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need crash course in using digital music.

just getting back into hi-fi and need some help understanding all the new "stuff" that's out there regarding digital music. i have owned an ipod for years but that's really about it. have been a CD guy most of my life and still enjoy them, but would like to venture out a bit.

my basic (and i mean basic) understanding is this:

there is a way to download very high quality recordings and burn them onto a disc. said disc then sounds fantastic?

i need an idiots guide to do the above. from the very basics on up. are there any web source's that can help me or even a book?. would like to do this asap because the timing of my transport/dac purchase just got pushed up. i'd like to be able to use it when it arrives (other then regular cd's that is). was thinking i had a couple months before getting something but now it looks like next week.

have got a PS audio PWT/PWD inbound. from what i understand....it's work fine with most of the "new digital music". various formats and recording resolutions. i'll get the equipment sorted out via the owners manual. need some help with the source music though.

don't need the super technical side of things but do wish to have a good understanding of the various formats, types, methods, materials ect....

it's all new to me. things like 24/48, 96, 192, FLAC, native, ect......currently have little/no meaning. my experience ends with clicking the tab at i-tunes. i've got alot to learn

if anyone could point me in a right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

thank you
levy03

Showing 4 responses by richlane

richlane
167 posts
 
Hey Levy,

What's up? I'm glad to see that you're getting your priorities in order!

Did you ever move your speakers yet?

I'll try to answer some of these.

Levy03: ""didn't see any WAV files at HD Tracks, but did come across the FLAC ones you mention. aiff is a no-no from what i understand so it looks like FLAC is going to be my main option downloading. should i be converting the FLAC too WAV?? (i read WAV was not compressed at all like aiff??)""

The FLAC is the way to go on HD tracks, you shouldn't have to convert it to WAV.

There is a negligible difference between compressed and not compressed files, Compressed is like a zip file, it's compressed however no data is lost, just like unzipping a zip file of photos.

AIFF is Not compressed either, as you are asking above.

ALAC Apple Lossless and compressed
AIFF is Lossless and not compressed
FLAC is Lossless and Compressed
WAV is Lossless and not compressed, but it can also be compressed.
AAC is lossy which means data is lost, it's not an exact copy. It's also compressed, so this is the one to avoid, as well as MP3's.

Goggle the above codecs, and select the wikipedia links.

Keep in mind non-compressed files take up much more space, but hard drive space is cheap now, compared to audio cables, right?

Levy03: ""regarding the downloading and burning:

so don't use i-tunes at all?.... even in that FLAC or WAV mode for importing high res music?. i-tunes is really all i know. feel kinda comfy/safe in my i-tunes world and do like the whole "playlist thing". will step out if i have to. any suggestions on downloading/burning software that is easy to figure out?(if i-tunes shouldn't be used for importing/burning)

got the DVD disc part but didn't know not to do a music cd. just burn data/files/folders is what i'm getting out of this?. they will play in the order burned i'm assuming so "playlist" can still be done.

also...any idea of how much music can be burned onto a dvd in WAV or FLAC?""

You can use iTunes, I love iTunes it works great for me, and I use Apple Losseless or ALAC, with phenomenal results.

I have a MAC, so I use the Songbird Media Player, for High Resolution FLAC Files on my MAC, everything else goes through iTunes.

FLAC doesn't work in iTunes, but there are other media players to choose from.

One High Resolution Album in 24bit/96khz is approx. 1GB-1.25 GB using FLAC Lossy-Compressed). So, approx. 3-4 Albums would fit on a 4GB single layer DVD.

Are you a MAC or a PC (windows)?

You should also read as much as people right here at Audiogon; under LEARN, Audiophile Forums, PC Audio Forum.

You'll eventually get a music streamer, to stream all of your music directly from your computer to your Audio System, so don't go too crazy burning too many DVD's just yet. PS Audio is supposed to come out with a bridge/streamer eventually.

Also Check out the other link for Computer Audiophile in the above post.

This should keep you busy for a while.

Rich
richlane
167 posts
 
I thought I would confuse you a little More!

Correction: "One High Resolution Album in 24bit/96khz is approx. 1GB-1.25 GB using FLAC Lossy-Compressed). So, approx. 3-4 Albums would fit on a 4GB single layer DVD."

In the above statement, it should read, FLAC Lossless Compressed, not lossy.

Rich
richlane
167 posts
 
Hey Levy,

""do all files on a disc need to be the same resolution?.""

This shouldn't be a problem, as long as the player can handle the types of files that you have burned onto the DVD.

Glad to hear that things are looking up with your set-up!

Regards,
Rich
richlane
167 posts
 
Hey Sbank,

""Other than file sizes, is there any downside to AIFF? I am ripping many CDs into itunes in AIFF format, currently used with a WindowsXP PC.""

AIFF is a great choice for sound quality and it's supported by Apple, and it's compatible with iTunes, and the Transporter, Squeezebox, and PS Audio Bridge/DAC although it sounds like this codec will be converted on the fly, however it should work well for all of your needs.

If you find a product down the line that it doesn't work for, then the AIFF Codec can always be converted to some other lossless format down the line.

One thing that I would recommend before converting your music to another Codec, would be to make a copy of all the music first and then convert the copies to the new codec, so you'll still have the originals, just in case there was a problem or you were unhappy with the results.

Rich
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