I Pod with headphones

[Harry]

I love my 80Gb Ipod - and have been using Sennheiser's PX100 headphones with them since I got it - no complaints here. I'd point out though that you could also use the Ipod for your growing opera DVD collection.

[Mark]

Yes, well it reinforces my conviction to maybe not buy I POD, but MP 3.

Harry, dear fellow, an iPod is an MP3 player (or Digital Audio Player, to give these devices their correct name). Trouble is, in the same way that people used to say 'Walkman' even when referring to portable cassette players NOT made by Sony (owners of the 'Walkman' trademark), people now say 'iPod' as a kind of shorthand for DAPs.

Not an iPod fan, Mark? That's too bad.

No, Steve. I'm no fan of anything made by Apple. But don't get me started on THAT diatribe.

[Harry]

Harry, dear fellow, an iPod is an MP3 player (or Digital Audio Player, to give these devices their correct name). Trouble is, in the same way that people used to say 'Walkman' even when referring to portable cassette players NOT made by Sony (owners of the 'Walkman' trademark), people now say 'iPod' as a kind of shorthand for DAPs.

See how stupid I am in that repect. Even the simplest thing about it, makes me shudder.
Of course I cannot ask my IT firm, for they only have ears for business applications.
Oke, so from what I can deduce everything but not I Pod. I rely on your expertise.
Which brand should I buy, and remember money is no object in this.

[Mark]

Harry, here are my top four choices for you:

80Gb iPod

60Gb Creative Zen Vision: M

160Gb Archos 504

60Gb iAudio X-560

Obviously, you can find these items on other sites, and if you Google their brand names you'll be able to get more detailed information.

If you asked me which I'd choose for you, I'd go for the Creative. Superb, natural sound, a S/N of 97% (better than any other DAP on the market), and slick integration with Windows Media Player and PCs generally ... I know you're not a Mac man. I've used Creative for four years (as well as several other brands, Apple included), and these players have proved the most robust and generally trouble-free. Not just at the most expensive end of their range, but right across it.

[Harry]

Harry, here are my top four choices for you:

80Gb iPod

60Gb Creative Zen Vision: M

160Gb Archos 504

60Gb iAudio X-560

Obviously, you can find these items on other sites, and if you Google their brand names you'll be able to get more detailed information.

If you asked me which I'd choose for you, I'd go for the Creative. Superb, natural sound, a S/N of 97% (better than any other DAP on the market), and slick integration with Windows Media Player and PCs generally ... I know you're not a Mac man. I've used Creative for four years (as well as several other brands, Apple included), and these players have proved the most robust and generally trouble-free. Not just at the most expensive end of their range, but right across it.

Oke, I go for Creative then. And now I have to find some wizard who will explain to me how to burn my cd's on it without much hassle.
And the correct high bitrate, for nothing less will do.
Thank Mark, your input was and is most useful.

[Mark]

Oke, I go for Creative then. And now I have to find some wizard who will explain to me how to but my cd's on it without much hassle.
And the correct high bitrate, for nothing less will do.
Thank Mark, your input was and is most useful.

No worries, Harry.

You should find that once you've loaded the installation CD onto your PC, you'll almost never need to bother with the bundled software (you just need it for the MTP - Microsoft Transfer Protocol - drivers, really). The player should communicate just fine with Windows Media Player, which is also the program you can use to rip your music and put it onto your player. If you have difficulties, I could help you remotely using Remote Assistance (which, if you've never used it before, gives another user control over your PC down the telephone line while you watch ... and learn! ).

And don't forget, you need headphones. I'll leave you to decide which sort will suit you best.

[Harry]

No worries, Harry.

You should find that once you've loaded the installation CD onto your PC, you'll almost never need to bother with the bundled software (you just need it for the MTP - Microsoft Transfer Protocol - drivers, really). The player should communicate just fine with Windows Media Player, which is also the program you can use to rip your music and put it onto your player. If you have difficulties, I could help you remotely using Remote Assistance (which, if you've never used it before, gives another user control over your PC down the telephone line while you watch ... and learn! ).

And don't forget, you need headphones. I'll leave you to decide which sort will suit you best.

Thanks Mark I appriciated that, but since my computer is part of a security system due to the nature of my work, that will be impossible. Only my IT firm is authorized to do that. 
But I will ask you if problems arise, sure I will.
As you are telling me this, I think I will manage fine. Does the software ask me in which bitrate I want to have it?

[Mark]

Harry, these two steps should give you a good idea (visually) of what you'll need to do to ensure the highest quality of your ripped music.

[Harry]

Right Mark, you make it easy for me.
My IT firm installed Win Amp for me this morning, so that I will be able to influence the tone controls, Bass/Treble, which was impossible to find in Windows Media Player, at least for me.
Have bought these babies for quick reference.

[marvinbrown]

Harry, here are my top four choices for you:


160Gb Archos 504

  Ahhh..now this is something I'd like to have.....

  marvin

[George]

I have a few questions for you guys:

1. Is it true that tracks bought on itunes are in 128 Kps AAC format?

2. Is it also true that 128 Kps AAC is about equal to 192 Kps MP3?

3. Also, if the above is true, how good is 192 K MP3?

4. Or in other words, what is the average range of human hearing in terms of MP3 Kps? Is it 192, 224, 256, 320? (I am just saying roughly here)

Last question: which of the above MP3 file sizes corresponds to CD Quality? 256? 320?

Sorry about all the questions, I scanned the internet today and couldn't find something that explained the above in plain English. 

[Steve]

I have a few questions for you guys:

1. Is it true that tracks bought on itunes are in 128 Kps AAC format? Regular purchases on iTunes are encoded at 128kbps, but certain iTunes Plus Tracks come at 256kbs AAC which is essentially 320kpbs Mp3, which is CD Quality

2. Is it also true that 128 Kps AAC is about equal to 192 Kps MP3? Yes.

3. Also, if the above is true, how good is 192 K MP3? Depends on the music. For classical, I need at least 256 for quality listening.

