[DaBomb77766]

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The bigger the better, right?

So by that logic, is a Laserdisc better than a BluRay? Wouldn't that have sucked if that format took off? LP sized digital discs everywhere.

Meaning gigantic open-reel tapes are the best?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Ever seen the old 16" transcription discs? Truly impressive.

(I also have a weakness for 8.5" floppy discs. Yes, I actually used them back in the day.)

 

[sml1226]

Meaning gigantic open-reel tapes are the best?

You know they are! They're the best for music too

 

[Mkubota1]

96 bit/ 768 kHz... until 192/ 1536 comes along.
 
Kidding. 

 
Nobody has brought up high resolution audio yet?  For the OP, these are generally bigger files than WAV or CD derived PCM files.  CD audio discs are 16 bit/ 44.1 kHz- the 'bit' part being how big the chunks of data are, and the 'kHz' part being how often you retrieve those chunks of data.  Generally speaking the more you have of each the better; until you get to the point where you can't hear any difference.  One problem with these high-rez files is that they are about .01% of all music available out there; so you end up listening according to format.
 
Here is one source for these files (they're also a Head-Fi sponsor):  https://www.hdtracks.com/
 
You can download a free sample set of tracks and listen to them to see if you like them.  What's fun is taking those tracks and converting them to lossy files (mp3, AAC, Ogg, etc.) and seeing if you can hear a difference.

 

[DaBomb77766]

I honestly can't hear a difference when I convert them to a high quality lossy file. (like LAME VBR MP3 or 320kbps AAC)
 
Though I'd probably need better source equipment and more revealing headphones to really tell any difference.

 

[Mkubota1]

Me too.  But I'm deaf. 

 

[Uncle Erik]

There isn't much point to lossy files today. Storage is so cheap that you might as well rip lossless.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

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Nobody has brought up high resolution audio yet?

I think that's because a) it's severely unlikely the the OP wants/cares/has the equipment for hi-res playback and also, personally b) it's all a con anyway. Yeah, I said that.

 

[DaBomb77766]

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There isn't much point to lossy files today. Storage is so cheap that you might as well rip lossless.

Well, unless you want to put the files on a PMP.  Solid-state portable storage, on the other hand, isn't cheap.

 

[azncookiecutter]

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Well, unless you want to put the files on a PMP.  Solid-state portable storage, on the other hand, isn't cheap.

Transcode. I have foobar set up to convert any incompatible files to automatically convert to LAME and then sent to the iPhone.
 
When you can get a 2TB drive for $50, it's almost a sin not to rip in FLAC.
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

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Transcode. I have foobar set up to convert any incompatible files to automatically convert to LAME and then sent to the iPhone.
 
When you can get a 2TB drive for $50, it's almost a sin not to rip in FLAC.
 

Yup, I'd never want to rip lossy either way, just putting it out there.  Though not sure if I'd want to trust a $50 2TB drive with my entire collection, I'd rather spend twice as much for 2 1TB ones.  2TB drives aren't terribly reliable.

 

[Satellite_6]

Amusing thread!
 
CD's. . . 

 

[JCred]

96kBps FLV rips from Youtube are the real standouts for me. The lossy compression just brings out a harmony and tone in the music that you don't get with these fancy-schamncy 'lossless' formats. Of course, I always upscale the MP3s to AIFF, because bigger filesize is better and who needs tags anyway?

I'm more of a .swf guy, myself.

 

[ShutterX]

nice thread... do normal mp3 players play FLAC?? if not any recommandations on a decent FLAC player?

 

[shane55]

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Me too.  But I'm deaf. 

 
LOL...
Well my friend, then you need to give me your W4's, as you have no use for them. 

 
 
@ ShutterX. There are many players. iTunes seems to be the only major one out there that does NOT play FLAC. I use JRiver (Jukebox, which is free) as it plays everything, and will play them 'bitperfect'.
Foobar, mediamonkey are just a couple others that play FLAC.