ipod or other portable device.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I would like to acquire a ipod, or maybe something else, to load my newest CD's on, so I may be able outside of my house when free time is forthcoming to listen. I will also want a docking sound system to go with it, not portable but good sound, as well as small headphones, which will give me enough quality in play back. About 50 CD's will I load into the device, when done with them, I will simply delete them and start with another 50. I think therefore 16 gig would be enough. Which software best to use to load them into my ipod.
Please some advice in this.
Thank you.

[karlhenning]

Well, if you go literally with an iPod, Harry, you will be part of the Evil Empire (Apple) ; ) . . . who are exemplary control freaks.  You'll have to install iTunes, and that software will basically take over help you manage your sound files.

I have a non-Apple device, the software I use is called Media Monkey (I think there is a free version, though I have ponied up for a license), and I find it very useful for "ripping" CDs (hate that term, really) . . . and I just drag-&-drop music from one folder to a folder on my mp3 player.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Well, if you go literally with an iPod, Harry, you will be part of the Evil Empire (Apple) ; ) . . . who are exemplary control freaks.  You'll have to install iTunes, and that software will basically take over help you manage your sound files.

I have a non-Apple device, the software I use is called Media Monkey (I think there is a free version, though I have ponied up for a license), and I find it very useful for "ripping" CDs (hate that term, really) . . . and I just drag-&-drop music from one folder to a folder on my mp3 player.

Yes, heard all about Apple and its monopoly, doesn't make me happy either, to be honest. The software I keep in mind though! Must learn to manage that me thinks. Thanks Karl for your input. 

[mc ukrneal]

In terms of Software - Itunes can do most everything. Using other programs may be useful for various reasons, but is not actually necessary with an ipod. One thing you will want to decide early on is your tagging system, but that is something you can play with when you get one.

If you do go with ipod, one suggestion I would make is rip everything into mp3s. If I remember correctly, Itunes uses its proprietary file type as a default, but this is easily changed. Also, the way the ipod works - you keep your base library (from which you delete nothing) and then you load whatever you want to the ipod. So when you change the files on the ipod, you keep all the files you ripped on your computer (just making sure this was clear). I use an external drive a lot and these are great as backup too. I actually have two backups, because I have too much music to lose if something were to happen. You can get external drives pretty cheap these days with enough space even for you (unless you decide to rip lossless perhaps).

If you want to go lossless, your more flexible route is probably a non-apple device and using FLAC.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

In terms of Software - Itunes can do most everything. Using other programs may be useful for various reasons, but is not actually necessary with an ipod. One thing you will want to decide early on is your tagging system, but that is something you can play with when you get one.

If you do go with ipod, one suggestion I would make is rip everything into mp3s. If I remember correctly, Itunes uses its proprietary file type as a default, but this is easily changed. Also, the way the ipod works - you keep your base library (from which you delete nothing) and then you load whatever you want to the ipod. So when you change the files on the ipod, you keep all the files you ripped on your computer (just making sure this was clear). I use an external drive a lot and these are great as backup too. I actually have two backups, because I have too much music to lose if something were to happen. You can get external drives pretty cheap these days with enough space even for you (unless you decide to rip lossless perhaps).

If you want to go lossless, your more flexible route is probably a non-apple device and using FLAC.

These are a lot on new terms to me, never forget That I am a novice in this part of audio.
Why not lossless, and why another device as apple. I download from CD's I already have, so that's my back up.
MP3s ?? I am a total nitwit in this respect, so teach me.

[DavidW]

Harry:

Ipod Shuffle-- no control over the order in which you listen to music and has no graphical interface.
Ipod Nano-- meant for exercise and on the go listening, it is very small but is otherwise a good no-frills mp3 player (though actually it does have some extra goodies like a pedometer).
Ipod Touch-- this is the high end model it is bigger than the others and is basically an iphone without the phone.  It is apps so you can in addition to listening to music you can watch videos, play games (on the newer models you can take pictures) and find all sorts of ways to waste time including surfing the web.
Ipod Classic-- meant for only music listening and video watching it has high storage capacity but is not flash based and is thus more delicate (and can't be used for exercise) than the other ipods.

Instead of buying a special ipod speaker system, invest in a modern receiver, many of them have ipod docks.  That being said I have an inexpensive Sony bookshelf that sounds good.  I think that the consensus best ipod speaker system is the Bose (sadly ).

[Gurn Blanston]

Yes, heard all about Apple and its monopoly, doesn't make me happy either, to be honest. The software I keep in mind though! Must learn to manage that me thinks. Thanks Karl for your input. 

I do the same as Karl, Harry (or vice-versa, actually, my rec, I'm afraid). I have a Sandisk Sansa (older than Karl's, mine is an e280 = 8 gigs. Plenty!). All one need do is USB it to the computer and drag and drop like it was another hard drive. So much easier to manage!

[karlhenning]

I do the same as Karl, Harry (or vice-versa, actually, my rec, I'm afraid).

Nay, an excellent rec, Gurn, and I am happy to give credit where credit is due!

