[EddieE]

Mostly LAME VBR and 320kbps CBR, some FLAC here and there.

 

[Razeus]

A combo of high bit rate mp3's and FLAC. I don't buy CD's anymore. They are a waste of time and space and an excersie of ridiculous organization skills. All of my CD's have been sold to the highest bidder or giving to the library.

 

[EddieE]

^ I'm the other way around, I don't buy downloads anymore - buy the CD and rip it myself. That way I get exactly the file I want.

 

[acidbasement]

I prefer vinyl, but most of my music is on CD. I don't listen too much on my computer, and when I do, I pretty much just use the CD drive as transport. I don't do the portable thing and I'm quite happy that way.

 

[C4rl]

FLAC, I was running a parallel V0 library solely for my iPods but since purchasing a Cowon D2+ it's been FLAC all the way.

 

[necropimp]

needs to be a check box poll

i buy music on CD
rip to monkey's audio (image with embedded cue sheet)
convert cherry picked tracks to musepack for my rockboxed sansa e280

sometimes i will listen to the actual CDs

i also buy some things on vinyl the stuff that is only available/i only have it on vinyl does get ripped to my computer but i listen to my vinyl more often than CDs

and finally i do have a few cassette only releases (and one album that is only readily available on cassette) all have been ripped to my PC but i don't listen to the tapes themselves that much

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by necropimp /img/forum/go_quote.gif needs to be a check box poll i buy music on CD rip to monkey's audio (image with embedded cue sheet) convert cherry picked tracks to musepack for my rockboxed sansa e280 sometimes i will listen to the actual CDs i also buy some things on vinyl the stuff that is only available/i only have it on vinyl does get ripped to my computer but i listen to my vinyl more often than CDs and finally i do have a few cassette only releases (and one album that is only readily available on cassette) all have been ripped to my PC but i don't listen to the tapes themselves that much

Interesting that you mention cassettes. I don't think anyone really misses the format, except maybe out of nostalgia. I had cassette decks for years, and I probably had about 100 or so tapes, but they were virtually all bought as blanks for use in my Walkman. The only pre-recorded tapes I ever bought (and we're talking about a max of three or four in the course of 20 years) were singles that I couldn't find on vinyl (They were called "cassingles" if I remember correctly. Possibly the lamest marketing idea ever.)

The only thing I really liked about them was that they could be used to make mixed tapes, either for myself or for friends. There was an article in the NYT about cassette nostalgia a few days ago; the writer agrees that nostalgia is pretty much the only reason people still care about them; that's very different from the resurgence of interest in vinyl.

 

[jeffreyj900]

CD.... However, I am in the process of ripping every CD I have to FLAC.

 

[keabler]

Most of mine is FLAC.
To every one who says, "I can't tell the difference" it really depends on the music you are listening to. In my experiences its quite a bit harder to tell when you are listening to fast loud music like metal, or hardcore. However if you are listening to something a little more mellow its pretty obvious. I can tell when I listen to bands like Tegan and Sara, Jenny Lewis, and Stars. Not that 320kbs mp3s sound terrible but if you go from one to the other the difference is easily noted.

 

[DavidMahler]

Store everything ALAC using EAC and a ALAC plug in..... on the ipod i listen to 256 vbr AAC.

But my main system is ALAC

 

[necropimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting that you mention cassettes. I don't think anyone really misses the format, except maybe out of nostalgia.

cassettes are still fairly common in the metal world all 4 of these were released within the last year (the nunslaughter album is a reissue and the original CD and LP are not easy to find) and that's not even scratching the surface of cassette only metal releases... now if it's because of nostalgia or something else i don't know... but i'd bet most of the "indie" labels that article you linked to references are probably metal labels (which prefer to use the term underground to separate themselves from the the mental image people get when they hear "indie")

