AIFF = Wav, - pulse code modulated w/o metadataOriginally Posted by alancohen
ALAC = Apple lossless, *.m4a
I don't mind Apple proprietariness. Ever since I left the PC / Windows world my computer life is much better off.
Supposedly AIFF is the Mac equivalent of WAV files. Can metadata be stored in AIFF? If not, it's not a big issue for me.
I'm using John Kenny's Cuinas DAC. It can do some pretty sweet things with the right files.
AIFF = Wav, - pulse code modulated w/o metadata
ALAC = Apple lossless, *.m4a
Alan are you using a 32 bit or 64 bit OS ? If you want to try .Flacs and i recommend you try them.Try this.You need to download a small utility to play flacs in itunes.
Fluke (Mac) - Download
To run iTunes in 32bit mode, right click iTunes.app -> Get Info. There you find the option "Open in 32-bit mode". Now, Fluke For Mac can perform its magic: FLAC playback in iTunes.
I think there will be a high probability that you will like the sound of the Flacs better IMHO.AIFF's will have a little smaller file size as they are a little more compressed.As always though whatever works for you is the way to go.
A properly setup ALTEC speaker system will make you hate most of your recordings - most of them are THAT BAD!
As I used to tell potential customers - "The Altec speakers paint the aural picture - warts and all - so, if you don't want people hearing how you REALLY sound, use something that will mask what your doing......like JBL's, Peavey's, or Renkus-Heinz." :-)
Todd W. White, Owner & Webmaster
Altec Lansing's (unofficial) Homepage
Should we start a new thread of the best recordings that deserves Altecs ?
That will be a short one!
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
Most any Steely Dan AlbumShould we start a new thread of the best recordings that deserves Altecs ?
I can't listen to my Yes albums any more.
Duane Allman sounds incredibly like Duane Allman regardless of the system.
Last edited by alancohen; May 24th, 2013 at 05:59 AM.
I agree with much of what's been discussed in this thread. A good pair of Altecs are very revealing of strengths and weaknesses of both your system and source recordings. Shortly after I bought my Model 19's (and 14's) I had to replace my amps and phono cartridges--and on the 19's and 14's that I own you could really hear the improvement. Back in my high school and college days (with Model 9's and Valencias), I upgraded to Dynaco power and pre amps (PAS-3X and Stereo 70) and also Phase Linear pre and power amps (I owned two systems) because my old amps sounded terrible with the Altecs. I also returned countless LP's (largely the more dynamic recordings that I owned with extended "quiet" sections") to my local record stores until I could luck out on a copy with minimal surface noise. I remember that at friends' houses different recordings sounded pretty much the same on their systems (a recording would have to be pretty bad to sound bad, and nothing sounded really good!) whereas at my house you could really hear the difference between one recording and another....
One analogy might be that a good pair of Altecs compared to an "average" pair of speakers is like a really good hi def TV compared to an old school TV. As soon as you get your 50" 1080p Plasma hooked up, VHS is unwatchable and even DVD's don't look nearly as good as Blu Ray whereas on the old school 32" Sony, DVD's looked crystal clear and even VHS (2 hour speed with high quality tapes) looked pretty darn good......
I think Rhino did a great job (re)mastering the Yes catalog in 2003. If you haven't heard these on your Altecs, I recommend checking them out. I think Eddie Offord (produced Yes and several other bands) was a genius.....
Amazon.com: Yes Album: Yes: Music
Amazon.com: Fragile: Yes: Music
Amazon.com: Close to the Edge: Yes: Music
Haven't yet heard what Steve Hoffman did with the 2013 SACD release
Amazon.com: Close to the Edge: Yes: Music
Eddy Offord - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Being of "Sound" Mind
I'm gonna stick with the theory that a 15" LF and a 1 3/4" HF cannot be made to cover the full spectrum efficiently. Now Maybe if you were running the large format drivers with the larger phragm and drove it down to 300-500Hz It might be capable of pulling it off. But I have my reservations about the small format drivers. Sure they'll make sound, but so will a pair of Sparkomatic 6 x 9's. Sorry if I'm coming off as Buzz Killington.....
I replaced my 288-16Ks with 802-8Gs from GPA in my A6s and I haven't looked back. But I was thinking the other day that now that I've had some time for the 802s to burn in to my brain, I might put the 288s back and see what I think.
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