[mc ukrneal]

These are a lot on new terms to me, never forget That I am a novice in this part of audio.
Why not lossless, and why another device as apple. I download from CD's I already have, so that's my back up.
MP3s ?? I am a total nitwit in this respect, so teach me.

Ah sorry. I'm not a technical expert on this stuff myself, and I am sure someone will correct me if I err, but here goes:

MP3, WAV, FLAC, etc. are all different formats for storing the files (like pdf for pdf documents, doc for Microsoft Word docs, jpg as a picture format, etc). And there are many more. They can all be separated (more or less) into roughly two categories: compressed or lossless. Lossless just means that the music is copied exactly and there is no loss of musical information. Most lossless formats will compress or remove the silent parts, but the sound is exact to what you hear on a cd. MP3 and other compressed formats lose information of the file in the process of compression (primarily those beyond human hearing). But there are various levels of compression from 64 to 320 bit rate (actually goes lower than 64, but this is just an example). The bit rate is an indicator how how much info is retained (higher bitrates - means more information per second). 320 is the highest constant bit rate you can choose and is quite close to the quality of the actual cd (see more later on this). I rip everything at 320 these days, for example. There is also something called variable bit rate, which means it uses lower bit rates when there is less sound and higher bitrates when there is more sound. In the past, some devices could not handle variable bit rates, but I assume that is a relic of the past.

So if quality is the utmost concern, FLAC or some other lossless format would be the choice. The downside of this is that they take more room on the hard drive or device and cause potential issues with which device you can choose. The upside is the quality is better, though you may not be able to notice it. I have compared the 320 bit rate to the original CD (and there are many arguments on this subject), and only rarely can I hear a difference. There is a lot of argument on this, and you can do some blind testing. I personally fall on the side of 'can't tell the difference most of the time', but this is something each person needs to decide for his or herself. You may decide that even a 0.1% degredation is too much, in which case lossless is for you. Or not.

Apple doesn't support the FLAC file format. So if you were to go with the FLAC format, you would need to use a different device. Apple has its own lossless format, but I don;t know anything about it. I have never used it. FLAC is the most popular lossless format, as far I as I know, thought there are others too.

Hope that helps!

[Grazioso]

[DavidW]

Harry all you need to know is download itunes, and then under preferences->import settings-> select itunes plus to give you high bitrate files to use with your ipod.  These files can be played on computers and most other mp3 players as well.  Itunes will take care of the rest, including album artwork.

[SonicMan46]

Hi Harry - obviously you need to decide on Apple vs. non-Apple products - I'm not a fan of the Apple Corporation but I do have an older generation iPod (2G) w/ 32 GB of memory - this was given to me by my son when I was contemplating MP3 players (that term is short for MPEG-2 Layer 3 which is a lossy audio compression codec under the Motion Picture Expert Group standard - Neal has already explained its features along w/ those of others).

As already stated, you are 'married' to iTunes (which will run on a number of OSs including Windows) and your music is imported into the iPod from the computer's hard drive via the Apple program; iTunes will rip your CDs (or other programs can be used) to the hard drive - I rip as MP3 w/ 192 or 256 bit rates which can be chosen w/i iTunes as already mentioned; of course the files on your computer's hard drive can be backed up to an external drive or USB device - I use an external HD (just extra protection to save time from ripping again if your computer goes down).

Currently I have over 70 albums on my iPod, plus plenty of other programs and images - have used up only 9 GB of memory, so 16 GB would give you plenty of room if you plan to keep just 50 albums or so on the device (of course the much smaller MP3 file size provides plenty of storage capacity and good quality if ripped at high bit rates).

As to listening to your music, all these devices have mini-stereo plug-in ports for wired earphones, which I've used for years; more recently, I bought some Bluetooth headphones (pic below) (BTW - Bluetooth is a short range wireless protocol, so no tethered cord) - these can be 'paired' w/ an iPod (and probably other devices offering that technology) - has been great for me on a treadmill, i.e. walking or trotting w/o the fear of pulling my iPod off the machine; can also be used w/ a phone (if BT is available).

As to a docking station, I don't have one at home but have used many in hotel rooms - they will play your music and charge your iPod - there are so many options as the size, price, speaker quality, radio choices, etc. - I would suggest just doing a bunch of googling to see what is available (search on iPod docking, just as one example).  Good luck in your choice(s) - Dave

[The Six]

Why do you need a docking device that's not portable? All the music would be on your computer, and you can just listen to that.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

In terms of Software - Itunes can do most everything. Using other programs may be useful for various reasons, but is not actually necessary with an ipod. One thing you will want to decide early on is your tagging system, but that is something you can play with when you get one.

If you do go with ipod, one suggestion I would make is rip everything into mp3s. If I remember correctly, Itunes uses its proprietary file type as a default, but this is easily changed. Also, the way the ipod works - you keep your base library (from which you delete nothing) and then you load whatever you want to the ipod. So when you change the files on the ipod, you keep all the files you ripped on your computer (just making sure this was clear). I use an external drive a lot and these are great as backup too. I actually have two backups, because I have too much music to lose if something were to happen. You can get external drives pretty cheap these days with enough space even for you (unless you decide to rip lossless perhaps).