4. Or in other words, what is the average range of human hearing in terms of MP3 Kps? Is it 192, 224, 256, 320? (I am just saying roughly here) Theoretically 256AAC/320Mp3 preserves all that is audible to the human ear. 192AAC is not of cosiderably less quality, for the classical listener, I'd stick to at least 256.

Last question: which of the above MP3 file sizes corresponds to CD Quality? 256? 320? 320mp3/256AAC

Sorry about all the questions, I scanned the internet today and couldn't find something that explained the above in plain English.  Hope this helps, then. 


[/quote]

[George]

I have a few questions for you guys:

1. Is it true that tracks bought on itunes are in 128 Kps AAC format? Regular purchases on iTunes are encoded at 128kbps, but certain iTunes Plus Tracks come at 256kbs AAC which is essentially 320kpbs Mp3, which is CD Quality

2. Is it also true that 128 Kps AAC is about equal to 192 Kps MP3? Yes.

3. Also, if the above is true, how good is 192 K MP3? Depends on the music. For classical, I need at least 256 for quality listening.

4. Or in other words, what is the average range of human hearing in terms of MP3 Kps? Is it 192, 224, 256, 320? (I am just saying roughly here) Theoretically 256AAC/320Mp3 preserves all that is audible to the human ear. 192AAC is not of cosiderably less quality, for the classical listener, I'd stick to at least 256.

Last question: which of the above MP3 file sizes corresponds to CD Quality? 256? 320? 320mp3/256AAC

Sorry about all the questions, I scanned the internet today and couldn't find something that explained the above in plain English.  Hope this helps, then. 

Thanks Steve.

When you use itunes to make an exact copy of a CD, do you import it as a WAV or Apple Lossless? Or, what gets closest to an exact copy?

[71 dB]

I have a few questions for you guys:

1. Is it true that tracks bought on itunes are in 128 Kps AAC format?

2. Is it also true that 128 Kps AAC is about equal to 192 Kps MP3?

3. Also, if the above is true, how good is 192 K MP3?

4. Or in other words, what is the average range of human hearing in terms of MP3 Kps? Is it 192, 224, 256, 320? (I am just saying roughly here)

Last question: which of the above MP3 file sizes corresponds to CD Quality? 256? 320?

Sorry about all the questions, I scanned the internet today and couldn't find something that explained the above in plain English. 

1. I don't know, perhaps.

2. Apple claims that. I have never listened AAC sound.

3. 192 kbits/s mp3 is pretty good. Most people will find it perfect.

4. Most people find 128 kbits/s mp3 good enough, some people (golden ears) want 320  kbits/s or even lossless formats. So, it really depends on your hearing.

All mp3 files are packet so that most (useless) information is lost forever. So, none of them are technically same as CD but above 192 kbits/s is spychoacoutically good/excellent. Also, compressed pop music isn't as demanding as say classical piano music. So, even the music itself makes a difference.

The mp3-coders has differencies too how they allocate bits to the music. 128 kbits/s can sound really bad if made with a (old) bad coder.

[Steve]

Apple forces you to use iTunes. Very confusing software! I have never understood much about it but I am able to load music to my iPod. 

The simple, easy to use layout of iTunes is a large part of the iPod's popularity. iTunes is among the most straightfoward, stable applications that I have ever used.

[71 dB]

The simple, easy to use layout of iTunes is a large part of the iPod's popularity. iTunes is among the most straightfoward, stable applications that I have ever used.

I find all the libraries etc. weird. Why not simple drag and drop-copy files form your Harddrive to iPod? It took me one hour to figure out how to get music to my iPod when I bought it.

[George]

The simple, easy to use layout of iTunes is a large part of the iPod's popularity. iTunes is among the most straightfoward, stable applications that I have ever used.

Which import setting do you use when making an exact copy (and not storing the file?)

AIFF, WAV or Apple Lossless?

[orbital]

Thanks Steve.

When you use itunes to make an exact copy of a CD, do you import it as a WAV or Apple Lossless? Or, what gets closest to an exact copy?

WAV would be en exact copy. When you buy a CD-R and you see the 560MB/74 minutes sign in there, that's the appx specifics of WAV format as well AFAIK. That means 74 minutes of WAV will take about 560MB's of space.

I find 192kbps to be just the right spot between freq loss and unnecessary space hog

I find all the libraries etc. weird. Why not simple drag and drop-copy files form your Harddrive to iPod?

Exactly!
Of course the reason is so that you will have to use iTunes (which sells tracks as well). So far I have succeeded in not using any mp3 player that forces you to use their own specific interface. It is ridicilous, and as long as there is one company left who lets you organize your music the way you want to, I am sticking with them. For now, it is iAudio (and Archos too I believe, they used to be like that at least)

I still cannot figure out how to turn off the library function on WMP. Everything I play are added to the library for some reason. I don't want to keep a library in the media player, I have everything arranged under folders/subfolders already 

[George]

WAV would be en exact copy. When you buy a CD-R and you see the 560MB/74 minutes sign in there, that's the appx specifics of WAV format as well AFAIK. That means 74 minutes of WAV will take about 560MB's of space.

Thanks.

I find 192kbps to be just the right spot between freq loss and unnecessary space hog

But if I am not storing the files, but only using them to burn a CD, then WAV is the way to go, right?

[Mark]

I still cannot figure out how to turn off the library function on WMP. Everything I play are added to the library for some reason. I don't want to keep a library in the media player, I have everything arranged under folders/subfolders already 

Go into Tools\Options, then uncheck the box I've circled below.