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Cheap Russian MP3s Raise a Ruckus
- Thread starter BTTB
- Start date
Pity Musica is too expensive (10c to STREAM a track?! Why?!) and iTunes not available. I would love a service with relatively cheap music, the allowance to be able to write CDs and such with what I download and too be able to purchase anything I want anytime I want (I rarely have time to visit CD-shops these days - would appreciate any site where I can download the music at 2 AM Sunday morning)
AllofMP3 is just TOO convenient - I prefer OGGs because of the better quality vs. file size and the fact that they are NOT protected. And their collection is just HUGE!
AllofMP3 is just TOO convenient - I prefer OGGs because of the better quality vs. file size and the fact that they are NOT protected. And their collection is just HUGE!
Seems like people will pay for mp3's if the price is right - the record companies just seem hellbent in forcing people to piracy with their overzealous pricing.
As for DRM - if its not in my face I really couldnt care less.
As for DRM - if its not in my face I really couldnt care less.
Listening Tests
Listening Tests
Useful review of MP3 bit rates.
I was wondering what the members experience's are when converting their Original CD's into MP3's for back-up purposes and ease of use?
I have always selected CD Quality in Easy CD DA Extractor.
I checked my files and they are all saved at 192Kb bits.
I was under the impression that when I selected CD Quality it would convert the CD into identical quality to that of the CD?
Seems I am wrong?
The review seems to conclude otherwise? But 192Kb not being far off from the Original,
256kb and above would be indiscernible from the original and the review states that with 192kb, "the sound is not felt as the original recording. It is however totally impossible to tell in what".
From the review page they conclude...
"Conclusion : For a computer use, the 128kbs rate produces a quality equal to an audio CD. But in the case of an MP3 use in advanced Hi-Fi, it is necessary to use a 256kbs bitrate to reach an identical result to the CD sound".
Interesting.
Listening Tests
Useful review of MP3 bit rates.
I was wondering what the members experience's are when converting their Original CD's into MP3's for back-up purposes and ease of use?
I have always selected CD Quality in Easy CD DA Extractor.
I checked my files and they are all saved at 192Kb bits.
I was under the impression that when I selected CD Quality it would convert the CD into identical quality to that of the CD?
Seems I am wrong?
The review seems to conclude otherwise? But 192Kb not being far off from the Original,
256kb and above would be indiscernible from the original and the review states that with 192kb, "the sound is not felt as the original recording. It is however totally impossible to tell in what".
From the review page they conclude...
"Conclusion : For a computer use, the 128kbs rate produces a quality equal to an audio CD. But in the case of an MP3 use in advanced Hi-Fi, it is necessary to use a 256kbs bitrate to reach an identical result to the CD sound".
Interesting.
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BTTB said:
Hey, funky stuff. Now I would like to know how Windows Media compare to that - since Musica gives you the max of 128 Kbps... (which is a shame).
Must admit, the Musica services isn't that bad - managed to find CDs on there which I haven't been able to find ANYWHERE else (only able to import it directly from the artist's site). And it asks me R129 bucks versus 19 euros excluding shipping... They do allow you to redownload stuff should you loose your PC or something.
Gunny
Expert Member
R129 is still a bit much for a downloading a cd. You use to buy tapes (remember those) for R40 or less and when cd's launched they where more expensive due to being expensive to manufacture at the time and the prices have not come down. With digital media it should be even cheaper. Think about it : no physical stock to keep no manufactured disc as such. All it costs them is their server, bandwith and the licensing per track.
JungleFacedJake
Well-Known Member
BTTB said:
I am no expert, but I am sure this is all wrong. Pure CD sound would be 44100 samples x 16 bits per second x 2 channels = 1.41 Mbps. 128kb sound is just terrible IMHO - 192 is a bare minumum. Hydrogen Audio seems to be the place to get info. They have a complicated double blind testing method to use to determine whether the copy is as good as the original, and it seems that 320kb constant bit rate or 256 variable bit rate files are indistinguishable from the original. Their Lame recommendations are at:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28124
I recommend Exact Audio Copy to extract your CDs to exact-copy WAV files. It can interface to Lame to produce MP3s. If you want a perfect backup use EAC ( as long as it can read your scratched CDs
) and then burn the WAVs to CD using e.g. Nero, with verification. CD players are built to tolerate data errors, but EAC does its best to get around such shenanigans and get the correct data!I personally use EAC and Lame with a high quality VBR setting.
