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Does lossless audio guarantee good sound?


DKT27

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I always download FLAC (lossless 100% rip with cue) where possible thanks to being on what.cd and waffles.fm but because i use iTunes and have iPod i have to convert them to apple lossless, no problem here, before anyone has a go at me, no I probably can't hear it on my iPod but the reasoning behind this is so that when I get better hi-fi,s especially my car it will be better than box standard mp3's. Although I don't mind having mp3s laying around on my iTunes I refuse to go below a v1/2 and will often improve it to lossless when I can. I'm lucky to have the storage space i do as I now have over 200Gb of music (6265 songs or 161Gb in lossless) I can hear a distinct difference between a lossless and 320 or lower on the correct equipment but my main reasoning for downloading Lossless is to keep the quality of it when released, if I need to lower it I can always use DBPowerAmp, but generally just keep them all lossless. :D

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May I ask what sound system you guys have? Soundcard/speakers/headphones. There are clicks when the sound wave stops/starts. These are not the sound you need to hear!

Well.. I have an old system with onboard AC '97/Realtek Chip.. and I was using a set of KOSS Headphones.. 20 bucks cheap.. I had a fan running in the background.. when I tested.. and I also tested three other people with the same headphones only one made it to around 18... they all said they could hear a click when the file would play but not the following sound..

Try this on for size... http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html though it should cover a wider frequency range it does show audible hearing.. When I finished the chart leaving them on the last one I culd hear.. oddly enough it started o mirror the configuration of my 32 Band EQ

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Thanks for the test link, heath28m.

I also wanted to buy Koss, but what I wanted (something for street, resistant cable, decent sound) were too expensive for me. Was terribly annoyed to keep on breaking cables and having to replace otherwise completely good headphones.

The headphones have usually better frequency range than speakers at the same price.

I attached the result (lowest "rectangle" I could clearly hear) of my test on the gear I have at home, in a moderately acoustic treated room, the speakers at 12 o' clock, monitoring position (+4dB), any other volume at max. No subwoofer present, my Yammies go down to 42-43 Hz I think. Computer case open, total of 4 fans running.

Important: The incorrect/incomplete treatment of the room shows at 60/125 Hz, where it's not my hearing that is better, but the room amplifies that frequencies. But I know and compensate in the mixing :P as I'm too poor to buy better bass traps and shit.

You will also see such results if on speakers/untreated room. Headphones should take care of this proble, since the waves are directed to your ear and not reflect on adjacent surfaces too.

I always download FLAC (lossless 100% rip with cue) where possible thanks to being on what.cd and waffles.fm

I really knew this was coming, I just waited to see who will be the offender :P But I agree. If you have the space and the source, there's no reason to keep on hoarding mp3s and other lossy stuff.

Get the best lossless out there, be it 100% log, WI approved or even 24/96 vinyl rips with thousands of USD gear, SACD or whatever else is the latest fad...

post-2350-0-32497300-1296615306_thumb.pn

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Well, mine are quite high, probably of cheap headphones, heath28m, you use use $20 one, I use $5 ones :P . The reason being me not finding any comfy ones at about $15-20....

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Well DK.. I tried to find mine.. and they don't seem to exist and I can't seem to find anything about them.. but they are a good price and comfortable for in the home listening for 20.. Haven't seen them at the stores lately either...

Here's mine with my headphones.. tomorrow I will do one with my crappy speakers.. :P

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Here's my results with my basic iPod headphones because i cannot afford any decent ones nor bothered to find the time to put money aside as mainly listen to music on 5.1 system.

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If you could afford ipod earbuds then you can most certainly afford higher quality earbuds. ipod earbuds retail for 50USD and they only play a compressed middle range of frequencies. You can buy Sennheiser earbuds online from 20USD to 60USD depending on the model but even the lowest priced Sennheiser is better than ipod earbuds. ;)

Higher quality sound is closer to your reach than you may think. The ipod DSP and AMP are pretty decent so they would offer good sound output, it's the earbuds that are lacking.

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If you could afford ipod earbuds then you can most certainly afford higher quality earbuds. ipod earbuds retail for 50USD and they only play a compressed middle range of frequencies. You can buy Sennheiser earbuds online from 20USD to 60USD depending on the model but even the lowest priced Sennheiser is better than ipod earbuds. ;)

Higher quality sound is closer to your reach than you may think. The ipod DSP and AMP are pretty decent so they would offer good sound output, it's the earbuds that are lacking.

Ah well they came with the iPod, I've never really looked into buying newer ones as I thought they were pretty expensive, I may have to find a few in my price range and give you a should :)

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