Whats the future of hi-fi, is it all MP3's.
16 January 2011, 05:03 PM
#91
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Same here, I use satellite/sub woofer combination and if set up properly dont have any issues that Ali mentioned. My speakers/amp are certainly AV orientated but in my opinion sound absolutely fantastic with much as well. I have heard a £10,000 music system and yes it sounds better but no where near enough to make me want to save up and buy a dedicated system like it.
16 January 2011, 06:02 PM
#93
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It was Napster that changed the face of digital music on the web 
Oh and buy a printer.
16 January 2011, 06:05 PM
#94
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This thread is about hi-fi so any recommendation of iTunes or Napster is frankly moot as neither of them are 'hi-fi'. Let's get back to the topic in hand before this turns into another Apple bitchfest.
16 January 2011, 06:07 PM
#95
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Not so some of the newer amps have got quite Savvy, my Onkyo surrond amp, can deliver 7.1, 5.1, 3.1, DTS, Prologic, Prologic II, Full stereo, and pure audio. The usual rules apply, more speakers less power, its unique though, as its capable of biamping of an input source. 
biamped to a good set of speakers
Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
biamped to a good set of speakers Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
16 January 2011, 06:09 PM
#96
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Not so some of the newer amps have got quite Savvy, my Onkyo surrond amp, can deliver 7.1, 5.1, 3.1, DTS, Prologic, Prologic II, Full stereo, and pure audio. The usual rules apply, more speakers less power, its unique though, as its capable of biamping of an input source. biamped to a good set of speakers
Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
biamped to a good set of speakers Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
16 January 2011, 06:12 PM
#98
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I couldn't care less what touchy-feely stuff goes on behind the scenes while music is produced. I don't want sleeve notes bearing a load of pretentious waffle from the lead guitarist, and I don't care for the 'ritual' of taking some physical object out of its box and loading it into the hi-fi system so I can listen to it. I couldn't care less what the band looks like, what their political leanings are or what the name of the drummer's baby is.
This isn't going to change.
What I do care about is what the music sounds like - so for the sake of a penny or two in bandwidth, why won't the industry just sell me the FLAC or 96k/24 bit files I want?
16 January 2011, 06:13 PM
#99
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless I think that might compare to MP3, which is in the title of this thread. Don't be so quick to dismiss iTunes.
16 January 2011, 06:47 PM
#103
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I don't think they sell anything in that format, but I use it to encode my favourite CD's and they sound much better than the MP3 encode I normally use to save space. Absolutely relevant to this discussion. Stop being an **** for once.
16 January 2011, 06:53 PM
#104
Same here, ive just replaced this hi-fi which is a full Techincs class AA seperates system which i bought brand new in the 90`s, it was all top of the range at the time. It still performs exactly as it did when i bought it from new, Technics equipment was made to last and built with real quality, you only have to pick up one of the seperates and the weight will tell you how good the build quality is. I replaced it with a Teac mini system with ipod connectivity etc
16 January 2011, 06:58 PM
#105
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The point being made is that 99.99% of people using iTunes are encoding in lossy formats on to their lo-fi iPods and other such devices. Just because you take a high quality source (CD) that you already own and convert it to another format does not really have much relevanceto the dicussion as very soon the high quality source will not be available... that is the point of the discussion and why your post is irrelevant.
Last edited by f1_fan; 16 January 2011 at 07:00 PM.
16 January 2011, 07:08 PM
#106
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Bollocks. Cheap systems to replay the music formats of the day have always been around. Take the 'ghetto blaster' or Walkman as an example. The difference now is accessibility, the ability to instantly create a playlist or select any track at the touch of a button. Then of course there are all the illegal downloads which means there is probably a lot more music in circulation than there was 20 years ago. Not so much democrisation as theft in that regard.
The problem is that for those of us who would like to hear the music properly rather than compressed to death the options are shrinking. CDs are dying and there appears to be no other high quality format coming through. It's a sad state of affairs really. The way society is going everythng is becoming about price and instant gratification, quality is no longer a factor
The problem is that for those of us who would like to hear the music properly rather than compressed to death the options are shrinking. CDs are dying and there appears to be no other high quality format coming through. It's a sad state of affairs really. The way society is going everythng is becoming about price and instant gratification, quality is no longer a factor
It's not just accessibility but affordability.
