Improving your sound system on the cheap
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 559
Likes: 1
From: Lake Worth Florida
Improving your sound system on the cheap
I have seen all the threads on here about improving the sound system, so I thought I would mention a recent experience of mine.
I am a big Shinedown fan, and my son recently bought me the latest Shinedown CD, Amaryllis. For the last several years I've purchased all of my music online via iTunes. Since he bought me the CD, I popped it in and gave it a listen... the sound was incredible. I then listened to some of the tracks that I downloaded from iTunes... Not so incredible.
Bottom line is that I was utterly shocked at how much better the CD was. So, if you want to greatly improve the sound of your sound system without spending a lot of money, go back to buying CDs.
I am a big Shinedown fan, and my son recently bought me the latest Shinedown CD, Amaryllis. For the last several years I've purchased all of my music online via iTunes. Since he bought me the CD, I popped it in and gave it a listen... the sound was incredible. I then listened to some of the tracks that I downloaded from iTunes... Not so incredible.
Bottom line is that I was utterly shocked at how much better the CD was. So, if you want to greatly improve the sound of your sound system without spending a lot of money, go back to buying CDs.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 369
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From: Needham Massachusetts
Same with the satellite radio. The audio is compressed to save space and there is a definite loss of quality. If I just have it on for background music it's fine, but when in the mood to crank it, I always pop a disc in. If you rip your own tunes from disc, you can rip at higher quality to minimize this.
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Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 559
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From: Lake Worth Florida
I don't know, I listen to mine with the top off all the time. It could be better I suppose, but it's not bad (mine is not the Bose upgrade). In any event, the point of my post was that playing a CD will get you a major upgrade in sound versus an iPod or other mp3.
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: st.louis mo.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,295
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From: Issaquah WA
Try ripping music in a lossless format, or at very least, in "High" quality MP3, with lower compression. You'll find the sound is much better when it's not compressed to heck... Like they've done with satellite.
There is some fidelity loss when you're using the headphone jack, or through some lower quality direct connections. But the iPod has a pretty good DAC built in, and the output is quite good (when the recording is).
Last edited by WAwatchnut; Apr 6, 2012 at 03:43 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,116
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From: Livonia MI
If you think CD's sound good now, you should hear some of the properly mastered CD's of the 80's & 90's. Truth is all modern pop recordings regardless of the format, are severely dynamically compressed, and bass boosted, to play loud and boomy, through a 9 year old kids ear bud speakers. I have high end home audio equipment, and find all of these modern recordings totally unlistenable on it.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
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From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
Actually, it's not. ITunes purchased music is much worse than CD, but the iPod is just a playback medium... garbage in, garbage out.
Try ripping music in a lossless format, or at very least, in "High" quality MP3, with lower compression. You'll find the sound is much better when it's not compressed to heck... Like they've done with satellite.
There is some fidelity loss when you're using the headphone jack, or through some lower quality direct connections. But the iPod has a pretty good DAC built in, and the output is quite good (when the recording is).
Try ripping music in a lossless format, or at very least, in "High" quality MP3, with lower compression. You'll find the sound is much better when it's not compressed to heck... Like they've done with satellite.
There is some fidelity loss when you're using the headphone jack, or through some lower quality direct connections. But the iPod has a pretty good DAC built in, and the output is quite good (when the recording is).
MP3 quality can be better than CD. ITunes is designed for earbuds and devices with limited memory and so is heavily compressed. So both of you are right. CDs are better than ITunes and MP3s through an IPod can be as good as the source.I rip all masters using LAME at 320K bps and then make copies at lower rates based on what difference I can hear. Typically I find 192K is indistinguishable on a Bose system. Voice audio can go as low as 32K with no loss of quality but I have found some CDs that need 256K to not be able to hear a difference. ITunes songs are 128K and their compression algorithm seems to make it sound even worse.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 1,882
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From: Toronto Ontario
MP3 quality can be better than CD. ITunes is designed for earbuds and devices with limited memory and so is heavily compressed. So both of you are right. CDs are better than ITunes and MP3s through an IPod can be as good as the source.I rip all masters using LAME at 320K bps and then make copies at lower rates based on what difference I can hear. Typically I find 192K is indistinguishable on a Bose system. Voice audio can go as low as 32K with no loss of quality but I have found some CDs that need 256K to not be able to hear a difference. ITunes songs are 128K and their compression algorithm seems to make it sound even worse.
but if you have ever owned a Cowon player you would see a world of difference.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,276
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From: Ambler Pa.
If you think CD's sound good now, you should hear some of the properly mastered CD's of the 80's & 90's. Truth is all modern pop recordings regardless of the format, are severely dynamically compressed, and bass boosted, to play loud and boomy, through a 9 year old kids ear bud speakers. I have high end home audio equipment, and find all of these modern recordings totally unlistenable on it.
You got that right . The compressed formats make high end audio equipment sound like a clock radio . 