Flac car player

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killadoob

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So i have an mp3 player in car, what can i buy that i can in aux mode for flac files?

Itunes sell flac so i would assume an ipod but i want something on the cheap for this.
 
Huh? How do you get Flac files onto your iPod? It always skips them when I drag them into iTunes.
 
Fudzy said:
Huh? How do you get Flac files onto your iPod? It always skips them when I drag them into iTunes.
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No idea i just figured itunes sell flac so naturally they would bring out a player can play them :D. Guess the assumption really is mother of all Fups.
 
It seems ipod's don't play them, they must be converted into mp3 320 which is pointless because you lose the quality surely?

I amazed that there are no flac players out yet, what the hell is wrong with itunes selling a format you cannot play on a portable device like mp3 players and ipods :(.
 
According to Wiki they don't sell FLAC.

iTunes 10 can currently read, write and convert between MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG-4, AAC (.m4a) and Apple Lossless.[29]

iTunes can also play any audio files that QuickTime can play (as well as some video formats), including Protected AAC files from the iTunes Store and Audible.com audio books. There is limited support for Vorbis and FLAC enclosed in an Ogg container (files using the Ogg container format are not naturally supported) or Speex codecs with the Xiph QuickTime Components. Because tag editing and album art is done within iTunes and not QuickTime, these features will not work with these QuickTime components. As of Snow Leopard, iTunes 9 (Mac) will play HE-AAC / AAC+ internet streams. The latest version of iTunes (Win/Mac) supports importing audio CDs with the default iTunes standard file format of AAC at 256 kbit/s, but users can choose from 16 kbit/s to 320 kbit/s constant bit rates (CBR) in either AAC or MP3.[citation needed]

Importing of audio CDs into MP3 or AAC formats can also be accomplished using variable bitrate (VBR) encoding. However, a double-blind experiment conducted in January 2004 of six MP3 encoders noted that the iTunes encoder came last, in that the quality of the files produced by iTunes was below par. It was stated in the final results that these tests only covered VBR encodings, thus iTunes might have performed better with a constant bitrate (CBR).[30] In a follow-up test performed in October, 2008, iTunes' results were similar to those of the four other MP3 encoders being compared.[31]

The Windows version of iTunes can automatically transcode DRM-free WMA (including version 9) files to other audio formats, but does not support playback of WMA files and will not transcode DRM protected WMA files. Telestream, Inc. provides free codecs for Mac users of QuickTime to enable playback of unprotected Windows Media files. These codecs are recommended by Microsoft.[32]

In addition to importing CDs into your iTunes library, users can also import non Apple mp3 files from Amazon.com and other sources. This can be accomplished by right clicking on the file, selecting open with, and then selecting iTunes. The user can also drag your file into the open iTunes window. The Amazon program will automatically import your mp3 files to their iTunes library.[33]
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Perhaps the iPod processor isn't built to decode FLAC files? I'm not sure. What exactly is the purpose of the file format when unless you're a complete audiophile you won't really hear any difference on standard audio equipment.
 
Fudzy said:
According to Wiki they don't sell FLAC.



Perhaps the iPod processor isn't built to decode FLAC files? I'm not sure. What exactly is the purpose of the file format when unless you're a complete audiophile you won't really hear any difference on standard audio equipment.
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I've found a couple cowon d2 @ 1.7k with pricecheck, have2have.
Zune plays flac but at 3.5k it's a bit ridiculous.

I'll phone around tomorrow and see if the car radio shops know of anything playing flac using a usb stick. Sounds like the cheapest option.

With the ipod you have to have something called rocksbox or something like and a 80 gb nano so pricing won't be cheap.

Well i have some flac albums now and they are much better and i don't have equipment that is amazing. I hear your point but surely there must something that can play it and cost 1.5K. Would a good car sound system with an amp work?
 
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300w amp with two 6'9s. Nothing amazing but it sounds pretty decent :D. Not sure about the front speakers, i think they are the stock speakers my fiesta came with.

Perhaps it won't be enough for flac or something.
 
killadoob said:
300w amp with two 6'9s. Nothing amazing but it sounds pretty decent :D. Not sure about the front speakers, i think they are the stock speakers my fiesta came with.

Perhaps it won't be enough for flac or something.
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That's what I'm thinking. I think you'd need the "Audiophile" option ticked on your Rolls Royce order form to really enjoy that frequency range.
 
