Jahfin Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 My biggest problem with CDs is that they were originally advertised as being "indestructible" when in reality they're just as delicate, if not more so, than vinyl. There's also the sound quality issue but great strides have been made in that area in recent years. When I listen to cassettes now all I hear is tape hiss. While I always got a huge kick out of assembling my own mixes on cassette I wonder now how I ever tolerated all of that extraneous noise. As for 8-tracks, I consider them a nice curio at best. I definitely don't miss the "click-click" between tracks. For years after listening to Zep II and Houses of the Holy on vinyl (not to mention records by Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, etc.) I kept expecting to hear them change tracks during the middle of a song. Can't say I miss a damn thing about cassettes or 8-tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 For Xmas I got In Through the Outdoor as I lost it. It plays fine. I also got Tom Pettys greatest hits. It played a few times and now it wont play. Also, a friend sent me some burns of a few Zepp boots. Wont play in my car either. I just dont get it. I ran the lazer cleaner and everything. Perhaps the cold weather is having an effect? But it is frustrating. Someone talked me into getting a cd case long ago. I regret it. Ill never toss the original jacket again. I will be happy when they come up with a better technology which they will eventually. It just keeps changing And then you have to go buy the albums all over again. Not sure what's up with the store bought CDs but sometimes CD-Rs don't work in all players. As far as better technology, I very seriously doubt there will ever be a physical format to follow CDs. Everything has now moved on to digital downloads, that is the next technolgocial step. Lord knows what it will be ten years from now but I hope mp3s don't prevail, then we're all fucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 For Xmas I got In Through the Outdoor as I lost it. It plays fine. I also got Tom Pettys greatest hits. It played a few times and now it wont play. Also, a friend sent me some burns of a few Zepp boots. Wont play in my car either. I just dont get it. I ran the lazer cleaner and everything. Perhaps the cold weather is having an effect? But it is frustrating. Someone talked me into getting a cd case long ago. I regret it. Ill never toss the original jacket again. I will be happy when they come up with a better technology which they will eventually. It just keeps changing And then you have to go buy the albums all over again. I've had issues with that too - sometimes they'll only play in my computer and not my cd player (which is old). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 FLAC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 There was a study done within the last year or so that determined those that download the most music (both legally and illegally) also purchase the most music. Those are your true, diehard music fans. It's also been shown that in order to reach a larger audience, video games are often the way to go whether it be through Guitar Hero or an XBox game. That's why you also see so many artists allowing their songs to be used in television commercials. It's also the reason behind everyone from Springsteen to G n' R going with Walmart and Best Buy to promote their records through "exclusives". As everyone here is well aware the music industry just isn't what it used to be so that's why we're seeing artists use any means necessary to get their music heard. I agree that CDs are fairly reasonably priced but on the other hand they're the one medium that hasn't come down in price very significantly since their introduction. When CDs first came out the list price was somewhere around $17.98 which it still is today. That's not to say you won't ever find CDs on sale or older titles for less but the list price is still the same. Meanwhile we've seen DVDs go down as low as $5 for titles that are only a year or two old. I love vinyl too and kept buying it until it was no longer available back in the 80s. In my lifetime I've seen formats go from vinyl and reel-to-reel to 8-tracks to cassettes to DAT, compact discs, minidiscs, etc. to digital downloads. In some (if not all) cases, I feel these changes were forced on us by the industry. The same thing is happening now with MP3s but only because consumers that don't know any better are driving the market. The more they are educated about the inferior sound quality of compressed formats like MP3 the better off we'll all be but unfortunately it's hard to get them to listen. Everyone from T-Bone Burnett to Lou Reed and Neil Young have tried addressing the industry at large about the dangers MP3s pose to those of us that know the difference but consumers don't seem to be listening. Back to vinyl for just a sec, it's funny how it is now more expensive than CDs. A new, high quality vinyl record can cost as much as 30 bucks. Thankfully there's enough interest in that format for record companies to still manufacture them. I agree, they should have never stopping making vinyl records to start with but sadly, we, the music fans, aren't the ones calling the shots. Some great points Jahfin. I'd hate to see vinyl totally