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Re: MP3 Player And Receiver


J.L.

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I have a question concerning hooking a MP3 player to a receiver. Would it be ok and not cause any damage to the receiver by using an adapter cable to hook the player via the headphone jack, to one of the input RCA jacks in the back?? I have tried this, but the volume level of the music coming from the MP3 player thru the speakers doesn't seem as loud as it should be, compared to the radio or CD player volume at the same adjustment position of the volume control on the receiver. Would a separate headphone amp be something to try, or would this be a potential hazard to the system??
I have tried turning the volume level of the MP3 player all the way up as well.....

Thanks for any help....

----John

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I have a question concerning hooking a MP3 player to a receiver.

Even if you get the volume level right, you may be dissappointed in the results. MP3 sounds O.K. through headphones or earbuds because the extra spatiality masks the problems. MP3 is basically a low fi medium, compared to CD, SACD, HDCD, DVD-A, FLAC, vinyl records, reel to reel tape, and even good type IV, or "metal" cassette tape properly equalized (and biased, in the recording stage). It habituates people to innacurate sound. It annoys me that the format was even created [:@][:S]. To me, it ranks right up there (down there) with 8 track and Kodak Instamatic (which had lower resolution than the previous 40 years or so of cameras).

Sorry, bad mood ... but I thought it should be said. [:)]

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I have a question concerning hooking a MP3 player to a receiver.

Even if you get the volume level right, you may be dissappointed in the results. MP3 sounds O.K. through headphones or earbuds because the extra spatiality masks the problems. MP3 is basically a low fi medium, compared to CD, SACD, HDCD, DVD-A, FLAC, vinyl records, reel to reel tape, and even good type IV, or "metal" cassette tape properly equalized (and biased, in the recording stage). It habituates people to innacurate sound. It annoys me that the format was even created AngryTongue Tied. To me, it ranks right up there (down there) with 8 track and Kodak Instamatic (which had lower resolution than the previous 40 years or so of cameras).

I agree.

Whenever I hear one of my own live-in-concert recordings (96KHz/24bit) played from an mp3 file I cringe. It's today's version of the 45rpm single and 8-track tape.

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Even if you get the volume level right, you may be dissappointed in the results. MP3 sounds O.K. through headphones or earbuds because the extra spatiality masks the problems. MP3 is basically a low fi medium, compared to CD, SACD, HDCD, DVD-A, FLAC, vinyl records, reel to reel tape, and even good type IV, or "metal" cassette tape properly equalized (and biased, in the recording stage). It habituates people to innacurate sound. It annoys me that the format was even created AngryTongue Tied. To me, it ranks right up there (down there) with 8 track and Kodak Instamatic (which had lower resolution than the previous 40 years or so of cameras).

I was talking to a friend in the music business who said that MP3s made today sound better than those made 10 years ago because of newer codecs that don't damage the sound so badly. He played a newer selection through his home system and it wasn't bad. Of course the master files would sound quite different than an MP3 version, as would a 16/44.1 CD made from that same file. Any type of transcoding will cause some loss, whether or not the loss is audibly objectionable depends on the listener and their expectations.

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Hey thanks guys!!!!........
I bought another cable that is just one cable, and not two like I was using before.... hooked up the MP3 player (a Sansa Clip) and yes, I was extremely disappointed with the sound.... awful..... muddy.... no nice clear highs or anything like when you listen with earbuds.... even tried the phono input on my receiver.... blah!!!!!!! So thats it for that.....
And thanks again for your input.....

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I was talking to a friend in the music business who said that MP3s made today sound better than those made 10 years ago because of newer codecs that don't damage the sound so badly. He played a newer selection through his home system and it wasn't bad. Of course the master files would sound quite different than an MP3 version, as would a 16/44.1 CD made from that same file. Any type of transcoding will cause some loss, whether or not the loss is audibly objectionable depends on the listener and their expectations.

When the newer codecs are used is the name for the format still MP3?

I heard that Itunes uses a better codec now, but it is called something else.... "A" something??

