[yepimonfire]

Forgot to mention vorbis. Vorbis is fantastic. It exceeds wma aac and mp3 by miles. The only bad thing about vorbis is at low low bitrates it sound atrocious. Id rather hear 64k wma then 64k vorbis. The artifacts are bizzare at that bitrate. Another sweet thing about vorbis is you can set the encoder up as high as 500kbps and that IS truly transparent.

 

[peskypesky]

Quote:

Forgot to mention vorbis. Vorbis is fantastic. It exceeds wma aac and mp3 by miles. The only bad thing about vorbis is at low low bitrates it sound atrocious. Id rather hear 64k wma then 64k vorbis. The artifacts are bizzare at that bitrate. Another sweet thing about vorbis is you can set the encoder up as high as 500kbps and that IS truly transparent.

i always forget about Ogg Vorbis. it is definitely a great format. and it will play in Quicktime and itunes if you download XiphQT for free.
 
http://www.xiph.org/quicktime/
 
oh, and to make Ogg files from FLACs or other audio files, and you're on a Mac, there's an AWESOME free program called Max.
 
http://sbooth.org/Max/
 
Max rules! I use it all the time to convert from FLAC to ALAC.
 
 
"Max can generate audio in over 20 compressed and uncompressed formats including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, Apple Lossless, Monkey's Audio, WavPack, Speex, AIFF, and WAVE.
If you would like to convert your audio from one format to another, Max can read and write audio files in over 20 compressed and uncompressed formats at almost all sample rates and and in most sample sizes. For many popular formats the artist and album metadata is transferred seamlessly between the old and new files. Max can even split a single audio file into multiple tracks using a cue sheet.
Max leverages open source components and the resources of Mac OS X to provide extremely high-quality output. For example, MP3 encoding is accomplished with LAME, Ogg Vorbis encoding with aoTuV, FLAC encoding with libFLAC, and AAC and Apple Lossless encoding with Core Audio. Many PCM conversions are also possible using Core Audio and libsndfile.
Max is integrated with MusicBrainz to permit automatic retrieval of compact disc information. For MP3, FLAC, Ogg FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, Monkey's Audio, WavPack, AAC and Apple Lossless files Max will write this metadata to the output."

 

[baka1969]

Quote:Originally Posted by peskypesky 

"i just did an ABX test with a piece of choral music. A was ALAC (Apple lossless codec). B was 320kb mp3.
the first time. my accuracy score was 40%.the second time, 20%.i was just guessing really"


Who's to say how you'd do with a different setup?

 

[peskypesky]

Quote:

Quote:Originally Posted by peskypesky 

"i just did an ABX test with a piece of choral music. A was ALAC (Apple lossless codec). B was 320kb mp3.
the first time. my accuracy score was 40%.the second time, 20%.i was just guessing really"


Who's to say how you'd do with a different setup?

i'd like to think i would do better with a DAC, an amp, and some $1000 headphones.

 

[yepimonfire]

Ogg is also compatible with sansa

 

[LugBug1]

I also think that the equipment and software we use to rip music makes a difference too.. yes afraid so.
 
The software may be the best in the world at what it does, but if you are using a cheap disk drive with less than a perfect lazer reading the info then there are going to be mishaps.. as the encoder can only encode what the laser reads. That's why we have good and bad cd players, its not just the dac inside the cd player that you pay for.   

 

[sferic]

Cmon, let's be civil, shake hands and agree to disagree, we're all on team head-fi here. Ears are much older organs than our frontal cortex some folks probably just honestly hear things differently in ways we haven't yet figured out how to think about, graph, or measure.
 
My 2 cents on MP3's and audiophile phones. It depends on the MP3 (regardless of bitrate as long as it's above 256k or so). There are better and worse MP3 encoders. When I moved WAY up the ladder I found some of my MP3's became obviously "much less" (but very rarely unlistenable) while others still sound incredible. It might be that depending on some details of the recording, music, the encoder, or the decoder, the lossy nature is either irrelevant or very relevant. It might also be my neurological hard wiring, or my imagination. I don't know.
 
What I have found, is that I'm buying CD's again and ripping them lossless because you always know what you're going to get. 
 
Definitely trash the iPod earbuds and spend up to $150 on anything, you will enjoy your MP3's much more.
 
Get into the $300+ range and you are probably already hopelessly addicted. Either own it, or get treatment now.
 
