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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
rel
224 posts
 

Try this: Computer Audiophile Academy
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shazam
205 posts
 
You made the right call with the PW duo - by far the best 'simple' and most versitile implementation available in my opinion.

Your only real concern; be sure you are downloading music ONLY in full resolution lossless files (wav, flac, ALAC). HD Tracks and a handful of other sites are offering hi rez downloads in addition to redbook (16/44.1) formats. If you are a classical fan there are several good pieces out there. No iTunes or Amazon downloads - they only offer lossy formats and a lot of them have digital rights management encoding that won't work with the PWs.

I'm not positive, but I think the PWT will do all the lossless formats out there. If not, a simple format converter like Easy CD (poikosoft.com) can get them to wav format. At that point, just burn them to disk as files (not a music disk) and you are good to go - the PWT and PWD will take care of the rest. For high res, you will need to burn them to DVD disks. Consult the PW manuals for the proper disk format types to be sure you burn what works. If you want to do an all digital library at some point, the PWD will have a Bridge option available in December.

I'm picking up my PWD tomorrow and can't wait to play with it. I've heard the PW series a few times over the last few months and I really think they did it right.
levy03 OP
442 posts
 
thanks for the tips guys. been "studying" digital music all day and have picked up alot. unfortunately i'm staring from zero and still have a long ways to go.

Shazam-look forward to hearing your impressions. i'm pretty pumped up myself. should have mine next week.

do have a few more questions if you (or anyone else) doesn't mind helping.

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??)

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?

thanks again
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