Song of the Moment: Pendulum

[McParadigm]

*lights the chud signal

Spoiler: show

can someone make one of those, please?

This is the closest I could find.



Pretty sure that's a frisbee, soooooo......

[darth_vedder]

*lights the chud signal

Spoiler: show

can someone make one of those, please?

Someone should put chuds face on Leia's image:

[Mike]

The bass does not disappear even on 128kbit MP3s. You can probably hear it just as good as on the flac version. Not talking about the quality of the bass sound, just about hearing it.

[Thejambi]

Listening to this flac-style for the first time with headphones. Jeff's bass =

It sucks that most people will listen to some dumpy ass 256 and never even hear it.

I know this is a convo for another thread, but if you listen on an ipod, with 320kbps AAC, with decent (not Apple) earbuds, can you tell a difference between 320 AAC and Lossless / FLAC? Is there much difference between Lossless and FLAC? Are the differences worth the extra space?

I got the vinyl (still waiting), and downloaded the lossless. I haven't given it a proper listen on my ipod with my earbuds, but I did listen to LB in my car and it sounded so much fuller / dense than when I streamed it via iTunes. Granted, my car speakers are better then my computer speakers, but still. Regarding my computer speakers, they are some external ones that I bought for like $25. They aren't great, but leaps and bounds better than my laptop speakers.

So, as you can tell, I'm not mush of an audiophile, so I'm wondering if you can really tell the difference between 320 and Lossless? Or are there multiple factors? So like Lossless vs. 320 on my computer speakers, I'm thinking I won't really notice. However, 320 vs. Lossless listening on my ipod with decent earbuds, maybe I will? Or is the ipod / earbuds crappy devices, and the only way to really tell is to have lossless on good stereo equipment (like a good Harmon Kardon receiver) with good speakers (like at least mid shelf JBLs)? Even with good equipment, can you tell the difference between 320 and lossless?

I usually can't tell but with all the file options given this time I've been trying. The AACs seem flatter to me than the .flacs. Both sound drastically better than the MP3s though.

[griffinxi]

Listening to this flac-style for the first time with headphones. Jeff's bass =

It sucks that most people will listen to some dumpy ass 256 and never even hear it.

I know this is a convo for another thread, but if you listen on an ipod, with 320kbps AAC, with decent (not Apple) earbuds, can you tell a difference between 320 AAC and Lossless / FLAC? Is there much difference between Lossless and FLAC? Are the differences worth the extra space?

I got the vinyl (still waiting), and downloaded the lossless. I haven't given it a proper listen on my ipod with my earbuds, but I did listen to LB in my car and it sounded so much fuller / dense than when I streamed it via iTunes. Granted, my car speakers are better then my computer speakers, but still. Regarding my computer speakers, they are some external ones that I bought for like $25. They aren't great, but leaps and bounds better than my laptop speakers.

So, as you can tell, I'm not mush of an audiophile, so I'm wondering if you can really tell the difference between 320 and Lossless? Or are there multiple factors? So like Lossless vs. 320 on my computer speakers, I'm thinking I won't really notice. However, 320 vs. Lossless listening on my ipod with decent earbuds, maybe I will? Or is the ipod / earbuds crappy devices, and the only way to really tell is to have lossless on good stereo equipment (like a good Harmon Kardon receiver) with good speakers (like at least mid shelf JBLs)? Even with good equipment, can you tell the difference between 320 and lossless?

I usually can't tell but with all the file options given this time I've been trying. The AACs seem flatter to me than the .flacs. Both sound drastically better than the MP3s though.

I wish I had the slightest clue about this type of stuff-- I bought Lightning Bolt off iTunes. What type of file did I get?

[McParadigm]

A BOMB DON'T OPEN IT

[evenslow]

A BOMB DON'T OPEN IT

Spoiler: show

Surprisingly not a PJ fan, considering Eddie's Luddite tendencies.

[McParadigm]

True story: I immediately fall in love with every person I ever catch using the Luddites as a reference point.

[evenslow]

True story: I immediately fall in love with every person I ever catch using the Luddites as a reference point.

Spoiler: show

[McParadigm]

True story: I immediately fall in love with every person I ever catch using the Luddites as a reference point.

Spoiler: show

Mine usually looks a lot more like this



Look Out for My Love.

[evenslow]

True story: I immediately fall in love with every person I ever catch using the Luddites as a reference point.

Spoiler: show

Mine usually looks a lot more like this



Look Out for My Love.

This is how I do:

[numbers]

This song strikes me as one that will disappear from setlists once the shine wears off the new album.

[harmless]

This song strikes me as one that will disappear from setlists because it's good.

