mp3 wins format showdown on gadget show

admin_exported

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just watched the gadget show and the two presenters
had a blind test between mp3 player at 320kbs and cd and turntable using denon gear
and a pair big floorstand speakers
they listened to pink floyds money on each format and they thought the mp3 player was best
sounding then cd and last the turntable
i hope all you audiophiles seen this and are just a we bit troubled that a £150 mp player won the format showdowm
welcome to the download revoloution.time to buy ipod,,
 

Simon Lucas

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Or maybe - just maybe - it's time to stop watching the Gadget Show and do something a bit more constructive instead.

Watching wood warp, perhaps.
 

Andrew Everard

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dvdaudio:i hope all you audiophiles seen this and are just a we bit troubled that a £150 mp player won the format showdowm
welcome to the download revoloution.time to buy ipod,,

I have to say that -- oh, I really can't be bothered...
 

idc

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Simon Lucas:

Or maybe - just maybe - it's time to stop watching the Gadget Show and do something a bit more constructive instead.

Watching wood warp, perhaps.

Really, pretty valid test to me, though quite why they conducted it in a concert hall is beyond me. It is not the be all and end all, but face it, the ipod won and not even at lossless bit rates.
 
A

Anonymous

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I saw this too. Interested in exactly what turntable that was however I think this shows the iPod is no where near as bad as people say. Load it with good quality music and it can sound quite good.
 

Simon Lucas

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I've nothing against the iPod - I use mine all the time, I wouldn't be without it and lossless files sound perfectly acceptable.

My problem is more with The Gadget Show. Editorial rigour isn't really its strong point and its tests are as contrived and one-eyed as those on Top Gear.

And no, I've no desire to be on television.
 

Andrew Everard

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idc:Really, pretty valid test to me, though quite why they conducted it in a concert hall is beyond me.

That's like saying "I was amazed that they found a Fiat Panda was as fast as a Ferrari, though quite why they conducted the test going down a ski-slope in neutral is beyond me."
 

JoelSim

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dvdaudio:just watched the gadget show and the two presenters
had a blind test between mp3 player at 320kbs and cd and turntable using denon gear
and a pair big floorstand speakers
they listened to pink floyds money on each format and they thought the mp3 player was best
sounding then cd and last the turntable
i hope all you audiophiles seen this and are just a we bit troubled that a £150 mp player won the format showdowm
welcome to the download revoloution.time to buy ipod,,

Having plugged my iPod into my hifi, and put Fleetwood Mac on CD and on the iPod at the same time whilst swapping between inputs I can assure you that the ipod came a very very distant second.

ÿ
 

matengawhat

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didn't they say the ipod sounded the most raw or exciting or something (distorted!) - maybe they are more used to mp3 music so that sounded the closest to what they were used to instead of what sounded the best - they did say the vinyl was flat maybe they meant clear!

wonder how far into the track they got as the vocals take a while to kick in and personally think thats what gives mp3 away in a major way
 

chebby

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I rip CDs in lossless - download iTunes+ music at 256kbps - listen to internet radio at varying rates up to 192kbps AAC - listen to LPs on my Rega - FM stereo radio - Freeview radio.

I cannot be bothered to compare. No point. I enjoy them all. I listen to music I want to listen to and if the most convenient media at that moment happens to be internet radio or a download or black vinyl then so be it.

My wife will tell you that the Archers omnibus edition sounds great through the hifi on radio 4 with FM stereo on a decent tuner with a good roof aerial. Better than via BBC iPlayer. Unless she gets up late or goes out and misses it! Then the iPlayer version sounds rather good!

I found watching a 1960s performance by Jacqueline du Pr‚ (Elgar Cello Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim) on youtube far more satisfying on some levels than listening to the same performance with a higher level of hifi 'purity' on CD.

All the "this format vs that format" is nonsense I think. We now have so much choice and flexibility available to us I think it is idiocy not to jump in and enjoy it all.
 

up the music

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Based on this rigourou scientific test should I convert all my FLAC and WAV as MP3 then. Whilst I'm at it does anybody want to swap their IPod for my LP12? I've got a Cambridge 640 CDP to swap for a cheap dock too.

Any takers?

Please don't respond. We're not allowed to trade over the forum. Besides I'm joking.
 

JoelSim

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chebby:
I rip CDs in lossless - download iTunes+ music at 256kbps - listen to internet radio at varying rates up to 192kbps AAC - listen to LPs on my Rega - FM stereo radio - Freeview radio.

I cannot be bothered to compare. No point. I enjoy them all. I listen to music I want to listen to and if the most convenient media at that moment happens to be internet radio or a download or black vinyl then so be it.

I found watching a 1960s performance by Jacqueline du Pr‚ (Elgar Cello Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim) on youtube far more satisfying on some levels than listening to theÿ same performance with a higher level of hifi 'purity' on CD.

All the "this format vs that format is nonsense" I think. We now have so much choice and flexibility available to us I think it is idiocy not to jump in and enjoy it all.

I agree, it's all about what you are looking for in sound. I spent Saturday listening to the hifi with my nipper whilst doing other things, then got into the car and put a CD on and it sounded dire compared to the CDs I'd been listening to. I guess it's just what rocks your boat.

Does anyone know what kit they were using to test?

