Classical music in car... YES!!!

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

I'm a lucky man It all became so easy. Classical music in my car: Yes, this is easily possible. No more dynamics problems... No more CD burning...

1. I've got a CDX-GT616U, which has an USB front connector.

2. Sony Micro vault tiny USB stick 2 GB. Very small.
3. www.foobar2000.org
4. Foobar2000's converter with VLevel DSP. Works like http://vlevel.sourceforge.net/about/

This way, I convert my classical music with nero aac encoder (@ 0.35) to 90kbps average, which is enough for the car. 45 hrs. of music on a tiny usb stick!

[Bonehelm]

90kbps.....................


Good luck with that 

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

a) Bonehelm, have you ever listened to modern codecs output (aac, vorbis) at that bitrate? BTW, as they are vbr bitrates, I was talking about average. I think AAC at those bitrates sounds surprisingly good.
b) Also, you need to understand the requirement in a relatively loud car is different from e.g. a silent listening room.

[Mozart]

ehh I havent driven in over a year but yeah, the car is the best place to listen to music. Driving with the window down and the volume all the way up...ahh memories...

[Bonehelm]

a) Bonehelm, have you ever listened to modern codecs output (aac, vorbis) at that bitrate? BTW, as they are vbr bitrates, I was talking about average. I think AAC at those bitrates sounds surprisingly good.
b) Also, you need to understand the requirement in a relatively loud car is different from e.g. a silent listening room.

a) Of course I have, AAC isn't even loseless, so it can't hold a candle against 500+ kbps .flac or .ape
b) Yes the car is loud. That is exactly the reason I wonder why anyone would want to listen to serious music (Classical) in it. You can't hear the details!

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

a) Of course I have, AAC isn't even loseless, so it can't hold a candle against 500+ kbps .flac or .ape

Erm, how surprising. Did I talk about creating a long term archive? BTW you forget CDs are already a lossy business.
The only relevant question is if it sounds obviously different/worse in a target environment.

b) Yes the car is loud. That is exactly the reason I wonder why anyone would want to listen to serious music (Classical) in it. You can't hear the details!

I tell you my personal secret, ok? "Serious" classical music can have melodies, which I love to whistle.

I seriously ask myself how it could have been possible to listen to tapes in the past. I mean, the tape hiss, even in dolby b (I think dolby c wasn't too popular in cars any more) was a more obvious problem than aac "problems" at lower bitrates. To be precise, quality was crap. How could the people enjoy music?

[Mozart]

Simple, it didn't exist. Classical music came into existence 3 years ago when I first heard the moonlight sonata.

[Gurn Blanston]

I have essentially the same music player in MY car. Given my 50 mile round trip to work every day, I would be lost without music to listen to. I play MP3 disks in mine, encoded at highest quality VBR. I have no problem whatever hearing the details of the music. Anyway, the disks I make for car listening don't feature repertoire where missing the smallest nuance of the music is going to spoil the listening experience. When one considers the alternatives, a small-minded insistence on audiophile quality sound in every conceivable situation is exposed for the ludicrous pretension that it really is.

[Kullervo]

Anyway, the disks I make for car listening don't feature repertoire where missing the smallest nuance of the music is going to spoil the listening experience.

Exactly. If I'm listening to music in the car, it's NOT going to be classical.

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

Exactly. If I'm listening to music in the car, it's NOT going to be classical.

The vlevel dsp at a smooth rate does solve the dynamics for the not too extreme cases. Yes of course it does touch the gain dynamically. It does touch the audio material, but so what? I mean the car environment adds lots of noises and lacks the coughing people from a live experience.

Why not listen to Sibelius' Finlandia in car? Tapiola? Swan of Tuonela? I love it. *whistle* Classial music also as everyday music: Not a problem for me. It doesn't need to be stuck to the living rooms couch...

Are we talking about "elitist music in unworthy, non elitist environments"? Blasphemy?

[Kullervo]

Are we talking about "elitist music in unworthy, non elitist environments"?

Not at all. I just prefer to give classical music my full attention, which is something I can't do while flying down the turnpike at 80 mph.

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

Not at all. I just prefer to give classical music my full attention, which is something I can't do while flying down the turnpike at 80 mph.

OK, in my opinion the music is not getting worse if I give it only the attention I can afford; I can still highly enjoy it, especially the melodical parts of music. "Giving the music my full attention" is not a must/ a dogma here.

[m_gigena]

ehh I havent driven in over a year but yeah, the car is the best place to listen to music. Driving with the window down and the volume all the way up...ahh memories...

Stopping by your neighbour's gang of bad guys to the sound of the Misa Salisburgensis... Yeah. 

[Gurn Blanston]

Exactly. If I'm listening to music in the car, it's NOT going to be classical.

Since I don't have (or want) anything BUT classical, this is not an option. But there is a big difference between an overture or any sort of big, loud thing, than a string quartet or piano sonata. I haven't the slightest difficulty following any orchestral music at a safe and sane 80 mph. Done it every day for years...

[Kullervo]

Since I don't have (or want) anything BUT classical, this is not an option. But there is a big difference between an overture or any sort of big, loud thing, than a string quartet or piano sonata. I haven't the slightest difficulty following any orchestral music at a safe and sane 80 mph. Done it every day for years...

Then... you are a better man than I!

[mahlertitan]

Stopping by your neighbour's gang of bad guys to the sound of the Misa Salisburgensis... Yeah. 

you'd probably drive them away, works better than a gun in my opinion.

[Mahlered]

I just got a new car, and am excited to test its sound system with a bunch of classical CDs! Though I listen to other music in the car, too: generally, on shorter drives, non-classical and on longer drives, classical.

I also confess to singing in my car.

[greg]

I also confess to singing in my car.

we didn't need to know that 

[Szykneij]

I seriously ask myself how it could have been possible to listen to tapes in the past. I mean, the tape hiss, even in dolby b (I think dolby c wasn't too popular in cars any more) was a more obvious problem than aac "problems" at lower bitrates. To be precise, quality was crap. How could the people enjoy music?

Hey -- I had The Moldau and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on 8-track!   

[Don]

Since I don't have (or want) anything BUT classical, this is not an option. But there is a big difference between an overture or any sort of big, loud thing, than a string quartet or piano sonata. I haven't the slightest difficulty following any orchestral music at a safe and sane 80 mph. Done it every day for years...

I suppose this will sound strange, but I most enjoy chamber music in my car.