General Forum

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

david coyne — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:11:58 GMT

Oh well, when writing the above post I appear to have completey missed all posts on page 6.... Apologies for adding my ten pence worth when the thread was clearly OVER!!!! My timing is usually impecable...... I'm blaming the lack of belgian beer for not 'arriving' soon enough!

David

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

david coyne — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:05:01 GMT

A quick summary from me (at the risk or repeating myself)

I use ipods, digital music when I require convenience... e.g on the move or during a party where I dont have time to keep changing vinyl, c.ds etc. It is great for these purposes

But for me, most of the music I want to download digitally, I can't get at high enough bit rates to really enjoy the sound quality (its fine for parites). Yes i know there are sites that have music at lossless rates, but they are still rare and they dont generally have as an example the latest freemasons remix of Amanda Wilsons latest dance track. If i want a jazz artist or Greig's complete works, sure I can download them at a very high bit rate from a website.

I still buy CD's where I can and rip them to my mac, store them in itunes and play them back to my system via a cambridge audio DAC (I find the sound quality via the mac sound card very below par). I actually also buy vinyl when i can. New 12' vinyl sounds fabulous- usually I have to order this from the UK though or wait til Im back in the country.

In short, all the forms of music storage/playback have their value and I use them all.. I still prefer the sound quality of vinyl and cd.

David

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

richtoy — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:16:18 GMT

9 LEE:

j0hnbarker:

Puncher:

I prefer CD's for intimate occasions - it prevents having to stop what you're doing to change the disc over!

I find 45s are more than adequate playing time....

I find the 30 second sample on itunes more than enough these days..

More and stronger Belgian Beer sorts out these issues...

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Jonathan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 20:20:15 GMT

wow!! what a thread!!!

I'd like to just make one more point if I may...

With a radio, you get to choose which station you want to listen to, with the station choosing the music (and the ability to change stations)
With a CD/Vinyl/Tape you get to choose the limited tracks you have with you at the time. These are limited by the amount each medium holds. Generally (for argument's sake) 10 tracks each
With an iPod/MP3 player you gain the ability to choose from a lot more tracks depending on the storage size (I have over 4000 on my iPod)

Each choice of medium offers different positives and negatives. Listening quality versus storage space versus ability to choose.

On a very basic level, and going back to the OP's question; the main point of 'mp3, ipods, etc....' is the portibility and increased storage space (and thereby the ability to have a greater number of instant 'choices'). If you don't have this need, then you don't have a need for 'mp3, ipods, etc.....'

Stick with what floats your boat

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Jonathan — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 19:08:57 GMT

9 LEE:

j0hnbarker:

Puncher:

I prefer CD's for intimate occasions - it prevents having to stop what you're doing to change the disc over!

I find 45s are more than adequate playing time....

I find the 30 second sample on itunes more than enough these days..

I prefer my wife for intimate occasions.....

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

j0hnbarker — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:59:46 GMT

Peter :
Electrified:
j0hnbarker:
Electrified:
Ever been to a library? Talk about choice. Boy, let's go back to the days of handwritten books. Otherwise we can't handle the choice!Seriously ...
Leccy
Are you being facetious? To take your analogy a bit further then how would my own music collection be comparable with a library? I choose what is in my music collection. A public library has books chosen by the librarians. The two are not the same. And you're a journalist?
I see you have read my other posts; Yes, I'm a journalist.
It's called an "analogy" for a reason: There's also a difference in the medium in a record collection (discoteque) and a library - most things in a library are per definition texts. But neither differences have any bearing on the analogy.
My point was - and still is - that even such things as libraries works and functions splendidly, even if you have a "a lot of choice", so using your own music collection shouldn't confuse you so much as to having "too much choice".
You also choose what's in your music collection if it's a file based system, but by your argument, if all one's music is collected on a harddisk rather than on shelving, suddenly there's "too much choice".

P.S. I like "Leccy". It sounds like a real name.

Very cogent argument. I, for one, am used to the answering of individual points in the way you have done and find this the most useful way to respond to a number of statements in one post. It is commonly used at skeptic web sites which I frequent. I see you are registered in Denmark but find it hard to imagine that you are not a native English speaker.
As Trip and the OP have stated, this thread would seem to have run its course, and the original question would appear to have been answered very well. Thank you to all the participants.

Thanks fella.

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Electrified — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:14:31 GMT

Thanks, Peter

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Peter — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:55:03 GMT

Electrified:

j0hnbarker:

Electrified:

Ever been to a library? Talk about choice. Boy, let's go back to the days of handwritten books. Otherwise we can't handle the choice!Seriously ...

Leccy

Are you being facetious? To take your analogy a bit further then how would my own music collection be comparable with a library? I choose what is in my music collection. A public library has books chosen by the librarians. The two are not the same. And you're a journalist?

