Anybody still collecting the hard stuff?

[karoaper]

You'd have to have a digital decoder for an ear to tell the difference between mp3's fidelity and that of a wav. That is to say if the specs are the same. You can always use an mp3 file that has higher specs (higher bandwidth and more bits). Such an mp3 would have higher fidelity than the WAV sitting on the CD. As far as I'm concerned the mp3 format is the rebel of the music world. It defies the conventional overweight wav format, plus it's made for the 21 century. There are other formats like the AAC from Apple that boast a better performance than the mp3.

If I like all the songs on the CD, I will buy it, otherwise I hate pressing next to skip the songs I don't like. I don't own shoes I skip wearing every single time, so why would do that with music.

[winoman]

If you like that remaster, move on to "In a Glass House."

Yea - got to admit though - already sounds superb...

I was just listening to Frank - One Size Fits All the other day (in my car - as loud as I could crank it - etc) and though normally the sonic quality of Franks stuff is very good - and in fact this was the gold disc (audio fidelity?) version - I felt that the highs were a bit lacking (in crispness) and found myself wishing for an SACD or DVD Audio redone version (I'm getting very spoiled - with the Who, Pink Floyd, Stones, REM etc all on hi def audio...among others - also Moody Blues!)...and speaking of - give a listen to FZ Audioholics on DVD Audio sometime - you will be impressed. Frank recorded so much in 4 channel and tended to be very meticulous regarding sound quality - well ahead of his time there. Have you ever seen his movie the Dub Room Special ? Well if you haven't you should. And speaking of that - I have the entire Stockholm 1974 show on video - primo quality - (the original for much of dub room as well as One Size Fits All and other stuff) - awesome stuff. I probably have over 40 hours of FZ video BTW...yup also need to transfer onto the PC....so much to do so little time (damn housework!)...I am in the process of completing a full stereo system highbird with my PC BTW - yup - amp, cd, cassette, turntable as well as Beta and VHS - all piped directly into the PC. Soon I will be quite busy....

[winoman]

You'd have to have a digital decoder for an ear to tell the difference between mp3's fidelity and that of a wav. That is to say if the specs are the same. You can always use an mp3 file that has higher specs (higher bandwidth and more bits). Such an mp3 would have higher fidelity than the WAV sitting on the CD. As far as I'm concerned the mp3 format is the rebel of the music world. It defies the conventional overweight wav format, plus it's made for the 21 century. There are other formats like the AAC from Apple that boast a better performance than the mp3.

If I like all the songs on the CD, I will buy it, otherwise I hate pressing next to skip the songs I don't like. I don't own shoes I skip wearing every single time, so why would do that with music.

I tend to at least like (even if I don't all out love) most every song on most CDs of artists i like that i buy. And if I'm not in the mood - or wish to hear the next tune - or the same one 5 times in a row - well its easy to press buttons IMO.

People have been telling me about the higher def mp3s - I guess I haven't heard it yet - dunnoh. And I do understand the advantages - believe me I do. My eldest kid keeps pressing me to get an Ipod! lol - of course yeah - he wants ME to get one...

[winoman]

Stark - turns out it doesn't seem as if I have taken any pics yet of my cabinets with my albums in them - but I have some I took after they were built last year and while I was setting up my comp system and such. I will include a pic of my audio-vid gear thet I have integrated with my computer (still ongoing). Notice the SAE amp, small DVD player, VHS & Beta decks etc? And Technics turntable on the tabletop? I've since put my Nakamichi cassette deck under my flat screen (HDTV/PC monitor combo - very sweet). And yes that is a lttle TV on the vid swithcher underneath - a bit hard to see at the moment so I'm thinking of moving it onto my desktop (real deasktop not screen desktop btw).

So the cabinets up top are all now filled with my vinyl. The smaller lower shelves have some cds - mostly PC stuff though as I have drawers and cabinets elsewhere that hold cds/DVDs etc.

[Stark Evade]

Very cool.

How old is that SAE and where did you get it?

What kind of DVD player do you have?

I often dream of my ideal hi-fi a/v setup(s). One day...

[One-Way]

I buy the actual CD's of artists I like and would like to support. Up until a few months ago, I would buy every CD put out by Eminem's label and whatnot, but then I realized I don't have enough money to do that 'cause they have more artists now, lol. I'll buy the rest one day though. Now, I just buy the CD's of people like myself, underground rappers or people who's music is real. I gotta go buy that new Fionna Apple CD though, haha.

[winoman]

Very cool.

How old is that SAE and where did you get it?

What kind of DVD player do you have?

I often dream of my ideal hi-fi a/v setup(s). One day...

The SAE pre-amp (I also have an amp and tuner) are from the early-mid 80s - excellent stuff BTW - built solid and with very clean sound. The pre-amp has a built in parametric equalizer that is great fun (of course there are new nifty software packages that can do this and more). Besides the SAE and my main Denon reciever I own an old Marantz 2270 reciever from the 1970s (72? - last one built in the USA - what a beauty - still works great - but some contacts need cleaning up) - I also own a Carver reciever and an older (1980s) Yamaha suround sound amp.

I own several DVD players - the little silver one in the pic was a cheapy $29.99 pick up just on a lark (cus it would fit there and I thought it would be nice to have one there in this setup). I have 2 DVDs in my main system - a Toshiba progressive scan unit that is a few years old (I was a very early progressive scan convert - and it has performed nicely with my Mitsubishi rear projection HDTV - again that I've had for many years now...) - last year I picked up an Onkyo 5 disc DVD/DVD Audio/SACD changer - and what a fine piece it is. Idealy I would have liked to have one of the high end Denons - but they are just too pricey. The Onkyo is a very sweet unit.

I'm am really very happy with my audio-video setup - particularly with the sound end of it with my Denon amp and Axiom speakers - believe me I can rock the whole block (luckily no one lives particularly close to us). At some point (maybe in 2-3 years?) - I'll likley go for some kind of large 1080 progressive Plasma screen - when they come out with one and its been out a while...otherwise and until then I have it pretty good.

[Stark Evade]

I was so close to buying a couple of Axiom bookshelfs and sub. I ran out of money at the time. I'm still planning on doing it, though. Onkyo is great. So are Rotel and Linn. I dream of B&W and Martin Logan and Conrad-Johnson and Rotel and Linn and Vidikron.

[winoman]

I was so close to buying a couple of Axiom bookshelfs and sub. I ran out of money at the time. I'm still planning on doing it, though. Onkyo is great. So are Rotel and Linn. I dream of B&W and Martin Logan and Conrad-Johnson and Rotel and Linn and Vidikron.

Yeah - all nice - but pricey. The Armenian in me always has me do the price-performance trade off and I ussually end up settling for the 95% solution at the 30% cost! I'm very happy with the Axioms - first rate - very very clean pure sound - and I really think the sourounds are the best I have ever heard in my life anywhere - form any manufacturer - they could even sub as front speakers and blow away most out there IMO. The sub is very clean and plenty - though I've heard better (once again priced many times more). I've had other subs before that I traded back after a week or so - I couldn't stand the degradation in the sound for that added low base that only occasionally really came into play. But I am happy now...

[Stark Evade]

I agree. For affordable speakers, Axiom is perfect. And they're one of the few audio equipment manufacturers in that price level that knows the difference beteen "frequency range" and "frequency response." That has always pissed me off:

frequency response: 80Hz to 3kHz




I refuse to buy from a manufacturer that pulls that crap.