Feelings on Napster?

Issabre, or whoever you are, as soon as you want to discuss something in an intelligent manner WITHIN YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, rather than vomiting forth false-anectdotal blather that wastes the electricity of Audiogon's server (i.e., try to keep away from bs like "the majority of Americans are unhappy"), and perhaps even stick to audio subjects, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO CARRY ON SUCH A DISCUSSION WITH YOU................And yes, I take partial responsibility for the political side-trip of this thread, and of course I realize neither of us is budging on that; only a fool would think we would, so let's not waste time with that anymore...........................Napster: I'm going to try it, gonna download several terabytes (or so) of free music, and burn CD-R's. Have you done this? Have you found the 128 mbit transfer rate items to be "close" to CD quality, or have you compared directly? It'd be nice if they were, because the idea that much of, if not all music, (especially digitally stored music) should be free, is appealing to those of us who need to save money. I've spent way too much on all the vinyl reissues to be enthusiastic about paying for music in ANY format anymore, much less CD format.

No, I've found that it's not very good quality at all, with alot of the longer pieces cut off unnaturally. And unless your using a T1 or DSL service, it's laboriously slow. However, it will allow you to get into some music that previously you might not have been inclined listen to or to purchase. Then of course you can purchase the music that you really do like on CD or vinyl. Some of the stuff that I was not familiar with previously was stuff from Ali Farka Toure, Fela and Femi Kuti, and a bunch of Brazilian from Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz and Cuban stuff and believe it or not David Brubeck. Also, I'd not been really heavily into classical, but used the thread in Best of Audio "most achingly beautiful music" downloaded some of it and really enjoyed it particularly the the adagios. However, unless technology signficiantly progresses, the MP3 will not be a mainstay for audiophiles for quite some time. I've thought about getting into vinyl, but it strikes me as extremely expensive and lots more parts to tweak to bring the system. Is it really worth all the extra effort and expense?

My feeling about vinyl, is that it's something that needs to appeal to you on a gadget level. You have to find joy in the process, or else you won't want to get into it. If you've not played vinyl on a highend table before, i suggest you find a friend who has one, and watch him. Then ask if you can try it. I find it quite fun, and with all the reissues, it's certainly worthwhile from a sonic performance point of view. When I got into this hobby 5 years ago, I was curious about classical and jazz, but didn't know much about them. I just started buying all sorts of titles, and especially the ones from the golden era of stereo. I've not really come across anything I don't like, other than the recording quality sometimes (it might be in mono, but not labled as such...etc.) I will still try a bunch of downloads thru Napster, mostly modern rock stuff that is probably better had, free....heh heh...........If you are in the southeast, you are welcome to come visit my system sometime, Issabre. I've found the only path to audio happiness, is to have both vinyl, and CD.

I don't know if I'm that type of person. While I love great sound, I find myself easily distracted by a noisy tube or a scratched cd. I don't know anyone with a good turntable, but I was thinking of just getting a old thorens off ebay and taking a listen. That way, I won't spend too much cash and can hear what everyone is talking about. Sure, I'd love to drop in and take a listen and since I'm from the southeast I go there often to visit the fam. The invitation is reciprical if your in Washington DC However, my system isn't all that yet. But maybe you could help me tweak it to sound better.

Yes, my system isn't up to the very best standards either, and I can't afford the really expensive stuff. I'm not much of a tweak freak, and my listening rooms aren't in service to decor considerations, either. Those will always be compromised IMO. I'm 115 miles north of Atlanta, and hope to have my "higher output" system back in the basement "cave" sometime after Labor Day............................Regarding Napster....I must say, I love it! The joy of saving thousands of dollars is sweet! MUSIC WILL ALWAYS BE FREE...Muh hah hah hah hah haahhhh..........Well, that which should be free, anyway, since it's compressed/limited/mixed/pan-potted, and meant to go along with the kiddies in convertibles....the top down, the Kickers booming...at 140 mph...life is sweet.