One day, there will be a show on the Lifetime network where an unsuspecting head-fier is sitting in his throne, blissing out to music on his HD800's/LCD-2's/PS1000's/Usone Edition 8's (sorry to any flagship phone cult left out, I mean you too), while checking Fedex tracking updates for delivery dates on new cables, tubes, DACS, & amps on his computer so he can be sure to call in sick to be home for the package's arrival... when suddenly -  his entire family and an aural addiction counseling specialist burst into the room for an INTERVENTION. His sig other will bemoan the effort of having to learn American Sign Language just so s/he can tell him the house is burning down. His 8 year old daughter will wonder who this man is and why people are filming a TV show about him at her house. His mother will say, "Honestly, I thought he died years ago, what a relief, thanks for inviting me." Well, you get the picture.
 
Of course the price points are open to debate, this is just my impression from my own experience. Others may have different or more accurate assessments.

 

[sridhar3]

 Quote:

Originally Posted by sferic /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Definitely trash the iPod earbuds and spend up to $150 on anything, you will enjoy your MP3's much more.

 
     x2.  This hobby will drain your bank account and change your life.
 
 
Quote:
 

One day, there will be a show on the Lifetime network where an unsuspecting head-fier is sitting in his throne, blissing out to music on his HD800's/LCD-2's/PS1000's/Usone Edition 8's (sorry to any flagship phone cult left out, I mean you too), while checking Fedex tracking updates for delivery dates on new cables, tubes, DACS, & amps on his computer so he can be sure to call in sick to be home for the package's arrival... when suddenly -  his entire family and an aural addiction counseling specialist burst into the room for an INTERVENTION. His sig other will bemoan the effort of having to learn American Sign Language just so s/he can tell him the house is burning down. His 8 year old daughter will wonder who this man is and why people are filming a TV show about him at her house. His mother will say, "Honestly, I thought he died years ago, what a relief, thanks for inviting me." Well, you get the picture.

 
I think Intervention was on A&E.  Lifetime always has some show about some lady getting raped or having an abortion or a group of feminists doing something.
 

 

[sferic]

@sridhar3: Rape, abortion, radical feminists - I'm thinking I'll need a wider soundstage with greater detail & clarity in the treble to hear all that screaming with ultimate fidelity, presence, and emotional impact.
 
Can you recommend any upgrades?

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

@sridhar3: Rape, abortion, radical feminists - I'm thinking I'll need a wider soundstage with greater detail & clarity in the treble to hear all that screaming with ultimate fidelity, presence, and emotional impact.
 
Can you recommend any upgrades?

 
Dre Beats.  The ultimate in high fidelity sound reproduction.
 
Trust me.  Nothing bad will happen.  I promise.
 
 

 

[sferic]

LOL I'm on it! My Beats should arrive Tuesday!

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

LOL I'm on it! My Beats should arrive Tuesday!

 
Please make sure to post impressions.

 

[yepimonfire]

Quote:

Quote:
 
Please make sure to post impressions.

i find that turning them louder then a normal safe listening volume for an extended period of time helps to damage the the receptors in the ear faster at the extreme frequency spikes the beats have whilst the receptors at the frequencies that dip stay relatively unharmed. at the end of the day this produces an ear perfectly tuned to hear the beats as a flat, accurate headphone. 

 

[sferic]

It's about time we got some sound, scientific, medical advice here on Head-Fi! Thanks Dr. Yep!!! 

 
Quote:

i find that turning them louder then a normal safe listening volume for an extended period of time helps to damage the the receptors in the ear faster at the extreme frequency spikes the beats have whilst the receptors at the frequencies that dip stay relatively unharmed. at the end of the day this produces an ear perfectly tuned to hear the beats as a flat, accurate headphone. 

 

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yepimonfire /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
i find that turning them louder then a normal safe listening volume for an extended period of time helps to damage the the receptors in the ear faster at the extreme frequency spikes the beats have whilst the receptors at the frequencies that dip stay relatively unharmed. at the end of the day this produces an ear perfectly tuned to hear the beats as a flat, accurate headphone. 

 
You bring up an excellent point, sir.  We often speak of headphone burn-in, but we somehow always seem to neglect mentioning ear burn-in!
 
Directions:
It has been scientifically proven that the fastest way to achieve ear "burn-in" is by placing a sharp instrument (preferably on fire) into the ear orifice and applying strong inward pressure.  Continue until loss of consciousness occurs.  Once the process is complete, your ears can be considered "fully burned-in", at which point you may commence listening to your Beats by Dre.  Also note, cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of burn-in.  Thank you, and safe listening!
 
So, there you have it, straight from the instruction manual that comes with the Beats.  Trust Dre, he's a doctor.