[fastball]

Originally Posted by whiteboyblues2001

Even in the 90's there were some initial folks even recording in digital (they were marked DDD rather than AAD) like the band Rush. But even back then, there were audiophiles claiming that digitizing the music in and of iteself ruined the music. I don't feel that way, but it's funny how things turn out.

Yes, building the amps are fun, but time consuming. I have only built guitar amplifiers so far, but have already designed a low watt audio amp based on some tubes I got from an estate sale that need a good home. The first guitar amp I built was just a get your feet wet beginner type project, but it had better tone that 95% of the equipment you can buy today. That got me hooked. Wish I had more time/money.

I have a 1957 reissue Fender Bassman amp I use with my Strat. A few effect pedals and a Vox wah-wah. Haven't really played with a band for a while but I like to plug in an jam along to something on the stereo. Tube amps are the only way to go for guitar. My first amp when I started learning to play was a little 8" Crate solid state. Soon as I was good enough and could justify spending the money I bought the Bassman.

My home theater amps are solid state. If I wanted to go bonkers I could go tube, but then I wouldn't be able to afford my 2SS Camaro

[whiteboyblues2001]

Originally Posted by SuperSound

I think it is worth noting that a car driving down the road is far from an ideal audio environment. Couple that with OEM speakers that really aren't that amazing in response and poorly designed factory H/Us, and I don't think anyone should expect to hear much of a difference in CD vs good quality mp3 over USB. At home with a good audio setup and better environment, yes. If you are an audiophile, you will always be better offer replacing the factory components anyway. The real tragedy is how much the factory systems are integrated into the cars today making replacement much more difficult.

I agree completely. And don't foget, the single upgrade that makes the most difference is the speakers. Getting quality aftermarket speakers will make a bigger difference than changing from MP3 to CD.

[fastball]

Originally Posted by SuperSound

I think it is worth noting that a car driving down the road is far from an ideal audio environment. Couple that with OEM speakers that really aren't that amazing in response and poorly designed factory H/Us, and I don't think anyone should expect to hear much of a difference in CD vs good quality mp3 over USB. At home with a good audio setup and better environment, yes. If you are an audiophile, you will always be better offer replacing the factory components anyway. The real tragedy is how much the factory systems are integrated into the cars today making replacement much more difficult.

Yeah every car I've bought since 1997 I've gutted the factory system and upgraded everything. Problem now is that really good car audio isn't easy to find like it was 10+ years ago. Boston Acoustic used to make fantastic aftermarket stuff (better than the factory upgrade in the Camaro) that you could buy at specialty shops, and all the specialty car-fi places around Cleveland have closed.

[BumpinBlueSS]

For the record, CD's are not "uncompressed". They contain 1411 kbps digitally compressed music.

I don't use CD's anymore, but I can't stand Mp3 or AAC files. They are too flat sounding. My 1TB iPod Classic is loaded with 16 bit and 24 bit (up to 48khz sample rate) ALAC (Apple Lossless) music. I still have ~450GB for my libary to grow also!

I have a 13 speaker, 3 amplifier system in my current car.

[Waiting46]

For those of you that don't want to buy in to the crApple marketplace, there are plenty of FLAC (free lossless audio codec) and OGG (I don't remember if this is an acronym) players on the market now, do a little research (Im not enough of an audiophile to know what to recommend, but if youre on here, chances are youre willing to research before you buy)

[fastball]

Originally Posted by BumpinBlueSS

For the record, CD's are not "uncompressed". They contain 1411 kbps digitally compressed music.

Music on handhelds is compressed from that. It's all relative, but I think you understand.

[Curr]

Agreed, factory speakers are supplied by the cheapest competitor. Second upgrade I did when I bought my Mustang. Wife thought I was nuts tearing into a week old car to replace all the speakers / subs.

Get a FLAC/OGG player with some good quality components inside (HiFi Man 650 or similar) and plug it directly into your head unit via line in. Win-win.

