Members Bobby1Note Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Vinny D I know people think I am imagining things when I say this but I think the sound quality of Ipods suck *ss. The sad part is that you are basically forced to use them due to the simplicity of having so much music stored on such a little device. Your download rate or whatever it's called has a lot to do with the quality also. Another thing people say I imagine is that the multipin port sounds better then using the 1/8" headphone port. I have used both and IMO there is no comparison, the multiport to my ears sounds much clearer/cleaner. Rip a few songs from a CD that you like the quality of and store them on the ipod, then compare those tracks to ones you download. Another thing that drives me crazy is the audio level from song to song varies greatly, you have to babysit your board when playing break music to watch the levels. Good points VinnyD, I hadn't thought about levels. Hmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Vinny D I know people think I am imagining things when I say this but I think the sound quality of Ipods suck *ss. The sad part is that you are basically forced to use them due to the simplicity of having so much music stored on such a little device. Your download rate or whatever it's called has a lot to do with the quality also. Another thing people say I imagine is that the multipin port sounds better then using the 1/8" headphone port. I have used both and IMO there is no comparison, the multiport to my ears sounds much clearer/cleaner. Rip a few songs from a CD that you like the quality of and store them on the ipod, then compare those tracks to ones you download. Another thing that drives me crazy is the audio level from song to song varies greatly, you have to babysit your board when playing break music to watch the levels. Good points VinnyD, I hadn't thought about levels. Hmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 There are programs you can download (or maybe even a feature built in Itunes) to normalize the levels of the songs in your library. It's probably far from perfect, but probably better than having no adjustments at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 There are programs you can download (or maybe even a feature built in Itunes) to normalize the levels of the songs in your library. It's probably far from perfect, but probably better than having no adjustments at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Varying normalization of levels on differently mastered tracks is an issue one would have to deal with no matter if the recorded music source is a compressed digital player, a cd, cassette, 8-track, reel-to-reel, vinyl, phonographic cylinders, or carved on a player piano scroll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Varying normalization of levels on differently mastered tracks is an issue one would have to deal with no matter if the recorded music source is a compressed digital player, a cd, cassette, 8-track, reel-to-reel, vinyl, phonographic cylinders, or carved on a player piano scroll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruven65 Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Here's a solution to your track volume issues. http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/download.php I've used it on entire folders of MP3s used for break music. You set the level you want all tracks at and it boosts or cuts based on an analysis of the track volumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruven65 Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Here's a solution to your track volume issues. http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/download.php I've used it on entire folders of MP3s used for break music. You set the level you want all tracks at and it boosts or cuts based on an analysis of the track volumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by abzurd My advice: - I buy my tunes from Amazon or Google (always mp3). Google uses 320 bit rate and Amazon recently converted most to 256. If you already owned songs purchased from Amazon you can download the better quality versions for free through your amazon player. - To level volume use the PC version of mp3gain. It's an older program but works wonderfully. the PC version is NON-DESTRUCTIVE. This means it stores the volume changes in the tag and they can be redone or removed at any time through mp3gain. I have mine set at 93 dB (they suggest 89 but that's far too low). At 93 clipping will be indicated on many tracks, but don't worry about it. The clipping algorithm isn't all that great and I've never heard clipping. If you're really worried about it you can set to 91 and it will be fine, but that's just really quiet. Most modern tracks are 98-100. The mac version is DESTRUCTIVE meaning there's no going back once you've made changes. - I use a Whirlwind IsoPod . At around $50 it's not cheap, but it works VERY well and I recommend highly if you're trying to pipe it mono through one channel strip of your board. OK Sean, that's great info. Thks for that. I've got the EWI DBRC-2A, so that should be fine. That lil' Isopod sure is compact though. Nice. http://www.audiopile.net/products/DI...cutsheet.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by abzurd My advice: - I buy my tunes from Amazon or Google (always mp3). Google uses 320 bit rate and Amazon recently converted most to 256. If you already owned songs purchased from Amazon you can download the better quality versions for free through your amazon player. - To level volume use the PC version of mp3gain. It's an older program but works wonderfully. the PC version is NON-DESTRUCTIVE. This means it stores the volume changes in the tag and they can be redone or removed at any time through mp3gain. I have mine set at 93 dB (they suggest 89 but that's far too low). At 93 clipping will be indicated on many tracks, but don't worry about it. The clipping algorithm isn't all that great and I've never heard clipping. If you're really worried about it you can set to 91 and it will be fine, but that's just really quiet. Most modern tracks are 98-100. The mac version is DESTRUCTIVE meaning there's no going back once you've made changes. - I use a Whirlwind IsoPod . At around $50 it's not cheap, but it works VERY well and I recommend highly if you're trying to pipe it mono through one channel strip of your board. OK Sean, that's great info. Thks for that. I've got the EWI DBRC-2A, so that should be fine. That lil' Isopod sure is compact though. Nice. http://www.audiopile.net/products/DI...cutsheet.