Listening to a wide range of music is now cheap and easy. You don't need much money or nerdy expertise in hi-fi systems.
16 January 2011, 07:09 PM
#107
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You really do hate everything Apple don't you. How is my encoding using iTunes any different to you or anyone else encoding using anything they like. This is a useful discussion about the future of Hi Fi and is it all about MP3, you even said some useful things, then Apple gets mentioned - as they should be - and you turn into an ****.
16 January 2011, 07:14 PM
#109
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You really do hate everything Apple don't you. How is my encoding using iTunes any different to you or anyone else encoding using anything they like. This is a useful discussion about the future of Hi Fi and is it all about MP3, you even said some useful things, then Apple gets mentioned - as they should be - and you turn into an ****.
iTunes has no high quality formats for sale
Therefore Apple are out of the picture as far as hi-fi goes whether I like them or not.
16 January 2011, 07:16 PM
#110
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As for it being cheap, well yes.. stealing it makes it cheap I guess.
16 January 2011, 07:22 PM
#111
Their will always be a market for CD players just like their is still a strong market for record turntables, lots of people will have large collections of CD`s where they will like to have the choice of playing either a CD or digital format.
Ive gone for the best of both worlds, ive bought a hi-fi that supports external digital players and digital storage units. Virtually everyone said it will be the end of records when CD`s came along, their is still a strong core of enthusiasts that like to play vinyl, personally i don`t touch vinyl but i will still play CD`s as well as digital formats.
Ive gone for the best of both worlds, ive bought a hi-fi that supports external digital players and digital storage units. Virtually everyone said it will be the end of records when CD`s came along, their is still a strong core of enthusiasts that like to play vinyl, personally i don`t touch vinyl but i will still play CD`s as well as digital formats.
16 January 2011, 07:22 PM
#112
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iTunes Plus 256 kbps AAC is available now and I'm sure if you ask nicely Apple would consider offering higher bitrates. Where do you buy your high quality encodings, just curious.
16 January 2011, 07:27 PM
#113
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That's one of the industry's problems, though.
I couldn't care less what touchy-feely stuff goes on behind the scenes while music is produced. I don't want sleeve notes bearing a load of pretentious waffle from the lead guitarist, and I don't care for the 'ritual' of taking some physical object out of its box and loading it into the hi-fi system so I can listen to it. I couldn't care less what the band looks like, what their political leanings are or what the name of the drummer's baby is.
This isn't going to change.
What I do care about is what the music sounds like - so for the sake of a penny or two in bandwidth, why won't the industry just sell me the FLAC or 96k/24 bit files I want?
I couldn't care less what touchy-feely stuff goes on behind the scenes while music is produced. I don't want sleeve notes bearing a load of pretentious waffle from the lead guitarist, and I don't care for the 'ritual' of taking some physical object out of its box and loading it into the hi-fi system so I can listen to it. I couldn't care less what the band looks like, what their political leanings are or what the name of the drummer's baby is.
This isn't going to change.
What I do care about is what the music sounds like - so for the sake of a penny or two in bandwidth, why won't the industry just sell me the FLAC or 96k/24 bit files I want?
Well id agree with the second half of your last paragraph
16 January 2011, 07:29 PM
#114
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless I think that might compare to MP3, which is in the title of this thread. Don't be so quick to dismiss iTunes.
In which case, why shouldn't I complain about the product offerings available on iTunes or anywhere else that only sells compressed files? In the context of this discussion, Apple is just one of many companies who fail to offer for sale the product I want to buy.
16 January 2011, 07:31 PM
#115
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P.S. Serious question, how do you buy tracks in 256 kbps AAC - I had a look and couldn't see where to buy anything but the standard format?
Last edited by f1_fan; 16 January 2011 at 07:33 PM.
