Music, Where did you get it?

If I like a band, I'll buy their album:

• on CD and Rip in iTunes into ALAC Format
• on a Lossless Online Store such as HDTracks

If I like an individual song, I'll probably just buy the song individually on iTunes.

a combination of ripping and buying off Amazon MP3 and iTunes store. can't tell the difference to my ears and my gear isn't nearly high end enough to make it bother me. can't beat the deals on Amazon.

I buy popular music from Amazon as MP3 downloads. The majority (80%) of my music is classical, however, and these are bought as CDs also from Amazon but subsequently ripped to either FLAC or WMA Lossless. I don't generally buy SACDs or some of the higher resolution formats anymore.

.

I usually buy used CD's off amazon.com 

- Rip them on my computer as WAV 

I have a lot of space on my computer and I haven't seriously sat down and and studied the difference between FLAC and WAV. Most people will tell you there's no difference. As stubborn as I am I will continue to rip in WAV until I study the sound myself. 

Not sure if you will hear a significant difference between 320 kbps and FLAC but I would definitely rip your songs in FLAC from now on as you want to get the most out of your music and FLAC is lossless so you don't lose any data from the music when ripping it. 

You'll notice the difference between mp3 and FLAC if you have a good pair of headphones.

Also you mentioned that some songs don't sound as good as others. A lot of the time that's due to poor mastering.

Cheers 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phlamp 

thanks, i never even knew that amazon sold songs in such a way, i mostly listen to pop. A new possible question might be what kind of file do you prefer? I have no idea what the difference would be to something such as 320kps and FLAC.

Personally, I prefer ALAC over FLAC since I use Apple iDevices and iTunes to listen to my music.

WAV is Uncompressed, so when you rip a CD onto your computer in WAV format, you're essentially copying the whole entire CD onto your computer.

FLAC (and ALAC) are Lossless, which are compressed so that the file size is reduced (up to 50-60% compared to the original size) but lose no information in the process.

MP3/AAC Files are Lossy, with a predetermined bit rate (128, 198, 256, 320 kbps), and are compressed even further to reduce the file size, although they lose information/detail in the process.

Might have a few errors there, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

My library is a combination of CDs ripped to ALAC via Exact Audio Copy, and online purchases from sites like Bandcamp (they offer their downloads in a lot of formats, including FLAC and ALAC), iTunes, and Amazon.

Start : Spotify

Finish : Rasputin Music

All my music is ripped from CDs into iTunes as ALAC files. I probably should use something like EAC but I am not aware of any issues with iTunes CD ripper. (Maybe someone else knows about this?) I still buy CDs, mainly from eBay. There are many good deals to be had especially if you by from large seller who combines shipping costs. Just a few weeks ago I bought 15 CDs (alternative and indie stuff from the 90s and 2000s) for only $2.00 plus shipping. A way better deal than iTunes or AmazonMP3 because you get lossless files for way less than what it costs for a 256Kbps AAC. Just my experience. I have been interested in the HDTracks stuff but I have yet to shell out the money for one of their 24-bit recordings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by csteimnetz1 

All my music is ripped from CDs into iTunes as ALAC files. I probably should use something like EAC but I am not aware of any issues with iTunes CD ripper. (Maybe someone else knows about this?) I still buy CDs, mainly from eBay. There are many good deals to be had especially if you by from large seller who combines shipping costs. Just a few weeks ago I bought 15 CDs (alternative and indie stuff from the 90s and 2000s) for only $2.00 plus shipping. A way better deal than iTunes or AmazonMP3 because you get lossless files for way less than what it costs for a 256Kbps AAC. Just my experience. I have been interested in the HDTracks stuff but I have yet to shell out the money for one of their 24-bit recordings.

Wow that many cd's for only $2?? Could you recommend some sellers? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by scjarrett87 

 

Wow that many cd's for only $2?? Could you recommend some sellers? 

Yeah sure. AmoebaBlowout is good one. They combine shipping and have a lot of good titles http://stores.ebay.com/AmoebaBlowout Also http://stores.ebay.com/kagenterprises1 has the best deals but right now they are really selling mostly vinyl but I have gotten some amazing deals from them. Those are the only two that I can remember now and I buy most of my CDs from them. I also forgot to mention in my other post that I check out the local thrift stores when I get a chance. They usually sell CDs at $1.00 each and I have found some really good titles: Oasis, Tom Petty, Wallflowers, etc. But even more surprising is the vinyl that I have bought. I got two George Winston records in NM condition for a dollar each. That's crazy. I also picked up 3 Genesis records each for only 50 cents. Just don't let too many people in on the deals. Haha. Happy hunting.

Ninety five percent of my music is on CD, A lot of it autographed, some vinyl as well, also autographed.  It's then ripped into iTunes and Matched to their songs.  It's funny that a year ago i couldn't see the benefit of iTunes match and was ripping to FLAC with EAC, now I'm one hundred percent iTunes Match, because honestly for when i really want to listen to a song and not just hear it, it goes in the CD player, for the rest of the time (car time) iTunes quality is good enough for my system.  It's good enough to keep the really really low tones (think sub audible twenty to five hertz range) with clarity and the really high dynamics where you would really notice the difference are lost in the car anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by csteimnetz1 

All my music is ripped from CDs into iTunes as ALAC files. I probably should use something like EAC but I am not aware of any issues with iTunes CD ripper. (Maybe someone else knows about this?) I still buy CDs, mainly from eBay. There are many good deals to be had especially if you by from large seller who combines shipping costs. Just a few weeks ago I bought 15 CDs (alternative and indie stuff from the 90s and 2000s) for only $2.00 plus shipping. A way better deal than iTunes or AmazonMP3 because you get lossless files for way less than what it costs for a 256Kbps AAC. Just my experience. I have been interested in the HDTracks stuff but I have yet to shell out the money for one of their 24-bit recordings.

The problem with iTunes is that if there is an error in the ripping there may be a pop in your track that you don't know about. However with EAC it let you know if your errors are recoverable.