Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: everton_fc on March 13, 2008, 10:14:16 AM
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I'm looking for a good, safe MP3 site to purchase MP3's ideally using PayPal. Anyone got any good ideas.
Alternatively you could PM me if anyone has "Black Sabbath - Live at Last" or any other early, original line-up live Sabbath on MP3!!! Cheers
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iTunes is probably one of the safest bets mate. I know it probably involves downloading their cr@ppy software, but at least you're with a known brand name and you'll get quality tracks all the time.
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at least you're with a known brand name and you'll get quality tracks all the time.
If you call 128kbps "quality" :roll:
Whats wrong with CDs?!
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dont really do CD's anymore. So 20th century :wink:
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dont really do CD's anymore. So 20th century :wink:
That's absolute bullshitee. CDs give far superior quality to mp3s, you get the music in physical format rather than just files you could have downloaded for free, it means that you always have a hard backup, you get album art, lyrics, etc. for the full album experience, you also have the opportunity to rip it to MP3 quickly and easily (or FLAC, ALAC, AAC etc.) whenever you like...
I could go on all day.
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yeah but i dont want a cd.
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yeah but i dont want a cd.
Can't argue with that Indy. :lol:
Seriously though, if you don't have a decent hi-fi system then CDs are largely useless. I don't think there really is such thing as an "album experience". Anyway:
Lyrics - available on the web
Album art - available on the web
AND you don't have to deal with filler tracks- you can choose the tracks you like.
And as for having a "hard backup", well you can always burn downloaded tracks to a CD. What I'm saying is, it works both ways. Don't get me wrong, I buy albums (occasionally) but digital downloads are convenient.
Anyway, Itunes isn't bad. I can't think of a better one off the top of my head. They have a pretty extensive library too.
EDIT: To the dude above- what's cr@ppy about iTunes?! It kicks windows media player's arse all day long.
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The problem with MP3 is that compared to CD the sound quality simply isn't there.
It's like listening to music with a light pair of ear muffs on. You lose a good portion of the top and bottom end on MP3.
Soon there will be a whole generation going about that think MP3 is a good standard of music quality.....
If you like music at all, I would highly recommend going with CD.
If I had to make a comparison to music gear I would say it's like plugging your best guitar into a cheap £50 amp with MP3. CD's would be a valve amp .....
Seriously.
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^I totally agree. But what you have to bear in mind is the system you're using to play the music. If you've got a decent hi-fi, CDs are fantastic. If you're using a laptop/PC with some fairly inexpensive computer speakers, in my experience, CD/MP3 doesn't make a blind bit of difference.
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If you're using a laptop/PC with some fairly inexpensive computer speakers, in my experience, CD/MP3 doesn't make a blind bit of difference.
But then the problem is that you're not hearing the music at all. I'm not going to try and convince you because you simply can't understand until you hear for yourself what a decent set-up sounds like, and when you do you'll realize that there are passages in the music you'd been missing, subtleties and nuances that make ALL the difference, and when you listen back through your PC speakers you won't understand what the hell you were doing all those years.
You're only hearing a poorly represented narrow band of your music. Nothing like how the original artists intended it to be heard.
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But then the problem is that you're not hearing the music at all. I'm not going to try and convince you because you simply can't understand until you hear for yourself what a decent set-up sounds like, and when you do you'll realize that there are passages in the music you'd been missing, subtleties and nuances that make ALL the difference, and when you listen back through your PC speakers you won't understand what the hell you were doing all those years.
You're only hearing a poorly represented narrow band of your music. Nothing like how the original artists intended it to be heard.
Steady on there Crusader of Audio justice!!! :lol: :wink:
I completely agree with you that CDs through a decent setup is in a different league to MP3s. I play CDs through my (decent) family hi-fi setup downstairs and it's fantastic! My point was, when you have little tinny PC speakers/laptop speakers, the difference between MP3 and CD shrinks to an unnoticeable level (in my opinion). So if you can't afford a nice big hifi, and have to make do with those little Labtec PC speakers, then CD isn't such a big benefit. Agreed?
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But then the problem is that you're not hearing the music at all. I'm not going to try and convince you because you simply can't understand until you hear for yourself what a decent set-up sounds like, and when you do you'll realize that there are passages in the music you'd been missing, subtleties and nuances that make ALL the difference, and when you listen back through your PC speakers you won't understand what the hell you were doing all those years.
