[JackRabbitSlims]

As above - my iPod is full.
 
Current rig is 160gb iPod / HeadAmp Pico Slim / Ultimate Ears Ref Monitors.
 
I still buy CD's and Vinyl.....load the CD's onto my old MacBook  / iTunes (circa 2008 black model) and then sync to the iPod (yeah, a bit old skool perhaps?)
 
I have a decent home kit: - Naim  / Rega combo hence the vinyl / CD thing.
Also have AKG 701's and Beyerdynamic DT1350's.
 
Problems:-
1) iPod is full
2) CD library is on an old MacBook which will not take any new updates and almost out of space as well!! New MBA has do disc drive.
3) I'd like to continue to buy music on CD and would also like to have my CD collection on a DAP.
 
Solutions:-
Not quite sure, hence the question on here
I'd like a new DAP and was thinking along the lines of the X5 or A & K 120??
Wondering how I can still use my old iTunes library on the old MacBook, still buy CD and also get all this music on to a new DAP (right now leaning towards the X5)
 
Any help, suggestions or solutions to my problems would be greatly appreciated!
 
Thanks if you can help me out.
Cheers.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Do you use 256 kbps AAC? If not, that could enable you to fit far more music onto the iPod. Many say that it is indistinguishable from lossless. Also, it would cost you less to back up your lossless files or whatever on external hard drives than it would to resort to storing it on DAPs. If you need portability, a new DAP could be good, but since upgrading to a desktop system, DAPs don't appeal to me anymore.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I never quite understood the need to carry around every song I have ever heard.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Hi Music Alchemist.
 
ALAC.
 
I travel a lot, hence the need / desire for a Portable set up.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

I never quite understood the need to carry around every song I have ever heard.

big difference between "every song I ever heard" and a large chunk of my CD collection.

 

[Music Alchemist]

ALAC.

 
You can fit far more of your music onto portable devices by converting it to 256 kbps AAC. (While keeping your lossless files archived on an external hard drive or online storage.) As far as I know, no one has ever been able to reliably distinguish between it and lossless. So this could potentially circumvent the need for a new DAP with higher storage capacity.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

   
You can fit far more of your music onto portable devices by converting it to 256 kbps AAC. (While keeping your lossless files archived on an external hard drive or online storage.) As far as I know, no one has ever been able to reliably distinguish between it and lossless. So this could potentially circumvent the need for a new DAP with higher storage capacity.

OK, thanks again.
 
I'll try that out when I get back home.....I'm in Bali right now with only my Portable Rig for a couple more weeks.
When I get back to NZ, I'll look into your suggestion.
 
Cheers.

 

[Music Alchemist]

To give you an idea of just how much space AAC can save, here are the specs for a random file I just converted.
 
original size: 54.85 MB
ALAC: 40.94 MB (26% compressed)
256 kbps AAC: 10.24 MB (82% compressed)
 
You'd pretty much have three to four times as much space available!

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Yes - it does appear to be the obvious first step
 
If you say there is no distinguishable loss in SQ from Lossless??

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

I also saw this is an opportunity to upgrade my hardware

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I also saw this is an opportunity to upgrade my hardware

 
Here's a little secret: the audible differences between DAPs are nowhere near as significant as some think. The key to finding out the real differences is by using the line out docks with line out cables to connect to external components, then volume-matching to ensure you are listening at the same loudness level. When these prerequisites were met, some people couldn't hear a difference between the DAPs -- even very expensive ones! The main differences are due to impedance and sensitivity variations of the DAPs and headphones used, which matter more when you plug directly into the headphone jacks. But even if they sound the same, it's pretty awesome to have a portable device that looks cool and has great features!

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

OK - thanks for the info.
 
What about the quality of the DAC's and AMP's used in the DAPers?? - surely, overriding the iPod's mech with superior hardware would give a more appreciative SQ??
 
 
Many folks seem to profess a "Source First" mentality and having "quality" components through the chain.....yes??

 

[Music Alchemist]

  OK - thanks for the info.
 
What about the quality of the DAC's and AMP's used in the DAPers?? - surely, overriding the iPod's mech with superior hardware would give a more appreciative SQ??
 
Many folks seem to profess a "Source First" mentality and having "quality" components through the chain.....yes??

 
It's a debatable subject. Some say the DACs change the sound quite a bit, while others insist that all properly designed DACs sound the same. They certainly have different output power, so at the least, that could make them sound different with certain headphones, but if you bypass the internal circuitry of the DAPs by using the line out docks, it becomes more of a level playing field. So it depends on what gear is used with them, such as external amps.

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Thanks again.
 
I appreciate your help.
 
Cheers.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Just to be obnoxious, I will point out that if you assume a lossless song of 4 minutes length is roughly 30 MB in size, then on a 160 GB ipod, that is over 350 hours of music, or ~14 days of nonstop music. If you actually sleep 8 hours a day, then you can listen to music for every waking moment of 22 straight days, and never listen to the same song twice...