16 January 2011, 07:36 PM
#116
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Not so some of the newer amps have got quite Savvy, my Onkyo surrond amp, can deliver 7.1, 5.1, 3.1, DTS, Prologic, Prologic II, Full stereo, and pure audio. The usual rules apply, more speakers less power, its unique though, as its capable of biamping of an input source. biamped to a good set of speakers
Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
biamped to a good set of speakers Pure audio takes either the straight stereo via phono from the CD or via coaxial / digital out from the CD player (Marantz CD52 MkII), with no form of signal processing, shaping, or filtering whatsoever, it highlights just how flat and lacklustre some modern CD's are, it also shows who's being playing with the gain, when laying down tracks.
Fed through a pair of Kef 1Q3's sound very nice, for the times i want to play stuff that needs a bit of a boost, or movies, the Rel Q150E just gives the right amount of underpinning
Mart
Onkyo amplifiers are very cunning with Stereo playback and sound quite rewarding until compared against a true stereo amplifier like i mentioned previously with the Marantz PM6003.
16 January 2011, 07:42 PM
#117
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Not all albums are available in Plus format, it's down to the record company to provide them and not all do. More every day I believe.
16 January 2011, 07:44 PM
#118
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Interesting link here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12137330
16 January 2011, 08:24 PM
#119
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My 6/7 year old Pioneer Amplifier does all of the above and it still doesn't dreadfully bright with music.
Onkyo amplifiers are very cunning with Stereo playback and sound quite rewarding until compared against a true stereo amplifier like i mentioned previously with the Marantz PM6003.
Onkyo amplifiers are very cunning with Stereo playback and sound quite rewarding until compared against a true stereo amplifier like i mentioned previously with the Marantz PM6003.
Tried my tannoys with a friends valve pre & power amp.
great sound, but great slabs of uncontrolled bass, not suit me,
I suppose it al depends on what amp your partnering your system with
Mart
17 January 2011, 12:03 AM
#120
Those Tannoys of yours (611s?) are probably quite power hungry and need some accurate amp control to give a good bass without falling apart. The fancy crossover design can also interfere with impedances which valve amps can be fussy on: Bearing in mind, classic valve amp designs use a transformer to drive the speaker, this being an inductor means the windings in the attached speaker and inductors within its crossover affects its performance.
Also, most Hi-Fi valve power amps aren't overly powerful and generally give out lots of mid-low bass anyway, so if the woofer demands too much current, the bass just fall apart from lack of power to precisly control the movement of the cone. If the amp doesn't have much equalisation to tone down its "warm sound" then this will add to the issue. As such non-pa valve amps typically need speaker drivers with strong natural suspension, which will tend to sound tinny and flat on a solid state amp. Single driver speakers are also often favoured by valve purists to eliminate crossover "colouration" (although personally I'd be gasping for a tweeter to hear something above 15khz
).
I've got an antique GEC G979 stereogram in the spare room with BSR record player which drives a pair of period 5x7" cones on a open-backed dipole enclosure. It does sound nice, but its a novelty at best. The FM radio can pickup every pirate radio station in a 200 mile radius, and MW/LW goes as far as some strange Russian sounding country
SW picks up UFOs 
Also, most Hi-Fi valve power amps aren't overly powerful and generally give out lots of mid-low bass anyway, so if the woofer demands too much current, the bass just fall apart from lack of power to precisly control the movement of the cone. If the amp doesn't have much equalisation to tone down its "warm sound" then this will add to the issue. As such non-pa valve amps typically need speaker drivers with strong natural suspension, which will tend to sound tinny and flat on a solid state amp. Single driver speakers are also often favoured by valve purists to eliminate crossover "colouration" (although personally I'd be gasping for a tweeter to hear something above 15khz
).I've got an antique GEC G979 stereogram in the spare room with BSR record player which drives a pair of period 5x7" cones on a open-backed dipole enclosure. It does sound nice, but its a novelty at best. The FM radio can pickup every pirate radio station in a 200 mile radius, and MW/LW goes as far as some strange Russian sounding country
SW picks up UFOs
Last edited by ALi-B; 17 January 2011 at 12:19 AM.