You're only hearing a poorly represented narrow band of your music. Nothing like how the original artists intended it to be heard.
Steady on there Crusader of Audio justice!!! :lol: :wink:
I completely agree with you that CDs through a decent setup is in a different league to MP3s. I play CDs through my (decent) family hi-fi setup downstairs and it's fantastic! My point was, when you have little tinny PC speakers/laptop speakers, the difference between MP3 and CD shrinks to an unnoticeable level (in my opinion). So if you can't afford a nice big hifi, and have to make do with those little Labtec PC speakers, then CD isn't such a big benefit. Agreed?
Agreed :cry:
I'm just trying my best to stop the mp3 revolution which IMO is destroying quality music
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Yeah I know what you mean.
As someone else said, most people in the next generation or two will think MP3 is the same quality as CD. Even if it's only because they've never heard a CD through a proper hifi.
On the other hand, peer-to-peer mp3 services like Limewire still have their place. It's the best way to seek out and hear music (alongside myspace). The routine I've kind of settled into, is find and listen to music on the PC, and if I really like it, buy the album on CD so I can really appreciate it properly. :)
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Same, just I don't use Limewire - the guy in the Apple shop was telling me it works in a really weird way that leaves all sorts of cr@p saved all over your harddrive. Don't know if he's paid to say that say that so I'll use iTunes store, but I still don't like the sound of it, and I'm not using iTunes store :P
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I'm just trying my best to stop the mp3 revolution which IMO is destroying quality music
I'm still trying to stop the CD revolution cos they sound pretty sh1t to me.
Black plastic on a decent system sounds way better
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Same, just I don't use Limewire - the guy in the Apple shop was telling me it works in a really weird way that leaves all sorts of cr@p saved all over your harddrive. Don't know if he's paid to say that say that so I'll use iTunes store, but I still don't like the sound of it, and I'm not using iTunes store :P
Haha yeah, my PC is basically ruined, probably no thanks to Limewire. :(
Rob- interesting that you say that!!! I remember my family used to have a record player... the only record I remember hearing though was Golden Brown by the Stranglers. That definitely sounded sweet on vinyl. :D
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I'm just trying my best to stop the mp3 revolution which IMO is destroying quality music
I'm still trying to stop the CD revolution cos they sound pretty sh1t to me.
Black plastic on a decent system sounds way better
Oh no doubt! I'm a bit of a vinylhead too, but it all depends on the setup. It's a lot easier to get a great sound off of CDs than it is with vinyls (what with the setting up, the cleaning, the right needle, cartridge, tonearm etc.) I can pop a CD in my mac, rip it in Apple Lossless and it's ready to go; you can even listen on your iPod.
We could start on the inevitably better mixing and that you'll find on LPs, and the hideous compression on modern CDs, but that's a completely different conversation, and not an actual artifact of vinyl, just the mix.
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Same, just I don't use Limewire - the guy in the Apple shop was telling me it works in a really weird way that leaves all sorts of cr@p saved all over your harddrive. Don't know if he's paid to say that say that so I'll use iTunes store, but I still don't like the sound of it, and I'm not using iTunes store :P
Haha yeah, my PC is basically ruined, probably no thanks to Limewire. :(
Rob- interesting that you say that!!! I remember my family used to have a record player... the only record I remember hearing though was Golden Brown by the Stranglers. That definitely sounded sweet on vinyl. :D
thats why if you use anything p2p use kazaa lite, it has all the cr@p taken out and uses the same servers
i recommend getting it
and downloading spybot and adaware to get rid of all the cr@p
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Oh no doubt! I'm a bit of a vinylhead too, but it all depends on the setup. I can pop a CD in my mac, rip it in Apple Lossless and it's ready to go; you can even listen on your iPod.
We could start on the inevitably better mixing and that you'll find on LPs, and the hideous compression on modern CDs, but that's a completely different conversation, and not an actual artifact of vinyl, just the mix.
