[Obey The Wub]

I really don't mean to stir the pot but what format is your music in? If you have all of your music in 128 kbps mp3s or AAC files purchased from iTunes you might want to start a bit lower and start converting your music over to at least a higher bit rate Mmp3 and preferably a lossless format such as FLAC.  Also, before you convert or purchase new music make sure it can be played back on whatever device you are planning on using.

I would suggest aiming a bit lower and then learning as you go.

Welcome to head-fi. sorry about your wallet.

Cheers,

Greg

Help me to understand this. I was suggested an AK120 for music instead of my phone. Now I just read your post and I also have to watch where I download my music? Please elaborate. I plan on learning a lot in the next few days about HiFi.

 

[Koolpep]

Quote:

Help me to understand this. I was suggested an AK120 for music instead of my phone. Now I just read your post and I also have to watch where I download my music? Please elaborate. I plan on learning a lot in the next few days about HiFi.

 
Not so sure what Greg means with "converting your music to a higher nitrate" because that doesn't work if you don't have the source/CD.
 
With good gear you can hear more details and you will hear after some time the difference between bad rips in 128kbit and better ones. For the most people 256kbit/s AAC/mp4 (what iTunes uses) and 320kbit for the older MP3 codec is as close as it gets to CD quality that most of us don't hear the difference.
 
But if you have a 128kbit file, the infomration during the compression is lost. Gone forever, so converting that file to 256 or 320 won't do anything. Hence if you have the original CD/Flac/Alac file you can compress it again into 320 or 256.
 
Websites like HDtracks sell better than CD quality downloads CDs have 16bit/44khz sample rate. Most digital downloads have the same. I am sure there are some nice websites explaining the details of sound compression and the difference between lossy and lossless.
 
 
Cheers,
K

 

[Obey The Wub]

Not so sure what Greg means with "converting your music to a higher nitrate" because that doesn't work if you don't have the source/CD.

With good gear you can hear more details and you will hear after some time the difference between bad rips in 128kbit and better ones. For the most people 256kbit/s AAC/mp4 (what iTunes uses) and 320kbit for the older MP3 codec is as close as it gets to CD quality that most of us don't hear the difference.

But if you have a 128kbit file, the infomration during the compression is lost. Gone forever, so converting that file to 256 or 320 won't do anything. Hence if you have the original CD/Flac/Alac file you can compress it again into 320 or 256.

Websites like HDtracks sell better than CD quality downloads CDs have 16bit/44khz sample rate. Most digital downloads have the same. I am sure there are some nice websites explaining the details of sound compression and the difference between lossy and lossless.


Cheers,
K

Is it that serious? I am positive most free sites like soundcloud and datpiff do not have a clue about what you said. But if there is a site like you listed, that is free, then I do not have a problem with that. Is there really a huge difference in format?

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

Is it that serious? I am positive most free sites like soundcloud and datpiff do not have a clue about what you said. But if there is a site like you listed, that is free, then I do not have a problem with that. Is there really a huge difference in format?

Is there a huge difference between a setup costing 500$ or 5000$? Some would say huge, some would not. But the thing is, you should aim for having your entire music library in 320 kbit/s or better like CD quality.
 
Don't buy into that high res 24bit/192kHz thing, though. Go for CD quality or 320 kbit mp3, alternatively 256 kbit AAC is okay-ish too.
 
Of course the bitrate and stuff matters! Crap in = crap out. Start a bit smaller if you aren't ready to commit to hearing music of higher quality than you might be used to, the possibility is that you would just be annoyed, and in the end your music won't sound much better.
 
Know that high bit rate and such does NOT ensure that your music is of high quality. It can be much more important how it is mixed/mastered in the studio. In other words, you should go for both quality files and quality recordings no matter what genre you listen to.
 