I see you have read my other posts; Yes, I'm a journalist.

It's called an "analogy" for a reason: There's also a difference in the medium in a record collection (discoteque) and a library - most things in a library are per definition texts. But neither differences have any bearing on the analogy.

My point was - and still is - that even such things as libraries works and functions splendidly, even if you have a "a lot of choice", so using your own music collection shouldn't confuse you so much as to having "too much choice".

You also choose what's in your music collection if it's a file based system, but by your argument, if all one's music is collected on a harddisk rather than on shelving, suddenly there's "too much choice".

P.S. I like "Leccy". It sounds like a real name.

Very cogent argument. I, for one, am used to the answering of individual points in the way you have done and find this the most useful way to respond to a number of statements in one post. It is commonly used at skeptic web sites which I frequent. I see you are registered in Denmark but find it hard to imagine that you are not a native English speaker.

As Trip and the OP have stated, this thread would seem to have run its course, and the original question would appear to have been answered very well. Thank you to all the participants.

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Bentleyman — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:39:48 GMT

TripEnglish:
I can't see what additional pages to this thread are going to yield.

Yes, i gotta agree with mr trip here...

I, the original poster, retired from this thread some time ago

I wish my ebay listings would run & run as much as this thread has

thanks for all ur contributions anyway....very entertaining my thanks even go to that comic book type chap...

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Carolpa — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:50:11 GMT

I follow this interesting discussion since the start.

Every time I felt the urge to response, so now I do:

What was the point of keeping fire....... What was the point of the wheel............

later in history:

What was the point of the gramophone, the record and...........why the change to CD..............

the point is evolution.

You see the advantage or you don't, but keep in mind that the ancestor with fire had more changes than their fellow earthlings!

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

TripEnglish — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:44:51 GMT

Electrified, I think you're on the right track generally speaking. Agreement to disagree seems to be the most logical course though. I can't see what additional pages to this thread are going to yield.

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Electrified — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:19:03 GMT

j0hnbarker:

Electrified:

Ever been to a library? Talk about choice. Boy, let's go back to the days of handwritten books. Otherwise we can't handle the choice!Seriously ...

Leccy

Are you being facetious? To take your analogy a bit further then how would my own music collection be comparable with a library? I choose what is in my music collection. A public library has books chosen by the librarians. The two are not the same. And you're a journalist?

I see you have read my other posts; Yes, I'm a journalist.

It's called an "analogy" for a reason: There's also a difference in the medium in a record collection (discoteque) and a library - most things in a library are per definition texts. But neither differences have any bearing on the analogy.

My point was - and still is - that even such things as libraries works and functions splendidly, even if you have a "a lot of choice", so using your own music collection shouldn't confuse you so much as to having "too much choice".

You also choose what's in your music collection if it's a file based system, but by your argument, if all one's music is collected on a harddisk rather than on shelving, suddenly there's "too much choice".

P.S. I like "Leccy". It sounds like a real name.

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

j0hnbarker — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:07:13 GMT

Electrified:

Ever been to a library? Talk about choice. Boy, let's go back to the days of handwritten books. Otherwise we can't handle the choice!Seriously ...

Leccy

Are you being facetious? To take your analogy a bit further then how would my own music collection be comparable with a library? I choose what is in my music collection. A public library has books chosen by the librarians. The two are not the same. And you're a journalist?

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Electrified — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:30:36 GMT

evman140:
When you insert a CD into a new Acura with a "Technology Package" will automatically rip it to the inbuilt HDD. I thought this was very cool, sort of reminds me of iTunes. When this feature was added, Acura (Honda) removed the 6 CD changer and reverted back to a single. These cars also have the 3.5mm input as well as two USB 2.0 ports with an iPod interface on the nav screen. So many options!

Haha, yeah, we can't handle the choice. Take it away from us. Please!!!

Seriously, though, that is nice. Hat's off to Honda! :)

Re: Can people tell me what exactly is the point of mp3, ipods, etc......?

Electrified — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:29:05 GMT

Yup, but if using a mac, there's also FLAC plugins to go with itunes. Personally, I use Winamp (the paid -for version)

But before we go into details, your mentioning of an intermediate cd reminds of the way people "removed" the DRM: Start out with an MP4/MP3 (i.e. lossy), convert by burning to wav on a cd, rerip (i.e. convert) to MP3/mp4 again. Resulting in a degrading of the audio.

My point is, if your music collection is in a lossy format, there is no point in trying to make it lossless. What is tossed out and missing will continue to be missing.

The part about creating lossy wma has me scratching my head. Perhaps it's the deal where you have to set the "import settings" correctly. If it shows wma lossless, the resulting file should be WMA lossless. Or if using other software, it should not give you that sort of troubles.