[evenslow]

This song strikes me as one that will disappear from setlists because it's good.

Except they've opened every show with it so far.

[harmless]

That *is* good.

[warehouse]

This song strikes me as one that will disappear from setlists because it's good.

Except they've opened every show with it so far.

this is a good sign. i think they realized they hit it out of the park w/ this one, so im hopeful it stays around for a while.

[Norah]

*lights the chud signal

Spoiler: show

can someone make one of those, please?

This is the closest I could find.



Pretty sure that's a frisbee, soooooo......

Here I am!

Um, yeah. I'm going to comment on 320mp3 not 320 AAC because I don't ever have anything in AAC because I don't use itunes but I'm going to assume they're pretty much the same thing.

As far as lossy files go, 320 is a damned good bitrate, and the quality is pretty good considering it's lossy. Most people don't notice a difference. Shit, a lot of the times I don't notice much of a difference. With that said, when I do hear the difference, it's kind of intangible. It's not like there's a specific sound missing, but there's a certain dimension missing that makes the music sound to me more 2 dimensional and flat. For me, the result of that loss is at the visceral level of musical enjoyment. It doesn't hit me in the same deep space and release the same level of endorphins. And to me, that is VERY important, and worth taking up extra hard drive space to avoid.

That's not to say I don't enjoy music that's in presented in mp3 form, especially when it's in the highest quality possible. There's just a chance that I'm going to be listening to it and hit that sweet spot and be a little disappointed when something is missing. The chance of that increases greatly for live recordings.

So what should you do? You should listen to the mp3s and listen to the flacs and see if it matters to you. If it matters, decide if it matters enough to warrant the extra space. If it doesn't, listen to your mp3s without apology and enjoy the music.

[McParadigm]

And if you're not really sure what you're listening for, focus on each of the following items in turn (although chud may correct me on some of this):

- Acoustic instruments. A lot of the time, with higher quality files and/or better sound equipment, overlapping tones begin to distinguish themselves from one another. Acoustic guitars are a great place to look for this reveal. Instead of "this acoustic guitar sounds like x," you'll find that the instrument becomes a little more amorphous, with the tiny variations in strum and mic distance throughout the performance revealing a far larger color palette. On a lossless version of a well-recorded part, through high grade monitors or monitor headphones, you almost start to feel like the varying vibrations of each individual string are tickling their way up your spine, creating a feeling that's equally analogous to a great massage, sudden arousal, and getting just a little bit high.

- Reverb and echo. The most subtle frequency shadings should be a little clearer, meaning that the differences in the sounds created by each instrument are more defined. This can sometimes feel like the different parts have greater separation from one another, and greater depth. But the first reveal is usually in the way reverb'd or echoy parts feel inexplicably "deeper," "wetter" (am I turning you on?), and spacier than they otherwise do. The siren guitar on the track of said name would be a good place to investigate this, although Future Days would be, as well.

Bass. Bass guitar gets abused a bit, even on a bass-feature record like this one. A lot of its frequencies have to get shared by drums, guitars, keyboards, and (in the case of this band) even vocals to an extent. Those same small clarifying differences can help it really stand out and feel more "present," somehow, without being any louder, on a quality recording.

[Norah]

Exactly.

[Thejambi]

And if you're not really sure what you're listening for, focus on each of the following items in turn (although chud may correct me on some of this):

- Acoustic instruments. A lot of the time, with higher quality files and/or better sound equipment, overlapping tones begin to distinguish themselves from one another. Acoustic guitars are a great place to look for this reveal. Instead of "this acoustic guitar sounds like x," you'll find that the instrument becomes a little more amorphous, with the tiny variations in strum and mic distance throughout the performance revealing a far larger color palette. On a lossless version of a well-recorded part, through high grade monitors or monitor headphones, you almost start to feel like the varying vibrations of each individual string are tickling their way up your spine, creating a feeling that's equally analogous to a great massage, sudden arousal, and getting just a little bit high.

- Reverb and echo. The most subtle frequency shadings should be a little clearer, meaning that the differences in the sounds created by each instrument are more defined. This can sometimes feel like the different parts have greater separation from one another, and greater depth. But the first reveal is usually in the way reverb'd or echoy parts feel inexplicably "deeper," "wetter" (am I turning you on?), and spacier than they otherwise do. The siren guitar on the track of said name would be a good place to investigate this, although Future Days would be, as well.

Bass. Bass guitar gets abused a bit, even on a bass-feature record like this one. A lot of its frequencies have to get shared by drums, guitars, keyboards, and (in the case of this band) even vocals to an extent. Those same small clarifying differences can help it really stand out and feel more "present," somehow, without being any louder, on a quality recording.

Spoiler: show

Moisture