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Koopdaddy Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 I find normal itunes downloads adequate for background music. Sure its not perfect and the quality isnt the best, but again, this is background music we are talking about.I keep the high rez stuff for my home stereo system and I only carry a few select tracks of high rez stuff on my ipods, should I ever need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Koopdaddy Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 I find normal itunes downloads adequate for background music. Sure its not perfect and the quality isnt the best, but again, this is background music we are talking about.I keep the high rez stuff for my home stereo system and I only carry a few select tracks of high rez stuff on my ipods, should I ever need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Bobby1Note I tried to get info on the megapixel count for the onboard still camera (4th generation Touch), and couldn't find anything. Seems to me that it's 1.2MP. I just got of the phone with a buddy who's a professional photographer, and he mentioned graininess as well. He said it would probably look good on the Touch's small screen, but not good/too grainy for anything larger. Ipod touch 4th generation is 720p video. Pro photographers are not always the best guys to reference as far as video is concerned, as many of them would deem even the highest resolutions videos that have ever been shot as low resolution. edit: (And they would be right) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Bobby1Note I tried to get info on the megapixel count for the onboard still camera (4th generation Touch), and couldn't find anything. Seems to me that it's 1.2MP. I just got of the phone with a buddy who's a professional photographer, and he mentioned graininess as well. He said it would probably look good on the Touch's small screen, but not good/too grainy for anything larger. Ipod touch 4th generation is 720p video. Pro photographers are not always the best guys to reference as far as video is concerned, as many of them would deem even the highest resolutions videos that have ever been shot as low resolution. edit: (And they would be right) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by gruven65 Here's a solution to your track volume issues. http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/download.php I've used it on entire folders of MP3s used for break music. You set the level you want all tracks at and it boosts or cuts based on an analysis of the track volumes. I talked about this in detail in my post above and want to reiterate not to use the Mac version of this program as it's not the same thing and is destructive to the mp3 file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruven65 Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by abzurd I talked about this in detail in my post above and want to reiterate not to use the Mac version of this program as it's not the same thing and is destructive to the mp3 file. You can always make a backup folder for your original files. I still do, even though I am able to reverse the changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted January 3, 2013 CMS Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Vinny D I know people think I am imagining things when I say this but I think the sound quality of Ipods suck *ss. The sad part is that you are basically forced to use them due to the simplicity of having so much music stored on such a little device. Your download rate or whatever it's called has a lot to do with the quality also. Another thing people say I imagine is that the multipin port sounds better then using the 1/8" headphone port. I have used both and IMO there is no comparison, the multiport to my ears sounds much clearer/cleaner. Rip a few songs from a CD that you like the quality of and store them on the ipod, then compare those tracks to ones you download. Another thing that drives me crazy is the audio level from song to song varies greatly, you have to babysit your board when playing break music to watch the levels. What format are you ripping to? That's the key to audio quality issues from iPods. If what you hear sounds {censored}ty, chances are you made the same big mistake I made when I spent (wasted) hours ripping my entire CD collection...I used the default format, which is highly compressed. At the time I knew zip-squat about all of it (and know little more today) so I simply plugged in and let 'er rip. I've since heard other iPods that used uncompressed formats and they sound identical to the CD (which BTW still sounds too harsh compared with vinyl, IMHO). So I {censored}ed up and it's too late to fix, as 90% of my CD collection was "lost" to my separation/divorce (be sure to take *everything* right away if you move out) so the ripped songs are all I've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted January 3, 2013 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Al Poulin I've been using some Sony 16GB MP3 players for many years now and they sound as good as any other source I use. (Stanton CD player + Sony home/pro Minidisc decks) All of my digital music is encoded at 320kbps and directly from store bought or music service (ERG) CDs. Connection to my mixers is via 1/8" to dual (L/R) RCA OR 1/8" to dual (L/R) 1/4". Al Al, I presume the Sony comes with earbuds,,,, are they any good? Apple seems to offer various qualities of "earbuds/earphones". