Guest Steven1963 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 The ability to play any song from any time period and any genre at the touch of a button and create favorites/playlists out of those is more valuable to me than actually owning it. Hey just a test. Do they have: Thelma Houston "I've got the music in me" or Dennis Wilson "Pacific Ocean Blue" or Dianne Carroll "Tribute to Ethel Waters" complete albums? Thelma Houston: yes; Dennis Wilson: yes; Dianne Carroll: no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I buy 3-6 albums a month. I only buy digital for easy of finding things and making playlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 (edited) I've bought quite a few high rez downloads from Hdtracks and HDTT but it really goes to show that what matters is the original recording... WAY more than the resolution. I have standard CD's that sound awesome! Actually, I don't listen to CD's... just the FLAC files I rip to the computer... FLAC playback via foobar2000 is my most predominant method of listening using an obsolete Netbook that suffices for a music server, a.k.a., juke box, via HDMI to the preamp, and using a Bluetooth mouse to control it onscreen. It's a very convenient and powerful setup. I've been experimenting using foobar components--such as Dynamic Range and ReplayGain (which I've since turned off but still use the ReplayGain information for each track to manually set playback levels since ReplayGain itself doesn't correctly handle anything but compressed DR tracks)--and have found that I can sort on "album dynamic range". I then play some low DR tracks, listen for a few minutes, then go to the high-end of the album DR scale of the scale, setting my listening levels based on ReplayGain calculated levels, and then immerse myself in the music while working away on laptop. All this really has continued to open my eyes and ears to the current very low status of popular music quality. You can guess the correlation of lower DR values with the year of release of the music, starting from about 1992. It's a shame, really. But there are a few high DR tracks out there that have been released within the last few years, mostly classical music titles, but also a few other genres represented. The difference between the high and low DR tracks is immediate--and sickening, really. That's why I've been experimenting with upward expanders, with some success. One outstanding find in terms of good DR is Chilly Gonzales' "Solo Piano II" CD, released in 2012. High DR...and highly recommended. Chris Edited September 13, 2014 by Chris A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 PULL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 PULL! Your finger? I think we should stick to shooting the clay versions. Shooting 12" vinyl is poor sportsmanship! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 foobar2000 Is this like a front end, like WMP but better. I need to read up on it some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I've bought quite a few high rez downloads from Hdtracks and HDTT but it really goes to show that what matters is the original recording.. I am trying out hdtt now, I am usually happy with flac 24/96. The biggest problem I have with these sights is they are manly geared towards classical and jazz and what not. Not that I have a problem with that, I would like some of my all time favorites as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 PULL!Your finger? I think we should stick to shooting the clay versions. Shooting 12" vinyl is poor sportsmanship! I wouldn't really shoot them & I could see a Thorens Tt in my distant future...if cheap...maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 foobar2000 Is this like a front end, like WMP but better. I need to read up on it some. The reason why I mention this freeware tool is that it seems to have no limitations on its expandability and customizability - even for stuff like plugins for VST and other music mastering tools. Everything's free, too, which is a big selling point. I ripped my entire CD/DVD-A collection to FLAC using foobar (actually a component called Exact Audio Copy) - and now I never even have to pull a disc off the shelf. I've got my entire music collection, less most of the vinyl, at my fingertips. I'll probably start ripping my vinyl disks to FLAC this coming winter and use Audacity (freeware) to clean up the pops/ticks/etc. I've got perhaps 500 vinyl records that I need to convert to digital, and this is the way that I've chosen to do it: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GHBYZ0/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 ugh... I wouldn't try to clean it up. Audacity is way too heavy handed and will remove too much music. Audacity is great otherwise! Looks like we use the same software. EAC is awesome at retrieving data of those CDs that might have a scratch or two and Foobar is my favorite player. Foobar took some effort to get to work the way I wanted but I'm happy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 1. Public library 2. Amazon-used 3. Amazon-new 4. HD Tracks Champagne tastes, Bud budget. A good public