iPod v. Nexus 7?

Xjax

Hi Paul,

First off, FLAC actually is a compressed file format. It is lossless compression so it does not compress as well as lossy compression formats like MP3.

Regarding whether the difference in lossy compression levels can be heard. Yes, they can but it depends on the level of compression and the listening equipment and environment. In fact, it's very easy to hear the compression effects in standard rate MP3s with headphones if you focus on ride cymbals or hi-hats. If the compression is too high it will sound unnatural and there's a "pumping" effect. Generally speaking, lossless compression like FLAC is overkill for portable music but in my opinion it's essential for archive purposes.

You asked where I get my music if I'm not a fan of MP3s. Actually I am a fan of MP3s for playing on portable devices. But, when I buy music I continue to buy CDs. I have bought MP3s and Apple files online and even some of the HD formats but this is rare for me. I have collected thousands of CDs so when I went to rip them I didn't want to do it more than once. This is why I chose FLAC as an archive format and this is why I chose to use a ripping tool that can do "secure" rips. I actually started ripping my collection using a tool called Exact Audio Copy (EAC) but dbPoweramp can be configured for secure rips more easily so that this is what I use now and it's what I recommend to people. I ripped many hundreds of my CDs one at a time until I smartened up and built a windows machine with 8 optical drives. With the 8 drives and dbPoweramp I can batch rip 100 CDs/hour. This allowed me to rip through the rest of my collection in a couple of weeks rather than months and then my friends all borrowed my machine to do the same thing. If you lived in the Northeast I'd suggest a weekend visit with a trunk full of CDs...

I've attached a screen shot which shows how the file sizes compare for the different types/levels of compression when applied to a the Sylvain Luc/Bireli Lagrene Duet album. To summarize, the WAV files from the original CD take up about 556MB. When compressed to FLAC the average file size on this album is reduced to 43% of the the originals. When compressed to MP3-320K the storage is reduced to 23% of the original WAVs and when compressed to a "standard" 192K MP3 format the storage required is reduced to 14% of the original WAVs or about 79MB.

So, I have a large folder structure of archived CDs in FLAC format which I keep separate from other file formats. I configure MediaMonkey to read in this archive folder structure and then use it to select the music that I want to put onto our portable players. I also use it to create complete copy/conversion from FLAC to MP3 and that whole MP3 folder structure gets copied onto a USB flash drive that plugs into my wife's car. I basically update the files anytime I've bought and ripped a bunch of new CDs.

When we recently ripped one of my friend's collections he wanted to keep his FLAC archive on a portable USB drive and then wanted a copy of everything in the cloud. We let the Google music app run for a few days uploading to their service and that's where he plays his music from most of the time with a bunch of Android devices and desktops. I think it actually stored the files in 320K MP3 format in the cloud which is very high and it was free.

You asked if I load a FLAC player onto my IOS devices. I do have an app that plays FLAC files but I don't bother loading FLAC files onto the portable devices. They take up to much space and that's what the MP3s are for…

I'm sorry for the longwinded response. I've lost track of what I've answered and what I haven't. Hopefully I covered most of it in a helpful way.

Christian

KarenAnn

Thanks for all the info Christian. I have always wondered about the differences myself. Btw, Robin Nolan has a release called Gypsy Blue on Amazon right now, but only as an mp3. Hopefully the cd will come out soon. The samples sound great.

Passacaglia

Just want to thank everyone, Xjax most especially, for your generous help offline as well. I ended up with the Nexus and so far, very impressed.

Buco

Paul, may I just add, to me the reason to kick CDs aside was the Spotify streaming service.
I started Rhapsody first but discovered that Spotify has vastly bigger gypsy jazz catalog.

I never got into mp3s because there was always some maintenance involved: fixing ID tags, cataloging, converting apple format to mp3 and I needed to do that several times for various reasons, different stuff on different hard drives, computers, needing to back up stuff always.
It was always such a pain to deal with digital files.
Plus I am concerned with sound and quality of music reproduction. I have a nice set of floor standing speakers and am still a stereo guy with record player in service as well.

But when I gave these on-demand subscription based services a shot, especially Spotify, that was it for me. I still listen to records and CDs occasionally but majority of the time it's streaming.
The convenience is just perfect, music is always with me, it's maintenance free, so far in the last year or so reliability was perfect, I stream from my phone in the car and at home I have a streaming device (boxee box) connected to the stereo system.
I'm very happy with how it sounds too, I compared streaming with CDs and the difference is very slight. All the detail is there on both sides, only with CDs there is a certain "air" and "space" that is not present with streaming. All in all streaming just sounds good. I should say that I install audio/video for a living and have listened to many high-end systems and speakers costing big bucks so I think I'm relatively well trained for critical listening.

So if dealing with digital files seems like a choir give it a shoot, you just might like it.
It's the best $10 a month I ever spent.

Passacaglia

Hey Buco, thanks. I've got MOG and to be honest, I don't use it much because I'm so honed in on certain players, and at least MOG seems pretty paltry on the GJ stuff. I'm actually right in the midst of re-ripping all my stuff via Poweramp into high-side .MP3s (new toy, Nexus 7 32 GB), but will check out Spotify, thanks again.

-Paul

Passacaglia

Just an addendum: xjax and Karen, you couldn't be more right on iTunes...! I just wanted to get ahold of two albums from Sinti Music (Paulus Schafer, Desert Fire, and Rosenberg Van Mullem, Obsession). Unbelievably screwed up...! Tracks missing, etc. - and all the apple store advised is that I could re-download the music missing by going to iCloud. And I'm on a PC, apparently preventing me from accessing iCloud?

I uninstalled the program, brought over what files did download, and deleted my local iTunes folder. I remember loathing this before...and now I recall why.