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted January 3, 2013 CMS Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Bobby1Note What accessories are worthwhile buying when you order these things? Are the Apple accessories over-priced? How do you "charge" these things? USB? A dock? Basically all you need is an iPod/Phone/Pad cable and any USB charging cube. Prices are lousy IMO regardless if it being an Apple, Griffin or any other off-brand accessory. A lot of gear has Ipod charging stands built in. Note that using a case will make any stand/base chargers a PITA as you need to remove the case in many instances. You can also of course charge via a laptop USB, albeit slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vinny D Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Craigv What format are you ripping to? That's the key to audio quality issues from iPods. If what you hear sounds {censored}ty, chances are you made the same big mistake I made when I spent (wasted) hours ripping my entire CD collection...I used the default format, which is highly compressed. At the time I knew zip-squat about all of it (and know little more today) so I simply plugged in and let 'er rip. I've since heard other iPods that used uncompressed formats and they sound identical to the CD (which BTW still sounds too harsh compared with vinyl, IMHO). So I {censored}ed up and it's too late to fix, as 90% of my CD collection was "lost" to my separation/divorce (be sure to take *everything* right away if you move out) so the ripped songs are all I've got. Everything that came from a CD that I transfered to the Ipod comes out fine, it's what gets downloaded that seems to be hit or miss....even when downloading songs that are supposed to be higher quality, some still come out sounding like crap. And I also *donated* (makes me feel better saying that....well, not really) everything I had including my house to my X... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Vinny, from what I read, that just says that your downloads (versus your cd rips) are of crappy quality (or occasionally good; you did say, "hit or miss") regardless of bitrate. That's not a media player problem, it's a content and/or content provider issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 the bit rate doesn't tell you squat really. That file could have been transcoded (changed from one format to another or one bit rate to another). If you're downloading pirated stuff it will be a complete crap shoot. For instance the original mp3 could be a 128 bit rate file that someone up-converted to 320. The quality of that file goes down as you can't make a lossy format better by encoding it higher. It's just reencoding the output of the 128 file so it's actually losing additional quality.Another issue is that not all encoders are equal. Files encoded using the Xing encoder, have many more artifacts than one using LAME. Xing was used back in the day because it was fast. But fast wasn't good.Finally, you have to consider the source. The fact is, some recordings just sound terrible and always have. It's not always the fault of the mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vinny D Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Everything that has been downloaded comes from Itunes....and I will admit that part of it is that I am just not that savy at all this techno stuff which is why I am still a analog guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soul-x Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Maybe you are not happy with Itunes as a content provider? And definitely not at whatever quality level you have been using them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted January 3, 2013 Members Share Posted January 3, 2013 Originally Posted by Bobby1Note Al, I presume the Sony comes with earbuds,,,, are they any good? Apple seems to offer various qualities of "earbuds/earphones". Any Sony earbuds that come with any portable Sony player made in the last 7 years or so are complete and utter crap from my experience. I have about 7 sets of them in a droar as "spares" for my daughters or for anyone that needs free earphones. Cheap, dollar store quality junk. {censored}, {censored}, {censored}. Even ultra high bitrate music comes out sounding like a 56kbps download of a 1930's recording. I'm always amazed at headphone specs. They always tell you the response is something like 15-20khz and with 105db sensitivity, almost regardless of who makes them. I imagine there should be a -/+ 30db qualifier next to most of those frequency response specs... I own about 5 sets of big/comfortable headphones from Sony/Panasonic (all between 30-70$) and none of them are particularly good sounding. (OK for listening to a movie to not disturb someone, but no redeeming qualities for serious music listening) They all have very obvious shortcomings (frequencies that are too loud/too weak) that are instantly audible. Most of the Sonys are terribly dark and undetailed (especiall my most expensive "bass" headphones, while the Panasonics are too bright (the annoying type of bright) with almost non existent mids. I am planning on getting some Senheisers or Audio Technicas or AKGs eventually for studio use. Any of my powered speakers I can get sounding good with very little eq, but these under 100$ headphones - yuk. And the included Sony earbuds are 50X worse. Like AM radio. Basically, mostly mids with little detail anywhere else. And they're not comfortable or durable. They were included probably because Sony felt obligated to include something - anything that produced sound when plugged into their electronics. This simply shows me that Sony couldn't care less about the perceived sound quality of their products. No pride whatsoever. And their TVs suck too. That's all I have to say about that. Not sure what happened to Sony. They used to make some decent stuff....Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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