library is a great thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lud Mil Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 (edited) If you want the best quality of sound you need a good CD player and original CD's. If you take a good care of them, they will serve you well for many many years ahead. I purchase my CD's from www.buycdnow.ca, prices are very reasonable. I buy 5-10 a month which is not much but the quality exceeds compressed MP3, FLAC, etc. by a significant margine. Edited September 14, 2014 by Lud Mil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 If you say so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I ripped my entire CD/DVD-A collection to FLAC using foobar (actually a component called Exact Audio Copy) - and now I never even have to pull a disc off the shelf. I also have everything ripped to FLAC and have not used an actual CD in so long I boxed them all up and put them away. In my case, I use JR Media center for control of the audio content. The best feature is to use my phone or pad to control music from any location where my devices can access the home wi-fi signal. Just too easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Well, I am over my limit. I just brought 3 album off Amazon digital. I got to stop this: it is so easy to press a button and money is gone, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Rudy, are you still using unRAID? I upgraded my array a couple of weeks ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Rudy, are you still using unRAID? I upgraded my array a couple of weeks ago image.jpg Yes, I still use the unRaid setup. Although, I'm still using one of the Beta test versions. Never have gotten around to purchase the latest license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Just signed up to HDtracks, got some free samples. Now it looks like I need to download something like Foobar, or winamp to support them. I once dabbled with Winamp but that was on an older computer. Anybody like one over the other, why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Depends on what you plan to do with your player. If you are simply playing back with no bells/whistles then I believe the players are roughly equivalent in terms of playback fidelity. I used Winamp in the early 2000s and it sounded good, and the player itself was very easy to set up. The focus seemingly was on the "skins" of the player. Here is a partial list of plugins for foobar2000: http://www.foobar2000.org/components, and there are many other components available at other sites. For instance, here is a list of components that I've current got installed: foobar2000 core 1.3.3 (self-explanatory) ABX Comparator 1.3.4 (provides the functionality of A-B blind testing of tracks in your library) Album List 4.5 (self-explanatory) Binary Comparator 1.2 (compares two tracks from binary level) Audio CD Writer 3.0.3 (self-explanatory) CD Audio Decoder 3.0 (self-explanatory) Converter 1.5 (converts incoming files into other formats, including FLAC) Discogs Tagger 1.39 (provides semi-automatic interface to CD libraries in order to read album names and track titles) iPod manager 0.6.9.6 (self-explanatory) Equalizer 1.0 (self-explanatory) Standard DSP Array 1.3 (provides an array of signal processing options) Graphic Equalizer 0.3.7 (self-explanatory) Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1 (the DR Database app that calculates the DR for each track and the album) freedb Tagger 0.5.2.1 (provides semi-automatic interface to CD libraries in order to read album names and track titles) HDCD decoder 1.15 (self-explanatory) DTS decoder 0.3.3 (self-explanatory) DVD-Audio Decoder and Watermark Detector 0.4.11 (self-explanatory) Super Audio CD Decoder 0.6.4 (reads SACDs [assuming you can read them using a PS3 that is suitably configured]) Standard Input Array 1.0 No Display Standby 1.1 (turns off screen saver while foobar is playing) WASAPI output support 3.2.3 (HDMI interface to my AV Preamp) Playback Statistics 3.0.2 (self-explanatory) ReplayGain Scanner 2.2.1 (catalogs the average track levels for normalizing gains) Columns UI 0.3.8.8 (an alternate album-based unser interface view) Default User Interface 0.9.5 Biography View 0.4.2.4 (shows album art and biography of artist) VST 2.4 adapter 0.9.0.3 (allows VST plugins to be used) http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/foobar/index.shtml Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 It was almost 25 years ago. I had held off buying new vinyl for a long time. The collection from college was suffering from wear and tear. The AR turntable was still working well but obviously CD's were the way to go. But then a very good job requiring Saturday work came along. I'd visit a record store every Saturday morning and buy one classical and one popular CD to play on a portable CD player and good headphones at the office and plow through paperwork. I know that folks here love vinyl. For me, though, clean and clear CD's were terrific and it was good to rebuild the collection. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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