ÿ

ÿ
 
A

Anonymous

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I particularly like it when a gadget wins because one of them runs quicker whilst wearing it

give me a stylophone, and a newborn baby a B & W system, and let us have a race, whoever wins has the best sounding room filling music player
 

Andy Clough

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matengawhat:i agree awful program - awful presenters - maybe all the loud music they played on the dock earlier in the show destroyed their hearing before the test!

Yup, reckon that did it. That was the point at which I switched off (literally).
 

Andrew Everard

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parkinjw:give me a stylophone, and a newborn baby a B & W system, and let us have a race

Even better...

running%20in%20speakers.jpg
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Well I'm waiting for my Russ Andrews GQ-24 iPod cable to pop through the letterbox any day so I can judge for myself rather than listening to some Joe 90 reject.
 
A

Anonymous

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This makes interesting reading about MP3s:
Clicky

Not sure about the naff Denon TT they were using...
 

floyd droid

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JoelSim:chebby:
I rip CDs in lossless - download iTunes+ music at 256kbps - listen to internet radio at varying rates up to 192kbps AAC - listen to LPs on my Rega - FM stereo radio - Freeview radio.

I cannot be bothered to compare. No point. I enjoy them all. I listen to music I want to listen to and if the most convenient media at that moment happens to be internet radio or a download or black vinyl then so be it.

I found watching a 1960s performance by Jacqueline du Pr‚ (Elgar Cello Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim) on youtube far more satisfying on some levels than listening to the same performance with a higher level of hifi 'purity' on CD.

All the "this format vs that format is nonsense" I think. We now have so much choice and flexibility available to us I think it is idiocy not to jump in and enjoy it all.

I agree, it's all about what you are looking for in sound. I spent Saturday listening to the hifi with my nipper whilst doing other things, then got into the car and put a CD on and it sounded dire compared to the CDs I'd been listening to. I guess it's just what rocks your boat.

Does anyone know what kit they were using to test?

Denon and morduant short but unable to identify the TT . One good reason to watch the gadget show,infact the only one,Suzi Perry !!!.
 
A

Anonymous

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floyd droid:JoelSim:chebby:
I rip CDs in lossless - download iTunes+ music at 256kbps - listen to internet radio at varying rates up to 192kbps AAC - listen to LPs on my Rega - FM stereo radio - Freeview radio.

I cannot be bothered to compare. No point. I enjoy them all. I listen to music I want to listen to and if the most convenient media at that moment happens to be internet radio or a download or black vinyl then so be it.

I found watching a 1960s performance by Jacqueline du Pr‚ (Elgar Cello Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim) on youtube far more satisfying on some levels than listening to the same performance with a higher level of hifi 'purity' on CD.

All the "this format vs that format is nonsense" I think. We now have so much choice and flexibility available to us I think it is idiocy not to jump in and enjoy it all.

I agree, it's all about what you are looking for in sound. I spent Saturday listening to the hifi with my nipper whilst doing other things, then got into the car and put a CD on and it sounded dire compared to the CDs I'd been listening to. I guess it's just what rocks your boat.

Does anyone know what kit they were using to test?

Denon and morduant short but unable to identify the TT . One good reason to watch the gadget show,infact the only one,Suzi Perry !!!.

...there was hifi?..
emotion-2.gif
 

idc

Well-known member
Andrew Everard:

idc:Really, pretty valid test to me, though quite why they conducted it in a concert hall is beyond me.

That's like saying "I was amazed that they found a Fiat Panda was as fast as a Ferrari, though quite why they conducted the test going down a ski-slope in neutral is beyond me."

I was reacting to the negative comments made by you, Simon Lucas and also now Andy Clough. Yes you know your stuff more than the presenters on the Gadget Show, so why have the What Hifi posts been so negative? I would have hoped for something more along the lines of 'well, when we tested that Denon system we found that it suited such and such a type of music and the dock is particularly good. Whereas, the speakers used would not suit the record player's characteristics etc etc'. In other words an informed response. Instead ridicule. Disappointing. Andrew your car anaolgy does not work for me. Are you saying that the ipod won the test because of the location, something to do with the accoustics of the hall maybe? Now that would make more sense, but instead more ridicule.

With more and more people using mp3 players you risk alienating them. Would you have reacted in the same way if the winner was the turntable? Before you glibly respond 'yes', does that mean someone like me, who does not have your experience and expertise also does not have a valid opinion and is likely to be ridiculed?

I realise that just because on that day, with that set up because the two presenters preferred the ipod does not mean that ipods rule. But I also realise that your need to ridicule is frankly pathetic and surprising and comes over as professional snobbery.
 

idc

Well-known member
JoelSim:

Having plugged my iPod into my hifi, and put Fleetwood Mac on CD and on the iPod at the same time whilst swapping between inputs I can assure you that the ipod came a very very distant second.

Whereas when I plugged my nano into the back of my Mira for the first time with a cheap cable form Curries and played New Order Republic, I heard little difference. But more importantly I enjoyed the sound and thought 'there is a future there'.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Octopo:Andrew Everard:

running%20in%20speakers.jpg


Wow, I want!

Just imagine what one'd need to "drive" them?
emotion-5.gif


I did try to watch the whole feature but missed the end, how typical.
 

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