCA 1000 A
    Parasound HCA 1000
    Oppo BDP 95
    Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
    Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
    Totem Mask Surrounds X4
    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2007
    Wanna bet your new TT kills it...........

    The SB is simply the beginning attempts of the hobbyist community to refine the hardware. If pretty good is the standard then just about everything made day passes. Use it and put and asterik on it........

    RT1
  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited September 2007
    This whole digital thing is not for me; why would I want to spend time ripping, downloading, archiving, etc?? I have very little time already.
    _________________________________________________
    ***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***

    2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
    SOPA
    Thank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman
  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited September 2007
    Wanna bet your new TT kills it...........

    The SB is simply the beginning attempts of the hobbyist community to refine the hardware. If pretty good is the standard then just about everything made day passes. Use it and put and asterik on it........

    RT1

    Oh of course. I am just thinking of something to play continuously while I am cleaning the house or working out or etc... Not critical but really good.

    I mean right now I am using this Monitor Audio so I think the SB with the Benchmark may be a slight (ever so) improvement.:p
    Sharp Elite 70
    Anthem D2V 3D
    Parasound 5250
    Parasound HCA 1000 A
    Parasound HCA 1000
    Oppo BDP 95
    Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
    Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
    Totem Mask Surrounds X4
    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
  • Yashu
    Yashu Posts: 772
    edited September 2007
    Reel... one of these days you are going to have to tell me where to get started with open reel tape. See how I am willing to embrace your world? Does that make me better than you ;)

    Anyway, I don't have room for my turntable and vinyl wears out and it would be awsome to record that stuff on tape... my digital rig may be awsome for playback, but it is not so good for recording from an analog source. I also wany to record radio broadcasts from the college and public stations, and even just output from my digital setup with various configurations. Yes I could buy a tape deck off ebay and go back to the days of metal oxide tapes and Dolby NR, but open reel would be pretty neat to try. That IS how you got your name, no? (I know this is OT that is why I asked for the PM)
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited September 2007
    Ok. So in summary...a squeezebox with Apple lossless and a Benchmark DAC1 sounds like.....

    Well Apple lossless isn't the same as a real cd. A squeezbox with FLAC files ripped using EAC thru a Benchmark is as good as the real thing :) .

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2007
    heiney9 wrote: »
    FLAC files ripped using EAC thru a Benchmark

    H9


    Some day I need to know what that means...
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2007
    I am still mashing play.............in sonic heaven

    its all good, but your still going to burn Max. You know GG still owes you for that whole 3960 thing.........yea, somethings are never forgotten...

    RT1