technology

[fncyths]

Bit the bullet on the new iPad and no regrets. Really awesome toy AND tool. Regular users - what do you recommend for a case and a stylus

I use this bag for my iPad. Totally love it. Design comes from a WWII Belgium Map case.

http://store.billykirk.com/store/product/095SS

[luke]

@darkbydesign, i almost can't wait. my laptop is dying (both arto and eugene can attest to that), and i really need to replace it. i just brought my work computer home so i'm good for now, but i was pretty tempted to just buy an air on monday.

from what i've heard/read, they're not merging the pro and air, just making the pro a lot slimmer in the direction of the air. optical drive is gone, and it's rumored they might get rid of the ethernet port as well.

http://www.macrumors.com/2012/05/14/apple-to-release-thinner-macbook-pro-at-wwdc/

[laughed]

anyone use any of the online storage sites like cx, sugarsync, icloud, etc.
i've tried a few out but really, none of them are floating my boat. sugarsync has syncing issues, icloud, even with pro doesn't allow huge file sizes, cx is probably the best so far, but i haven't found the perfect solution yet. my main feature i need is huge file sizes.

[theetruscan]

I use spideroak, my brother uses backblaze. Both are quite nice.

[Patroklus]

music players?
my ipod just broke. before I replaced it, I was going to do a bit of research. the big things I'm looking for are affordability, support for lossless codecs, with storage being a distance third because I just don't mind not having my whole library on hand at all times. the thing about my last ipod is that it didn't support lossless. modern ones only seem to support Apple's lossless codec without being rooted, which is a big negative against them.

[Dane]

music players?
my ipod just broke. before I replaced it, I was going to do a bit of research. the big things I'm looking for are affordability, support for lossless codecs, with storage being a distance third because I just don't mind not having my whole library on hand at all times. the thing about my last ipod is that it didn't support lossless. modern ones only seem to support Apple's lossless codec without being rooted, which is a big negative against them.

probably opening a can of worms...but I honestly can't hear any difference whatsoever between lossless and 320. I followed the lossless rule because I didn't like the idea of "pieces" of the music being removed, but I tested over and over and finally decided it was just wasting space on my computer, in like you said, making it a pain to use itunes/ipod.

[laughed]

I use spideroak, my brother uses backblaze. Both are quite nice.

thanks. gonna check those out


^

i use an ipod 5.5 gen that is rockboxed - nothing but flac files. (you can still buy refurbished, sometimes new)
i had a trekstor vibez but i will never purchase one ever again. terrible customer service, thing broke left and right.
cowan, i don't get the hype - terrible.
if you got the cash, get the pacemaker. i had one before i sold it and it was the best sounding flac player i've ever had.
of course, lossless is pretty much useless if you don't have an amp and great head/ear phones.

[Patroklus]

couple of possibilities:
1) your soundcard, speakers, headphones, or some other component in whatever you're listening with lacks fidelity
2) the tracks themselves were poorly produced, which is extremely common with mainstream releases and re-releases of old content. If you listen to music much I'm sure you're already familiar with the controversy surrounding the wall of sound.
3) the music itself doesn't benefit - the dead kennedys, for example...
4) your ears suck. why can't you be as sophisticated as me?

[Dane]

couple of possibilities:
1) your soundcard, speakers, headphones, or some other component in whatever you're listening with lacks fidelity
2) the tracks themselves were poorly produced, which is extremely common with mainstream releases and re-releases of old content. If you listen to music much I'm sure you're already familiar with the controversy surrounding the wall of sound.
3) the music itself doesn't benefit - the dead kennedys, for example...
4) your ears suck. why can't you be as sophisticated as me?

All of my equipment is good, and I tested using different computers, speakers, headphones, etc...I compared several different albums, various genres, all the of the best quality...and my ears are fine (that I know of anyway).

I was starting to wonder if the whole lossless thing was just another snake oil. Is the human ear capable of hearing what lossless has to offer?

ps - Other things I think are bullshit - expensive cables, vinyl sounding better than digital, over-priced amplifiers, isolation tweaks, etc. I'm fine with people spending more money because they think something looks better... a cotton RO tshirt is not necessarily better than your everyday, decent cotton tshirt, but it (can) looks nicer. But as far as all the fallacies of spending thousands and thousands on speaker wire and amplification...doesn't make sense to me. Not my money though, so whatevs....just my 2 cents.

[Patroklus]

No, you're totally right about cables, and to an extent on amps - good ones are far beneath the zenith of the price bracket and they won't even make a difference if your speakers or headphones aren't good quality. digital is better than vinyl for the listener. save the vinyl for DJs, thanks. I'd tell you to send it all to Madlib, but he probably already has it.

[Dane]

Then it's agreed...I was right and you were wrong. Now do some comparisons to see if you can actually tell the difference between 320 and flac.

[laughed]

if we're talking listening through headphones/earphones, then a personal amp makes a WORLD of difference.
i have an ipod rockboxed with a corda amp and custom livewires and can say that with all types of music the difference is easily noticeable.
some say that there is no difference between apple lossless and flac but the apple lossless is not on the flac's level.
listening to 320 is horrific at this point.

[Dane]

if we're talking listening through headphones/earphones, then a personal amp makes a WORLD of difference.
i have an ipod rockboxed with a corda amp and custom livewires and can say that with all types of music the difference is easily noticeable.
some say that there is no difference between apple lossless and flac but the apple lossless is not on the flac's level.
listening to 320 is horrific at this point.

how can one lossless format be better than another?...neither effects the data, hence the word "lossless". Comments like that make me not believe anything else you say.

[endorphinz]

from a previous post

I'd wager that any difference you think you hear is only due to preconceived perception. From all the literature I've read, abx tests prove that people can not distinguish between lossless formats and properly encoded,quality vbr mp3.
Over the years I've collected over 1.5 terabytes of mp3 music. I wouldn't even consider storing the equivalent amount of music in lossless formats.
I realize that this debate has been going on for years and no matter what the abx tests prove, some people claim that they can differentiate. I am not one of those people.

The only reason to use lossless is if you intend to trade burnt cds. in this case CDs made from burned lossy formats could then be re- ripped producing way too many artifacts from digital generation loss. Transcoding and re encoding lossy files are no nos. also,only lossless files should be edited before encoding to lossy

I'm not lookin for any fights. I just wanted state MY view.

good audio forum

and a question:

why use rockbox?

[Dane]

well look at that...you and I agree on something.