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting that you mention cassettes. I don't think anyone really misses the format, except maybe out of nostalgia. I had cassette decks for years, and I probably had about 100 or so tapes, but they were virtually all bought as blanks for use in my Walkman. The only pre-recorded tapes I ever bought (and we're talking about a max of three or four in the course of 20 years) were singles that I couldn't find on vinyl (They were called "cassingles" if I remember correctly. Possibly the lamest marketing idea ever.) The only thing I really liked about them was that they could be used to make mixed tapes, either for myself or for friends. There was an article in the NYT about cassette nostalgia a few days ago; the writer agrees that nostalgia is pretty much the only reason people still care about them; that's very different from the resurgence of interest in vinyl.

When I was in college my roommate had a Nakamichi deck. I still have some of the tapes I made using his deck.

For party mix tapes though we made mix tapes on VCR tape. Better than cassette. And the party system was Klipsh Cornwalls.

Tapes might be nostalgia. But I certainly don't want to go back and relive it. Random access formats like CD and FLAC are way more useful.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I was in college my roommate had a Nakamichi deck. I still have some of the tapes I made using his deck.

Was it the legendary Dragon? I heard a couple of those over the years, and I had to admit, they sounded stunningly close to vinyl. But that was the only deck I ever heard that sounded that good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif For party mix tapes though we made mix tapes on VCR tape. Better than cassette. And the party system was Klipsh Cornwalls.

Were the VHS tapes analog or digital? The first digital deck I remember being commercially available was an add-on for VHS machines that wrote to VHS cassettes. This was in the late 70s, if I recall correctly, and it was horrifically expensive.

The best system in my dorm was down the hall from me. My friend had a pair of Klipsch Heresys. Horn-loaded of course. They could produce rock-concert SPLs without a hint of distortion.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tapes might be nostalgia. But I certainly don't want to go back and relive it. Random access formats like CD and FLAC are way more useful.

Yeah, scrolling through a playlist is a lot easier than...

Fast forward. Listen. No not there yet. Fast forward some more. Listen. STILL not there yet...

But the biggest drawback to cassettes was inferior sound. Sure, your Naks and other high-end decks could sound great, provided you had decently recorded tapes. But that meant dubbing them yourself, pretty much. The recording industry churned out dupes by the thousands, using high-speed duplicators that made hash out of the audio. Just another case of the record industry shoving crap down the throats of consumers they had not a shred of respect for.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Was it the legendary Dragon? I heard a couple of those over the years, and I had to admit, they sounded stunningly close to vinyl. But that was the only deck I ever heard that sounded that good.

Not the Dragon. We drooled though at the thought. I can't remember what model it was. Looking at naks.com I think it might have been a 480 but I really can't remember.

Quote:

Were the VHS tapes analog or digital? The first digital deck I remember being commercially available was an add-on for VHS machines that wrote to VHS cassettes. This was in the late 70s, if I recall correctly, and it was horrifically expensive.

The recording and playback was all analog. The VCR, even just a regular VCR, seemed to work better than cassette decks especially when driving the Klipsch loud. The Nakamichi didn't get used for parties. Too much beer and nonsense going on.

Quote:

The best system in my dorm was down the hall from me. My friend had a pair of Klipsch Heresys. Horn-loaded of course. They could produce rock-concert SPLs without a hint of distortion.

That's the old Klipsch. They can play loud and clean.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not the Dragon. We drooled though at the thought.

As did I. There was a high-end shop in my neighborhood some years ago. Shortly before they went out of business, they had a Dragon in the window...very attractively priced. But I was already past cassettes by then. Not that I didn't stop and stare.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif The recording and playback was all analog. The VCR, even just a regular VCR, seemed to work better than cassette decks especially when driving the Klipsch loud. The Nakamichi didn't get used for parties. Too much beer and nonsense going on.

That's an interesting bit of audiophile history! I wasn't familiar with that approach. Sorry I missed it.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's the old Klipsch. They can play loud and clean.

Yes they did.