The Audiophile !Pod; iPods, Music Downloading & Creating a Quality Music System
Hi to All
First let me preface this Article by saying i have no knowledge on iPods, nor Music Downloading, as i use neither.
I did however find this article in the latest "Absolute Sound Magazine" that i bought and thought some might be interested in it.
It well may be old news to those who utilize this stuff???
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"Absolute Sound Magazine"
by Robert Harley
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Tips and products to get the best sound from Apple's ubiquitous music player.
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Apple's iPod is the best $400 i ever spent on audio. There, I said it.
Although many of you may view the iPod as yet another step down the ladder of declining standards into audio hell, I've found it to be an amazingly useful device for connecting with music. I use the iPod in two ways: as a portable music player and as the source in my office system.
When I use it as a portable player on the road, its ability to instantly access a huge music library is alone worth the price of admission. In addition to the benefits of its small size and the way it allows me to avoid putting my precious CD collection at risk when I'm traveling, the iPod has actually changed my approach to my music library. I'll give you an example. I was recently in an airport listening to Frank Zappa's guitar instrumental "Soup In' Old Clothes" and was struck anew by his remarkable ability to create a coherent, extended musical structure as he composes on the fly during a lengthy solo. "Soup 'n' Old Clothes" whet my appetite for more, and with the iPod I could instantly access a whole range of Zappa's other guitar solos/compositions and put together a play list of related pieces. The iPod's menu listings and instant access encourage this "hyper*link"-like way of exploring a particular artist's work.
File Formats
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When used correctly and with the right associated gear, the iPod is capable of surprisingly good sound. The first order of business is selecting the best audio *encoding format. When loading music into iTunes via your PC before transferring music to the iPod, you have the choice of several formats that vary greatly in their fidelity and disc-storage requirements.
I'm going to assume that readers of The Absolute Sound are not willing to trade sound quality for the ability to store thousands, rather than hundreds, of hours of music. We can therefore forget about MP3 and other lossy algorithms that degrade sonics.
Instead we'll only consider Apple Lossless coding and WAV files. WAVs are uncompressed PCM files-identical images of the CD data. They sound the same as CD (if converted to analog with the same digital-to-analog converter), but consume lots of disc space. Specifically, WAV files eat up 10.5MB per stereo minute, which translates to about 63 hours of music on a 4OGB iPod and 95 hours on the 6OGB model.
Although it may be tempting to take this route and bypass all forms of data-compression in the quest for the best possible sound, don't overlook Apple Lossless coding; it truly is Lossless. That is, the data that come out are identical to the data that went in, with bit-for-bit accuracy. Apple Lossless cuts in half (approximately) the storage requirements, allowing a 4OGB iPod to hold 125 hours of music and a 6OGB model to store a whopping 190 hours.
Using Apple Lossless also extends the iPod's playing time on a battery charge and shortens the time required to load music from your PC to the iPod.
If you want to get tweaky when transferring CDs to your computer, try using Exact Audio Copy http://www.exactaudiocopy.de
This free program reads the disc multiple times if errors are detected, de-jitters the data, and alerts the user to the presence of uncorrectable errors, among other features. If you insist on using MP3 encoding, check out LAME, a custom MP3 encoder with reportedly superior sound, available from wwwguillaume.rk.
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Focal iCub Woofer and Sib Satellite Speakers
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Finally, I'd like to tell you about a terrific way to turn your iPod into an office, den, or bedroom music system. The iCub ($750) from Focal, a small powered woofer with a built-in 75WPc stereo amplifier for satellite speakers and a line-level input that is fed directly from your iPod through a stereo 1/8" cable or a 1/8", mini-to-RCA cable,
You a, also drive the iCub wirelessly via WiFi or Apple Airport Express with an adaptor that drives the iCubs TosLink digital input.
The iCub's driver is a down-firing 8" Polyflex cone driven by an integral 20OW (15OW RMS) switching power amplifier in a ported enclosure. You simply connect the iPod and a pair of small speakers, such as Focal's matching Sibs ($375 per pair), and you have an instant Music System.
(Focal also offers the larger Sib XL and Sib XXL.)
Volume is controlled via a tiny remote and motorized volute control or by adjusting the large, top-mounted volume control manually. Rear-panel adjustments include phase-reversal switch and two position variable crossover (85Hz or 110Hz). A third switch configures the iCub to automatically turn on when an input signal is detected. The Sib is a tiny two-way in an ABS enclosure mounted on an integral stand. It employs a 5" woofer and a 3/4" Mylar dome tweeter.
As 1 set up the iCub, Sib, and iPod in my listening room (midway into the room in front of the Wilson MAXX 11),
i was struck by just how simple a uncomplicated this system is. I fed the iCub from the iPod through a Monster Cable iCable mini-to-RCA cable, sat back, and enjoyed the music. The sound quality from this $1525 system was surprisingly good, particularly the seamless integration between the iCub woofer and Sib (with careful setup).
