The 49 Year Old Virgin!

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

I think you shouldn't worry too much about bitrate; the Amazon downloads are probably fine in that regard. Pay more attention to sources and remasters, if that info is available, as they matter more.

320kbps downloads had their purpose 10 years ago when many encoders were crap, but even in those days 192 kbps was fine with a quality encoder like LAME. I sometimes find Spotify 320 kbps to sound bad, but I suspect that has to do with the source or the mastering.

I rarely download mp3, but I'm almost certain that online stores use quality encoders nowadays, otherwise they should be ashamed.

Good mp3's are hard to distinguish from flac and will probably satisfy you soundwise, but if you want perfection, go for flac. I can see your dilemma here, since it's an outtake album after all.

Gapless playing of live albums can be more problematic with mp3 than with flac, but this also depends on your player.

Hi Evasv,

I have not encountered 'gapless' playing yet (as far as I am aware). I have heard it mentioned though on the 'Audacity' forum.

I have never used Spotify/Deezer etc before. Guess I am in the minority yet again!

I appreciate your info. I had a good think this week. Because I am probably only going to buy this Miles Davis boxset as a complete one-off, and because it is Xmas coming up, I think I will buy the FLAC d/l format from 'quobuz' (@ 46 Euros):

http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/the.../0886970623926

It is an album I have really wanted for about 8 x years and 46 Euros is better than paying 200GBP! As I say, it would be a one-off. I did try making 'offers' on eBay for a few weeks but they all got 'declined'; which is stupid really because they will never sell at such ridiculous prices. They are simply not worth it!

Cheers,

Paul

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

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Hi JH,

I have reported your attach. not showing again.

Cheers,

Paul

[evasv]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Do all d/l music retailers make their MP3s 'High Quality'? I am guessing that this means they are (encoded) at: 320kb per sec.?; which I do believe is the highest bit-rate possible for MP3 fomat?

And so are the Amazon MP3s NOT of 'High Quality'? Can you live with the kbps bit-rate offered?

I think you shouldn't worry too much about bitrate; the Amazon downloads are probably fine in that regard. Pay more attention to sources and remasters, if that info is available, as they matter more.

320kbps downloads had their purpose 10 years ago when many encoders were crap, but even in those days 192 kbps was fine with a quality encoder like LAME. I sometimes find Spotify 320 kbps to sound bad, but I suspect that has to do with the source or the mastering.

I rarely download mp3, but I'm almost certain that online stores use quality encoders nowadays, otherwise they should be ashamed.

Good mp3's are hard to distinguish from flac and will probably satisfy you soundwise, but if you want perfection, go for flac. I can see your dilemma here, since it's an outtake album after all.

Gapless playing of live albums can be more problematic with mp3 than with flac, but this also depends on your player.

[Jailhouse]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

As I say, this is the first time I ever looked into this. I doubt I will d/l as many as you have from Amazon!

A few were free samplers that I tried for fun, and got a couple of keepers. Most of the rest are songs I could not find on CD at the time. When I get CDs that have those songs, the MP3s go away. There are a couple or three that I bought because I'm sure I don't want the albums they're on, and I don't need CD quality in those cases anyway.

And so are the Amazon MP3s NOT of 'High Quality'? Can you livewith the kbps bit-rate offered?

256kbps is pretty good; the quality is okay if one doesn't do really critical listening. I can live with it, mainly because I deal with what I have, and possibly because my hearing isn't what it used to be. Also, it beats by miles the AM radios I used to listen to.

I just got the CD that one of my Amazon MP3s is from. I'll listen to both versions to see if I can hear any differences. See below for the dBpoweramp tab of the Properties dialog.

Can you tell the tell the quality of an Amazon MP3 BEFORE you actually purchase it, please?

I don't see anything on Amazon that indicates the resolution of their files. You can reasonably assume that what you get from them will be around 256kbps. Lower numbers look to be for songs with variable-rate encoding that don't need the full 256kbps to get the desired output, i.e., quiet stuff.

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

The majority of the two dozen or so MP3 tracks I've downloaded from Amazon are 256kbps, constant or variable rate. One is 210kbps variable, one is 290kbps variable. None are over 300kbps.

If you see a file with an MP3 icon, or "MP3" in a codec list, you immediately know its inherent quality. You don't have to check tags.

Thanks JH,

As I say, this is the first time I ever looked into this. I doubt I will d/l as many as you have from Amazon!

And so are the Amazon MP3s NOT of 'High Quality'? Can you live with the kbps bit-rate offered?

Can you tell the tell the quality of an Amazon MP3 BEFORE you actually purchase it, please?:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Co...orner+complete

Many thanks,

Paul

[Jailhouse]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

The majority of the two dozen or so MP3 tracks I've downloaded from Amazon are 256kbps, constant or variable rate. One is 210kbps variable, one is 290kbps variable. None are over 300kbps.

If you see a file with an MP3 icon, or "MP3" in a codec list, you immediately know its inherent quality. You don't have to check tags.

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

it wont hurt anything. Just sort of silly to do. If you do convert to FLAC be sure to add a comment tag to note that the original is mp3. You may want to know this in the future.

OK, thanks Gary.

I will have a think over the next few days and then get back to you ...

Cheers.

[garym]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Gary,

With Amazon, it's a case of: you get what you are given. Which I am assuming is a 'H.Q. MP3' (320kbps)?

You said earlier to NOT convert - via Illustrate - to FLAC (once purchased/downloaded). I think you just meant from the point-of-view of SIZE. But if I wanted to maintain consistency with all of my music files (and I was prepared to sacrifice some 'space'), then would it be OK to convert the purchased MP3s to FLAC, please? I mean, would it cause any harm/destruction?

Thanks,

Paul

it wont hurt anything. Just sort of silly to do. If you do convert to FLAC be sure to add a comment tag to note that the original is mp3. You may want to know this in the future.

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Gary,

With Amazon, it's a case of: you get what you are given. Which I am assuming is a 'H.Q. MP3' (320kbps)?

You said earlier to NOT convert - via Illustrate - to FLAC (once purchased/downloaded). I think you just meant from the point-of-view of SIZE. But if I wanted to maintain consistency with all of my music files (and I was prepared to sacrifice some 'space'), then would it be OK to convert the purchased MP3s to FLAC, please? I mean, would it cause any harm/destruction?

Thanks,

Paul

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

I can rarely detect any differences in a double blind test between a flac and an MP3 encoded with a decent encoder at 192kbps or above. But only you know the value of 20GBP to you.

Download the ABX component for foobar2000 and test for yourself by making some MP3 files at different bitrates from a few favorite flac files. Many people are surprised at how low one must go with MP3 bitrate before one can detect a difference from lossless.

Gary,

Ha ha, well I took this one a few minutes ago (just for laughs). I thought I had fairly good ears, but I got it wrong! However, the margin between those who get it correct and those who don't is surprising narrow (as is revealed after the test).

http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/...-test-128-320/

Paul

[garym]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Hi Gary,

OK, so if I want the same audio quality as my self-made-FLAC-rips then I need to pay the 40GBP for the FLAC 16-bit/44.1kHz format. But if I can make do with MP3 quality then I can buy the 20GBP files from Amazon.

Yes, the You-Tube d/l are a bit hit and miss. But they are sufficient in that I only plan to d/l no more than 10; and I refuse to pay 200GBP for a CD!

Do all d/l music retailers make their MP3s 'High Quality'? I am guessing that this means they are (encoded) at: 320kb per sec.?; which I do believe is the highest bit-rate possible for MP3 fomat?

Cheers,

Paul

I can rarely detect any differences in a double blind test between a flac and an MP3 encoded with a decent encoder at 192kbps or above. But only you know the value of 20GBP to you.

Download the ABX component for foobar2000 and test for yourself by making some MP3 files at different bitrates from a few favorite flac files. Many people are surprised at how low one must go with MP3 bitrate before one can detect a difference from lossless.

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Flac download is same as ripping to flac from CD. High quality MP3 download from amazon is likely just fine. The MP3 probably better than your YouTube downloads.

Hi Gary,

OK, so if I want the same audio quality as my self-made-FLAC-rips then I need to pay the 40GBP for the FLAC 16-bit/44.1kHz format. But if I can make do with MP3 quality then I can buy the 20GBP files from Amazon.

Yes, the You-Tube d/l are a bit hit and miss. But they are sufficient in that I only plan to d/l no more than 10; and I refuse to pay 200GBP for a CD!

Do all d/l music retailers make their MP3s 'High Quality'? I am guessing that this means they are (encoded) at: 320kb per sec.?; which I do believe is the highest bit-rate possible for MP3 fomat?

Cheers,

Paul

[garym]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

Hi guys,

I am still hoping to receive some assistance, please , with the above question; hence I am bumping this.

I hope this is permissible; but if not, then Moderator(s) please feel free to remove this very post.

Cheers,

Paul

Flac download is same as ripping to flac from CD. High quality MP3 download from amazon is likely just fine. The MP3 probably better than your YouTube downloads.

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

With boxsets containing unissued material (eg. 'The Complete Miles Davis On The Corner') I am not at all bothered about these being in 92kHz/24bit (or similar). The quality of the 'unissued' tracks is, typically, inferior to that of the 'released' ones. For example, the former are rarely mixed very well and the performances (by the musicians) are often inadequate (which is, of course, why there are deemed as 'rejected takes'!). But, as an avid Jazz fan, I do like to hear the 'out-takes' just for the sake of being able to appreciate how the 'master-takes' evolved (in other words, I am interested in the actual 'compositional' process). Record companies must love people (mugs!) like me - $$$!

And so, in the case of: 'The Complete Miles Davis On The Corner' boxset, I would have thought that either the MP3 d/l from Amazon (@ 19.99GBP) would be fine; or else the FLAC d/l from Quobuz (@ 46.99GBP). Regarding the former, I am not sure if the quality would be the same as if - using 'dBpa' - I ripped the audio (from a hard-copy CD) to FLAC?; or if the quality would be lesser? Or, how the Amazon d/l format might compare to the Quobuz (considering the 50% price difference). As I say, I have never purchased a d/l album before! - hence this thread.

Of course, ideally, I would much rather own the hard-copy of the boxset - but I refuse to pay over 250GBP! I can not even envisage someone spending that sort of amount?; though I have recently come to learn that an audiofool knows no boundaries!

Hi guys,

I am still hoping to receive some assistance, please , with the above question; hence I am bumping this.

I hope this is permissible; but if not, then Moderator(s) please feel free to remove this very post.

Cheers,

Paul

[monsterjazzlick]

Re: The 49 Year Old Virgin!

What happened to foobar2000?

mville,

I stand corrected! I am not sure how I made that typo!?

On my Amazon Tablet is 'VLC'; and on my PC is Foobar.

Cheers,

Paul