I just object to having to reaquire about 600 albums (many of which are unavailable on CD) as I don't have any methof of playing them anymore :(
Personally I's say it's more than just the mix, though modern mixes definately don't help (a complete lack of dynamics as fas as I am concerned)
I stayed clear from MP3 as long as possible and much preferred the Sony (Dolby ?) ATRAC compression (gives longer battery life too youknow ;) )
I even moved over to the darkside (an iPod nano) after my wife finished off my 2 portable minidisk players, and lost my Creative Zen player <sigh>
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i find the wholesale adoption of mp3 as the most popular form of music delivery very sad. they really do sound terrible. i was so excited a few years ago by the arrival of DVD-Audio and SACD, both of which sounded stunning. of course the moronic politics between all the electronics manufacturers who couldn't have just settled on one system combined with the mass move to even cr@pper sound from mp3 effectively scuppered both formats. the stuff i have in hi-res audio generally sounds magnificent, all the depth of vinyl without the drawbacks of discs that wear out and the inevitable background noise. if only the world could see sense!!
damn them all!! damn them all to hell!!! :evil: :evil:
:roll: :wink: :oops:
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I want a SACD player for the DSOTM release which from all accounts is magnificent (even if you don't like floyd)
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I want a SACD player for the DSOTM release which from all accounts is magnificent (even if you don't like floyd)
yep, it is one of the very best sounding. a lot of "audiophiles" look down on surround mixes of music, but even they largely agreed that this one was excellent. of course, the original stereo version, which is also on the dics, sounds wonderful too. if you buy the disc, it has a cd layer which will play in an ordinary cd player too. it's remastered and also sounds excellent.
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Just to go back to topic before I opened a can of worms re: MP3's being the spawn of Satan. If found this site:
http://www.7digital.com
you can pay by PayPal too. All is good. Got Iommi wailing away in my ears now.
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Indy - Your point is ridiculous.
I'll be frank - The digital revolution can only be a good thing. Sharing of music, and the freedom of the current media, with everyone being their own promoter is brilliant.
Agreed, the quality of an MP3 does not beat that of a CD - but COME ON - The revolution has only just started and the quality can only improve. Give them a bloody chance.
Even nowadays things like OGG Vorbis etc are around - Which have superb quality audio. Just because Mp3 is bad - Doesn't mean all digital music is bad, and the quality will ofcourse improve. Look at the analogue music development - And expect the same with digital music.
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Just to go back to topic before I opened a can of worms re: MP3's being the spawn of Satan. If found this site:
http://www.7digital.com
you can pay by PayPal too. All is good. Got Iommi wailing away in my ears now.
Nice to see you got sorted out.
I have the first 8 Sabbath albums on MP3. If you can suggest a way to get them from me, I'll be more than happy to let you have them.
The total size is 437 meg.
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Indy - Your point is ridiculous.
I'll be frank - The digital revolution can only be a good thing. Sharing of music, and the freedom of the current media, with everyone being their own promoter is brilliant.
Agreed, the quality of an MP3 does not beat that of a CD - but COME ON - The revolution has only just started and the quality can only improve. Give them a bloody chance.
Even nowadays things like OGG Vorbis etc are around - Which have superb quality audio. Just because Mp3 is bad - Doesn't mean all digital music is bad, and the quality will ofcourse improve. Look at the analogue music development - And expect the same with digital music.
No, your point is ridiculous! I have nothing against the digital revolution and I said nothing against it. Indeed I was advocating it! Are CDs not digital? I'm putting down poor quality music, not freedom of the media, gay rights, file sharing or whatever.
You speak of the quality of digital music improving - what I'm saying is that it is doing the exact opposite! In digital audio we began with CDs in the early 1980s which are very good quality, and we now have MP3 (OVER 20 YEARS LATER) which is far inferior sound wise.
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Regarding the whole downloading stuff, I usually download a track or two when checking out a band (illegally I'm afraid, but its noyl temporary) then I try to buy the album if I like it.
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I'm very much in favour of not listening to MP3 for general listening but do use it to shop about, practise etc. I don't have a problem with people who only listen to MP3 (see my previous post) but I will point out that you lose so much with MP3.
The problem with MP3 is the fact that it's compressed, causing a loss of quality - in basic terms - and to those with an ear for music the loss of quality is fairly obvious.
However .... there's a good proportion of people who couldn't care less about quality of the audio signal and just want to hear music.
They will never be able to hear the difference in quality between MP3 and CD anyway.
I say live and let live here and move on.
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You need to check out we7...
