Thinking about buying a Ipod....need help...

[soundhd]

Have been thinking about getting some sort of a Digital Personal Music Player.....The Apple IPODs seem to be the way to go.......I stopped by a Best Buy today during a break at work and the "sales person" was pretty much of ZERO help, was not able to listen to one, the one on the display was not working, yadda yadda, ect.......any way I asked about what I had heard about MP3 audio not sounding that great (understand that I have never delt with MP3's, I only have made copies of CD's or tracks of CD's using my computer or a HHB 850 Pro CD recorder that I have) and he mentioned something about MP4???????? So anyway I found a web site about MP4 (structured audio) and it sounds promising.....So next I went to Apple's web site, found the tech info on the IPODs.....so this is what leads me to my question(s)........
The tech specs talk about MP3, MP3 VBR, AAC, M4A, M4B, M4P, Audible (formats 2,3 and 4), Apple Lossless, ect.....what is all this? I assume the M4's are the MP4 formats? and I did find some info on Apple Lossless(thier CD quality music format)........what I can't find is information on how much storage is available using the MP4 or Lossless say using the 30GB or 60GB IPODS............lots of info on how much storage there is using MP3......
I am hoping someone on this forum can take the time to explain this to me............An IPOD sounds to be very handy but I just want to make sure it sounds at least as well as a CD does......I am basically interested in loading music from my CD collection, either whole CD's or different tracks from CD's........thanks :scratch2:

 

[drz01]

All of the compression formats that are not loselless ie. mp3 mp4 ogg wma degrade sound to some degree. Some more than others. An I-Pod can play back MP3 MP4 formats. Some players can play back .wav files which are not compressed and are the same specs as the cd format but because of this each file is about 40 t0 50 megs each compared to about 5 to 8 megs for a compressed file. You will have to decide if sound or space is important to you, can you live with a the sound of compressed music or can you live with less of your music in mobile form. My opinion is to get a player with the biggest harddrive that you can afford and that can play uncompressed files try both compressed and uncompressed files with your best pair of headphones that you have. Have a look at Creative labs players they can play uncompressed .wav files. Have a look here..


ps.. some music compress (soundwise)better than others.

 

[Nick_the_'Nole]

I think you'd probably be satisfied with high-bitrate mp4 oh the iPod as far as sound quality goes, it works for me and I'm relatively picky about it. And if that doesn't satisfy you, the Apple Lossless is a good alternative, as it is the same quality as the cd/wav and about half the size (maybe even slightly less, I'd have to look for some of my files to know for sure). Even at 20mb per song, that'd be 1500 files on a 30gb iPod-- way more than you could listen to in any one sitting, and it's easy enough to switch what's on the iPod anyway. Bottom line, there are plenty of good sound options on the iPod, so you don't have to worry about quality.

BTW, iPods also play wavs, and IMO the Creatives have a crappy interface on 'em.

 

[drz01]

I am not pushing the creative over the apple just stating some facts, but anyway have a gander over here for reviews of many players.

 

[asynchronousman]

[ckelly edit: stop derailing threads with stupidity like that]

 

[uofmtiger]

Most people cannot tell the difference between 240k and the original CD in double blind testing. Hydrogenaudio is the best site for experts on sound compression. I wrote a small article for the beginner a while back that you can see here

It is a little dated (Apple lossless was not out yet), but it will give you a basic guide.