disappear or cds since that's primarily my source. I rarely download stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetguru Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 For Xmas I got In Through the Outdoor as I lost it. It plays fine. I also got Tom Pettys greatest hits. It played a few times and now it wont play. Also, a friend sent me some burns of a few Zepp boots. Wont play in my car either. I just dont get it. I ran the lazer cleaner and everything. Perhaps the cold weather is having an effect? But it is frustrating. Someone talked me into getting a cd case long ago. I regret it. Ill never toss the original jacket again. I will be happy when they come up with a better technology which they will eventually. It just keeps changing And then you have to go buy the albums all over again. Don't tell me that newest Zep soundboard won't play in your car !!!! Damn man ! I've NEVER had a problem with my pressed cd's or burnt cdr's. I've NEVER had one go bad and I've been burning for nearly 10 years and collecting the store bought ones for over 20 years...NEVER had one go bad..or ROT. I take meticulous care of them them too though...never in the sun or heat or left out of their case. No fingerprints or scratches ..nothing. Unless maybe you're talking about another friend, then nevermind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Some great points Jahfin. I'd hate to see vinyl totally disappear or cds since that's primarily my source. I rarely download stuff. I don't think vinyl is going anywhere. Record stores as we once knew them are closing all around us but vinyl has actually been enjoying a resurgence in recent years. I also don't think CDs will ever disappear completely, at least not any time soon. I did get a bit of a scare the other day though. My car stereo has been acting up so I contacted the store that originally installed it. They said they don't repair CD changers anymore and said most likely the problem wouldn't be worth fixing. They said they would just replace it with a tuner that was compliant with the latest iPod technology. So, pretty soon it looks like you won't even be able to buy CD players for your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 A lot of car CD players automatically compress everything going through them, you have to get one that lets you turn off compression. Although you still really can't hear any low frequencies when you're listening in the car. The engine sound pretty much drowns that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetguru Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I don't think vinyl is going anywhere. Record stores as we once knew them are closing all around us but vinyl has actually been enjoying a resurgence in recent years. I also don't think CDs will ever disappear completely, at least not any time soon. I did get a bit of a scare the other day though. My car stereo has been acting up so I contacted the store that originally installed it. They said they don't repair CD changers anymore and said most likely the problem wouldn't be worth fixing. They said they would just replace it with a tuner that was compliant with the latest iPod technology. So, pretty soon it looks like you won't even be able to buy CD players for your car. Lots of new car players have those USB slots. You can put WAV or (dread) mp3's on those thumbdrives and play your music from those. The thumbdrives come in up to 32 gigabite sizes which is enormous, but I use the 1,2,4 and 8gb ones. For instance you can transfer your cd without compression on them and get ~ 1 1/2 hours per gigabite. That's alot. So multiply that by say, a 4 gb drive, that's 6 hours of uncompressed music that can be deleted and reloaded at anytime from your computer. A good Sandisk 4gb unit goes on sale all the time for less than $15. Think about it. Just keep every cd you have on an external harddrive and load your flash as you wish. It's quick too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Lots of new car players have those USB slots. You can put WAV or (dread) mp3's on those thumbdrives and play your music from those. The thumbdrives come in up to 32 gigabite sizes which is enormous, but I use the 1,2,4 and 8gb ones. For instance you can transfer your cd without compression on them and get ~ 1 1/2 hours per gigabite. That's alot. So multiply that by say, a 4 gb drive, that's 6 hours of uncompressed music that can be deleted and reloaded at anytime from your computer. A good Sandisk 4gb unit goes on sale all the time for less than $15. Think about it. Just keep every cd you have on an external harddrive and load your flash as you wish. It's quick too.... Thanks, I was recently gifted with an iPod Shuffle (which I have yet to use and probably never will use given my problems with tinnitus) so I started to burn my CD collection (which is well over 2000 CDs) using iTunes. I only got up to the Cs in my collection before saying fuck it, this is just going to take too much time. My question is this though, is iTunes compressing the songs into mp3s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetguru Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks, I was recently gifted with an iPod Shuffle (which I have yet to use and probably never will use given my problems with tinnitus) so I started to burn my