 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: jack
Date: 2005-04-28 22:10
Most of the time I want to listen to uncompressed downloads, but want flexibility in downloading from many sources. Being able to record live, availability of tone control, available accessories such as integration with auto stereo also an issue. Reliability should be a given. So what do y'all think?
Jack
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: diz
Date: 2005-04-28 23:17
So far, iPod will not record live. However, it has the most complete range of file formats MP3, Apple native, et cetera, et cetera. So from a point of view of quality of sound, it's hard to beat.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-04-29 01:07
All mp3 players are probably equally compatible with the car stereo. If the stereo has a cassette player or an audio in jack on the front, it makes it considerably easier because you can physically connect it. Otherwise, you'll need a radio transmitter (got one for my iPod for $30 or so), which may come standard with some mp3 players(?). Their effectiveness varies by model and location (dense metropolitan areas sometimes make it trickier)
Many sites have DRM (digital rights management) on the tracks you download, restricting them to certain types/quantities of players. Some sites (e.g. eMusic) offer non-DRM mp3 files. I'd recommend browsing different sites to see which ones carry most of the music you might eventually like to get, and see which players they're compatible with. Services come and go quite often as well.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: msloss
Date: 2005-04-29 02:03
There are now accessories that allow the iPod to record. The other advantage to iPod over many of the competitors is that you can record or rip uncompressed audio if you want that last bit of fidelity. Finally, there are several auto integration kits for the iPod now that will even allow you to control the iPod from your car stereo's controls as though it was a CD changer. Pretty useful all the way around. Of course the big knock on it is the big price.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2005-04-29 12:24
Creative "MuVo Slim" hs built in Mic, also FM tuner. 512Mb model sells for about 1/3 the price of an iPod. WMA format uses less memory than MP3 and (I'm told) sounds better; gives you about 16 hours of music storage on this unit. You can also use it as flash memory; I carried around a slide show on mine for a bit.
FM modulators and cassette adaptors both severely compromise the quality of input to your car radio. I got an accessory input at Crutchfield's that gives you a direct connection to the car radio, although I still have to use the controls on the MuVo. Took about 45 minutes to install; sounds great!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: msloss
Date: 2005-04-29 16:42
David,
I have a "portable" Bell open-reel deck -- e.g. it has a handle. Tubes and everything. Has a headphone jack so you are good to go. And hey, if you run it at 3 3/4 IPS you can get twice as many tunes on a spool.
IPods. Pshaw!
M.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-04-29 19:10
You go, msloss! The headphone jack is key.........
When I was a teenager I had an old (even then it was old!) H.H. Scott tube power amp, which was part of my very first home stereo and doubled (I kid you not) as the P.A. amp for our first Top-40 band. (Amazing what 30 watts per channel could do back then.) The tubes put out so much heat that on cold nights I'd turn the amp on as a space heater for my room.
All seriousness aside, I continue to do live orchestral and band recording using open-reel tape machines, because they are relatively insensitive to gain settings and such --- I can take a guess at levels before the concert, set the controls, turn the machine on, walk away and go play the concert --- knowing that 99% of the time the recording will turn out just fine. Plus, the equipment is "obsolete" and therefore I can get very high-quality (and originally very expensive) equipment for next to nothing. Eventually I burn a CD from the master tape, so I have made a small concession to 'modern' technology.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kev
Date: 2005-04-30 21:48
I use an iRiver H320. It supports more file formats than an iPod and you can download firmware upgrades for additional formats. What I really like about it is that unlike the iPod, which requires you to use the iTunes interface to load songs onto it (very annoying, if you ask me), when you plug in the iRiver your computer simply recognizes it as a portable hard drive and you can easily drag-and-drop all your music onto it. It has a line-in and line-out as well as a regular headphone jack, and you can record and compress live. Plus, its cheaper than an iPod with the same storage capacity and has a bunch of features the iPod doesn't (color screen, picture viewer, text viewer, built-in radio tuner, etc).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: msloss
Date: 2005-04-30 22:04
iPod photo has color screen, picture viewer, and PIM. The iPod also mounts (at least on a Mac) as a firewire hard drive so you can drag and drop anything you want on it. Apple is continually publishing OS updates for the iPod as well.
Give in. Join the iPod mafia. And bring your Buffets.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kevin
Date: 2005-05-01 22:41
To follow up on LarryBocaner's post, I own a Creative MuVo. Specifically, a model N200 which sells on Amazon for $114. It holds 512 MB of WMA's and WAV's of any bitrate, and is amazingly easy in its computer transfer (it works like an extra drive or a memory stick). It holds about the equivalent of 20 CD's if I rip them into WMA at 64 kbps.
I've constantly used it to succesfully record master classes, recitals, rehearsals, and the such. These recorded files can be easily moved onto a computer where they can be edited, enhanced, etc.
Post Edited (2005-05-01 22:42)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ken
Date: 2005-05-02 00:51
I was just checking out a video review on ZDNet for the IPod Shuffle. I'm new to this stuff so I'm showing my ignorance, but it appears to be basically a high class MP3 flash drive using USB2. Straight ahead tunes with no whistles, on and off, track seek forward/reverse, volume and that's it but no scan or searching of tunes --- boo, hiss! It comes in 2 versions 512MB for $99 and 1G for $150 and roughly the dimensions of a pack of Trident gum but skinnier. The CEO dude wasn't forthcoming on compressing files and comparative fidelity but he did mention 120 songs for the 512MB and auto load feature where you have the choice of downloading tunes manually or the unit will do it randomly. Feedback? v/r Ken
Post Edited (2005-05-02 00:53)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-05-02 01:28
I want to wait till the price goes down and buy a Sony psp, music, movies, games and pictures. It needs to "mature" I more though, and as I said the price needs to drop.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-05-02 03:51
I replaced the company iPod with an iPod shuffle as soon as they came out. The battery lasts forever, it holds more than enough for what I use it for (hauling recordings to gigs for "fill music", and haul demo tracks to rehearsal to play through the PA for the group to hear before running a chart). It's cheap, small, and one less thin for me to worry about regarding battery power.
There are recording attachments for iPod, but they are all of very limited quality. They are certainly not of a quality that you'd want for anything other than an overall check on what occurred during a given session. Don't expect anything near even the sort of recording that you can get with audio tape.
There is one attachment that will allow use of a microphone other than the one in the device. However, I have yet to see a technical review of the thing.
For the best results, get a mini-disk recorder and a quality stereo microphone. Much better than you will do with the current iPod system. I've tried both, and there's no comparison.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
