Hey guys I'm just wondering where the best place to get music from which is the quality? I know the usual like itunes and buying the CD's themselves and ripping them? But any other good sources?
Most of my music is at a 256 bit rate, with some being 160 and others 3xx. I was looking for better quality because im going to buy some new really good equipment, but its pointless if the files i have aren't good quality.
I've managed to record audio file with bit rates of 320 bit and also one file with 912 bit Flac format.. Can't remember if that was with freecoder s/w though.
Anyway what I do is search for high quality video on youtube etc. Change the default video setting of the youtube video from 320 kpbs to 1080 HD and then capture the stream. The audio captured is better quality this way.
Hey guys I'm just wondering where the best place to get music from which is the quality? I know the usual like itunes and buying the CD's themselves and ripping them? But any other good sources?
Most of my music is at a 256 bit rate, with some being 160 and others 3xx. I was looking for better quality because im going to buy some new really good equipment, but its pointless if the files i have aren't good quality.
IMO more important than the format of the container (as long as the bit-rate is above ~ 256 kbps) is the actual mastering. Poorly mastered / mixed / recorded music is going to sound bad no matter what the container. It's a good idea to test yourself so you know your individual threshold rather than just accepting the idea that lossless is no good, and that higher end gear will ruthlessly expose lossy files. This link may help - it's worth taking the time and actually finding out what you can actually discern in a blind test. http://www.head-fi.org/t/655879/setting-up-an-abx-test-simple-guide-to-ripping-tagging-transcoding
In my own testing (my ears which I readily admit aren't the best - permanent low-level tinnitus) - aac256 is completely transparent.
I still rip to FLAC because it makes sense as disk space is cheap and I may as well have a lossless rip - but for portable use, and in fact for any normal listening - my aac256 encodes are all I really need. YMMV.
I have a same audio file in both 320 and 912 bit format and there is noticable difference between them. The music I purchased in 320bit either sounds better or the same when I record the streams in 320 bit.
Is there anyway of knowing that the source is well mastered / mixed / recorded? Thanks.
I have a same audio file in both 320 and 912 bit format and there is noticable difference between them. The music I purchased in 320bit either sounds better or the same when I record the streams in 320 bit.
As long as there is plenty of dynamic range, and it hasn't become victim to the loudness war (clipping) - then all you can do is compare different recordings and see which one you like best. This website also has information on dynamic range which may be of help (http://www.dr.loudness-war.info/).
But wouldn't that take considerable time? To download different formats of the same song, compare them and replicate that through all your collection. Thank you for the link.
It depends on how much it means to you. Occasionally I've had a piece of music I've really liked - but found the version I've purchased is not the best quality. So then 'll check it on the D-R website and see if there is a better version in the database,
Also - often if I'm buying classical or Jazz - I'll make sure I listen to the samples on-line first (eg Deutsche Grammophon or HD Tracks) to make sure the mastering / recording is what I'm after. In the end it's down to what you like, and how much time you are prepared to take to achieve that.
Whoever is recommending to rip streams off of YouTube is completely wrong. Ripping music off YouTube is awful, and here's why:
Unless you ripped the audio directly off Blu-Ray or something, or used a lossless track from a CD, chances are your source audio will be in some lossy format, like .mp3 or .aac, which it will be in 99.99% of cases.
So you already have one transcode, then when you upload the audio, YouTube transcodes the audio again in formats from 128kbps to 192kbps .mp3.
So, you've got two transcodes now, so you record this already mangled audio and save it as an .mp3 again.
So, now you've got three transcodes and your audio sounds about as bad as it could possibly naturally be.
If you listen to electronic music, Beatport, Bandcamp, The Hype Machine, Juno Download, and Boomkat all offer high-resolution files. Sites like HDTracks are silly because anything above CD quality either has no effect (bit depth) or makes the audio scientifically worse (bit rate).
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