Mp3 listening?

[Vinnyy]

I am wondering how many of you listens to Mp3?
I digitized and stored all my musics in MP3 format for quick access and easy storage. My setup is a B&K Amp and Aeons. I am using a Toshiba DVD Player to play mp3s. What is a good Mp3 player or do most people just listen to CDs(or DVDs)?

 

[gstring]

I am wondering how many of you listens to Mp3?
I digitized and stored all my musics in MP3 format for quick access and easy storage. My setup is a B&K Amp and Aeons. I am using a Toshiba DVD Player to play mp3s. What is a good Mp3 player or do most people just listen to CDs(or DVDs)?

I choose not to use mp3 as my codec. I much prefer lossless to lossy compression. You may know this already, however. My solution has been to use my laptop to digitally (spdif) stream lossless files such as .WAV, .AIFF, or .FLAC. Considering how good your speakers are, it's like driving a ferrari and never getting out of 2nd gear. I also have a B&K front end with Aeon i's. I'm completely satisfied with the results. You're limited only by the size of your hard drive(s).

 

[sleepysurf]

Unfortunately, MP3's utilize LOSSY compression, meaning the dynamic range and overall fidelity is compromised, in order to get SMALLER file sizes for storage. That's OK for background listening (car, iPod, kitchen, etc.), but not ideal for a high-end system.

File formats such as WAV, FLAC, ALAC, WMA lossless (and others), provide LOSSLESS "bit-perfect" reproduction of the recorded music, just as if you were playing the original CD.

The future of audio reproduction (video too) is rapidly evolving towards hard-disc and flash memory based digital formats, limited only by storage capacity, and downloading "bandwidth." However, the popularity of the iPod, and MP3 type files, is a double-edged sword. More people than ever are listening to music, but fewer are actually BUYING it, and the overall AUDIO QUALITY is diminishing. The future of high-end audio is at stake.

2006 will be the year that "music/media server" technology takes hold, with MP3's and iPods AAC format popular for casual listening, and LOSSLESS formats battling it out in the higher-end market. Unfortunately, proprietary format wars (a la VHS vs. Betamax) will dominate. That's why I've invested my time in ripping/saving all my digital music in FLAC format (lossless, bit-perfect, open-source, non-proprietary, with rapidly growing hardware support in the burgeoning "music server" market).

More info about FLAC here... http://flac.sourceforge.net/index.html

 

[miljac]

Considering how good your speakers are, it's like driving a ferrari and never getting out of 2nd gear.

Definitely. I have had a chance to hear an iPod that a friend brought with him, we connected it to my amp "just to hear what he found" and ..... well, my wife who is not an audiophile asked us to remove that crap sound after 5 seconds. Can only agree. Not only audible difference, but worlds apart.

The future of audio reproduction (video too) is rapidly evolving towards hard-disc and flash memory based digital formats, limited only by storage capacity, and downloading "bandwidth." However, the popularity of the iPod, and MP3 type files, is a double-edged sword. More people than ever are listening to music, but fewer are actually BUYING it, and the overall AUDIO QUALITY is diminishing. The future of high-end audio is at stake.

Correct. The gap between consumer lo/mid-fi and true hi-fi will widen, in price and quality. Lo and mid-fi being marketed as "hi-fi". Hi-fi moving into "high end" arena. General public hearing more and more crap music in crap formats on crap equipment not knowing any better.
Please note that the lossy compression stuff takes away all the things that a true hi-fi system is designed to reveal. Computer people have a nice acronym for this - GIGO (Garbage in, garbage out). In German - "Scheisse laesst sich nicht polieren".