 

[snapshotjc]

I have been using iPods since the first version came out, and I can tell you that nothing even comes close as far as reliablity, ease of user interface, quality build etc.
As far as the sound goes, get a better set of earplug type earphones and you'll be hard pressed to hear the difference between a good tune from your iPod vs. a portable CD player, in fact, I venture to say, you'd more than likely like the sound of the iPod over any portable CD player out there.
I only have two, a 5 and 15 Gig models, and I take it with me on long trips in the car ( FL. driving is long and boring!), and because I have a mini plug input into my car stereo system along with a CD player in the trunk, I much prefer my iPod and can't tell the difference between either the CD player or the iPod. Oh yeah, the car is a M-B CLK Cab, which has a really nice "stock" car stereo system.
Around the house, if I'm not listening to my main system in the living rm., or I'm out, I really enjoy the iPod, both the sound quality, ease of use, and everything else about it; I use the Apple lossless format, and I have a kinda of expensive pair of earplug phones, which really makes a big difference IMHO, but I still have less in it than a few other pieces of vintage gear that I have, and it's easy to carry to boot!! Win-Win

 

[zincman]

I own a couple Dell's and for sound quality it is just ok. With phones they sound good but I personally do not care for the sound quality.

 

[dr*audio]

I do not have an I-Pod, I have a Creative Nomad Jukebox, but I have 2 friends who have I-Pods. I agree the user interface can't be beat, it puts my Nomad to shame. Also much smaller. I just wanted to mention something to be aware of; you can't open it to change the battery; no friggin' screws in the case at all! this came up yesterday when my friend's I-Pod locked up completely, no functions at all and it wouldn't turn off. When my Nomad does this there is a reset button accessed through a small hole in the case. the I-Pod had no reset button, no hole. Well, I said, just take the battery out, it'll reset. No can do. So I told him to just let the battery run down and recharge it, maybe that will make it reset. Didn't see him today so I don't know how it worked, but it seems darn unfriendly of the Apple folks to make a unit with a non-user replaceable battery.

 

[uofmtiger]

Warren,

The battery can be replaced by Apple (for $99). Also, have your friend look at this page for help with his problem.

 

[darthm00by]

as far as formats are concerned, keep in mind the higher quality apple lossless will have a toll on bettery life compaired to the lossy formats as it has to decompress the song.

 

[ojTHEd]

First, you definitely want an iPod. It's beats out everything else in every regard except for Sound Quality, though it's nearly neck and neck in that race, too. The odd thing is that the amplifier circuitry in the iPod Shuffle is leaps and bounds better than everything else out there. I just today read an article about it in PC Magazine... a google search has brought up a companion article to the one I read by the same author. The shuffle is a great player, IMHO, but it won't do much for you in the uncompressed audio department. You may want to wait a little bit and see if the newest iPods have the improved audio output design.

MP4, M4a and AAC are really the same thing. I really suggest encoding everything as 192kbit AAC (or higher, if you feel you must) and take a listen to that and the original on the same system. I think you'll be satisfied.

 

[Nick_the_'Nole]

"...keep in mind the higher quality apple lossless will have a toll on bettery life compaired to the lossy formats as it has to decompress the song."

Is that really all that significant, tho? It has to decompress the song on the lossy formats too.

The audio amplifier circuitry is apparently much better in the new iPod minis, and that comparison uses a 3G iPod rather than the new one, so I'd hazard to say it's improved too. Also if you invest in some better earbuds, like some of the nice Shures and whatnot, it makes up for a most deficiencies in iPod amplifiers. I don't think there's much of a deficiency in the new iPods tho.

 

[ojTHEd]

Look at the link I posted above... the new iPod mini's are improved, but not a whole lot. They're still not nearly as good as the shuffle.

 

[darthm00by]

According to a review at ipod lounge here: http://ipodstudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=506
the battery life is reduced by 2 hours versus regular mp3's.

If i'm not mistaken, when mp3's are encoded, the data that isn't used is disregarded and lost forever.The mp3 has a decoder chip reads and plays back the file. Apple Lossless essentially treats the uncompressed music file like a zip archive and saves all of its information. When the iPod plays it back, it must first decompress the file, then it can play it back.

I'm not trying to argue, thats just how I've come to understand it. If you have any information that says otherwise, please post it. I'm always eager to learn. :yes:

 

[uofmtiger]

For those that are using Apple lossless...Is there a way to transcode to other formats? Also, is there a way to add gain adjustment to the file while the CD is being burned to the computer?