iPod polling

[boputnam]

Ken's iPod query has morphed into an iPod luvfest. A poll may help our friend - and others - in this decision!

[Robh3606]

I have been using PAD since the original Walkmans and really like to have music with me. As far as an Ipod is concerned I would only use it with MP3 set for High Quality VBR so the lowest ratio would be about 6 or 8/1. I used to rip CD's at work and convert to MP3 but now that I have a real CD player in my office so why not just bring some disks. I also can't see ripping my CD library to a lower quality format.

Rob

[scott fitlin]

We have had Ipods as prizes in certain redemption games here in my arcade this past summer, and the kids want em bad! They will play the machines that have them in them with fever, till they win them!

I tried one out to see for myself, it may not be a vinyl record or CD, but it sounds pretty good through the car stereo! And the amount of music you can load into them is incredible.

WAV files sound better than MP3 for sure.

[morbo!]

i wont poll
but i will say listen to a few
the ipods headphones are crappy and i havent heard any others but i would throw them straight in the bin and spend more on the headphones than the recorder!
and listen to them with your headphones before you buy

[boputnam]

...listen to them with your headphones before you buy

Yea, I've done that with my kids and the Bose QC2's. It is great.

[Phil H]

What's an Ipod? I'd like to know the readers digest version. I am guessing it is a little contraption that stores music. But, do you download the music somehow and then upload it to the Ipod? Are they worthwhile and easy to use? I guess if I really wanted to know I could use google. First, I think that I'll try to find out what a playstation is.

Edit: What does PAD and IPOD stand for? Personal Audio Device?

[porschedpm]

I have a 3rd Generation, 40GB iPod. I transferred most my CD collection over in the Apple Lossless format, which uses very little compression. Apple Lossless is said to be virtually the same as the original CD. I can't tell the difference. I've have 5 iPod docks with the mini-to-RCA jack outputs feeding each of my 5 stereo systems and now use the iPod almost exclusively instead of CDs. It's so much more convenient than carting CD's around. Just plug in the iPod, set it to random play, and it's like your own radio station with all your favorite songs. Similar to a big hard drive but much more portable. I originally got the iPod for travel (along with some Etymotic ER4P isolation earphones) but it's turned out to be so much more versatile.

I would guess that there are a number of MP3 players that could perform as well if not better and provide the same functionality as the iPod. But one advantage with the iPod is the large number of accessories available from third parties and made specifically for the iPods.

[Akira]

Apple Lossless is said to be virtually the same as the original CD. I can't tell the difference.

Can you direct me to the program? I have a dual processor MAC with the current platform.

p.s. I would be in heaven if what you say is true. I have never, ever heard an MP3 sound anywhere as good as a CD, and certainly not vinyl. While I can't hear the difference in a car or your average home system, there seems to be a world of difference when you play back on a high end system.

[porschedpm]

Can you direct me to the program? I have a dual processor MAC with the current platform.

The Apple Lossless Encoder has been included in iTunes starting with version 4.5. The curent version 6.0 can be downloaded from the Apple iPod website:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

p.s. I would be in heaven if what you say is true. I have never, ever heard an MP3 sound anywhere as good as a CD, and certainly not vinyl. While I can't hear the difference in a car or your average home system, there seems to be a world of difference when you play back on a high end system.

Here are a couple of sites that review Apple Lossless (includes 26 user comments) and how the iPod/Apple Lossless compare to a high-end CD Player:

http://www.macmusic.org/news/view.php/lang/EN/id/1748/
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/ipod/ipod.html

[morbo!]

if you really want to record digital and we all do

after years of practice the best ive come up with

scsi hdd for the recording (nothing else will really do)

i encode at 256 kbps 128 for each channel (some might say thats over kill but 128 is what a cd player runs at and i would guess thats per channel not all up)
no floating point encoding or that kinda crap

cool edit pro (play with the noise floor and click pop funcions to get a handle for vinal)

dont rip at full speed if your gonna rip a cd 1/2 the capicity of it`s ability seems to be a good trade of speed and quailty for me the slower the better!

a good quality motherboard i mainly use gigabyte and a good power supply in your pc

i never built or used a mac so disregard this if your a mac head

p.s i dont have a decent pc atm or i would send you a couple of mp3`s to show you that it can be done well (vinal or cd)

from what i know i would need 1 hell of an mp3 player to be satisfied so i better wait a few years! or let it sit on my desktop
lol

and i dont think i would buy a ipod

[Ken Pachkowsky]

The poll sure helps.....

Makes a choice easy....Tooo funny.

Ken

[morbo!]

i polled


and lol
lol
llol

and just think thats kinda how our officials are elected!

[boputnam]

Keepin' it alive...

FWIW, I voted "no clue and/or no further interest" to avoid any conflicts of interest since I started this particular thread.

But, in the 11 December San Fran Chronicle was a most serendipitous Opus cartoon...

[Ken Pachkowsky]

I bought the above.

Thanks to everyone for the passionate and spirited answer's to my enquiry. I feel like a shit disturber sometime?

Ken

[SEAWOLF97]

http://features.csmonitor.com/politi...gland-an-ipod/

Obama gives the Queen of England an iPod

By Jimmy Orr | 04.01.09



Well, it’s better than giving her a bunch of DVDs that don’t work.
President Obama went to the Buckingham Palace today in London where he and first lady Michelle had a lovely tea with the Queen of England.
The press corps from both sides of the Pond was paying close attention to this meeting. After all, it was another gift exchange. And the last time the president had one of these with someone from England? Oops.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave Obama an ornamental pen holder carved from the timbers of the HMS Gannet — an anti-slave ship from the 1800s.
President Obama, on the other hand, treated the gift exchange like a Secret Santa party forking over a bunch of American movies on DVDs. If that wasn’t bad enough, it turns out they didn’t work. They weren’t compatible with British DVD players. Read all about this here.
Presents
So what do you give a Queen? Turns out she’s pretty hip. In fact, she owns a Wii.
So putting aside the horrors of the last experience with electronics, the president boldly presented the Queen with an iPod. And it wasn’t empty either.
It would be too easy to load it up with songs like Bohemian Rhapsody from the rock band “Queen.” Or Sid Vicious’s none-too-friendly lyrics about her majesty.
Instead, our friends over at the Telegraph report that the iPod was filled with videos of herself. Specifically, footage of her 2007 trip to Richmond, Jamestown, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
We haven’t heard complaints from anyone yet. But the Telegraph does note that she already has one. It’s a 6GB silver Mini though. So, anyone who knows anything about iPods will tell you she needed an upgrade. Pronto.
Apparently he also gave her a songbook signed by Richard Rogers.
We’ll update this as we hear more.