Gunny
Expert Member
Unless you an audiofile 128kb is perfectly good. All my music is stored at 192 and converted to 128 when put on my Sony mp3 player, 320kb files are big and honestly I cant tell the diff between 192 and 320.
sparklehorse
Senior Member
Even if allofmp3 is not "legal" according to those who have the most to loose, most online stores can learn from them and the level of choice they give their customers. Seems that a lot of companies are forgetting that the customer is always right
As for those listening tests, they are ancient and really out of date. Like JungleFacedJake posted, check out hydrogenaudio.org and when making MP3's use LAME with the --preset standard option and you won't hear any difference between your mp3's and the original CD. CBR is a waste.
As for those listening tests, they are ancient and really out of date. Like JungleFacedJake posted, check out hydrogenaudio.org and when making MP3's use LAME with the --preset standard option and you won't hear any difference between your mp3's and the original CD. CBR is a waste.
Allofmp3 interface is user friendly, easy to use and understand, even if it is "illegal" in this country.sparklehorse said:Even if allofmp3 is not "legal" according to those who have the most to loose, most online stores can learn from them and the level of choice they give their customers. Seems that a lot of companies are forgetting that the customer is always right
As for those listening tests, they are ancient and really out of date. Like JungleFacedJake posted, check out hydrogenaudio.org and when making MP3's use LAME with the --preset standard option and you won't hear any difference between your mp3's and the original CD. CBR is a waste.
Something for our local people to consider as you suggested?
Who needs to even venture into a CD Shop with the sheer quantity of choice on that site and the ease of use?
We would have problems with bandwidth expenses thanks to Telkom.
Other than that I browsed that site and was impressed at the layout.
Site is a bit slow.
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BTTB said:
yes, thats exactly the same way I feel. I am sure that if the companies aren't as restrictive as they use to be (with the fixed formats, limited selection and DRM) and fairly priced (cheaper than CDs, considering that you don't get a nice case and physical disc and they don't have to store/import etc. the stuff) a lot more people would buy music legally online. I would!
AllOfMp3 comes and goes regarding speed, but they (or Telkom) recently started getting worse (time-outs etc).
Since those international music big-shots declared it illegal in any country, as the artists don't receive any royalties... (or so they claim)
Okay, true, basically it may still be 'legal' in SA, since nobody has said anything regarding it and it operates in a gray area of the law (Russian that is - not sure about SA). But I think we can agree that the artists don't really get what they deserve, and as I don't listen to mainstream crap (where the rich artists are) I wouldn't mind supporting them by actually buying and downloading legal music.
But hey, thats just my 2 sents. I have used AOMp3, so what can I say?
Okay, true, basically it may still be 'legal' in SA, since nobody has said anything regarding it and it operates in a gray area of the law (Russian that is - not sure about SA). But I think we can agree that the artists don't really get what they deserve, and as I don't listen to mainstream crap (where the rich artists are) I wouldn't mind supporting them by actually buying and downloading legal music.
But hey, thats just my 2 sents. I have used AOMp3, so what can I say?
sparklehorse
Senior Member
There's nothing stopping you or anyone else from sending some donations to the artists directly. Ok, maybe it's not that easy because you wouldn't know where to send it, but if you really feel guilty you will find a wayebendl said:
Maybe they can set up a paypal account on their website for this purpose
sparklehorse said:There's nothing stopping you or anyone else from sending some donations to the artists directly. Ok, maybe it's not that easy because you wouldn't know where to send it, but if you really feel guilty you will find a way
Maybe they can set up a paypal account on their website for this purpose
LOL, cool idea. The "Yes, I pirated your music and now I want to make up for it but I still don't wanna buy a CD"-account.