Once my expectations are elevated by hearing a given recording on a good format (or sound system, for that matter), it's all over, those expectations will never come down. That's why I'm amazed that artists, composers, producers, etc. do not fight to keep their music off of MP3 (at least the MP3 I'm familiar with).

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I was talking to a friend in the music business who said that MP3s made today sound better than those made 10 years ago because of newer codecs that don't damage the sound so badly. He played a newer selection through his home system and it wasn't bad. Of course the master files would sound quite different than an MP3 version, as would a 16/44.1 CD made from that same file. Any type of transcoding will cause some loss, whether or not the loss is audibly objectionable depends on the listener and their expectations.

When the newer codecs are used is the name for the format still MP3?

I heard that Itunes uses a better codec now, but it is called something else.... "A" something??

Once my expectations are elevated by hearing a given recording on a good format (or sound system, for that matter), it's all over, those expectations will never come down. That's why I'm amazed that artists, composers, producers, etc. do not fight to keep their music off of MP3 (at least the MP3 I'm familiar with).

MP3s of a decade ago were riddled with artifacts and generally 128 kbps. They certainly sound better today, but I see no reason to advocate them. Space is cheap.

Apple has ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) available in iTunes. It's a needlessly proprietary version of FLAC.

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I would just as soon listen to FM on my receiver than ever putting an MP3 thru it again.... and for that matter XM Radio either.... of course I'm hooking my XM in the same way as I did with the MP3 player.... maybe the receivers that come with the XM feature built in sound better, I don't know......
My preference of listening would be CD, FM, XM, and if I absolutely had to..... MP3..... (don't have my turntable hooked up...)

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I would just as soon listen to FM on my receiver than ever putting an MP3 thru it again.... and for that matter XM Radio either.... of course I'm hooking my XM in the same way as I did with the MP3 player.... maybe the receivers that come with the XM feature built in sound better, I don't know......

My preference of listening would be CD, FM, XM, and if I absolutely had to..... MP3..... (don't have my turntable hooked up...)

It should not sound that bad. Yes, it will sound bad, but not really worse than FM (here we have extra HD channels so FM is pretty bad, I sold a really nice receiver because our FM is so bad).

did you run the MP3's through a dac or just use a cheapie cord? If they have a decent bitrate and a good DAC they should be acceptable, but not great.

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It should not sound that bad. Yes, it will sound bad, but not really worse than FM (here we have extra HD channels so FM is pretty bad, I sold a really nice receiver because our FM is so bad).

did you run the MP3's through a dac or just use a cheapie cord? If they have a decent bitrate and a good DAC they should be acceptable, but not great.

Just ran it through a cord I got at Radio Shack..... plugged it into the headphone jack of the Sansa Clip (the MP3 player) then into an "in" rca jack on the back of my receiver, and cranked the volume of the Sansa Clip.... then had to turn volume up on my receiver to about the 10:30 position.... the volume was decent, but it sounded awful.... and by that I mean just no tonal qualities, bland.... no distortion, just bland... I would say worse than AM radio when it's coming in at its best as far as the sound quality of the music.....
I'm not familiar with "dac"...... would this be a digital to analog convertor??

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There is more at play than your clip, which I have several of and at 320 sound pretty good. What bit rate do you use? And is your PC doing anything bad in the process?

As far as the bit rate, I wouldn't have a clue..... hehehe.... I'm sure I could check if I knew where to.... but the whole thing is, the songs on the Sansa sound fantastic with even the cheapest of earbud headphones (I have an old Sony pair that have all but fallen apart, and the songs on the Sansa Clip sound out of this world good!!!... to me anyways)..... and this is what I don't get.... but someone did explain earlier in the posts, that the headphones of this type, were made for these little players, and I guess the players just aren't going to work and sound like they do with a stereo receiver thru some pretty decent speakers, as they do with little cheap headphones...... which is completely amazing to me.... but then again, I'm no electrical or audio engineer.....
I would love to figure this out and hear that same sound I'm hearing in those headphones, thru those big ole KG 5.5's.......

Oh and PS... Fish.... I see some nice looking guitars on your profile pic..... I'm a bit of picker and collector myself.....

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