[JRace]

  I've heard that it is possible to get an iPod to play flac files, but apparently you have to void the iPod warranty and replace the iPod's operating system.  I'm not sure I would go that far, but you might want to.  I think the software is called Rockbox.

I have been running rockbox on my 30gig 5g ipod since the day I got it 3yrs ago (or so).
Never had a problem, and best part is NO voiding of warranty. It bypasses the internal firmware and is 100% completely un-doable. Yo can even boot the apple os at any time.

[stereocilia]

Cool!  I stand corrected re: Rockbox.  Thanks.

[satfrat]

 MP3 is lossy compression . Musical bits are discarded . You are actually listening to a poorer sounding replica of the original CD . You will hear things like missing bass response and shrill highs . Just not listenable to for hours on end . So basically you can't enjoy it which is what music is all about . What I say is MP3 ..... not on my system .

 
cityjim

That's simply your opinion Jim, it doesn't make it fact. I use WMA VBR and yes it's not bit perfect and yes I'm not listening to a picture perfect recording but my sound is anything but "unlistenable for hours on end" as you put it. My highs are as crystaline as can be, bass is taunt & textured, my sound stage is 3 dimensionally layered while being dynamic and I am totally taken back for hours on end of pure enjoyment. Sure it could be made better,,, anything can be made better but from what I've been enjoying for the last few years, your blanket statement is totally wrong IMHO. The price I've made for my downloads has allowed me 8300 albums on one 750G hard drive with about 65G of hard drive left to fill. I backup on an exterior 750G harddrive. Being unemployed, this has worked for me with my limited savings income. If my situation was different I'd be doing things differently for sure but to be perfectly honest here, I don't feel like I'm missing out on a whole hell of a lot with what I currently have, ymmv.

Oh yeah, I never have and never will use torrent downloads or any type of shareware. All my downloads are of quality WMA VBR.
Cheers,
Robin

[mjosef]

pssst...Robin, you may not want to fill that hard drive up to the brim, its advisable to leave about 15% free space, its like leaving walking space for the OS to address the files stored therin.  aa

[satfrat]

pssst...Robin, you may not want to fill that hard drive up to the brim, its advisable to leave about 15% free space, its like leaving walking space for the OS to address the files stored therin.  aa

Thanks for that advise Martin. Didn't know that. So that's what, 10G of breathing room? Once that HD is filled and if I can't find a job, I'm going belly up and laying low.

Cheers,
Robin

[lonewolfny42]

pssst...Robin, you may not want to fill that hard drive up to the brim, its advisable to leave about 15% free space, its like leaving walking space for the OS to address the files stored therin.  aa

Thanks for that advise Martin. Didn't know that. So that's what, 10G of breathing room? Once that HD is filled and if I can't find a job, I'm going belly up and laying low.

Cheers,
Robin

Maybe....just delete some of the music you don't enjoy as much now.....

[mjosef]

 


I saw a Seagate 500G for 65$ a couple weeks ago, you can afford that, no?
DO like me, cut back to 2 meals a day, can save a lotta $$... 

Looks like you are already under 10% free space, try defragmenting the drive, I am assuming you are using Vindows, it will tell you if you need to free up space for it to defrag.

[satfrat]

pssst...Robin, you may not want to fill that hard drive up to the brim, its advisable to leave about 15% free space, its like leaving walking space for the OS to address the files stored therin.  aa

Thanks for that advise Martin. Didn't know that. So that's what, 10G of breathing room? Once that HD is filled and if I can't find a job, I'm going belly up and laying low.

Cheers,
Robin

Maybe....just delete some of the music you don't enjoy as much now.....

It's a thought that I might entertain down the road,,,,, a 1 for 1 thingie if push comes to shove.

[andyr]

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codecs) is the format (the "language", like mp3, wma jpeg, etc...).

I have a little aluminum box that connects to my PC via a USB cable. It's about the size of a cigar box. This little box contains two 1.5Terrabite Seagate harddrives in it. My collection is duplicated on both drives. RAID1 is called "mirroring", or "redundancy".

Bob

Hi Bob,

Your "cigar box" thingo is exactly wot I'm looking for!    (I presume it has the RAID 1 internally?)  Can you give the name, so I can go about finding a source for it here in Oz?

Secondly ... OK, I've ripped my LP to disk using a 24bit/96Khz USB ADC/DAC ... where do I get the FLAC software to compress it?

Thanks,

Andy

[ted_b]

 where do I get the FLAC software to compress it?

http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey Andy,
Although there are several different search criteria you could try, I did a search on Ebay (of Australia) for the keywords "RAID USB" and found > THIS <.
It's a different brand than the two I've got, but the specs are near identical. You can install two 1.5TB drives in this unit. The RAID software is "internal", although, so was mine but I still had to install from a CD. It's about as easy and true plug and play as you can get. Looks like they'll also sell you units that contain the standard 3.5" SATA hard drives as well to make things even easier for you. The case is aluminum which will help dissipate the heat.

Hope that helps.
Bob

[andyr]

Thanks, Bob. 

Regards,

Andy

[Bob in St. Louis]

You're welcome Andy

Oh, and don't forget about EAC.  aa
Great stuff (and again, it's free)

Bob