Given the intended audience, i half expected the iCub to be tuned for maximum bass output rather than subtlety. Fortunately, the system didn't sacrifice articulation for weight...i could hear, for example, the dynamic and rhythmic nuances in Eddie Gomez' bass playing on Brazilian pianist Elaine Ellias' trio album Crosscurrents.
The iCub/Sib had a remarkably open and lively quality, with excellent rendering of transients. The outstanding percussion work on the CD Aras by Curandero (Silverwave) was beautifully presented, combining fast attack and equally fast decay. The percussion also had a nice sense of air around it. The overall sense of depth, space, and imaging within that space was outstanding for a system of this price. This little package threw a real soundstage with good delineation of individual instruments. In addition, the iCub/Sib resolved musical information surprisingly well, both tonally and dynamically.
The Sib had a somewhat forward upper-midrange presentation that tended to emphasize transient detail and upper harmonics. The sound was lively and highly detailed, but just a bit on the analytical side for my taste.
Overall, the iCub/Sib delivered an astonishing level of refinement and musicality when you consider that the system is, in effect, an integrated amplifier as well as a powered woofer and satellite speakers for just $1125. Add an iPod and you re looking at a total system price of $1525 (plus cables)-and you get a media server in your home system as well as a portable music library for traveling. The iCub/Sib package is a brilliant product, both in concept and execution.
Conclusion
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Obviously an iPod and Headphones will never replace the experience of listening to well setup Loudspeakers in a good room with High End Gear. It is also not a vehicle for pursuing Absolute Sound. But it is capable of surprisingly good sound.
I'm a music lover first and an audiophile second. And for that reason, the i Pod is indispensable.
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regards
minir
Last edited by minir; 09-05-05 at 01:26 PM.
IPod=Apple and it's proprietary formats. Lossless is just that. Minir, even though you'll find arguments as to which is the best format for lossless, my opinion is that unless you have a megabuck system, your not going to hear much of a difference between them. (lossless)
Still, I'd rather be albe to choose which format I'd like to use. Be it FLAC, APE or whatever.
Their own format for compressed, although I think is very good, is still a pain in that it's proprietary.
Hi downhill
Thanks for your reply. As stated its something i do not use and have never ventured into, as to learning about. I can therefore offer no argument based on my own involvement.
I didn't know whether this was of value or not, but Harley is probably the most recognised Reviewer of Digital out there, so i simply posted his opinions on it.
Like Digital Amps, downloading loses its 3 dimensionality & Air, they say? One would pretty much have to take a CD copied in one way and compare it with the recommended way here and play them on a decent system i supposed to see what if any improvements where there.
Me I'm lazy, i just go to the Store, Drool and after Checking my Wallet, Grab what i can pay for.
Have a good one John and Thanks
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regards
Larry
Originally Posted by minir
Hi downhill
I didn't know whether this was of value or not, but Harley is probably the most recognised Reviewer of Digital out there, so i simply posted his opinions on it.
Like Digital Amps, downloading loses its 3 dimensionality & Air, they say? One would pretty much have to take a CD copied in one way and compare it with the recommended way here and play them on a decent system i supposed to see what if any improvements where there.
Me I'm lazy, i just go to the Store, Drool and after Checking my Wallet, Grab what i can pay for.
Have a good one John and Thanks
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regards
Larry
Minir, most of downloaded music is of the compressed type. Be it mp3 (most of them aren't high quality, wma, or even this apple compressed format.
Yes imho, you start to loose some of the sound field and for the most part unless it's a very high bitrate, you also have artifacts once you learn what to listen to. I suppose those who use the IPods or mp3 players for the most part, could care less.
Lossless on the other hand, is for the most part, the same thing bit for bit once converted back to wav as the original source CD. I keep some FLAC flles on my puter and then run a digital wire between it and the home unit. The downside? It has to be converted to PCM then out the soundcard to work. The good part? My soundstage doesn't collaspe. With MP3, I do hear this start to happen with most music. Dunno if it's because it's joint stereo or not. I'll have to play with that a bit.
That said, I'm in no way saying that any compressed format doesn't have it's ususes....
My wife got a CD player for her car on her birthday. I made sure it could play mp3's. This way I could put around 8-10 albums of her music in lower bitrates on a CD for her. Elvis and such......
She's estatic......
Hi John
I have a couple of CD's that Friends were kind enough to make for me and you can definitely hear a difference in most cases and primarily why i don't download, that and I'm on Dial-up
Still waiting to win my millions to buy a CD12 Linn and then just relax.
Thanks John
Larry
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