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Posted: |
Feb 27, 2017 - 4:13 AM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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Hullo,
You know me. I'm thick. I occasionally post very basic questions which even a caveman might be able to answer, but I am near the beginning of the evolutionary scale so, as cavemen go, I'm one of the dumbest. Here's the question -
My big stereo system broke. I've been hunting (ha!) for a new one, but as a temporary measure I've been trying out cheap systems. And in many cases there's a spectrum of instruments which I can't hear AT ALL. Light percussion does not register, nor does a double bass. So I don't want to buy crap like that.
There are things here called "microcadenas" and "minicadenas". I don't even know what they're called in English, but a browse of websites gives me an indication that anything less than 100 Euros will be rubbish. Systems costing 200 Euros to 300 Euros get "good" reviews, but I don't know if these reviews are for audiophiles or not. Some people don't even care about shelling out 250 Euros and not hearing light percussion effects or Lalo Schifrin's trademark double bass octave jumping.
I did speak to a human of some intelligence in a "music shop", and he said that if I'm as fussy as that, I'll need to build up a system of different modules, and that'll mean me forking out 1000 Euros minimum. I'm willing to do that if I can hear my music as great as I can through my headphones, which give a brill sound.
One more thing - Because we have "neighbours" through the cheap plasterboard walls of the cave, I can't have the music on loud, so it needs to produce a beautifully detailed sound at low volumes, just like my 25-year-old music centre which recently died.
Thank you.
AKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETA!!!!!
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Posted: |
Mar 1, 2017 - 12:48 PM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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I'm still dithering about this, pacing around my cave with furrowed brow, thinking, "Gnaaw-waa-rreebit".
So I was going, "I say, I may as well just spend absolutely millions of dosh on something really top-notch top-o'-the-range, even though I live in a cave strewn with animal bones and soiled loin-cloths". But then another glimmer came and lit up a neuron, albeit briefly, and I thought, "I don't really know if one of those home hi-fi systems or whatever-they're called will actually do me", and so I explored further.
It seems that even with many of the "mid-to-higher" price range systems there could be unforeseen problems. I'm talking roughly between 250 to 500 Euros. Although in some cases the online reviews are excellent, it's only when I read customer reviews that I see that "some" (all?) of them have a built-in way of recognising different CD tracks and automatically putting a second's silence between them, which really would mess up recordings of live concerts (recorded in one take but then artificially separated), not to mention soundtracks where a long piece plays without a break, but is actually more than one track (off the top of my head, POLTERGEIST). It would be incredibly annoying to hear a break in the middle. In fact, that's a deal-breaker.
So basically, all I'm saying is I still don't know what to do, and probably never will. Do ANY of you know what I'm talking about?
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Posted: |
Mar 1, 2017 - 2:36 PM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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... It would be incredibly annoying to hear a break in the middle. In fact, that's a deal-breaker.
So basically, all I'm saying is I still don't know what to do, and probably never will. Do ANY of you know what I'm talking about?
Graham, it sounds like you're referring to gap-less playback (or, rather, the opposite).
I can't recall ever hearing of / reading about a CD transport doing this but, yes, it is an issue with ripped music ... whether you burn a CDr or, more likely, stream the digital signal. Happily, for me, I've not suffered this in my setup ... maybe more due to luck than judgement ...
... and, I'd like to think, as streaming has been with us for a few years now this is an old, redundant matter. But, if you are considering streaming then do look out for the Gap-less playback certification.
Mitch
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Thanks Mitch - I'm still looking into this. One reviewer at Amazon said that his great-sounding Panasonic purchase (nearly 300 quid - which, as you implied before, could be either a deal or a complete waste of 300 pounds), when playing "CDs" (those are his words), automatically inserts a gap between each track, which really messed up the live recording of a Queen concert, where originally you'd have heard the audience noise before the next song started up.
I can understand (barely, but...) how that might happen with "streaming" (?), "files" (?) and whatnot. But I can't get my head round how it would happen by just popping in a CD in the tray. Or are all "modern" machines pre-programmed to read CDs like compo-files?
In some ways it seems the cheaper I go, the less likelihood of those possible problems arising. I picked up a second-hand Discman for 10 euros yesterday, and the CDs I've tried so far sound fabulous on it... through a good set of headphones. No gaps between tracks. John Coltrane blew for a full 42 minutes, and the audience slurped beer and dropped cutlery on the floor between tracks, much to my delight.
Sorry Mitch and everyone), I was rambling. This IS the Caveman thread, so am I right in assuming that "gapless playback" is a term which doesn't even make sense when talking about simply sticking a CD in and listening to it as it was manufactured?
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idiot caveman dp
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Back in cavemen days, if Thor and Haga broke their animal club, they tried to fix it.
These days you can find other cavemen who can possibly help fix it.
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Posted: |
Mar 12, 2017 - 9:46 AM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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Caveman update - I'm not any brighter.
I haven't done anything about this yet. I'm not going to go the full jobby and get all my separates together until later on. It was too complcated to think about. And so I have been browsing in stores for CD players with all the modern functions at a modertae price (equivalent of 200 to 400 quid), and looking at on-line comments, and it's often just at the last moment that I'll spot a comment from someone saying, "This CD player automatically inserts gaps between tracks which should be crossfaded and/or heard seamlessly". Loads of comments about Pink Floyd, Sgt Pepper and Beethoven's Pastoral. Brands such as Pioneer, Panasonic and Cambridge are all mentioned, and - if the comments are to be believed - on contacting the manufacturers, the "victim" is usually told that "it's a modern feature we've incorporated". I'm not talking about mp3s or anything, but shop-bought regular CDs. Is this for real? One Amazon comment was in response to someone who warned people about this issue, and he said "It sounds great, who cares about the gaps"?
So, since my local store "doesn't allow" me to try my CDs there, I'll just buy something that has had good reviews in general, take it home, plug it in, listen to a recording of a live concert, hear artificial gaps between tracks, take it back, get my money back, come home, and spend the rest of my life listening to my music through headphones on my absolutely splendid Grundig Discman (10 Euros).
What the phuck's going on?
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Oh, I remember when we used to get updates or changes in product based upon the consumer demand, now we get products and changes based upon what the company thinks the demand should be or is going toward, forcing unwated, un-needed, or useless crap on us, all the maybe appease most of the iAge.
I have an old CD player, I think made in 1998 (the manufacture date fell off; it was from 1996 to 1999). I held on to that for as long as I could. Then, via years (on/off) of living in my car, it finally stopped working. Apparently the heat did it in. I get it nice and toasty and it'll work for a few minutes, then the speakers go silent. If I could find somebody to fix that, I'd do it. So far, no good.
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"Caveman Audio Question"
When I saw the title of this thread, I was hoping it was about the Barbara Bach movie. Big letdown.
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) on about the benefits of improved hi-fi. No, it's not for everyone ... there're always limitations of which available funds may be the most significant.