If you want to go lossless, your more flexible route is probably a non-apple device and using FLAC.

Right, now I understand better, of course I want to go for the lossless sound, so that will be my option in this. Thank you Neal.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Harry:

Ipod Shuffle-- no control over the order in which you listen to music and has no graphical interface.
Ipod Nano-- meant for exercise and on the go listening, it is very small but is otherwise a good no-frills mp3 player (though actually it does have some extra goodies like a pedometer).
Ipod Touch-- this is the high end model it is bigger than the others and is basically an iphone without the phone.  It is apps so you can in addition to listening to music you can watch videos, play games (on the newer models you can take pictures) and find all sorts of ways to waste time including surfing the web.
Ipod Classic-- meant for only music listening and video watching it has high storage capacity but is not flash based and is thus more delicate (and can't be used for exercise) than the other ipods.

Instead of buying a special ipod speaker system, invest in a modern receiver, many of them have ipod docks.  That being said I have an inexpensive Sony bookshelf that sounds good.  I think that the consensus best ipod speaker system is the Bose (sadly ).

I have too much electronics already, that's why I want a docking station that is not to large and can be stored behing my new laptop. Altec, is one I recently sampled and that sounded quite good.
Thank you for explaining the different ipod devices to me. 

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

I do the same as Karl, Harry (or vice-versa, actually, my rec, I'm afraid). I have a Sandisk Sansa (older than Karl's, mine is an e280 = 8 gigs. Plenty!). All one need do is USB it to the computer and drag and drop like it was another hard drive. So much easier to manage!

Wow, its sounds so easy when you explain it.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Harry all you need to know is download itunes, and then under preferences->import settings-> select itunes plus to give you high bitrate files to use with your ipod.  These files can be played on computers and most other mp3 players as well.  Itunes will take care of the rest, including album artwork.

That sounds promising too.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Hi Harry - obviously you need to decide on Apple vs. non-Apple products - I'm not a fan of the Apple Corporation but I do have an older generation iPod (2G) w/ 32 GB of memory - this was given to me by my son when I was contemplating MP3 players (that term is short for MPEG-2 Layer 3 which is a lossy audio compression codec under the Motion Picture Expert Group standard - Neal has already explained its features along w/ those of others).

As already stated, you are 'married' to iTunes (which will run on a number of OSs including Windows) and your music is imported into the iPod from the computer's hard drive via the Apple program; iTunes will rip your CDs (or other programs can be used) to the hard drive - I rip as MP3 w/ 192 or 256 bit rates which can be chosen w/i iTunes as already mentioned; of course the files on your computer's hard drive can be backed up to an external drive or USB device - I use an external HD (just extra protection to save time from ripping again if your computer goes down).

Currently I have over 70 albums on my iPod, plus plenty of other programs and images - have used up only 9 GB of memory, so 16 GB would give you plenty of room if you plan to keep just 50 albums or so on the device (of course the much smaller MP3 file size provides plenty of storage capacity and good quality if ripped at high bit rates).

As to listening to your music, all these devices have mini-stereo plug-in ports for wired earphones, which I've used for years; more recently, I bought some Bluetooth headphones (pic below) (BTW - Bluetooth is a short range wireless protocol, so no tethered cord) - these can be 'paired' w/ an iPod (and probably other devices offering that technology) - has been great for me on a treadmill, i.e. walking or trotting w/o the fear of pulling my iPod off the machine; can also be used w/ a phone (if BT is available).

As to a docking station, I don't have one at home but have used many in hotel rooms - they will play your music and charge your iPod - there are so many options as the size, price, speaker quality, radio choices, etc. - I would suggest just doing a bunch of googling to see what is available (search on iPod docking, just as one example).  Good luck in your choice(s) - Dave

Thank you, a lot of useful info.

[Willoughby earl of Itacarius]

Why do you need a docking device that's not portable? All the music would be on your computer, and you can just listen to that.

I have no external speakers on my computer.

[Opus106]

Well, if you go literally with an iPod, Harry...You'll have to install iTunes...

Given the likely scenario that Harry is a Windows user, this is probably true, but in general it is not. There are media players which will let you maintain a library, rip CDs, and add and remove files to and from an iPod.

Right, now I understand better, of course I want to go for the lossless sound, so that will be my option in this. Thank you Neal.

There is also ALAC, Apple's lossless format.

Harry, you may also wish to go through this thread, from the time when David was wondering what to buy.

My iPod Classic, which currently has 1649 "songs" -- everything from Chopin's nocturnes to Mahler's 3rd and the St. Matthew Passion-- has about 40 GB occupied. And I would guess that about 1400-1500 of those are in lossless format.

Oh, and please don't mistake me for an Apple fanboy. Far from it, in fact; I'm just making sure Harry gets all the facts. 0:)