MP3 files?

[shaynster]

I'm new to the forums and from what I've read it sounds like most of you don't like music in mp3 format. Do you lose that much sound quality on mp3's?

Thanks,
Shayn

[comfortablycurt]

Yes...MP3's are a VERY compressed digital format, and there is a lot of fidelity, and dynamics lost through the format.

I wouldn't even want to listen to MP3's through my 2 channel rig.

[cfrizz]

Welcome Shayn. I have found that the quality of the mp3 depends on the quality of the original recording.

If it was poorly recorded on a cd it will end up as a poor quality mp3. If it is well recorded on cd, it will transfer over sounding good as an mp3.

[heiney9]

I'm new to the forums and from what I've read it sounds like most of you don't like music in mp3 format. Do you lose that much sound quality on mp3's?

Thanks,
Shayn

Yes, mp3's are horrible and evil!

H9

[98Badger]

A lot depends on the bitrate you use. I can't stand 128 even on a portable player. I use 320 for my mp3 player only because it doesn't support flac. Various arguements have been made as to what someone can/cannot hear. I use a computer and external DAC in my music setup and have a very small number of mp3 files (99%+ are WAV). When they come up in a random playlist, I can always almost always tell because something sounds "off". In my opinion, the system has a lot to do with picking out the differences. You will most likely not notice as much using a lower end system and a high bitrate.

[maximillian]

MP3's are convenient, but far from audiophile quality. I store my MP3's on a NAS which also syncs to my portable mp3 player. So I have one central location for my music which can be accessed from a couple Xbmc devices through my home network. It's an issue of convenience. I also store kids movies on the NAS so I can watch the movies in multiple rooms without hunting for DVD's.

Someday I will upgrade my players to a lossless format, and also have the time to re-sample my music library. I also need to decide on the right format.

[Erik Tracy]

Wait for it.....wait.......

[falconcry72]

I'm new to the forums and from what I've read it sounds like most of you don't like music in mp3 format. Do you lose that much sound quality on mp3's?

Thanks,
Shayn

I could write volumes on this subject, but I won't here.

Question: Do you lose quality?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Do you notice the difference?

Answer: That's up to the original recording, the MP3 encoding method, the system the file is played back on, and, most importantly, YOU!

When you get into really high quality MP3's encoded at high bitrates with advanced encoders the issue becomes more philosophical than anything to me. So how much quality loss is TOO much quality loss? For me, ANY quality loss at all is too much, regardless of whether or not I can perceive it

FLAC BABY!

[Slinger182]

How can I improve the sound quality of the songs on my iPod? I have been updating my tracks to apple lossless but still notice a difference between CDs and my iPod. Can I just add a DAC? If so can you recommend one that's not too expensive? $150 range.

[falconcry72]

How can I improve the sound quality of the songs on my iPod? I have been updating my tracks to apple lossless but still notice a difference between CDs and my iPod. Can I just add a DAC? If so can you recommend one that's not too expensive? $150 range.

I need to know more about your whole playback system. IPOD> what???

Are you converting your MP3's to Apple Lossless? If so you're just wasting time and space. Once a track has been converted to MP3 it has lost info and can never get it back.

Even with lossless files on your ipod, if you're usng the 1/8th inch headphone out you're losing quality right there.

[Slinger182]

I need to know more about your whole playback system. IPOD> what???

Are you converting your MP3's to Apple Lossless? If so you're just wasting time and space. Once a track has been converted to MP3 it has lost info and can never get it back.

Even with lossless files on your ipod, if you're usng the 1/8th inch headphone out you're losing quality right there.

I'm using an iPhone connected with the apple component cables (just the audio) with the 16 pin. Going into the tape input on my receiver.

I reimported the CDs I have with apple lossless. And I used itunes+ to upgrade the songs I had bought on itunes to apple lossless.

[falconcry72]

I'm using an iPhone connected with the apple component cables (just the audio) with the 16 pin. Going into the tape input on my receiver.

I reimported the CDs I have with apple lossless. And I used itunes+ to upgrade the songs I had bought on itunes to apple lossless.

As far as I know, there is no way to get digital audio out of an ipod or iphone, meaning that you have to rely on the device's inferior converting of the digital audio to analog. It sounds to me like you're doing it the best way possible.

I don't know about itunes+. When you upgrade your purchased songs from MP3 to Apple Lossless does it redownload them or just convert them? That would be the only way to get back to the original recording quality.

[Slinger182]

Yeah it redownloaded them and did the same on my iPhone. I did some research and the wadia 170i seems cool for bypassing the iPhones electronics for converting but is a little pricy for me. Think I'd rather just go back to buying CDs and get a dedicated CDP.

[dougy]

I'm new to the forums and from what I've read it sounds like most of you don't like music in mp3 format. Do you lose that much sound quality on mp3's?

Thanks,
Shayn

As has been said, yes, and the amount of loss is determined largely by the bit rate. That said, I am amazed at how good Pandora can sound at 128kb/s. Even through a good system.

[heiney9]

As has been said, yes, and the amount of loss is determined largely by the bit rate. That said, I am amazed at how good Pandora can sound at 128kb/s. Even through a good system.

I'm equally amazed at how poor it sounds Not even worth listening to, IMO

H9

[Fongolio]

I did some research and the wadia 170i seems cool for bypassing the iPhones electronics for converting but is a little pricy for me.

The Wadia unit is and excellent method for getting lossless with decent sound from an IPod or Iphone. A dedicated high quality cdp may be better depending on the dac(s) used in it. I personally have an older Rotel RCD-855 cdp that has been modified for tube output and it sounds spectacular. Before I got into higher end audio (and I'm not even close to the really high end) I had collected about 150 Gigs of MP3's most in 256k or 320 kb/s. I still have them and play some when I don't have it on vinyl or cd. I play them off the hard drive on my comp through PS3 media server streamed to my PS3 then through a DAC and into the two channel Carver setup. They actually sound quite decent but not as good as the equivialant redbook cd. I can't bring myself to just throw all that music away even if it is MP3.

By the way, welcome to the club.

Kelvin

[adam2434]

High bitrate MP3's can have a place IMO - portable players, vehicles, and other places where the playback equipment and listening environment/habits negate the loss of resolution from the MP3 compression.

By high bitrate, I mean 224 kbps and higher. I personally use the highest variable bitrate setting using the LAME encoder to create files for my Zune portable player. The files average around 240 kbps and sound pretty good through $40 Sennheiser PX100 phones and the Zune - high resolution...no, but satisfying for casual listening...yes.

For serious listening on higher resolution equipment, I personally would not even consider MP3's. I would stick with the original CD or lossless files.

[Cpyder]

As has been said, yes, and the amount of loss is determined largely by the bit rate. That said, I am amazed at how good Pandora can sound at 128kb/s. Even through a good system.

That's funny that someone has the same thought I did. Pandora streaming sounds way better than other 128kb/s. I don't get it. Not saying it's top notch, but good for 128.

[Derrick4Real]

That's funny that someone has the same thought I did. Pandora streaming sounds way better than other 128kb/s. I don't get it. Not saying it's top notch, but good for 128.

I run Pandora 8+ hours a day at my office through Bose Companion desktop speakers...and I am very impressed with the quality of the stream as well.

[concealer404]

That's funny that someone has the same thought I did. Pandora streaming sounds way better than other 128kb/s. I don't get it. Not saying it's top notch, but good for 128.

Pandora doesn't sound terrible until you put it on a revealing rig.

Imeem was heads and shoulders above it.


Slightly unrelated, but do you want better sound on your Youtube videos? Type "&ymt=18" at the end of the address. Remove the quotes.

[Cpyder]

Pandora doesn't sound terrible until you put it on a revealing rig.

Imeem was heads and shoulders above it.


Slightly unrelated, but do you want better sound on your Youtube videos? Type "&ymt=18" at the end of the address. Remove the quotes.

Also makes video quality better. I wish there was a way to have youtube auto fill that whenever you click a link.

[Derrick4Real]

wow...never knew about the &ymt=18 trick. thanks!

[dougy]

I'm equally amazed at how poor it sounds Not even worth listening to, IMO

H9

That's too bad. I think it's a great service.

[DeadFeat1]

[URL="http://www.stereophile.com/features/"] provides a good review of the various formats and how they stack up. The article is the eleventh one from the top...insightful.

[treitz3]

I'm new to the forums and from what I've read it sounds like most of you don't like music in mp3 format. Do you lose that much sound quality on mp3's?

You lose frequencies, dynamics, any resemblance to a sound stage, subtleties, nuances and the toe tappin' part of actually enjoying the music. You gain noise, unwanted artifacts, muddled bass, shriveled highs [if you get them at all], annoying/blurred/smeared mids, distortion and the overall sense of extremely compressed and veiled music.

Other than that, MP3's sound great on a 2 channel rig.

[Fongolio]

You lose frequencies, dynamics, any resemblance to a sound stage, subtleties, nuances and the toe tappin' part of actually enjoying the music. You gain noise, unwanted artifacts, muddled bass, shriveled highs [if you get them at all], annoying/blurred/smeared mids, distortion and the overall sense of extremely compressed and veiled music.

Other than that, MP3's sound great on a 2 channel rig.

Don't hold back Tom, tell us how you really feel about MP3's.

[cfrizz]

However, if you just want to have some music playing all day long without having to get up & change cd's, an mp3 player hooked up to your system will do the job just fine.

[treitz3]

Damn convenience crowd... :p

[maximillian]

In all seriousness, treitz probably has a point.... as I moved up the audio quality grade in equipment I started realizing how crappy my previous setup was. I guess if you listen to mp3's most of the time (because of convenience) eventually you will train your ears to appreciate badly encoded music. It's kind of like desensitizing your ears. Do you think it's possible?

[RuSsMaN]

Garbage in, garbage out. It depends on sooo much, as has already been stated. The source, the encoding engine used, the 'level' of encoding. MP3's are great, and have their place in my little audio world. You won't find them in my dedicated listening room, but you'll hear them as background music in the whole house rig, stuck on a usb stick for the truck stereo, tunes at the computer while I slay peeps in Half Life, etc.

Cheers,
Russ