CD collection (which is well over 2000 CDs) using iTunes. I only got up to the Cs in my collection before saying fuck it, this is just going to take too much time. My question is this though, is iTunes compressing the songs into mp3s? I don't have an iPod, but I believe if you don't set the preferences, it will compress them into there m4a file. It's similar to a 128kbps mp3 but better sounding. It's got more of the characteristic sound of a 192kbps file which is still measly compared to 1411kbps that you get with no compression from a cd. If you MUST compress, do it at 320kbps so you get the beefiest mp3 file. You can set the preferences to full WAV file too. Not exactly sure what iPod calls their lossless files.... This is to the best of my knowledge and may be different from your experience with your iPod and shuffle. Just explore iTunes and find the preferences for conversion etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I don't have an iPod, but I believe if you don't set the preferences, it will compress them into there m4a file. It's similar to a 128kbps mp3 but better sounding. It's got more of the characteristic sound of a 192kbps file which is still measly compared to 1411kbps that you get with no compression from a cd. If you MUST compress, do it at 320kbps so you get the beefiest mp3 file. You can set the preferences to full WAV file too. Not exactly sure what iPod calls their lossless files.... This is to the best of my knowledge and may be different from your experience with your iPod and shuffle. Just explore iTunes and find the preferences for conversion etc... I really do appreciate your help but that's all pretty much Greek to me. I think I'm just going to stick to my CDs as they are. I'm sure I'll be left no other alternative than to totally switch over to iPod technology soon enough though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetguru Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I really do appreciate your help but that's all pretty much Greek to me. I think I'm just going to stick to my CDs as they are. I'm sure I'll be left no other alternative than to totally switch over to iPod technology soon enough though. I stick to cd's too. But I do digitally extract the songs for flash drives and external harddrives. I don't compress at all, I don't even convert to lossless flac, but will download lossless flac files and convert to WAV. There is no quality or data loss with flac. You can even play flac files and not convert. I occasionally convert a WAV file song to mp3 for people to sample. The files go much quicker through the internet that way. Samples only though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I stick to cd's too. But I do digitally extract the songs for flash drives and external harddrives. I don't compress at all, I don't even convert to lossless flac, but will download lossless flac files and convert to WAV. There is no quality or data loss with flac. You can even play flac files and not convert. I occasionally convert a WAV file song to mp3 for people to sample. The files go much quicker through the internet that way. Samples only though. Man, I thought this was the only alternative for you car, plays only 45's though: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgetguru Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Man, I thought this was the only alternative for you car, plays only 45's though: Perfect ! If only you could spin your Longplayers.... Believe it or not, back in the 70s I had a friend hook up a regular turntable to his car stereo system. He did it mainly for when we were just hanging out in a park or some offbeat area, but he played it ! I wish I could remember exactly how he did it, but it worked !! I agree too, vinyl has the VERY BEST sound next to the master tape for a medium to listen to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Though I like a tune of his here and there, I've never been a huge John Mellencamp fan, especially when he tried to go all Woody Guthrie on us a few years back by painting "This Machine Kills Fascists" on his guitar and couldn't even manage to spell "fascists" right but this article is pretty spot on: On My Mind: The State of the Music Business Oh and by the way, a movie I've mentioned here in recent years called Before The Music Dies, a very well done documentary on the state of the music business these days; is now available for viewing online absolutely free: Before The Music Dies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Though I like a tune of his here and there, I've never been a huge John Mellencamp fan, especially when he tried to go all Woody Guthrie on us a few years back by painting "This Machine Kills Fascists" on his guitar and couldn't even manage to spell "fascists" right but this article is pretty spot on: On My Mind: The State of the Music Business Oh and by the way, a movie I've mentioned here in recent years called Before The Music Dies, a very well done documentary on the state of the music business these days; is now available for viewing online absolutely free: Before The Music Dies Thanks for posting those Jahfin. Good article - look forward to watching the documentary when I've got some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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