[ScubaMan2017]

Gawd I wish I had my first press LP of The Wall

I was 9 years old when that album came out. My mum & dad were freebasing honky-tonk (ex., Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline & Al Martino) at the time. I thank video games like Fallout 3 & NV for reintroducing me to my elders (I had to learn myself that Cash was no lily-white performer [dad never told me about Cash's life]).

I would look at dBpoweramp for ripping software. It is far superior to iTunes as it uses the AccurateRip database to confirm rips are bit perfect. Yes, it does cost money but it is cheap for what it does. ...SNIP....The best CD version of "The Wall" is the 1985 West German "Harvest" release with the black CD artwork (CDP 7 46036 8). It's the best of the original releases, including those from Japan, and is better than all the remasters. Even the MFSL release is not as good....I know as I have that too.

When I rip with Foobar, it indeed uses AccurateRip. I can't tell the difference (it must be doing SOMETHING... good enough for me). Hmm, I assumed that dbase was free for personal use. I'm too old to be a chintzy-person, I'll check out the website's fine-print. @winders ... Thanks for the info, eh.

dBpoweramp is how I roll too. Good gear.

Another vote for dBpoweramp, eh. I'm still in the iTunes ecosystem; however, as I get older, I want to learn about other options (especially if ALAC ever somehow reverted back to a proprietary model). @astromo ... I'll check dBpoweramp out. Thanks.

It sounds like you are pretty well set. This page shows a look that caused me to want to go with certain cosmetics, JamieMcC does some amazing things.....SNIP..... https://www.head-fi.org/threads/pass-diy-headphone-amp-whammy.877569/page-2

Christ on a cracker. Why is it as I reach 49-50, new schiit & hobbies crop up?! Damn... thanks for posting @Paladin79 (it wasn't aimed at me... still appreciate your musings).

EAC can be a bit of a handful to get started. Every time I go back to it I have to {remember} that to produce flac one must use the compress option. It does produce amazing {results} though. And the desired file layout and naming takes some effort, but for me that's a one off.....SNIP......Cheers

EAC. EAC. EAC!

I use EAC for ripping, it has played up once or twice out of hundreds of CDs (might have been my PC, or me) - otherwise all good.
I just use freedb in Foobar for tagging as my music is not very organised, I basically just want album, artist, track no. and name....SNIP...cheers

@jimmers . I appreciate your 2-cents too, eh. Once I replace my corrupted and disorganized media directories, I'll give EAC another go (it was covered in a 2017 How To Geek Article).

Oh no, not Bob Ludwig falling into the MQA rabbit hole!
And I had such respect for his work ... aargh.

Thanks for the article, @RCBinTN ... I need to educate myself about changing digital AV-formats. And the consequences of proprietary technology.

 

[the finisher]

When I rip with Foobar, it indeed uses AccurateRip. I can't tell the difference (it must be doing SOMETHING... good enough for me). Hmm, I assumed that dbase was free for personal use. I'm too old to be a chintzy-person, I'll check out the website's fine-print. @winders ... Thanks for the info, eh.

Yes I was going to point this out, you have to jump though some hoops setting it up.
Foobar is as good at ripping as DBpoweramp but free.

"You can include features like auto-tagging or CD ripping as “optional features” during the installation, and foobar2000 has plugins for just about anything you could imagine. Basically, you’re building your own custom player from (almost) nothing.Apart from that, foobar2000 is also popular with audiophiles for its plethora of advanced playback options and plugins. If you’re really, really serious about your music, foobar2000 is an open sandbox for you to play in. You just need to be willing to put in the work."

AccurateRip is a freeware DB, and of course the F in FLAC stands for free.
Unlike the A in ALAC

 

[FredoIsFishing]

You know occasionally I always wonder how many people know what RTFM means. I still use it occasionally and I am usually met with blank faces. Nowadays it's probably more like GTFM. G meaning Google.

