The digital Klipsch speakers these days don't hold a candle to the
warm sound of the corner horns from the 60's and 70's.  I must admit
that Klipsch has a $200+ pair of ear buds on the market.  Wonder what
they sound like?  For now, I'll have to suffer with the Bose noise
cancelling headphones I found at a yard sale with the Bose CD player
for a whopping $30.  Must've been a divorce involved in that sale somehow!!

DM&FS

At 02:54 PM 2/27/2010, Al Knoll wrote:
>The amount of music storage provided on a CD is dependent upon the bitrate
>at which the particular track was recorded.  The higher the bit rate the
>larger the file size.  WMA is arguably better at compression without
>sacrificing quality than MP3.  Perhaps not at a 2:1 ratio, but still
>better.   I presume modern decks and head units can read WMA.  Mine can't
>but that makes no difference to me.  (see actuarial comments below)
>
>A test you can try to see if it makes a difference is to choose a difficult
>piece (big dynamic range, complex sounds) and rip it in several increasing
>bit rates.  Check the file sizes just for fun then listen critically to the
>compressed files on as good an audio system as you have.  If you intend to
>use it mainly in your van, use the system in your van, try it stopped and
>silent and try it while traveling.  Only your perception will be valid as to
>what level of accuracy is acceptable.   Keep the media as a test media for
>verifying future upgrades.  You may discover that your 23yr old hearing is
>overwhelmed by your 23yr old bus noise ambiance under way and even a 96kb/s
>is fine.   For those ghostly silent moonlight nights at China Spring where
>the only interruption is the call of the occasional poorwill or coyote,
>better stuff may be required.  To know for certain you must test it and
>remember the results.
>
>The overall effect is limited by the quality of the weakest link in the
>system, perhaps those original cherman vanagon 3.5" speakers.  (horrid).
>One of the better solutions is a set of wired headphones of extremely high
>quality, you get the full effect of whatever it may be without annoying
>either the poorwill or the coyote or Rocket J who may be camped nearby.
>
>Or in some of our cases, the actuarial audio falloff makes our choices a bit
>simpler.
>
>My grandfather had full hearing loss in his left ear, from a close encounter
>in the trenches during the great war.  He had the most magnificent Hi-Fi I
>had ever heard, monaural but nice.  One Klipshorn and a McIntosh amplifier
>an AR Turntable and other bits of finery.  Worked just fine for him at the
>time and Caruso, Ima Sumac, Sir Georg Solti, Pavarotti, and others of that
>ilk.  One of my favorites was early Les Paul of which he had a small
>collection.   De gustibus non disputandum est.
>
>But do test to see what level of overkill your finances can afford.  Let us
>know so we may be enlightened and pursue the shining path towards audio
>satisfaction as our diminshing vanagon resources permit.
>
>Pensionerd.  (sounds OK to me)
>
>On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 11:56 AM, PB <pbrattan@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Modern CD players will play MP3's as well as WMA's.  Approximately 200
> > MP3's
> > (counting 3.5 minutes per song) will fit on a CD, but if converted to WMA,
> > 400 songs will fit on a single CD.  All the music I might possibly want to
> > hear in a week will fit on 3-5 EASILY REPLACEABLE CD's, so I don't have to
> > lug around 120 to 200 CD's, or keep switching CD's to hear other albums.
> > I
> > will admit to being very ignorant of how to create playlists, but the
> > Alpine
> > stereo that was already in my Westy when I bought it does allow me to
> > navigate to folders, which I can create before I actually burn the CD.  I
> > have opted to create a folder for each album.  There may be a way to create
> > a playlist, allowing me to mix songs from various albums, but I have yet to
> > learn that.
> >
> > I prefer to use CD's full of WMA's because I don't have to worry about
> > loss,
> > theft, or damage from heat in the summer.  If anything happens to my 400
> > song CD, all I have to do is just burn another at a cost of approximately
> > $.05 to $.10 a CD.  I specifically don't want an iPod for use in a vehicle
> > because it's less to worry about.
> >
> > There may be some question as to the sound quality of a WMA, but the
> > Vanagon
> > is noisy in the first place, so I really don't notice a compromise in
> > stereo
> > quality.  In fact, I don't even notice a compromise at all, no matter where
> > I am.  (Maybe I've never been taught or don't notice the difference.)
> >
> > By the way, if you download your iTunes as M4A's, you will not be able to
> > play them on a Windows computer without iTunes or a converter.  If there is
> > a choice, it's better to choose MP3's.  They are pretty much universal.
> > (WMA's won't play on a Mac or an iPod, unless converted to MP3's or M4A's.)
> >
> > I tried out another device that accepts secure digital cards and plays
> > songs
> > through your FM radio.  It doesn't work quite as well, as sometimes the FM
> > signal weakens or is lost.  I'm going to stick with my cheap-o CD's!
> > Patti
> > 90 Westy Automatic
> > ******************
> > On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 8:55 AM, Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net
> > >wrote:
> >
> > > So what if I want to have high quality reproductions from my old
> > > vinyl collection?  Do  you really think a $90 Chinese-made turntable
> > > and cartridge/stylus(and its electronics) is going to faithfully
> > > reproduce those sounds?
> > >
> > > Find me a system that will incorporate my $800(1970's prices) B&O
> > > Beogram 4002 turntable with tangental tracking tonearm.  There's
> > > probably some Thorens tonearm and Ortofon moving coil cartridge folks
> > > out there wondering the same thing......  Of course, if the speakers
> > > and amplifier are crap, you likely won't hear the difference
> > > anyway.  Remember, it all starts with the source material.
> > >
> > > DM&FS, who doesn't mind the ticks and pops, and had a Nakamichi 700
> > > tape deck to get rid of the hiss and loss of hghs....
> > >
> > >
> > > At 11:15 PM 2/26/2010, neil n wrote:
> > >
> > >> On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 7:14 PM, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >> ...
> > >>
> > >> > Google 'rip vinyl' and you will find a bunch of options if you
> > >> are loking to
> > >> > convert old records (78s, 45s or 33 1/3) to digital formats.  Right
> > now
> > >> > Costco has one full setup complete with turntable for $90 shipped.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> w/turntable?
> > >>
> > >> WhaddaDeal!
> > >>
> > >> I can't recall when I last had a turntable.
> > >>
> > >> Another project for another day. (though I would really enjoy hearing
> > >> my Joni Mitchell, Jaco, Brecker et al double album in my Westy)
> > >>
> > >> http://www.jacopastorius.com/music/essential/joni_shadowsandlight.asp
> > >>
> > >> Neil.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
> > >>
> > >> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
> > >>
> > >
> >