My friend Ron has 9 tracks from his recent album on a free download site which has Peter Gabriel as one of it's founders...
http://www.we7.com/public/albumDetails/Red-Pearls?albumId=55300
They've recently done a deal with Sony BMG (starting I think in April) to add to the huge catalogue of tracks already available to download totally free...The blues section is amazing...
www.we7.com
It's a good alternative to iTunes and much cheaper...
Most of the guitars Ron uses are BKP enhanced...
Unsigned artists can get tracks on the site by putting them up for review...
Have any other BKP users got tracks on we7...?
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Indy - Your point is ridiculous.
I'll be frank - The digital revolution can only be a good thing. Sharing of music, and the freedom of the current media, with everyone being their own promoter is brilliant.
Agreed, the quality of an MP3 does not beat that of a CD - but COME ON - The revolution has only just started and the quality can only improve. Give them a bloody chance.
Even nowadays things like OGG Vorbis etc are around - Which have superb quality audio. Just because Mp3 is bad - Doesn't mean all digital music is bad, and the quality will ofcourse improve. Look at the analogue music development - And expect the same with digital music.
No, your point is ridiculous! I have nothing against the digital revolution and I said nothing against it. Indeed I was advocating it! Are CDs not digital? I'm putting down poor quality music, not freedom of the media, gay rights, file sharing or whatever.
You speak of the quality of digital music improving - what I'm saying is that it is doing the exact opposite! In digital audio we began with CDs in the early 1980s which are very good quality, and we now have MP3 (OVER 20 YEARS LATER) which is far inferior sound wise.
By attacking Mp3, you're standing in the way of progress - and that's exactly what MP3 is - Progress. The ability for anyone, anywhere, to obtain music freely. Due to the popularity of MP3, virtual (since you didn't like the term digital) music will continue to develop and improve.
By standing in the way of mp3, you're standing in the way of progress - And as such are living in the past. Mp3 is the start of something big - And expect the quality to continue to improve, and for music to become more and more readily available.
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MP3 isn't progress! Just because it is 'something big' does not make it progress!
It is a step backward in the quality stakes. True, the accessibility and ability to distribute MP3s is a massive leap forward, but it's a leap that could have been leapt with any lossless format, thus retaining the quality.
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Agreed - If it had been Ogg Vorbis or some other format it would have been better - But that's not the way it turned out, and as such we should support MP3s so much that developers are helped to improve it, and to work on the next phenomenon.
The fact that you're not advocating Minidisks etc, shows that you're not all about the quality - And that you agree that accessibility practicality is a factor aswell, CD is not the best quality, nor is it the most practical - But MP3 is certainly the most practical, but surely not the greatest quality.
MP3 is not a step in the wrong direction - Its just a step into ANOTHER direction, yes its worse quality, but its so damn practical that personally I don't give a damn. My CD walkman sounds no better than my MP3 player - Nor does my tape recorder sound any better than my phone - But I know that when I get home I can whip out a CD into my big hi fi system and play music at quality where practicality is not an issue.
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Obviously there is a balance between quality and practicality to be achieved (or we'd all be lugging around multi thousand pound turntables and phono preamps and power amps on the bus :P ) MP3s are very small files - much smaller than lossless files, and since they're a string of ones and zeros they can fit in anybody's pocket.
I'm just worried about MP3 becoming the STANDARD, as CD is (was?) for the last 20 years, and Vinyl was for the last god knows how long. Hopefully progress will come, and quality will be resurrected.
If you look at previous trends and timescales, all new 'standards' of music have lasted decades (not months or years - hopefully MP3 will nosedive as lazerdisc, minidisc etc. did). Another thing to consider is that the progress from Vinyl -> CD -> MP3 all represent a push towards greater practicality and less emphasis on quality. I just hope that this does not continue as the the large companies realize the majority of people don't notice the difference between MP3 and good quality audio through their phones speakers or their shitety iBud earphones.
I'm simply worried about how long it will be before we WON'T BE ABLE to get an album in good quality any more. There are already emerging a few CDs that arent available on vinyl, will we next have MP3s not available on CD?...
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http://www.news.com/Rocker-Lou-Reed-takes-aim-at-new-technology/2100-1027_3-6234344.html
I just read this posted on another forum i frequent. Not really saying anything that hasn't already been said but interesting, nonetheless