Online radio/subscription svcs/home devices

[HoyaSaxa03]

i really don't mean to come off as condescending here, but it looks like you need some basic info on digital music... if you're thinking about making a huge switch like this and you're not really sure about the basics, i would recommend picking up a general book (i'm sure there's a "for dummies" thing out there that would work well)
 
 that said, here's a first hack:
 
 just think of basic A/V principles like "garbage in, garbage out" and that your audio quality won't get any higher than the weakest link in your rig
 
 start with the music itself:
 
 think of your CDs and vinyl as containing 100% of the audio the artist intended to record and release ... the only way to replicate this with a digital/computer file is to make a "lossless" copy of the original recording ... most digital files (MP3s) compress and remove data from the original recordings, this can result in sound that is tinny, or slices off the highs and lows ... generally, as the digital file gets bigger in size it includes more of and sounds more like the original recording
 
 so no matter how you connect these files to your home stereo, the best they can sound is already limited by the way they were transferred from the original recording
 
 take that same principle and just apply it down the line to your computer hardware --> connections/cables --> stereo receiver --> speakers

[OscarTheWilde]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I knew I could count on the forum.
 
 Speaking of which, I remember back ten or so years ago when you, Kosmo, said something on this very board like "they will have to pry my cold dead fingers off my keyboard to get me to stop posting to the 9:30 forum," so I couldn't think of a better person to have moderate it!
 
 I also remember you were a big fan of Catatonia, especially the National Velvet album.  Your ravings convinced me to get it, and it turned out to be one of my faves from the era.
 
 Hey Marty/Thirsty/Econo---Are you here or where are you?  Last time I saw you was at Natty's hipster outlet in Clarendon, 'member?  So what did you end up doing after graduating?  Are you still in Silver Spring? Still groovin' to Blonde Redhead and Sonic Youth?
 
 Now back to the original message.  All those embedded quotes take some getting used to.  We didn't even have them back in the day.  We had to copy and paste.  Putting the quoted text in italics might make the message that contains them easier to read.  Remember, Koz, we were always making suggestions to the forum webmaster?
 
 Vansmack, I've had good results selling my unwanted CDs to Amazon and Half.  If and when I do a subscription service, I'll be inundating them with more CDs.  They sell pretty fast and you'll get about $5 to $9 for them if undamaged and still retail available.  Out of print CDs of course command more.  Sure beats taking them to a used CD store and getting $1 or $2 for them.
 
 Hoya, I don't mind what you term "condescension" at all.  I readily admit most of the world knows a heck of a lot more than I do when it comes to computers and gadgets.  
 
 I wanted to know if the sound from online music services when using Sonos or Squeezebox on a home system is equivalent to a CD, and it seems the answer is a resounding "No."  So thanks, all, for answering my query.  Now I just need to find out how deficient the sound is, and whether it's worth bagging my interminable quest for perfect sound reproduction in favor of convenience.
 
 All that research on receivers, amplifiers, speakers, phono cartridges and styli, and buying remastered/upgraded CDs, Mobile Fidelity CDs, virgin vinyl, all that may have to go by the wayside.  Maybe it'll be a relief.  And then perhaps I'll get Amazon's Kindle for my books.

[kosmo vinyl]

speaking of online radio and gadgets has anyone tried out Slacker radio?  I keep bumping into stories on their portable player...
 
 Or Chumby?
 
 Of all the online streaming sites that allow users to upload and "share" their music, anywhere.fm is the only one I consider using at the moment.  It's legal in that it claims to being paying the proper license fees.  
 
 A small part of my collection, plus recent DJ sets at the club are here http://anywhere.fm/kosmo
 
 I think Muxtape is a grand idea but needs to get legal before I would consider using it.  
 
 Most of the others website which allow users to create playlists, leech off MP3s hosted by other sites and no have no evidence of paying artists when their stuff is used.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
 I wanted to know if the sound from online music services when using Sonos or Squeezebox on a home system is equivalent to a CD, and it seems the answer is a resounding "No."  

well, it depends on the "online music service" you're using ... if you're actually buying or renting music online i think it's next to impossible to buy/rent a lossless file ... but if you convert your CDs to a lossless file (like FLAC), and then play them on your squeezebox, you'll have the "equivalent sound" to a CD
 
 and you should actually listen to digital files compressed at different levels, you may be surprised to find that file with moderate compression (like a 320kps MP3) actually sounds really good

[OscarTheWilde]

Hoya, the thought of taking all my CDs and converting them in any way fills me with dread.  It would take way too much time and effort.  That's why I just want to get rid of them and listen to them on Rhapsody.  (The other reason is I'm tired of schlepping tons of boxes of them every time I move.)

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  Hoya, the thought of taking all my CDs and converting them in any way fills me with dread.  

there are services that will do this conversion for you, for about $1/CD.  you mail them the CDs in pre-paid envelopes/boxes, they send them back to you along with data DVDs containing the MP3s, you choose the bitrate (some even do lossless formats).

[Chip Chanko]

Kosmo...I've had a chumby since last year and enjoy it. I don't use the radio feature much, though, because if I listen to internet radio I usually use itunes since I have 3 Airport Expresses around the apt streaming from itunes (one on a tivoli radio, one on an old boombox, and one in the main stereo). I wrote a little flash program for the chumby that displays the current song that's playing in itunes.
 
 OscarTheWilde...if you go with one of these streaming services and have a wifi network, you can use AirFoil to stream any sound from your computer to an airport express, which will just plug into your stereo via RCA plugs. I use this to stream MLB games since I don't get very good AM reception in my apartment.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Chip Chanko:
  I've had a chumby since last year and enjoy it.  

You should really see a doctor for that.  I hear anything lasting over 4 hours is hella dangerous.

[Chip Chanko]

No, this way I'm ready whenever she is. Then we both sit in bathtubs and watch the sunset.
 
 

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by Chip Chanko:
  I've had a chumby since last year and enjoy it.  

You should really see a doctor for that.  I hear anything lasting over 4 hours is hella dangerous. [/b]

[thirsty moore]

Checking in.  Good to see you around.
 
 

Originally posted by OscarTheWilde:
  Longshot that any of you are still around from the late 90s when I used to post on this board incessantly, but are you?  Nathan?  Maddy? Marty?