Mac iPod users...
Oct 21, 2002 at 3:18 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 24

pigmode

Truck-Fi
Joined
Jun 26, 2001
Posts
5,372
Likes
102
I'm just looking ahead here, as I plan to migrate back to Apple next year.

Are the sonic qualities of the iPod high enough to use with Etys? In other words, are the Etys too revealing for the computer music files used with the iPod? How does it compare with a pcdp?
 
Oct 21, 2002 at 4:26 PM Post #2 of 24
I've not used the ER-4S with a CD player direct but I find they are fine with the iPod. I don't hear any hiss or other flaws. The biggest worry is that your MP3s have been encoded properly, i.e. with LAME and EAC. The encoder included with iTunes seems OK but I haven't done any critical comparisons.
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 12:25 AM Post #3 of 24
I've been using my iPod now for about two weeks with my Etys 4P and it sounds great for portable.

I actually prefer the mp3 sound to my Panasonic 580 CD player. It's less fatiguing.

I rip with EAC and use Lame -alt-preset standard for encoding. I couldn't tell a difference to higher sampling rates or the wav file.
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 1:40 AM Post #4 of 24
Go for it you won't be dissapointed!
cool.gif
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 3:26 AM Post #5 of 24
i use the 320 vbr mode with iTunes. using Ety 4P's.

must echo: you WON'T be disappointed.

zero hiss. zero artifacts.
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 12:58 PM Post #8 of 24
No, I use both but all my movies/music are on the G4. I got the Mac because I got sick of screwing around with windows - I'd just built a 1900+ dual Athlon, real cutting edge - and the person Tyan mainboard was flaky and it wasn't even that much faster than the 1.2GHz Athlon it replaced. I was very annoyed. Got a taxi down to the Mac store, vowed to return it if it was even half the trouble, and it wasn't. Now windows is strictly for work.

Mac + iPod = sweet!
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 3:38 PM Post #9 of 24
Quote:

Originally posted by pigmode
Thanks everyone. Am I correct that aeberbach and jopi are using windows? Since I'm moving to Macs, I'm concerned about Mac music files. I currently use EAC.


I'm using it with Windows 98 and Ephpod. I couldn't install Musicmatch since it requires Windows ME or newer.

It's easy enough to use, but I'm just loading up the player once and be done with it. I'm not sure how easy all this syncing with Ephpod is. I'm using Windows and Ephpod just for a shuttle service to move my CDs to the iPod. Heck my iPod has twice the hard drive space than my computer!
 
Oct 22, 2002 at 4:19 PM Post #10 of 24
Quote:

Originally posted by pigmode
Thanks everyone. Am I correct that aeberbach and jopi are using windows? Since I'm moving to Macs, I'm concerned about Mac music files. I currently use EAC.



There is a LAME script that you can install for itunes that allows you to encode with LAME instead of the fhg encoder that comes with itunes. I don't know of any EAC equivalent for macintosh though. However I have tried ripping with itunes and then encode with LAME and files are of excellent quality.

What I do now is I rip and encode on my pc and then transfer the mp3s to my ibook to sync with my ipod. It's a lot faster too, LAME can encode at 7.25x on my Athlon 1500 vs 1.67x on my ibook 500. LAME on the ibook is a lot slower than the itunes encoder which gets around 4.4x.
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 1:57 AM Post #11 of 24
Quote:

Originally posted by PodMan

What I do now is I rip and encode on my pc and then transfer the mp3s to my ibook to sync with my ipod. It's a lot faster too, LAME can encode at 7.25x on my Athlon 1500 vs 1.67x on my ibook 500. LAME on the ibook is a lot slower than the itunes encoder which gets around 4.4x.


Thank you PodMan. The point is, I guess, LAME is not LAME is not LAME. There is much variation in the settings/command lines/presets etc.

I'm still interested in native Mac files. I don't plan to be very picky--good sound is good enough.
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 3:08 AM Post #12 of 24
Speed is the main issue why i still encode on a pc. My Athlon is simply much faster than the G3 500 ibook.

But you can get the job with equal audio quality results on a mac. Lame 3.92 on pc should be exactly be exactly identical to LAME 3.92 on mac.

EAC is only absolutely necessary when you are trying to rip scratched cds. I can not tell the difference whatsoever with my equipment between EAC and itunes when ripping cds in good condition.

So itunes with LAME script is probably the best choice or even just plain itunes with its default FHG encoder (which is good too).
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 1:26 PM Post #14 of 24
must echo Lex...again :

use iTunes. it's a major reason why i bought the mac version of iPod...and HAD to buy an iBook to go with it!
wink.gif


i have used EAC > LAME before. iTunes ripper/encoder is as excellent and the interface / filing is the best.

as Lex said...it really does let you think about the music, not the technology. ....and that is a good thing. Martha
 
Oct 23, 2002 at 3:22 PM Post #15 of 24
Thanks Martha, Lex. The 3GB version looks good for me since I would use it only for travel. What a relief not having to get a pcdp and having to lug CDs all over the place. An amp is already on the way--will post pics later.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top