Tell me about yr music collection: digital, CD, vinyl, etc.

[Strat]

I love the initial crackle of the vinyl. When the needle first hits. You know something great is about to happen.

Most of my vinyls are pretty clean and I dont have much crackle upon the initial.

[Norah]

I'm starting to get over vinyl. A lot of it sounds better due to better mastering but it's not always worth the trouble. Ever since I set up a cable so I can easily plug my laptop into the aux in on my marantz from the couch I've found myself listening to FLACs a lot more than the vinyl.

Eventually I'll end up selling off a lot of my collection that isn't much better sounding than the digital equivalent. Read: Pearl Jam vinyl.

[epilogue]

I just don't have a way of listening to FLAC or whatever on the go. And at home I'd much rather listen to vinyl. So....

[Norah]

On the go I just use 320 mp3s on my phone.

[epilogue]

Yeah me too.

[Strat]

Ill take your pj vinyl.

[CopperTom]

Portable turntable
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... uncrate-20

[verb_to_trust]

I feel like if sound quality was the only reason you were into vinyl you probably wasted a lot of your money over the years.

[BurtReynolds]

My Spotify list of bands i'm following is quite impressive.

Vinyl seems like too much hassle, but if it makes the bands a few bucks I'm all for it, regardless of the douchebaggery surrounding it.

[darth_vedder]

I'm not an audiophile, so forgive me for my ignorance...

Is there much difference between AAC and MP3?

I have a large CD collection, and pretty much have burned most things either AAC 320kbps, or ALAC. I don't run things through good speakers, just slightly better speakers than what came on my MacBook Pro.

Maybe it's in my head, but before I knew about bit rates, I just burned them at 128kbps. I swear I can tell a difference between that and 320. It's not obvious stuff, rather the 320 bit rate sounds denser, not as hollow as the 128. I've pretty much converted my entire library to 320 or, if I really like the album (like No Code), ALAC. However, I'm not sure this is really worth it b/c I don't think I can hear the difference between 320 and ALAC. Granted, I'm not listening on good speakers, so that may be it.

At this point, I'm torn. Do I convert more to ALAC, or just leave as AAC 320? Also, what do you guys think are the best computer speakers under $100? The Bose Companion II seem to get pretty solid reviews from Amazon, and I'm sure they are better than what I have now. Just not sure if there is a better alternative in that price range.

Wait, are you taking AAC and converting them up to ALAC? Because it doesn't work that way.

Oh I meant upgrade more of my 320 to ALAC by re-importing. I upgraded once already when I re-imported / replaced the initial shitty burn (AAC 128) to AAC 320. At that time, some choice CDs I did ALAC. I'm debating if I want to re-import again to upgrade more 320's to ALAC.

My problem with that though is that I could hear the difference between 128 and 320, but not so much between 320 and ALAC. However, I'm not using the best speakers, so I don't know if it's really worth the trouble. If / when I ever upgrade to like a real receiver and real speakers, I may re-import more to ALAC, but for now, I probably won't.

[Norah]

I'm not an audiophile, so forgive me for my ignorance...

Is there much difference between AAC and MP3?

I have a large CD collection, and pretty much have burned most things either AAC 320kbps, or ALAC. I don't run things through good speakers, just slightly better speakers than what came on my MacBook Pro.

Maybe it's in my head, but before I knew about bit rates, I just burned them at 128kbps. I swear I can tell a difference between that and 320. It's not obvious stuff, rather the 320 bit rate sounds denser, not as hollow as the 128. I've pretty much converted my entire library to 320 or, if I really like the album (like No Code), ALAC. However, I'm not sure this is really worth it b/c I don't think I can hear the difference between 320 and ALAC. Granted, I'm not listening on good speakers, so that may be it.

At this point, I'm torn. Do I convert more to ALAC, or just leave as AAC 320? Also, what do you guys think are the best computer speakers under $100? The Bose Companion II seem to get pretty solid reviews from Amazon, and I'm sure they are better than what I have now. Just not sure if there is a better alternative in that price range.

Wait, are you taking AAC and converting them up to ALAC? Because it doesn't work that way.

Oh I meant upgrade more of my 320 to ALAC by re-importing. I upgraded once already when I re-imported / replaced the initial shitty burn (AAC 128) to AAC 320. At that time, some choice CDs I did ALAC. I'm debating if I want to re-import again to upgrade more 320's to ALAC.

My problem with that though is that I could hear the difference between 128 and 320, but not so much between 320 and ALAC. However, I'm not using the best speakers, so I don't know if it's really worth the trouble. If / when I ever upgrade to like a real receiver and real speakers, I may re-import more to ALAC, but for now, I probably won't.