Now I like quality audio as much as the next guy, but I never really understood people who wanted reference quality audio, in their car. I mean, at speed, in a Mustang, Camaro, can you tell the difference between an MP3 and a OGG file using the accepted standard encoding? I sure as hell couldn't, especially AC/DC cranked up. Now, if you drove a Lexus LS460, something dead quiet on the inside, I could maybe understand it a bit more. Me, I just want clarity at volume

[BumpinBlueSS]

Originally Posted by Waiting46

For those of you that don't want to buy in to the crApple marketplace, there are plenty of FLAC (free lossless audio codec) and OGG (I don't remember if this is an acronym) players on the market now, do a little research (Im not enough of an audiophile to know what to recommend, but if youre on here, chances are youre willing to research before you buy)

All of my music is sourced from CD's that I have owned at one time or another or FLAC downloads. I convert them to ALAC using dBPoweramp music converter. My iPod is the only Apple product I own or probably ever will. I use it because my Alpine head unit reads directly from the dock connector. If I can get a head unit for my Camaro that will read FLAC or ALAC directly from a hard drive, I will go that route,

[SuperSound]

Originally Posted by BumpinBlueSS

All of my music is sourced from CD's that I have owned at one time or another or FLAC downloads. I convert them to ALAC using dBPoweramp music converter. My iPod is the only Apple product I own or probably ever will. I use it because my Alpine head unit reads directly from the dock connector. If I can get a head unit for my Camaro that will read FLAC or ALAC directly from a hard drive, I will go that route,

Maybe someone with a C7 or newer myLink system can tell us. I'd be interested to know. I used dBPoweramp to convert a few FLAC albums for my iPod too.

[Hicompression]

I've got a Sony Walkman WM-EX122 cassette player I purchased off of eBay pushing tunes through the auxillary port in my 2010 SS. Get a portable CD player and do the same thing!

I'm listening to cassettes I haven't listened to in over 10+ years.

And...I've got the bungee cord mod (bungees wrapped around the rear deck speaker magnets and achored to the body - keeps them from buzzing and rattling) You gotta love the factory systems in these Camaro's.

[BumpinBlueSS]

Originally Posted by Curr

Agreed, factory speakers are supplied by the cheapest competitor. Second upgrade I did when I bought my Mustang. Wife thought I was nuts tearing into a week old car to replace all the speakers / subs.

Get a FLAC/OGG player with some good quality components inside (HiFi Man 650 or similar) and plug it directly into your head unit via line in. Win-win.

Now I like quality audio as much as the next guy, but I never really understood people who wanted reference quality audio, in their car. I mean, at speed, in a Mustang, Camaro, can you tell the difference between an MP3 and a OGG file using the accepted standard encoding? I sure as hell couldn't, especially AC/DC cranked up. Now, if you drove a Lexus LS460, something dead quiet on the inside, I could maybe understand it a bit more. Me, I just want clarity at volume

I tried converting some FLAC files to 512kbps AAC thinking that that would be good enough for in the car, but they sounded really flat to me. For me, it's at least 16 bit lossless or nothing from here on out. 24 bit is my preferred choice if I can find it. I spent ~$600 to convert my iPod to a 1TB mSata SSD so I could carry all of my lossless music with me. I am glad I made that investment. If you have quality gear and you aren't hard of hearing, you will hear the difference.

[BumpinBlueSS]

Originally Posted by Hicompression

I've got a Sony Walkman WM-EX122 cassette player I purchased off of eBay pushing tunes through the auxillary port in my 2010 SS. Get a portable CD player and do the same thing!

I'm listening to cassettes I haven't listened to in over 10+ years.

And...I've got the bungee cord mod (bungees wrapped around the rear deck speaker magnets and achored to the body - keeps them from buzzing and rattling) You gotta love the factory systems in these Camaro's.

HAHA! That's awesome! Aftermarket rear speakers bolted to the rear deck are a must IMO!

[Sintmk]

Why not just install vinyl and call it a day? Lol.

For being audiophiles, you're sure behind on the advances in digital music. With all respect, it's just coming off as nostalgia for a dead medium.

Truth be told, I'm holding a large bias, so I apologize, but I don't think anyone realistically needs access to 400 albums in a sitting. The current state of cloud streaming allows access to as many lossless audio files you can digest in a sitting, over a lte connection. If your data rate isn't the highest, throw a few good albums, or a few good mixes in lossless format onto some amount of storage.

No, compressed music isn't perfect, but we also don't have the luxury of carrying around Rodger waters in our backseat. Haha

[Sintmk]

Originally Posted by BumpinBlueSS

I tried converting some FLAC files to 512kbps AAC thinking that that would be good enough for in the car, but they sounded really flat to me. For me, it's at least 16 bit lossless or nothing from here on out. 24 bit is my preferred choice if I can find it. I spent ~$600 to convert my iPod to a 1TB mSata SSD so I could carry all of my lossless music with me. I am glad I made that investment. If you have quality gear and you aren't hard of hearing, you will hear the difference.

thanks: