Sony attempts to lure audiophiles with 'Premium Sound' microSD - Polidicks

[QUOTE=paul simon;47178983]M4A (AAC) or go home :v: It's the successor of MP3 anyways, and from my experience it's just straight up better in compression efficiency. (retains tons more quality than MP3 at equalivent bitrates)[/QUOTE] Isn't m4a the proprietary apple/sony format that no one else uses because it's not significantly better, flac won the lossless war and vorbis is popular elsewhere?

[QUOTE=chunkymonkey;47188635]Holy shit, these shysters also make ethernet cables. [img]http://i.imgur.com/rWA0JVR.png[/img] The questions and answers are kinda funny. [img]http://i.imgur.com/mKy9TDW.png[/img] The reviews are gold though. [img]http://i.imgur.com/ny4JtxQ.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/9XsvU8K.png[/img][/QUOTE] They make $10k ethernet cables too, the hdmi was just a bit more expensive so I linked that

[QUOTE=wraithcat;47189077]Isn't m4a the proprietary apple/sony format that no one else uses because it's not significantly better, flac won the lossless war and vorbis is popular elsewhere?[/QUOTE] Vorbis is one of the best lossy formats right now, since it's less destructive than MP3 and compresses to roughly the same size or smaller.

For that price is better turn mp3s into lossless flacs on the go

[QUOTE=woolio1;47189225]Vorbis is one of the best lossy formats right now, since it's less destructive than MP3 and compresses to roughly the same size or smaller.[/QUOTE] if only music was available anywhere in ogg vorbis apart from torrents with converted mp3s.

[QUOTE=Elspin;47188437]Look no matter how much people completely uneducated in technical areas think they are, they're not. When you tell people in engineering that you think you know better than them it's literally no different than someone telling a doctor they're pretty sure that they're wrong about homeopathy, it's baffling.[/QUOTE] I thought I might have misunderstood what you meant in your post, but I'm in a completely different time zone. For all intents and purposes a human can't hear the difference between cd quality, studio quality and an analog source (if they all have the same mixing and volume levels). It seemed to me like you (as so many other people) thought music stored digitally would output a a perfectly stairstepped sine wave, not a continuous signal. Apparently I didn't understand you correctly, but i had to go to bed at some point. And please do not compare me to homeopaths, I'm ready to admit I'm wrong.

I will say there's a 'sane' level of audiophilia and then there's the insane levels, this being the latter. I have the $100 Modi 2 and ~$100 O2 Amp along with my DT990 Pro's, and I absolutely notice a difference between having my headphones plugged directly into my computer and having them plugged into my amp, but I'll never buy anything else as long as I have these because frankly this is as good as it's going to get as far as I can tell, anyone who buys the DACs and amps at $200 or above is just wasting their money from what I can tell, at this point it's only the headphone that will make the difference. Just my look at it. And as for the cables, that's obviously just a complete waste. If someone seriously believes a $1,000+ cable makes their music that much better and believes it was worth the purchase, I'd question their sanity.

[QUOTE=Secone;47190806]I will say there's a 'sane' level of audiophilia and then there's the insane levels, this being the latter. I have the $100 Modi 2 and ~$100 O2 Amp along with my DT990 Pro's, and I absolutely notice a difference between having my headphones plugged directly into my computer and having them plugged into my amp, but I'll never buy anything else as long as I have these because frankly this is as good as it's going to get as far as I can tell, anyone who buys the DACs and amps at $200 or above is just wasting their money from what I can tell, at this point it's only the headphone that will make the difference. Just my look at it. And as for the cables, that's obviously just a complete waste. If someone seriously believes a $1,000+ cable makes their music that much better and believes it was worth the purchase, I'd question their sanity.[/QUOTE] Schiit makes really good products. I've seen $200+ DACs that aren't as good as theirs.

[QUOTE=Secone;47190806]I will say there's a 'sane' level of audiophilia and then there's the insane levels, this being the latter. I have the $100 Modi 2 and ~$100 O2 Amp along with my DT990 Pro's, and I absolutely notice a difference between having my headphones plugged directly into my computer and having them plugged into my amp,[/QUOTE] but have you ABXed them

[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47193375]but have you ABXed them[/QUOTE] I'll be honest, it probably doesn't matter. PC sound chips are notorious for introducing distortion, interference, and all sorts of nastiness into whatever sound you're playing. I know mine has a ground loop hum and EMF interference from my graphics card, which turns anything I listen to into a buzzy, crackly mess. A $3 USB DAC fixes it. My microphone's onboard DAC fixes it better. Playing the same file from my stereo sounds even better. And I've AB'd all of those.

On the debate of Audio Quality. I think its personally reasonable to have 320kbps MP3's. Im more pratical in that I like to listen to my music in my car. The USB port on my the head unit can only read MP3's so I have no real choice. I have a few Lapfox Trax albums in FLAC and IMHO FLAC's are way too big for the kpbs rate they offer (~1000). I can only see FLAC being used in a music archive system. So in practicality MP3 are still superior until FLAC, Vorbis or any other formats can be more accessible with music readers.

[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47193375]but have you ABXed them[/QUOTE] Actually, yes. I stand 100% by the differences between plugged into my computer directly vs. plugged into my DAC + amp, there's a clearly audible buzz and lack of bass when plugged into my computer, overall a sort of muddy sound to it, but when plugged into my DAC and amp the bass packs a much heavier punch, the sound and vocals being much more clear and 'in your face', in a way. Hell, I'm so confident I'd invite you to listen to my setup if it wasn't for the fact you're across the ocean. Onboard soundcards usually can't compare to a DAC of some kind. Again, that being said though, you don't need a fancy expensive one, I still think anyone buying audio equipment at $200+ is getting ripped off personally, until I hear otherwise anyways.

I agree on the "onboard sound is usually terrible" front (especially laptops and front panels) but I'd argue that the cheapest USB sound card you can find is enough. But fair enough, it's not like I can test your setup. Onboard chips these days actually aren't that bad, and audio opamps are pretty much a done deal at this point, they're just usually placed into terribly noisy circuits.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;47177806]Audiophilia is often pretty much just like bro science, so probably.[/QUOTE] audiophiles won't be buying this, "audiophiles" who have a pair of beats by dre and think strong bass is all that makes good sound will. [editline]23rd February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=DrTaxi;47193375]but have you ABXed them[/QUOTE] my dt990s have 600 ohm drivers that don't work right without an amp [editline]23rd February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Elspin;47179392]The electric field the cable makes gets squished if you put it on the floor, when it's free floating the electric field can be free! [sp]I'm not joking, but I wish I was[/sp][/QUOTE] the point is to actually keep the cables out of the magnetic field of any wires or plumbing under the floor. it doesn't make a difference with shielded cables but it helps with some old rigs [editline]23rd February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=woolio1;47180602]I'm actually really surprised they haven't covered the MDR-7506. It's like the industry standard for over-ear monitors.[/QUOTE] mdr-7506 are fine for the price but anyone getting paid to do audio is spending a lot more than $100 on headphones.

[QUOTE=hydrated;47195243]the point is to actually keep the cables out of the magnetic field of any wires or plumbing under the floor. it doesn't make a difference with shielded cables but it helps with some old rigs[/QUOTE] The bit about "not squishing the magnetic field of the cable" is actually a [url=http://www.musicdirect.com/p-971-cable-elevators.aspx]paraphrased quote[/url] from a storage page of one of the store pages, seriously [QUOTE]How Do Cable Elevators Work? Regardless of make or model, all cables create some form of electrical field around them. In free air, the field is a roughly cylindrical shape around the girth of the cable. However, when cables are placed on a boundary, such as a floor, the field becomes compressed, distorting the signal. Cable Elevators restore this field by raising the cable up, allowing the cable to deliver an undistorted signal. Cable Elevators are electrically inert, so they won't cause phase issues and because of their physical mass, Cable Elevators are able to provide a small measure of resonance damping on longer runs.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Elspin;47195684]The bit about "not squishing the magnetic field of the cable" is actually a [url=http://www.musicdirect.com/p-971-cable-elevators.aspx]paraphrased quote[/url] from a storage page of one of the store pages, seriously[/QUOTE] they've got a bunch of marketing nonsense there and are trying to say they do more than they do to make a simple product that isn't needed anymore seem relevant. at that price point it seems like they're trying to cater to millionaires who like classical rather than your typical audiophile

You nerds have no idea [IMG]http://cdn.head-fi.org/d/d4/d45c929a_c.jpeg[/IMG] You don't know true quality until you use the jecklin float

jecklin floats are some of the most uncomfortable headphones I've ever experienced. AKG K1000s are a similar style and miles better

[QUOTE=hydrated;47195972]jecklin floats are some of the most uncomfortable headphones I've ever experienced. AKG K1000s are a similar style and miles better[/QUOTE] I don't know about you but they look pretty comfortable from that pic

[QUOTE=Big Johnson;47196055]I don't know about you but they look pretty comfortable from that pic[/QUOTE] It looks to me like they're fixed width and height so they'd only be comfortable for a very small group of people. Everyone has a differently sized skull, so you need adjustability.