Since you listen to dubstep, rap, metal and such, you should probably start a bit lower with a headphone that is more forgiving, and good for that kinda genre. I'm positive you don't want a microscope of a headphone (eg. the hd800). So I'd recommend ultrasone signature pro, HE-400, HE-500, lcd-2, fostex th-900/600. Whatever headphone you get, you should probably start discovering new kinds of music if you want to be able to justify a really hi-end setup. Of course you should get an amp and DAC too. My top recommendation is the signature pro as is, since it doesn't require a fancy amplifier to kick ass and can go plenty loud out of a phone, and it is portable... But it benefits from better equipment
 
I kinda started as a metal-head (machine head, dio, maiden, gojira, all shall parish, list goes on...).
 
Now I literally listen to most of the bigger genres, though not any electronic music.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Quote:

Is it that serious? I am positive most free sites like soundcloud and datpiff do not have a clue about what you said. But if there is a site like you listed, that is free, then I do not have a problem with that. Is there really a huge difference in format?

I have all of my music ripped from CD's in 320mp3 with the occasional 256 from iTunes but if you want ultra high end stuff like a sound quality specific player or iPod with iDAC and amp into $1000 or more headphones you want to have all your music in lossless format, there are a lot of websites that offer this but chances are you will have to pay for it, there are even some sites that offer better than CD quality but I wouldn't worry to much unless YOU can hear a difference. I have most stuff on CD's so I would just have to rip them back in in lossless.

 

[David Chavez]

Quote:

Is it that serious? I am positive most free sites like soundcloud and datpiff do not have a clue about what you said. But if there is a site like you listed, that is free, then I do not have a problem with that. Is there really a huge difference in format?

Its not that bad of a fix just try and get 320mp3 should be minimal but not necessary.  Use sites like pirate bay and www.btscene.org to pirate flac files that are 24bit 96kHz (they do use bit torrent to work). And any Cd's you may have try and extract it to flac or apple lost less which is 16bit 44.1kHz. The difference isn't to big unless you do under 320mp3 then yes.

 

[David Chavez]

Note flac takes up a ton of space so you will need to buy a micro Sd card on your glaxay if you plan to use it.

 

[Obey The Wub]

Note flac takes up a ton of space so you will need to buy a micro Sd card on your glaxay if you plan to use it.

I won't be using my S4 anymore because someone said I should buy the A&K AK120

 

[jmsaxon69]

Haven't you guys caught one yet?

 

[Obey The Wub]

Haven't you guys caught one yet?

Vague.

 

[Obey The Wub]

So guys, is post #21 what I am looking for? That is some really high end ear gear.

 

[David Chavez]

If you want the best for the moment yes.  Just avoid bad recordings or low quality files. I would also go to a met before you buy to try out gear you have your eyes on.  The sennheiser hd 800 is technical the best headphone ever made period.  But that doesn't make it the most fun.  Most extreme audiophiles all have hd 800 but it is not there go to headphone to use. They spend most of there time with audeze lcd 2 or audeze lcd 3 or Fostex Th-900.  Audio is taste, technical that is the best setup but you need to try out what you like.  Maybe you might find it a little to lifeless or find out its harder to find good audio files of artist you like so you might want something a little more forgiving. 

 

[Obey The Wub]

If you want the best for the moment yes.  Just avoid bad recordings or low quality files. I would also go to a met before you buy to try out gear you have your eyes on.  The sennheiser hd 800 is technical the best headphone ever made period.  But that doesn't make it the most fun.  Most extreme audiophiles all have hd 800 but it is not there go to headphone to use. They spend most of there time with audeze lcd 2 or audeze lcd 3 or Fostex Th-900.  Audio is taste, technical that is the best setup but you need to try out what you like.  Maybe you might find it a little to lifeless or find out its harder to find good audio files of artist you like so you might want something a little more forgiving. 

That would be magnificent. Where can I find scheduled meets? I am not trying to go out of state over some headphones...

 

[David Chavez]

Under the tab forms click on the one that says meets, get togethers, factory tours. I'm going to one on the 20th of this month in Orange country.  If your close you should go.
 

 

[David Chavez]

And the ak line by iriver will need a revamp in the next 2 years so I don't know if you would want to buy something that will be outdated so quick.