Music Format Thread

TheCunningStunt · 05-02-2010, 01:17 PM

Digital is best because you can flick from one song to another.. CDs are different. Although I do love my CD collection.. Never tried vinyl, don't see much of a point.

~~James~~ · 05-02-2010, 01:20 PM

If I could remember the name i'd give it to you.

Korgüll · 05-02-2010, 07:13 PM

CDs are what I like best. Physical format FTW!

snagglepuss · 05-02-2010, 07:43 PM

I'm an old school vinyl fan.

Zer0 · 05-03-2010, 02:58 PM

I got my old cassette deck back working again this evening and hooked it up to my amp. The sound is a bit off though, i need to find a heads cleaner somewhere. It's disappointing to see that no-one has voted for cassette yet, i thought there'd be a few cassette lovers out there. Even though it's not my preferred format i still think that cassettes are a bit underrated at the moment, they're small and portable, they give great sound, and they feel cool and really old-school.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 01-06-2018, 01:10 AM

I am thinking about re-downloading my entire MP3 library in lossless. Gonna try to do it for free, via the internet and file sharing / torrents.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 01-06-2018, 01:15 AM

I need to get a new digital media player with a big storage bank for this one. Any suggestions are welcome. I know that Apple discontinued their iPod with the large capacity HDD. Hopefully flash prices will be low. I've also considered building my own and using Android to power it.

innerspaceboy · 01-06-2018, 10:49 AM

I agree 100% with the comments from the FLAC users. I always strive for archival quality, and size is really a non-issue in this day and age. Occasionally I'm unable to find lossless content and settle for 320CBR / V0 but I would love to be able to replace all my lossy files with FLAC. At ~165,000 tracks it's a daunting challenge, and some of the live and demo content was lossy to begin with. I'm working to replace the rest of my library one discography or record label at a time.

I have 750 CDs but downloaded most of them years ago. Similarly I've got several thousand LPs and a gorgeous Denon DP-60L rosewood turntable, but 90% of my listening is content from my server. A headphone or DAC upgrade will likely be my next move.

Quote:

Originally Posted by [MERIT]

I need to get a new digital media player with a big storage bank for this one. Any suggestions are welcome.

My solution was to build an Ubuntu server paired with unlimited data on Android. I use Subsonic or the Ultrasonic fork which added gapless playback and genre browsing. If you have a data cap the application can downsample audio and video in real time to any desired bit rate. I average about 200GB of mobile data a month with it.

If you really want a dedicated piece of hardware, the Creative Zen X-Fi is hands-down the best value for solid state. It has a 32GB of internal storage, an expansion slot for additional files, and supports FLAC. I lived by it for many years.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 01-06-2018, 04:27 PM

Is there a superior lossless digital music format? I have used FLAC, ALAC [M4A] and WAV, and can't tell a difference. I chose to convert all of my lossless to ALAC, as I used to use iTunes, and it didn't support FLAC.

innerspaceboy · 01-06-2018, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [MERIT]

Is there a superior lossless digital music format? I have used FLAC, ALAC [M4A] and WAV, and can't tell a difference. I chose to convert all of my lossless to ALAC, as I used to use iTunes, and it didn't support FLAC.

Lossless is lossless. Sound quality is the same as the original source for all lossless compression formats. The only other factors to consider are compression rates which are of lesser and lesser consequence as storage costs plummet, and compatibility. APE is technically the best for compression, but unless you're seriously strapped for space the difference is inconsequential.

Compatability is similarly a non-issue as none of the formats you mentioned utilize DRM, and tools are available to freely convert from one format to the next. However, if given the option between a closed format like ALAC and an open format like FLAC, choose FLAC every time. The only reason to use ALAC is if you're forced to by using a closed application like iTunes, and if you're actually using iTunes I would strongly encourage you to consider exploring better options. There is no reason on this Earth to use iTunes in 2018.

View Poll Results: Which format for listening to music do you enjoy most?
Live Music is the Best	8	20.00%
Player Pianos	0	0%
Edison era Wax Tube	2	5.00%
Vinyl/other records	3	7.50%
8-Track	0	0%
Cassette Tape	0	0%
CD	11	27.50%
Mp3 Digital	9	22.50%
WAV Digital	1	2.50%
.Ogg Digital	1	2.50%
FLAC Digital	4	10.00%
Apple Lossless	1	2.50%
Other Lossy (which?)	0	0%
Other Lossless (which?)	0	0%
MIDI	0	0%
Voters: 40. You may not vote on this poll

05-02-2010, 07:13 PM	#33 (permalink)
Korgüll Groupie Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 25	CDs are what I like best. Physical format FTW! __________________ Check out my Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/anesthetize666

05-03-2010, 02:58 PM	#35 (permalink)
Zer0 ∞ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 3,792	I got my old cassette deck back working again this evening and hooked it up to my amp. The sound is a bit off though, i need to find a heads cleaner somewhere. It's disappointing to see that no-one has voted for cassette yet, i thought there'd be a few cassette lovers out there. Even though it's not my preferred format i still think that cassettes are a bit underrated at the moment, they're small and portable, they give great sound, and they feel cool and really old-school. __________________ Last FM \| RYM \| The Final Sound

05-02-2010, 01:17 PM	#31 (permalink)
TheCunningStunt love will tear you apart Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Manchester, UK. Posts: 5,107	Digital is best because you can flick from one song to another.. CDs are different. Although I do love my CD collection.. Never tried vinyl, don't see much of a point.

05-02-2010, 01:20 PM	#32 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	If I could remember the name i'd give it to you.

05-02-2010, 07:43 PM	#34 (permalink)
snagglepuss Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: PA Posts: 136	I'm an old school vinyl fan.

01-06-2018, 01:10 AM	#36 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,814	I am thinking about re-downloading my entire MP3 library in lossless. Gonna try to do it for free, via the internet and file sharing / torrents.

01-06-2018, 01:15 AM	#37 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,814	I need to get a new digital media player with a big storage bank for this one. Any suggestions are welcome. I know that Apple discontinued their iPod with the large capacity HDD. Hopefully flash prices will be low. I've also considered building my own and using Android to power it.

01-06-2018, 04:27 PM	#39 (permalink)
~~[MERIT]~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Missouri, USA Posts: 4,814	Is there a superior lossless digital music format? I have used FLAC, ALAC [M4A] and WAV, and can't tell a difference. I chose to convert all of my lossless to ALAC, as I used to use iTunes, and it didn't support FLAC.