[QUOTE=mac338;47180765]I've noted the difference is most pronounced in jazz, and least in punk from what I've heard. I enjoy listening sessions at his house with music of all genres.[/QUOTE] I'd say it will be even more pronounced in classical orchestral than Jazz.

[QUOTE=wraithcat;47189077][B]Isn't m4a the proprietary apple/sony format that no one else uses[/B] because it's not significantly better, flac won the lossless war and vorbis is popular elsewhere?[/QUOTE] No and no. It's used in plenty of things, actually. From Wikipedia: "AAC is the default or standard audio format for YouTube, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, iTunes, DivX Plus Web Player and PlayStation 3. It is supported on PlayStation Vita, Wii, Sony Walkman MP3 series and later, Sony Ericsson; Nokia, Android, BlackBerry, and webOS-based mobile phones, with the use of a converter." I have a huge library of music in AAC format. I don't know how it stacks up against OGG, but it sure as heck beats MP3 pretty easily. Also it's supported by every music player I've ever tried. [editline]23rd February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=hydrated;47195243]audiophiles won't be buying this, "audiophiles" who have a pair of beats by dre and think strong bass is all that makes good sound will.[/QUOTE] I've met a bunch of audiophiles and they've all been pretty opposite of that :v: I suppose there's three grades of audiophilia: - The hipster stage where you buy beats and monster cables - The enthusiast stage where you buy proper monitor headsets, good quality speakers and amplifiers - The whacko stage where you just pour money into stuff that claims to give better sound but you don't have the attention span to research it

[QUOTE=Big Johnson;47195923]You nerds have no idea [IMG]http://cdn.head-fi.org/d/d4/d45c929a_c.jpeg[/IMG] You don't know true quality until you use the jecklin float[/QUOTE] Looks like those old timey braces, or a real life Mag Gauss helmet. Such are the compromises one must face in pursuit of audio nirvana, I guess? :V

[QUOTE=DrTaxi;47195126]I agree on the "onboard sound is usually terrible" front (especially laptops and front panels) but I'd argue that the cheapest USB sound card you can find is enough. But fair enough, it's not like I can test your setup. Onboard chips these days actually aren't that bad, and audio opamps are pretty much a done deal at this point, they're just usually placed into terribly noisy circuits.[/QUOTE] I disagree. My cheap sound cards are absolutely terrible. They're not grounded properly, so they suffer from ground loop hum. Audio engineering is not as cut and dry as you'd like to make it out to be. [editline]23rd February 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=hydrated;47195243] mdr-7506 are fine for the price but anyone getting paid to do audio is spending a lot more than $100 on headphones.[/QUOTE] Their top sales bracket is professionals and recording studios. Apparently, these are pretty common at some of the larger record companies, and they're almost ubiquitous for independent record companies like Third Man Records. Obviously they use more than just the MDRs, but that's not to say they don't use them at all.

[QUOTE=Big Johnson;47195923]You nerds have no idea [IMG]http://cdn.head-fi.org/d/d4/d45c929a_c.jpeg[/IMG] You don't know true quality until you use the jecklin float[/QUOTE] At first I thought that you just found a comedy image of a nutter with some swimming floats on his head. Theres no point paying for HQ sound. in 5 years, it will be standard on any smart phone.

[QUOTE=robodick;47196848]Theres no point paying for HQ sound. in 5 years, it will be standard on any smart phone.[/QUOTE] That's not going to happen, you can't fit a high quality audio amp inside a phone for various reasons, the most important being noise and power consumption.

[QUOTE=wraithcat;47196102]I'd say it will be even more pronounced in classical orchestral than Jazz.[/QUOTE] Nah. Not for classical pieces anyway - but many orchestral pieces sound better. The real difference comes when percussion comes into the picture. Though the difference is also clear with brass instruments and the saxophone. I've spent a lot of time with that stereo now, and I love orchestral, including but far from limited to classical.

[QUOTE=Chryseus;47197081]That's not going to happen, you can't fit a high quality audio amp inside a phone for various reasons, the most important being noise and power consumption.[/QUOTE] an amp? maybe not. a practically perfect DAC though? they already exist in a lot of phones.

[QUOTE=robodick;47196848] Theres no point paying for HQ sound. in 5 years, it will be standard on any smart phone.[/QUOTE] It's like saying there's no point in investing in a good camera cause in 5 years any smart phone will have that. 5 years is a long time, I want my HQ sound now.

sound from a modern iPhone or iPod etc. will be pretty much perfect unless there are glaring grounding and line noise issues (not counting headphones that need to be amped of course). i don't know why you would assume 'high quality' sound would be standard for smart phones in 5 years when it has been for quite a while