Fudzy said:
That's what I'm thinking. I think you'd need the "Audiophile" option ticked on your Rolls Royce order form to really enjoy that frequency range.
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I guess but you would think the market would be there for flac already. It could lead to me buying a far better setup in order to get the quality.

I have tested on my pc, mp3 and flac and the difference is noticeable or i am suffering from the placebo effect but it sounds far clearer to me. My speakers sound louder and the sound just seems incredible :D. I have a xonar the cheap one and a 530 5.1 channel speaker system.

I must perhaps buy the xonar that is 1.6k but i dunno if i am wasting my money chasing something that really is not much better :D.
 
The distortion introduced by the 6x9s will make it pointless to use flac.
MP3 @ 320 will be easier and cheaper! Otherwise a rockboxed 80 gig iPod could work well.

<The 6x9 shape causes distortion, standing waves can also be produced which won't help>

Simply, no point in using what you have with flac. Also the kind of music doesn't help either, you aren't going to worry about correct positioning in a car as well as minor, almost inaudible distortion!

If you can already use mp3s, then save the money and replace those fronts! Try to match the fronts with the back for good results. I will only be able to take round speakers, which means you won't get the same midbass that you get out of the 6x9s but they will be better for mids overall.

EDIT: You need to use the same flac file and make an mp3 @320 from that to compare properly. Using 2 different files will not help, even if it is the same song. The Xonar is good, can't say much tough about general 5.1 sound system no.5 though :P brands do help.
 
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PostmanPot said:
iPod Touch + FLAC Player app. Easy!
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Sweet but the touch is like 2k upwards right? Not sure i want to spend 2k and i cannot actually make use of the file.

Tell me postman i bought a cheap xonar card the dg will that be enough for flac on my pc or do i need the 1.6k card i saw at esquire? Brawler said you the man to talk to about that.
 
killadoob said:
Sweet but the touch is like 2k upwards right? Not sure i want to spend 2k and i cannot actually make use of the file.

Tell me postman i bought a cheap xonar card the dg will that be enough for flac on my pc or do i need the 1.6k card i saw at esquire? Brawler said you the man to talk to about that.
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You should be able to get one for cheaper second-hand, of even an iPhone 3G/3GS. I would agree with other posters though, because of your car speakers (stock) it probably isn't justifiable going with FLAC because 320kbps mp3 would sound about as good.

Although I would recommend a minimum of Xonar D1/DX which has a superior processor, Xonar DG is probably fine for you (and better than onboard) because, again, your speakers are entry level (Divoom IIRC). Doubt you will be able to tell the difference between it and for example Xonar Essence/Xense/HDAV etc., maybe a marginal difference when playing FLAC music.

So you're basically being limited by entry level speakers. If you ever get audiophile-quality speakers/headphones then yes, definitely go for a good sound card.

A good sound card may also have better options for gaming and other media.

Best entry audiophile combo would be Asus Xonar Essence ST/X + Sennheiser HD555 headphones at around R2,500.

Asus Xense bundle with Sennheiser PC-350 is also excellent value for money although suited more for gaming (but music would still be better than anything you've heard most likely).
 
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killadoob said:
With the ipod you have to have something called rocksbox or something like and a 80 gb nano so pricing won't be cheap.
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Rockbox custom firmware can play flac encoded files, yes. www.rockbox.org for all supported players. My pick would be the Sandisk Sansa Clip+, because it's small and has quite good sound quality.

I wonder, like the other guys have mentioned, whether you'd notice the difference between .flac and a MP3 file encoded at 320kbps in a noisy environment like a car.
 
I got the logitech x 530 postman, didn't go with divoom but i hear what you are saying.

I was at esquire and i was about to buy the most xonar but i thought better of it until i had more info and got the cheapie. I don't want headphones because my ears flutter after a long session of music and gaming which i am beginning to think could be a bad sign LOL.

I saw those asus headphones as well, 1.8k ex vat. They looked insane.

http://www.prophecy.co.za/asus-xonar-ultra-fidelity-pciexpress-sound-card-p-27732.html
http://www.prophecy.co.za/asus-xonar-hdav13-sound-card-p-33851.html

Something like those ones and i saw these headphones but as i said i must stay away from headphones or i won't be hearing anything by 50/60 :p

http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Xense/
 
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