To my ears, the difference between 128 and 320 is a lot more drastic than 320 to lossless.

[Birds in Hell]

I'm not an audiophile, so forgive me for my ignorance...

Is there much difference between AAC and MP3?

I have a large CD collection, and pretty much have burned most things either AAC 320kbps, or ALAC. I don't run things through good speakers, just slightly better speakers than what came on my MacBook Pro.

Maybe it's in my head, but before I knew about bit rates, I just burned them at 128kbps. I swear I can tell a difference between that and 320. It's not obvious stuff, rather the 320 bit rate sounds denser, not as hollow as the 128. I've pretty much converted my entire library to 320 or, if I really like the album (like No Code), ALAC. However, I'm not sure this is really worth it b/c I don't think I can hear the difference between 320 and ALAC. Granted, I'm not listening on good speakers, so that may be it.

At this point, I'm torn. Do I convert more to ALAC, or just leave as AAC 320? Also, what do you guys think are the best computer speakers under $100? The Bose Companion II seem to get pretty solid reviews from Amazon, and I'm sure they are better than what I have now. Just not sure if there is a better alternative in that price range.

Wait, are you taking AAC and converting them up to ALAC? Because it doesn't work that way.

Oh I meant upgrade more of my 320 to ALAC by re-importing. I upgraded once already when I re-imported / replaced the initial shitty burn (AAC 128) to AAC 320. At that time, some choice CDs I did ALAC. I'm debating if I want to re-import again to upgrade more 320's to ALAC.

My problem with that though is that I could hear the difference between 128 and 320, but not so much between 320 and ALAC. However, I'm not using the best speakers, so I don't know if it's really worth the trouble. If / when I ever upgrade to like a real receiver and real speakers, I may re-import more to ALAC, but for now, I probably won't.

To my ears, the difference between 128 and 320 is a lot more drastic than 320 to lossless.

Yeah, definitely.

There's still a difference but it's a great deal more subtle (and likely to be virtually indistinguishable if you're listening in a noisy environment, eg. on the go, etc.)

[darth_vedder]

Thanks guys! That pretty much confirms what I was thinking. Most of my library is now either 320 or 320 (VBR). I stopped with the VBR and now just go straight 320. However, I'm too lazy to re-import the VBR ones to straight, so I'll just leave them as is.

At some point, once I upgrade to better equipment, the VBR ones may be good candidates for ALAC. I still have a bunch of songs (about 3k of 11k) under 320 (a solid chunk is 288 (VBR) - not sure why I did that). Of those 3kish songs, in many cases, I either don't have the CD anymore, the disc is too scratched, I borrowed the CD, or got it from someone else via iTunes sharing. That means that I'll pretty much be stuck with some tunes with a crappy bit rate.

[epilogue]

I really had no idea there was this perceived culture of douchebaggery surrounding vinyl. Sad banana.

[Strat]

I really had no idea there was this perceived culture of douchebaggery surrounding vinyl. Sad banana.

anytime somebody is passionate about something, there will be those who think we are douchebags. Also, anytime somebody is passionate about something, there is always a few that are douchebags about it.

[epilogue]

I really had no idea there was this perceived culture of douchebaggery surrounding vinyl. Sad banana.

anytime somebody is passionate about something, there will be those who think we are douchebags. Also, anytime somebody is passionate about something, there is always a few that are douchebags about it.

You're a wise man, Strat. Teach me your ways?

[Strat]

I really had no idea there was this perceived culture of douchebaggery surrounding vinyl. Sad banana.

anytime somebody is passionate about something, there will be those who think we are douchebags. Also, anytime somebody is passionate about something, there is always a few that are douchebags about it.

You're a wise man, Strat. Teach me your ways?

I know nothing, joey snow.

[epilogue]

I really had no idea there was this perceived culture of douchebaggery surrounding vinyl. Sad banana.

anytime somebody is passionate about something, there will be those who think we are douchebags. Also, anytime somebody is passionate about something, there is always a few that are douchebags about it.

You're a wise man, Strat. Teach me your ways?

I know nothing, joey snow.

[kreng]

as far as mp3 goes, hasn't v0 been considered the best in the last few years? kind of surprised to see so many people still using 320.

[Kevin Davis]

I think vinyl is fun but it will never be anything more than a novelty for me. Personally I have never experienced the kind of listening epiphany people describe from listening to music in specific formats, on specific sound systems, through specific headphones, etc. I mean, I can pinpoint obvious technical differences, but personally I stick with CD's because I favor continuity of format within my collection and I have no desire to "rebuild" what I already have, not because I find them the inherently superior format. Sometimes I think people listen so hard to their equipment that they forget to actually listen to the music itself, and in turn end up really overstating how much most of this stuff really affects what they hear.