When I get a blank look for RTFM I tell them it means Read The Fine Manual. If they still don't get it I explain there is some disagreement on what the 'F' means. Some say it means Fantastic.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

LOL 96khz, He must be a bat. Notice the Mytec stuff in the background.

or a Bat...Man?

Oh no, not Bob Ludwig falling into the MQA rabbit hole!
And I had such respect for his work ... aargh.

MQA. Authentication (of MQA files by AV gear). Music ownership... as of 2018. The right (or privilege?) to trade music files. Physical copies versus virtual copies. Do I own a copy of an artists' music, or am I simply leasing it from them? . Yep, it looks like a polarizing technology.

Question: what sources does the thread recommend if I want to learn more about MQA (so I don't suffer foot-in-mouth-disease [uninformed mutterings]). I'm looking for articles that a high school science teacher could understand...

 

[ScubaMan2017]

...SNIP...Unlike the A in ALAC

Had to think about that for a bit (hmmm, what are all the words that start with the letter 'A'... Apple... Ass****...).

 

[the finisher]

Asss much money as possable.

 

[Rensek]

Speaking of apple, I'm seriously thinking about selling my pixel 2 and jumping into Apples walled wasteland eco system. The apple watch series 4 seems awesome with a built in ECG, but it's not Android compatible.
Anyone know of anything similar to the series 4 apple watch.

 

[the finisher]

I'm seriously thinking about selling my pixel 2 and jumping into Apples walled wasteland eco system

Noooo Sorry Apple hater here.

 

[tin-ear]

Wait. Let me back up. I’m not big on concerts. They’re usually pretty much all boring. The band comes out, plays some music that you expect, plus a few songs from the album they’re currently pimping, the audience-torturing lights fry your retinas, and the pushed-past-the-edge-of-25%-THD sound system, tuned by a completely baked sound guy whose hearing apparently ends around 500Hz, results in your ears ringing for three days, unless you use earplugs, and then why bother going to the frigging concert at all, when you can enjoy the same sound at home by blowing your tweeters and mids?

=====
This is my first real post on the Head-Fi (I was required to post some introductory posts, maybe some of you have been here a long time didn't have to do that) ...so be gentle!
Great post Jason. I came here via Schiit, and spent a few months reading this entire thread, and Mike's too. Nice education.
On this thread, I could write a tome in reply...
So, I limit myself to the first and only time I saw Talking Heads. It was in Long Beach, California. A college gymnasium, with basketball hoops in sight. This was around the time Stop Making Sense came out.
The sound was much worse than Jason's example. The vocal were sent to the public address system. Well, they are designed for vocals, right? The sound 'engineer' had one technique: turn everything up to maximum volume. "Clipping" does not begin to describe it.

 

[the finisher]

I came here via Schiit, and spent a few months reading this entire thread, and Mike's too. Nice education

Impressive, Welcome

 

[Rensek]

Yes, welcome.

 

[Rensek]

Noooo Sorry Apple hater here.

I called it a walled wasteland for a reason...

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I used X Lossless Decoder (XLD) for several years with great success. Free, but Mac only (sorry Finisher). I switched over to DBpoweramp because it's a little more full featured than XLD. For those on PCs I used Media Monkey before I switched over to Mac. I wonder if there are people offended by the name "Media Monkey"...

 

[Rensek]

I used X Lossless Decoder (XLD) for several years with great success. Free, but Mac only (sorry Finisher). I switched over to DBpoweramp because it's a little more full featured than XLD. For those on PCs I used Media Monkey before I switched over to Mac. I wonder if there are people offended by the name "Media Monkey"...

I'm pretty sure every word or every combination of words ever said, read, writ or wrote, has offended someone, somewhere, sometime. Snowflakes.

 

[HumanFly]

I'm pretty sure every word or every combination of words ever said, read, writ or wrote, has offended someone, somewhere, sometime. Snowflakes.

Winter is coming!